The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends

The Lore of Scotland: A Guide to Scottish Legends
ISBN-10
0099547163
ISBN-13
9780099547167
Category
History
Pages
554
Language
English
Published
2011-05
Publisher
Random House
Authors
Jennifer Westwood, Sophia Kingshill

Description

"Scotland's rich past and varied landscape have inspired an extraordinary array of legends and beliefs, and in The Lore of Scotland two leading folklorists bring together a selection of the finest and most intriguing. Their range extends the entire length and breadth of the country, from the Borders, with their haunted battlefields, via Glasgow, site of a notorious witch-trial in 1677, to the water-horses of the Highland lochs and the seal people of Orkney. As well as retelling these stories and traditions, The Lore of Scotland explores their origins, showing how and when they arose and what basis, if any, they have in historical events. In the process, it pinpoints precisely how rooted in history Shakespeare's Macbeth really is, examines the long tradition of Lanark's annual Whuppity Scoorie' children's race, and investigates the claim that Mary King's Close is the most haunted street in Edinburgh. It also sets out to explain why different parts of Scotland have such different local traditions, revealing the impact that everyone from Picts to Vikings - and even the English - have had on many of the deep-seated beliefs that still circulate. And, from all over Scotland, it gather

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