Many cruel and misogynist tale has been told from the past ages. The story of Theneu seems particularly cruel. A father trying to kill his pregnant daughter. He fails, tries another way and she ends up giving birth alone on a boat in the North Sea. Usually, the story focuses either o the father, because he was Loth, a powerful king. Or on the son she bore, who became a famous saint: St Kentigern of Glasgow.
This a well known Gaelic love charm, mostly scribed to Blind Allan, the Glengarry bard. The translation is taken from JG Campbell. It is a recipe how to gain the love of a man and it has to be performed on a Wednesday on a broad level flagstone with a wooden shovel on your shoulders. For the love of the man you like - ach grà dh an fhir thig riut.
Quite apart from the throbbing life of Strathpeffer lies Kinettas graveyard, an old burial ground on the fringe of town. There must have been a church here at one time, but no traces remain. It was probably one of the Culdee order, an old Celtic order that slowly disappeared as orders from the continent were introduced into Scotland. But there is no documentation to prove that theory to be correct.
Agnes was the daughter of a great father who had fought with King Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, and in the following decades, continued to make military forays into England. He was a hero. After Bruce’s death, he was Regent of Scotland for a while.
Like her father, Agnes’s husband was in constant combat against the English. If he was on one of his military forays, then it was up to Agnes to manage the castle, and if necessary, to defend it. She was put to the test in 1338, when an English army under the command of the Earl of Salisbury approached, trying to take castle. A castle in which there were hardly any men left, just women and children.
headstone of James Humphrey (1755 - 1844) Below thir stanes lie Jamie's banes' O Death, It's my opinion, Thou ne'er took such bleth'ran bitch Into thy dark dominian. Raymond Lamont-Brown: Scottish Epitaphs. Edinburgh, Chambers, 1990
cross-shaped gravestone in Abernethy graveyard Considering the abundance of historical graveyards in Scotland, Abernethy does not seem of utmost importance at first sight. But, as you might know yourself, looks might be deceiving and Abernethy is indeed an exceptional graveyard. Not so much because of its headstones or famous people buried there but because of... Continue Reading →
MacSorlie graveyard Glen Nevis MacSorlie graveyard in Glen Nevis A Scottish clan is a group of people wo believe they share the same ancestor. A clan is far more than family. In the Highlands they were a political unit as well, a source of support and defence. A sept or a branch, however, is somthing... Continue Reading →
It is not unusual, to find a Scottish graveyard locked up overnight, especially in city centres. Too much damage and destruction has happened in the past and is still happening today. Vandals causing even more grief for the families of the deceased by damaging ground and headstones alike. Drug and alcohol use are also frequent problems on graveyards in urban environments. Historical churchyards are often locked by the councils and taphophiles will often try in vain to gain access. Locking them up of course often seems feasible, after all, there is no need to visit a churchyard for example at night.
nd had crossed the Ord, the southern border of their country, on a Monday, it was from now on an unwritten law that no Sinclair should wear green or possess the stupidity to cross the border on a Monday.
William Fettes the Carpenter, Montrose, 1809 The handicraft that lieth here For on the death truth should appear Part of his bier his own hands made and in the same his body is laid. Raymond Lamont-Brown: Scottish Epitaphs. Edinburgh, Chambers, 1990
Graveyards of Scotland 
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