MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF SCOTLAND

A LITTLE INTRODUCTION

• Scotland has a rich and deep celtic culture going back over 2’000 years. In fact a lot of celtic legends were created in Scotland and then exported elsewhere

• At the time, every unususual or strange events was explained by mythological stories

• In Gaelic, Scotland is called Albania or Albany. Alba means white in Gaelic

ALBANACTUS

• Albanactus was the founder of the kingdom of Alba• He was the youngest of three sons of Brutus,

descendant of Aeneas of Troy. His brothers are Locrinus, founder of England, and Camber, founder of Wales

• Albanactus was killed a few years after the start of his reign by the king of the Huns, Humber. It obliged people of Alba to go south Locrinus

• Later, kings of England used Brutus’s legend to conquer Scotland and Wales, as Locrinus was the eldest one, England should be superior…

THE BRAHAN SEER

• The Brahan Seer was an oracle. He would have used a stone with a hole in the middle to see visions.

• He is alleged to have made several prophecies that have proven to be true

• He died burnt in spiked tar barrel on the command of Lady Seaforth after having said that her husband was having sex with one or more women in Paris. It is not sure, but this prediction is supposed to be true…

• He also predicted the doom of the Mackenzie of Seaforth. It is his most impressive propehcy

CALLANISH

• Callanish is a circle of 13 primary stones of diameter 13 meters (!) dating from around 2000 before J.-C.

• The heights of the stones go from 1 to 5 meters, with an average of 4 meters

• A legend says that giants living on the island who refused to convert to christianism have been turned to stones as punishment. It would be the origin of Callanish

CALLANISH