Wee White Hoose

April 30, 2015 / 28 Comments

Z-rods, Combs, and Double Discs: Mysteries of the Pictish Stones

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Picts inhabited the east of Scotland, north of the Firth of Forth, from around the 4th to the 9th century. They left no written records so we know very little about their culture. Archaeology continues to gradually uncover more information about how the Picts lived but one thing that we already know for certain is that they were master craftsmen, and they’re perhaps best remembered today as skilled stonemasons. Three hundred and fifty Pictish stones have been found across Scotland, and their function remains a matter of debate.

April 29, 2015 / 9 Comments

Kirkyard Critters: The Dreaded Yird-Swine

Reading Time: 3 minutes

One of the more obscure creatures of Scottish folklore is the yird-swine, a subterranean porcine carnivore that lives in graveyards and burrows through the earth, feeding on the corpses it finds there. Some unimaginative souls have suggested that yird-swines are badgers, ferrets, or even just big rats, but those who have had contact with the creatures would certainly swear otherwise.

April 28, 2015 / 13 Comments

The King Under the Mountain: The Tale of Canonbie Dick

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The Arthurian legends have long been associated with England and Wales, but there is some evidence to suggest that King Arthur was in fact a Scot that lived in the seventh century: Artuir, the son of King Áedán Mac Gabráin of Dál Riata, a Gaelic kingdom encompassing the Scottish region now known as Argyll and Bute, and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Amongst the many Scottish myths associated with King Arthur is the story of Canonbie Dick, the northernmost version of the king under the mountain folklore motif in Britain.

April 27, 2015 / 14 Comments

The Tale of Whuppity Stoorie

Reading Time: 4 minutes

In the toon o’ Kittlerumpit in the debatable lands, a goodman lived in a wee hoose wae his wife and bairn. One mornin’ the goodman telt his wife that he wis goin’ tae the fair. He kissed her goodbye and set aff, and he wis never seen again. His poor wife wis left wae very little, and wae the bairn tae look after she wis fair in a fash. Her neighbours were aw sorry fer her, but naebody helped her. Her only consolation wis her sow, fer it wis soon tae farrow and she hoped fer a good litter.

April 25, 2015 / 18 Comments

The Vestiarium Scoticum: Scotland’s Tartan Myth

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Perhaps the greatest and most prolific Scottish myth of all can be found where it’s least expected: in the beloved system of clan tartans.

The earliest example of tartan found in Scotland dates to the third century and was used as a stopper in an earthenware pot found on St Kilda. Known as the Falkirk tartan, it’s a simple two coloured check, the undyed brown and white wool of the Soay sheep.

April 24, 2015 / 10 Comments

Saints and Satyrs: Peallaidh and the Ùruisgs

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Ùruisg (OO-rishk) is described variously as a faun or satyr-like creature with the lower half of a goat and the upper half of a human, or as a shambling wild man, covered in thick, shaggy hair, with long, sharp teeth and claws. The latter part of its name, uisg, comes from the Gaelic word for water, uisge, and the stories associated with it always take place near a stream.

April 23, 2015 / 14 Comments

Well Worship and Sacred Pools: The Healing Waters of Saint Triduana

Reading Time: 5 minutes

In the 4th century, the relics of Saint Andrew were brought to Scotland by Saint Regulus, an event commemorated by the naming of the town of St Andrews on the east coast. Travelling with Saint Regulus’s entourage was a Greek nun, a consecrated virgin named Triduana. The young woman settled in the parish of Rescobie in Angus where she led a quiet life, dedicating herself to God, until her beauty attracted the attention of Nechtan, king of the Picts.

April 22, 2015 / 14 Comments

The Tale of the Selkie

Reading Time: 3 minutes

A long, long time ago, in the Highlands of Scotland, a fisherman was walking along a beach towards his home when a strange sound reached his ears. He looked around until his eyes fell upon a group of men and women dancing on the shore in the moonlight. He approached them quietly, hiding himself behind a ridge of rock, and as he drew closer to them he realised that they were not men and women at all, but selkies, the seal folk.

Wee White Hoose

Archives (page 2 of 5)

Z-rods, Combs, and Double Discs: Mysteries of the Pictish Stones

Kirkyard Critters: The Dreaded Yird-Swine

The King Under the Mountain: The Tale of Canonbie Dick

The Tale of Whuppity Stoorie

The Vestiarium Scoticum: Scotland’s Tartan Myth

Saints and Satyrs: Peallaidh and the Ùruisgs

Well Worship and Sacred Pools: The Healing Waters of Saint Triduana

The Tale of the Selkie

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