drewbhoy

‘A lofty hill over which the boundary between this parish from that of Auchindoir. It derives its name from the following incident, when the of Lord Arthur Forbes commonly called ‘Black Arthur’ was being carried over this hill for internment in Kearn Church Yard. The bearers rested on this hill during a snow storm. There is no cairn as the name would imply on or about the hill.‘

Parish Records.

(They rested the coffin near where the trig point is nowadays. The cairn is some 70 meters to the south east.)

Back to Kintockrat. During the plague (bubonic) the people still had to continue selling their produce, with as little contact with plague victims as possible. It was decided to have a weekly market and Kintockrat became the trading area, but with the proviso that, as in other parts of the country, no contact would be made with the citizens of Brechin. Miss Knox (former owner) showed me an ancient cairn covered with copper coloured leaves from the surrounding birch trees. This had been left as a monument to the dreaded plague. Here country people would leave their produce, laid out around the cairn and a grassy space it. An ancient path is still evident leading to and from the area. A receptacle would have been left, probably one of the many stone bowls at Kintockrat, and the Brechiners would select the goods required and deposit their coins as payment in the stone receptacles. Whether water or any other means of attempting to sterilise the coins was used, e.g passing through flame, is unknown. The beautiful glade and large copper birch trees around it was a lovely are and of course one’s memory goes back to the poor people who suffered long ago.

Brechin. The Ancient City.

The Erskine family and the Dun estate were a symbol of authority in the area. As you pass along the main drive and look to the right you might notice the small fenced-off area known as the Gallows Knowe.

The National Trust Of Scotland cares for the Gallows Knowe so that people can continue to give it new meanings linking the past, present and future. Gallows Knowe was built 3,500-4,500 years ago as a burial sound. Since then, people have thought about it in different ways and put it to different uses. The mound has played a role in community identity, power and authority. It has also been a symbol of the rights of certain people to call this place their own.

In the medieval period, the Gallows Knowe may have been used as a place of execution for the crimes of theft and manslaughter. The tradition that the mound was the for the medieval Barony of Dun was recorded by 19th century surveyors mapping the countryside around the House Of Dun. The Barony was a large territory administered by the Lord Of Dun. Gallows Knowe may have been chosen because it lay very close to Dun Castle, the lord’s seat of power. The mound is also highly visible from the public road from Montrose. It would have been an obvious warning to passers-by of the punishment awaiting wrong-doers.

The medieval Baron may also have been held there. This was a sort of parliament and court of law. It sorted minor disputes between neighbours as well as passing judgement on more serious crimes. Monuments like Gallows Knowe were often used for important gatherings in medieval times and they provided impressive settings for ceremonies. Their association with an ancient, unknown past, meant they were seen as very powerful places.

Search Scotland – House Of Dun 2011.

Some of the legends about the meeting place of swords.

strathnairnheritage.org.uk/stories1.html

The Horned God

The horned god was the ancient pagan god of fertility. He was often half animal and half human. The Celts called him Vernunnus. He had the head of a stag and the body of a man.

When Christianity came to Britain the god of fertility was transformed into the Devil. His nickname ‘Auld Hornie’ is a link back to this older belief in the horned god.

(One of the stories found on various posts near the path.)

Local tradition associates this hill with the infamous ‘James Of The Hill’. This was the name given to James Grant, a member of the local gentry who committed murder in Elgin in the 18th century. He became a bandit renowned for his cunning and intelligence, as well as his ferocity. Eventually he was captured and imprisoned at Edinburgh Castle, from where, with the help of his wife, he made a daring escape. After further adventure in Ireland, James was given a Royal pardon for his many crimes.

Canmore.

A small knoll partly destroyed in the flood of 1829, called Lord Auchindown’s cairn, marks the spot where Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindoun is said to have died after the battle of Glenlivet in 1594.

NSA 1845.

Glenlivet Estate History.

It was some 160 years ago that the farm of Auchorachan was farmed by a captain Grant, having returned from the Napoleonic wars. As a military officer, he like to have his own way and was of a stirring and enterprising disposition. On his return from the wars he set about improving the land and started work on a new farm steading. One great complication that arose however, was the lack of suitable building stone which was somewhat deficient in the area and it seemed that the work would be brought to a standstill. But the captain was not a man to be easily put off and with a keen eye for building stones soon spotted the resources of the neighbourhood and one day said to his servant Sandy Gordon “Aye Sandy, this is a fine state of matters isn’t it? Glenlivet seems better supplied with water for making whisky than with stones for building houses” “But it behoves us to make good use of the material we have at hand, so today you will yoke the oxen to the sledge and bring over that big stone standing on the brow of the brae there: it will make a capital lintel for a byre door”.

“What na’ that stane, sir?” said Sandy, “ye dinna mean the Standing Stane?”

“I mean that stone on the brae” said the Captain

“its of no use there, but only in the way of the plough”

“Weel sir” said Sandy seriously, “Stanes may be scarce, but I wadna advise you to meddle wi’ that ane2

“Why not?” asked the Captain sharply.

“Weel you see sir, it’s nae a common stane an’ shouldna be put to a common use. I’ve heard that it was ance pairt o’ a kirk or place o’worship, or in some way conneckit wi’ religion, an’ therefore sacred. It’s nae lucky to meddle wi’ things o’ that kind”.

The Captain ignored this advice and Sandy had to do what he was told. the stone was duly removed from the field and built into the wall and by and by the steading was completed and filled with valuable cattle.

Such is the perversity of fate, for within a few weeks, the cattle were struck down by a mysterious disease and one by one began to perish. No cure that was tried had any effect and all the cattle doctors of the district both professional and amateur were called on and consulted. It seemed all would die and the Captain would face ruin.

“By George Sandy” said the Captain as another animal was buried
“This is the most terrible enemy I have ever encountered”

“I think I ken what’s the matter wi’ the beasts” sandy replied

“You do? Then what the dickens is it?”

“It’s no the dickens – nor the dockens- but the stane – the standing stane that ye have me tak’ from the brae yonder.”

“By George” came the reply 2there certainly may be something in that tale of yours after all”.

Despite all his gusto, the Captain was not one to deny a mistake and soon summoned the masons to set about removing the stone, which, in order to wipe out all cause of offence he replaced with his own hands in its exact old position in the field.

Sure enough as tradition has it, the disease abated and the remaining cattle lived. Whether it was the stone or simply the disease running it’s natural course may never be known, for despite the scarcity of building stone to this date, none have ever meddled with the Standing Stone of Auchorachan, and there it stands in the field to this day, despite the inconvenience it may cause to modern farm machinery.

From Glenlivet Lilts by R. H. Calder (1925)

Glenlivet it has Castles three,
Drumin, Blairfindy and Deskie,
And also on distillery
More famous than the castles three.

Glenlivet it has peaty hills,
And rushing burns, and sparkling rills,
Where scores of wee unlicensed stills
Were busy filling kegs and gills.

Glenlivet it has raised it’s name,
To shine upon the brow of fame,
And neighbours, near and distant, claim
A right to profit by the same.

Glenlivet has a Gallowhill,
Whereon the hangman plied his skill;
But, though the name suggests it still,
No culprit does a gallows fill.

Glenlivet has a standing stone,
A relic of age bygone;
Its history can be told by none;
Itself had best be left alone.

Glenlivet has a battlefield
On which brave Argyle was forced to yield,
Bur brave MacLean his brand did wield
Till Huntly’s might o’ercame the chield.

Glenlivet it had wond’rous sights
Of fairies, witches, ghost and lights
And oh, the shaking, quaking frights
“Feart places” gave on darksome nights!

Glenlivet now has got a hall,
The very thing, one might it call,
A comfort and a joy to all
At concert, soiree, play or ball.

‘The church or chapel of St Manires (or Chapel Majore, according to Alexander), who flourished in the 6th century, stood in a knoll between Lebhal and Rhynabaich, surrounded by a burial ground used within living memory for unbaptised children. There is a (probably) a prehistoric standing stone which McConnachie says was used as a reading desk for the chapel and was said to be the remains of a stone circle. Keith writing in 1732, mentions ‘The Chappel of Hermitesas Miacras or Micras’ as being extant.

McConnachie 1898, Alexander 1952, Spalding Club 1847-69.

Local myth tells that Maggie Redhead was a witch who lived locally. Unfortunately she was put to death. Before being caught she managed to hide her gold underneath one of the many rocks.

Sean MacGowan.

Dardanus – a King of Scotland who is said to have reigned before Christ, he was put to death for his cruelties.

Universal Historical Dictionary – George Crabb.

The key local legends here link the fourteenth-century Robert The Bruce to the area’s prehistoric monuments from thousands of years earlier. Bruce was taken ill at the Battle Of Slioch against the Comyns (1307). His camp was supposed to have been on Robin’s Height, to the north of Slioch, and the OSA in 1799 described the hill as having large inscribed stones and entrenchments. Whatever these earthworks and stones were, they are long gone. The prehistoric round cairn and long barrow on Newtongarry Hill to the north-east, along with a third, now vanished tumulus, were said to have been built by Bruce’s men as observation and communications posts, with the sick king giving orders from the camp. In later years one of the tumuli was named the Fairy Hillock, and was also supposed to have been a place of execution.

Mysterious Aberdeenshire

Geoff Holder

Some water spirits were less than benevolent. A man desperate to reach his sick wife but despaired because the Luib Bridge over the Don had been swept away in a flood, accepted an offer from a very tall individual to carry him across. In the mid-river the kelpie, for such the stranger was, tried to drown the man, who only escaped after a fierce struggle. When he reached the bank the fustrated creature threw a boulder at him. Passers-by added stones to the boulder until it became known as Kelpie’s Cairn.

W. Gregor

The Witch. (Stories From Congarff)

‘A large rock called St Moluag can be seen to east of the path up Tap O Noth. St. Moluag was a famous Celtic missionary and a contemporary of St. Columba. Sent to Pictland in AD562 he founded several churchs in the area including one at the nearby village of Clatt. The great rock Clochmaloo (stone of St. Moluag) was probably used as a retreat whilst he worked in the area.‘

From the notice board at the car park.

The Battle Of Barra

The battle was fought on May 23rd, 1308. The army of King Robert The Bruce routed that of John Comyn, Earl Of Buchan. Bruce’s victory marked the turning point in his bid to become king.

The battle is believed to have taken place on the lower slopes (Oldmeldrum side) of Barra Hill.

This chair shaped stone had previously lay higher up Barra Hill. Legend has it that Bruce, who was ill at the time, watched the battle from it.

Meldrum and Bourtie Society.

A small mound or hillock hollowed out in the centre. It is now partly filled up and defaced by a ditch cut through it. The local tradition is that it was made and used by a person called ‘Tam’ during the time of religious persecution in Scotland. It is also a well known point on the boundary of Marnoch and Forglen.

Name Book 1866.

‘McConnochie states that the natural boulder called the Wolf Stone, in Scare Wood, was thrown by Mr Satan at Mrs Satan, but it fell short. The alternative legend, that a wolf had littered there and was killed by a woman throwing a girdle at it, is found in several places in Scotland. the stone may have been the site of land-courts in the Middle Ages. In MacPherson’s Primitive Beliefs gives the case of James Smith, reported to the Aberdeen Synod for ‘casting knots at marriages for unlawful ends’. This would have been magical ill-will, intended to foment disharmony in the newly married couple, or prevent them from having children.‘

Mysterious Aberdeenshire – Geoff Holder.

‘A very large cairn west of Luther Water was called Katie’s Cairn because it supposedly marked the spot where Katie the witch was burnt. This is probably the same cairn described as the Witch Knap in Watt’s Highways ans Byways, in which it was placed just east of the burn. Every schoolboy knew to contribute a stone to the when passing-or else the witch would get them. The cairn evaporated during the stone-hungry years of the mid-nineteenth century.‘

Mysterious Aberdeenshire – Geoff Holder

In a story told by Patrick Will, confirmed by RCAHMS, the woods next to Shethin have a horrible tale.

‘Three sisters were hunted down, why nobody knows. Sadly they were killed and the cairn at Lindsayhill Wood used as their burial place.‘

Sadly, for me, I’d ran out of time but I will go back and have a look to see if there are any remains of this cairn.

Whilst visiting this stone I was lucky enough to meet a local lady walking her dog. She came from nearby Pepperhillock and told me two local myths.

The Ford.

This stone was used a marker to lead to another standing stone down on the banks of the River Dee. The stone pointed to a place were the Dee could be crossed. Unfortunately the stone was taken down years ago.

Marriage.

The standing stone at Standingstones farm is known locally as the husband. Slightly to the west is smaller stone known as the wife. It is said that as long as they stand together then the local residents will enjoy many happy days especially if they are married.

(It is aligned to Bennachie.)

‘Monk’s Cairn is so-called solely because it marked the boundary of the land owned by the Abbey of Kinloss. The legend of its marking the spot where the monk of Grange was killed in a duel, is unfounded.‘

W. Crammond, 1895.

‘Kenneth the 2nd of Alba, King of Scotland was the son of Malcolm 1 of Alba, King of Scotland. He died at Finella’s castle, Fettercairn, Scotland, possibly murdered. He is buried on the Isle of Iona, Argyllshire.

Kenneth the 2nd, of Scotland, gained the title Kenneth of Alba. He succeeded to this title during 971.

He was possibly killed by Finvela, a noblewoman, whose son was killed by the king. She is said to have lured Kenneth into her home promising to unmask traitors. In one room a statue connected to several hidden crossbows which were set to fire bolts from every side when a golden apple was lifted. After a great feast, at which wine flowed freely, Finvela took her guest to the fatal room and offered him a golden apple as a gesture of peace. As he lifted the apple, he was struck by a hail of bolts.‘

The Peerage.com

Wearie Well

In a saft summer gloamin,
In yon dowie dell,
It was there we twa first met,
By Wearie’s cauld well,
We sat on the brume bench,
And look’d in the burn,
But sidelang we look’d on,
Ilk ither in turn.

The corn craik was chirmimg,
His sad eerie cry,
And the wee stars were dreaming,
Their path through the sky,
The burn babbled freely,
Its love to ilk flower,
But we heard and saw nought,
In that blessed hour.

We heard and we saw nought,
Above or around,
We felt that oor love lived,
And loathed idle sound,
I gazed on your sweet face,
Tull tears filled my e’e,
And they drapped on your wee loof -
A warlds wealth to me.

Now the winter’s snaw is fa’ing,
On bare holim and lea,
And the cauld wind is drippin,
Ilk leaf aff the tree,
But the snaw fa’s not faister,
Nor leaf disna part,
Sae sune frae the bough, as
Faith fades in your heart.

Ye’ve waled oot another,
Your bridegroom to be;
But can his heart love sae,
As mine luvit thee?
Ye’ll get biggings and maulings,
And monie braw claes;
But they a’ winna buy back,
The peace o’ past days.

Fareweel and for ever,
My first luve and laist,
May the joys be to come -
Mine lies in the past,
In sorrow and sadness,
This hears fa’s once;
But light, as thy live, may
It fleet over thee.

Motherwell
Whistle – Binkie
The Piper Of The Party.

‘The farmer then removed a stone circle nearby and paid a great price. All his cattle died of disease. Several cairns about 100 paces to the west were removed entirely.‘

McPherson’s Primitive Beliefs

(It is believed that the circle involved was Druidstones.)

I would think this is story between Bennachie and Tap O Noth Rhiannon is looking for.

‘It is easy to see how this elemental landscape has generated legends. The causeway and the fort were built by the Devil or by Sir Andrew Leslie of Balquahain as a secure rape-camp for the local girls he abducted. In reality the causeway could be early medieval or prehistoric route to the fort. The giant Jock O Bennachie lived here. Little John’s Length to the east of Craigshannoch is his bed; assuming he slept full-length he was 600ft 9183m) tall. North-west of Craigshannoch a shirt shaped surface is where he dried his clothes. The Giant threw boulders at TAP O NOTH, especially after its resident guardian stole his girlfriend Anne. Jock then met a strange woman he mistook for the Lady Anne; when they kissed he sank into an enchanted sleep beneath the mountain. Only when a certain woman finds the magical key will he be released. A man once found the key, but couldn’t turn it in the great lock. He put his hat on the key to mark the place and went to get help. When the party returned, key, lock and hat had all vanished.‘

McConnochie’s Bennachie

Not to be outdone this prophecy became legend:

‘Scotland will never be rich, be rich,
Till they find the keys of Bennachie,
They shall be found by a wife’s ae son, wi ae e’e,
Aneath a juniper tree.‘

Thomas The Rhymer

(3rd line translation “ae” means one and “wi ae e’e” is with one eye. Seems perfect english to me ye ken!)

“Quite often the offerings were of some foodstuff, particularly milk. Some of the stories were named after gruagach – supernatural beings who watched over cattle and dairy work – and offerings of milk were left at these stones in return for good harvests and other agricultural benefits. Offerings of milk were left at the Clach Na Gruagach on Colonsay. Marks on the stone were said to have been caused by ropes used to tie the gruagach to it.”

Joyce Miller.

Magic and Witchcraft In Scotland.

“Cup marks on the Rothiemay recumbent stone represented the Pole Star, the constellation of the Great Bear (Ursa Major) and the brightest stars such as Artacus, Bootes, Aldebaran, Capella, Vega and Altair.”

Revd. G. F. Browne.

On Some Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Dunecht House.

“A ley-line runs from, or at least an alignment, runs from the RSC west of the castle (Fraser) through a pair of standing stones close to the road and onwards east to the single menhir at Lauchentilly. The first two monuments can only be visited when the field is not in crop.”

The New View From Over Atlantis.

John Michell.

“The magnificent Stone of Morphie sits next to the road through the farm where George Beatties ill fated romance took place. (he committed suicide after his betrothed dumped him) The 11ft monolith was once used as the core of a grain stack, and in that guise was blown down – along with the stack – by a hurricane in 1850. Six years later, digging prior to re-erection unearthed a skeleton. Folklorically, it marks the grave of the mythical Danish leader Camus.

The stone’s surface bears the fingerprints of the local kelpie, who was also enslaved by the local laird to build the now-vanished Morphie Castle. This kelpie lived in the Ponage Pool in the (river) North Esk and achieved lasting fame in the poem John o ‘Arnha’, a kind of Kincardinshire version of Tam o’ Shanter written by the tragic George Beattie. John Findlay, John o ‘Arnha’ was a boastful and authoritarian Town Officer whom Beattie knew well. The poem was turned into a play and performed at the Theatre Royal in Montrose in 1826, with the principal actor wearing Findlay’s own red coat. The action concerns the fearless John who works his way up the supernatural food chain, besting the kelpie, a group of witches, and finally Old Nick himself.”

Mysterious Aberdeenshire – Geoff Holder

‘Stand aff, ye fiend, and dread my wraith,
Or soon I’ll steek your een in death:,
Not you nor a’ the hounds of hell,
Can my undaunted courage quell.‘

John O’ Arnha – George Beattie (1883 edition)

“The irregularly-shaped Court Stane is one of those standing stones which attracts folkloric jetsam. The name could come from the site of an old feudal court of the Barony of Mondynes (which may mean there was a stone circle here – just like at Old Rayne); or perhaps it was emblematic of the authority of a Steward or Thane. More theatrically, it is said to mark where Duncan II was killed in 1094. In 2004 the stone was a bright white, courtesy of a tradition of unknown purpose maintained by the estate. In recent years the paint has not been renewed and the stone has reverted to its native grey.”

Mysterious Aberdeenshire.

Geoff Holder.

This also has the name of “Tuam-an-fhamaire”. Translated as the “Grave of the Giant”.

The Place Names Of West Aberdeenshire

“The persistent tradition is that witches were executed here; this maybe a memory of the fact that a court did judge a witch at the stone. 1595 had a case from ‘This Court of ye Burgh of Kintore, holden at ye Cloven Stone’. In this instance the court acquitted two men of striking Isobel Cockie, on the self-defence grounds that she was ‘in ane distemper, and they were forced to put her out of doors’. This was at least a year before she was investigated for witchcraft.”

Extracts From The Record Books Of Kintore 1864

“A custom associated with the cairn in Cairnshee Wood (’cairnshee means cairn of the fairies’). Each midsummer’s eve herdsmen set a huge bonfire to exorcise evil spirits and ensure the safety and prosperity of their flocks. In 1787, in remembrance of the ceremony during his childhood, Aleander Hog donated money to ensure the ritual continued. The spectators came from all over and consumed bread, cheese and ale. The custom finally lapsed in the 1930s.”

Archibald Watt

The Highways and Byways Round Kincardine.

“Somewhere near Dinnet was the Kelpie Stone. Childless women passed through its 18 inch (46cm) hole to concieve. A noble lady performed the task to no avail; only when she repeated it in the same direction as the river flow did the charm work.”

MacPherson’s Primitive Beliefs.

“The Standing Stones of Strathbogie are two low stones at the rear of the Duke Of Richmond in The Square, are all that remain of a six-stone circle with a diameter of around 50 feet. The circle was clearly once a well-known landmark, as a court was held here in 1557 and in 1594 it was the rendezvous for the Earls of Argyll, Huntly and Errol before the Battle of Glenlivet. One stone bore a Pictish ‘horseshoe’ but this has now faded away.

The fountain, decorated with owls, is supposedly above a secret tunnel that leads to the castle; this is possibly a memory of the old well that once stood nearby.”

Mysterious Aberdeenshire – Geoff Holder

(BigSweetie of TMA gets mentioned in this book)

“Gallows Hill cairn is a substantial prehistoric mound re-used as a place of execution by the Gordons of Lesmoir. In 1651 Sir William Gordon of Lesmoir admitted that he had heard that a part of his home-farm was dedicated to the Goodman, and so it was not worked; ‘but he had a mind, by the assistance of God, to cause labour the same: Whereupon he was commended for his ingenuitie in declareing it, and exhorted to take paines shortly to have it laboured.”

Presbytery Book Of Strathbogie

“The old road that ran through this area was known as ‘Wormy Howe’ because it was created by a giant worm as it set out to do battle with a rival near Bennachie. Worms or wurms are a type of dragon found folklorically in Scotland, Northern England and Scandinavia; they are hugh serpents lacking legs and wings, but otherwise well equipped with traditional draconic attributes such as jaws filled with razor sharp teeth, poisonous or fiery breath, and avoracious appetite for human flesh. Sadly the legend doesn’t say if the two worms met, or what happened when they did. Presumably the shape of the henge prompted the belief that the worm had coiled up to have a nap here.‘

James Taylor “The Cabrach” (1914)

“The second ghost said to haunt Hermitage castle is that of Lord Soulis – ‘Bad Lord Soulis’ or ‘Terrible William’. Lord Soulis had a ghastly reputation indeed, for it was widely believed that he practised black magic and used the dungeons of the castle to hold young children from the surrounding area captive before incorporating them into his hideous rituals and eventually murdering them. People from the surrounding area gathered in force and stormed the castle taking him captive and binding him in chains. We are told that he was wrapped in lead and then thrown into a boiling cauldron to meet a horribly painful death.

Another version of the story of Terrible William says that he entered into a pact with the devil. He traded his soul in return for a licence to live however he pleased, indulging in whatever debaucheries took his fancy. Then, as he grew older and faced up to the inevitability of his approaching death, he panicked at the thought of the fiery furnaces of hell. It was in order to protect him from this fate that he was wrapped in lead and boiled by loyal subjects. This story seems even less credible than the first one.”

Scottish Ghosts.

by Lily Seafield.

(a reworking of Rhiannon’s post)

“There is a healing well on an island in Loch Maree, which was used for curing lunacy as late as the nineteenth century. Coins and nails, as well as pieces of cloth and rag, were hammered into the trunk of a nearby oak tree. Oak trees were believed to be sacred, and may have reflected a pre-Christian belief.

Loch Maree, one of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland, is also the site of a chapel and remains of a burial ground, which are believed to have been founded by St. Maelrubha, although there also appear to have been older pagan traditions associated with the site. Bulls were sacrificed here, as they were at Applecross, and later the custom was associated with St. Maelrubha’s day, 21 April.”

Joyce Miller.

Magic And Witchcraft in Scotland.

“The large stone here is associated with St Margaret and was visited by women who hoped to concieve or sought a successful birth. The eight-foot high stone is said to mark the resting place of St Margaret when she journeyed between Queensferry and Dunfermline. Margaret had eight successful pregnancies and probably needed to rest quite a few times on her travels!”

Places Of Interest.

Joyce Miller.

“Newly married couples would walk round the stone in order to ensure good luck and fortune in their marriage. This was also done at the Granny Kempock Stone at Kempock Point near Gourock. This is a six foot tall stone and, traditionally, couples and fishermen would walk round it seven times, carrying a basket of sand. It was believed that this would bring good winds and catches for the fishermen and success and happiness for the newly weds. In 1662 Mary Lawmont (or Lamont) was accused, with other women, of attempting to throw the Kempock Stone into the Clyde as part of a charge of witchcraft. Some of the women confessed that they intended to destroy boats and ships by this act. The women were not successful, and were most likely executed.”

Stones

by Joyce Miller.

“Another skill that fairies could transmit was prophecy. Thomas the Rhymer or True Thomas – whose real name was Thomas of Ercildoune – was a thirteenth-century poet and seer. It was said that Thomas met the Queen of Fairies on the Eildon Hills near Melrose. Thomas followed the queen after kissing her on the lips, and he had to serve her for seven years. While in the fairy realm, the queen gave Thomas a magical apple, which was the source of his ability to predict the future honestly – hence his second epithet, True Thomas. Although Thomas of Ercildoune is credited with writing “The Romance Of Sir Tristam”, he was better known for his prophecies. It is said that Thomas predicted the crowning of Robert The Bruce in 1306 and the defeat at Flodden in 1513. Since many of the prophecies do not appear in print it is, therefore, very difficult to prove their authenticity. It is interesting to note that Andrew Man, in his confessions about his association with the fairies, described meeting both Thomas The Rhymer and James IV, who was killed at Flodden, as ghosts at a fairy meeting. Although he did not say when this meeting occurred, it was presumably in the mid- to late-sixteenth century.”

Magical Spirits

Joyce Miller.

“East Lothian has a rather dubious reputation for having had a large number of witch trials in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Spott was one of the centres of accusations in 1662. The stone is said to be near where Marion Lillie, the Ringwoodie Witch, was executed, reportedly in 1698. One story is that she was the last of those accused of witchcraft to be burnt in Scotland, but this is unlikely to be true as there are (unfortunately) later stories from Dornoch and Crieff. Recent reports have coins, candle wax, and the remains of incense being found at the stone.”

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland

by Joyce Miller.

“The impressive standing stone at Strontoiller is a rough-cut pillar, standing some thirteen feet high, which was used in healing rituals. It is said to mark the grave of Diarmid, the mythical hero. The adjacent cairn was excavated and some cremated bone was found. Quartz chips and pebbles were found under the kerbstone: quartz is often associated with burial sites in the west.”

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland

by Joyce Miller.

“There is an extremely unusual hexagonal vaulted chamber, adjacent to the present church, known as St Triduana’s Chapel or Well. It is comprised of the lower parts of a two-storey building, and water still flows from a spring here under the floor. Requests to use the water are still being received today.

Triduana’s shrines were supposed to help blindness and other eye complaints and conditions. Triduana was an early convert to Christianity who was the object of desire of a Pagan prince. The prince particularly admired Triduana’s eyes and, instead of being forced to marry him, it is said that Triduana plucked out her own eyes and presented them to him on a thorned branch. There is a similar story attached to St Medana, (although her eyesight was restored; Triduana’s was not) as well as other examples from Ireland and the Continent.

The church, which is dedicated to St Mary and The Trinity, was founded as a collegiate establishment by James 111 in the 1460s, although it is a much older site.”

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland

by Joyce Miller.

“The standing stone is said to mark the site of Kate McNiven or MacNieven’s, sometimes known as the witch of Monzie, execution. The story goes that she was put in a barrel and rolled down what is now known as Kate MacNieven’s Craig on the north side of the Knock of Crieff before being burnt. Kate had been the nurse to the Grahams of Inchbrackie, and was accused of witchcraft, including turning herself into a bee. Graham of Inchbrackie tried to save her but to no avail, but as she was about to die it is said that she spat a bead from her necklace into his hand. The bead -a blue sapphire- was turned into a ring and it was believed that the ring would keep the family and lands secure. She did, however, curse the laird of Monzie, although whether this worked or not is not known. MacNiven or Nic Niven was also believed to be the name of the Queen of Fairies.

Indeed it is not clear whether Kate MacNiven was a real person or is a conflation of stories. There do not appear to be any contemporary records of her execution at or near Crieff, and dates for her unpleasant death are variously given as 1563, 1615 and 1715.”

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland

by Joyce Miller.

“The Eildon Hills, near Melrose, have many stories associated with them, not least that Thomas the Rhymer disappeared to fairyland here for at least seven years after meeting the Queen of the Elves at the Eildon tree. The famous wizard, Michael Scott, is also said to have gained his powers in the hills, and to have instructed the famous Evil Lord Soulis of Hermitage Castle.

The summit of Eildon Hill North, the largest of three peaks, was occupied since at least the Bronze Age. Some of the 300 or so houses (represented by house-platforms) date to the late Bronze Age but others are Iron Age.”

Magic and Witchcraft in Scotland

by Joyce Miller.

“Cross, on foot, a large plain of ground, seemingly improvable, but covered with a deep heath, and perfectly in a state of nature........After a walk of four miles, reach the paps (mountains in the centre of Jura): left the lesser to the south-east, preferring the ascent of the greatest, for there are three : Beinn-a-Chalaois, or ‘the mountain of the sound’; Beinn Sheunta, or ‘the hallowed mountain’; and Beinn-an-Oir, or ‘the mountain of gold’.”

Tour Of Scotland 1772
Thomas Pennant.

“Ladies from the nearby town of Turriff, in centuries gone by, are supposed to have come to the woods at Delgaty. There they would find lumps of yellowish sandstone which they then shaped into small blocks similar to soap. This they then used, on returning to their homes, with water to clean their kitchen utensils and tables. This practise only stopped in the late 1800’s, when the real thing became more available.”

Mrs. E. Shand, Woodside Of Delgaty.