A MacLachlan legend tells of a MacLachlan Chief who would pay his feu duty (a sign of submission to an overlord in true feudal fashion) in a very strange way. The duty itself was a pair of gloves handed over through an annual ceremony which took place over a large rock called Capull Cruaidh. This […]
I came across some MacNeil legends, would be interested in finding out more about them, oranyone else knows any MacNeill of Barra/MacNeill of Colonsay tales? “There is a Saying in the Highlands of Scotland That in the long genealogy of the MacNeils, The biblical Noah is not to be found. For it is said; ‘The […]
Skene Loch is an eerie and forbidding place, particularly on cold evenings in the dead of winter – when the waters on the loch can freeze over. If you were to brave the icy conditions and venture down to the lochside and look across the frozen loch you might see what seems like a mysterious […]
A leading DNA expert has shown that the celtic hero Somerled who was credited with driving the Vikings out of western Scotland was himself descended from a Norseman It had always been believed that Somerled was descended from an ancient royal line going back to when the Scots were living in Ireland. A few years […]
I’ve always been a big fan of the Harry Potter books so was interested to hear that some of the character names came from Greyfriers Graveyard in Edinburgh. The room is which JK Rowling sat to write Harry Potter overlooks Greyfriers graveyard, and in this graveyard are the graves of Tom Riddle and Mcgonagal. The […]
While we were visiting Greyfriers graveyard we were told an interesting tale by the man who works in the tiny shop which is within the graveyard’s grounds. It was one I hadn’t heard before and I can’t seem to find anything about it on the web. Not far from the infamous Bloody MacKenzie tomb stands […]
Scotland is to welcome Pope Benedict XVI for his first visit to Britain on 16 September, which is St Ninian’s Day. The Pope begins his visit in Edinburgh, where a St Ninian’s Day parade will welcome him to the city. But who exactly was Saint Ninian, and what was his historical significance? The precise details […]
During a seminar at the National Museum of Scotland claims were made that the iconic Lewis Chessmen could have been made in Iceland by a priest’s wife. These chessmen have fascinated historians and scholars since they were found in Uig in Lewis in 1831. But fresh claims challenge some long-held beliefs about the pieces. The […]
There has been a remarkable breakthrough in discovering Scotland’s origins. The ancient mound known as the Moot Hill in the ground of Scone Palace was once the site of the “lost” abbey of Scone, founded in 1114 by Alexander I, where Scottish kings are believed to have assumed the mantle of power on the Stone […]
The discovery of the unpublished poem and letters by one of Scotland’s greatest writers, Sir Walter Scott was made in Cambusmore House near Callander where Sir Walter spent many holidays at the house as a young lawyer. They have laid hidden here for over 200 years in the care of the Baillie–Hamilton family The poem, […]
