A lost St Kilda Gospel?

All sorts of unusual information and anecdotage lurk in murky corners of the Carmichael Watson Collection. Here is a piece relating to the Island of Boraraigh or Boreray in the St Kilda archipelago. A recent survey by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) has found evidence that the island, previously thought only to be home to many thousands of seabirds and a flock of sheep, may in fact have been inhabited by humans for many centuries, right up until the seventeenth century.

The undated item, CW170 fo.16, is written in Carmichael’s hand. It refers to the Rev. Lauchlan MacLeod (1762–1832), minister of St Kilda between 1788 and 1830 when he left his charge and retired to the Island of Berneray, Harris: perhaps a corroboration of part of the story given below.

Macleod, Lachlan Rev.

M.S.

Mr Lachlann Macleod was for many years minister in S. Kilda. After coming from S. Kilda, when dining with Macleod of Bearnaray in the Sound of Harris, he was choked with a piece of beef. He told Macleod of Bearnaray that boys – perhaps girls also – were digging in taigh an stallair in Boraraidh near S. Kilda and in their upturning they came upon a curious ‘stone’. They brought home the stone from Bororay to St. Kilda. The ‘stone’ was a parchment manuscript of the Gospels now become hard and solidified like stone. The minister said that  the letters were like Hebrew – old Celtic. What became of the M.S. no one knows. Probably the M.S. belonged to the anchorite who lived in [the] lonely spot.

When the team were up in Fort William looking at Carmichael’s material collections, one of them got rather excited when he found in a box of odds and ends a small lump looking like a stone on the outside, but apparently made from closely packed sheets with writing on them. Could this be part of the Rev. Lauchlan’s long-lost parchment manuscript? Unfortunately, probably not: the rock seems to be a papier-mâché one made for the West Highland Museum and once used as a perch for a stuffed bird or animal in their exhibition!

References: CW170 fo.16
Hew Scott et al. (eds), Fasti Ecclesiæ Scoticanæ vii, 194.

Image: The Island of Boreray, from the seaharris.co.uk website

St Donan’s House, South Uist

Eilean Donan Castle

From whom Alexander Carmichael got this snippet of information concerning St Donan’s House, South Uist, is not now known with certainty. Archaeological remains, particularly those with an ecclesiastical connection, were of great interest to the collector, something which is reflected in his folklore notebooks. Aside from providing rough measurements of the actual site, Carmichael then proceeds to give some traditions about it stating that the saint is said to lived there. Mention is then made of the nearby township of Kildonan – where the museum is now located – and how it was cleared during the 1830s. Before this rather sad event, Flora MacDonald, the most famous Jacobite heroine, is said to have lived in this township after she had separated from her husband, Allan MacDonald of Kinsburgh (c. 1720–1792), who is said to have come to visit Flora in his dotage.

St. Donans house in Eilean Donain
L[ength] 50 x 26 feet with several surrounding ruins
Length of Isle 70 y[ar]ds. B[readth] 50 yards. This isle
is about 25 y[ar]ds from the next isle which is ab[ou]t
50 y[ar]ds from Claddh [sic] Donain. Cladh Donain
is a peninsula with a no of ruins and that
of a chapel & altar and the font in a herds
house at Milton & used as a crotag. Isl[e]
Donain is a small gre[e]n fertile isle field
of nettles & viratus Alba. St Donan is said to have
lived here & the the [sic] large ruin is called ‘Taigh-
Dhonnain’. Graves and caibeil are in the
Peninsula of cleadh [sic] Don[ain]. Near by is the hamlet
of Kildonain the ruins of many houses fr[om] which
the people were ousted ab[ou]t 40 y[ea]rs ago. Beautiful
land now a sheep track. Ab[ou]t 20 tenants
Flora MacDonald is said to have lived here
left her husband fr[om] jealousy.
Alain Chi[n]sburgh came to Lochaoineart and
was so infirm with rheumatism & flesh & age
that he had to be carried upon a cra-leaba to Bornish
where he remained that night and proceeded next day
to Kildonan to Flora’s house. How long they remained

St Donan, a Columban saint, is closely associated with one of the Small Isles, namely the Isle of Eigg, where he suffered the death of a martyr on 17 April 617. Tradition says that this day was being observed as Easter Sunday. The Felire of Oenus the Culdee says (in translation):

“With the festival of Peter the Deacon,
To glorious martyrdom ascended
With his clerics of pure lives Donnan of cold
Eigg.”

Many are the place-names associated with St Donan, ranging from Carrick, Loch Garry, Kintyre, Arran, South Uist, and, of course, Kintail. The iconic Eilean Donan Castle situated on the island of St Donain is a familiar site and has been used in many films through the years such as The Highlander and as the Scottish HQ for MI6 in the James Bond movie The World is Not Enough. But don’t be fooled by the way it looks: it was restored during the twentieth century (completed in 1932 after twenty years of restoration work) from the ruins of a fortified structure which dates to around the thirteenth century.

Reference:
CW150/82, ff. 55v–56r.
Image:
Eilean Donan Castle.

Clanranald Stronghold of Dùn Raghnaill

Dùn Raghnaill

Lying some eighty yards from the southern shore of Loch Druidibeag is the ruin of a once impregnable fortlet still known as Dùn Raghnaill. Alexander Carmichael may have visited this island fortlet for himself and taken some measurements of it but, if he did, these do not seem to have survived. It is likely that this short historical narrative was collected from John MacInnes, or Iain mac Phàdruig (c. 1804–1894), who belonged to Stilligarry in South Uist, on 29 January 1875. On this winter’s day Carmichael took down a great deal of historical lore relating to the MacMhuirich bardic family, local antiquities and a most prestigious Fenian story ‘Ceudach nan Collachain Òir’ which MacInnes had heard from a fellow South Uist storyteller – and who may have been related to another Donald MacPhie recorded previously by both John Francis Campbell of Islay and Hector MacLean – Donald MacPhee, or Dòmhnall mac Aonghais ’ic Phroinsiais, in Carnan. Later Carmichael said of MacInnes that ‘several volumes of old lore, mostly heroic tales, died with this nice, intelligent man.’ Of other materials taken down from MacInnes by Carmichael, three items appear in Carmina Gadelica: versions of Beannachadh Leapa, Ora Cuithe and Féith Mhoire.

Dun-Ra’ail

Built by Raol [Raghnall] mac Ailein. He

lived at Dremisdale & his son

on [sic] Mor[a]ir. A hard spring came

& the son came ashore at Loch

sgiopart for provender. I cant

give you any said the father – it’s

scarce with myself – I have only 3

stacks. At night the son went

out & began taking down a stack

The gre eir [greighear] came in & wakened

his master & told him his son was on

the top of the stack taking it away. Up

Rose Clanranald in his night-shirt with

his bow in hand. He threw & knocked down

his son & the sheaf together. His son left

a son in Mor[a]ir & Clan fearing that his

own grandson might come & kill

him built Dun-Ra[ghna]il[l]. The ath &

iodhlan are on “Eilean nan tailear”.

Perhaps the historical veracity of this particular anecdote can be questioned. Why would Clanranald’s son take the trouble to travel all the way from Morar, on the western seaboard of the Highlands, to South Uist? Reading between the lines, it seems rather implausible that he would go so far as this in order to gain some victuals. It would appear that this story hangs upon a power struggle between father and son, probably in order for the son to gain clan supremacy. The taking of the haystack was probably not the immediate reason but rather the final straw (pun intended!) which saw Clanranald fetch his bow in order to dispatch his son; nor, would it appear, that the fortlet was built in order to stop the aggression of a grandson seeking revenge for the death of his father.

Dùn Raghnaill appears to date to around no earlier than the sixteenth century which, according to tradition, was the earliest Clanranald stronghold in South Uist. It was occupied until relatively late: it was in use as a prison in 1610, and a marriage contract for one of Clanranald’s daughters was signed there in 1653.

An archeological description quoted from the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland provides more detail from a fairly recent excavation of this ruin though it fails to mention that the kiln and cornyard were located in the nearby island of Eilean nan Tàillear as noted down by Carmichael:

Dun Raouill, Loch Druidibeg. The island is largely natural, though possibly modified to the NE. Its entirety above water is covered by a substantial rectilinear drystone dun. At least three phases of building are evident. The first is the outer walling 1.5–2m thick, slightly denuded around the NE and SW corners, as well as along the W edge. The only gap is at the entrance on the SE corner. The passageway is largely overgrown and filled with rubble. The second phase of building is the construction of the inner chambers, the larger western one possibly being earlier than the eastern one. The walls are lower than the outer skin, roughly 1–1.5m high, and 1m thick. The eastern cell appears to be lower and thinner, 50cm high and 75cm wide, though this may be largely due to differential survival. The walls of the smaller eastern cell and the NW corner of the larger western cell appear to have been consolidated at a later date, apparent in a single skin of stones creating curvilinear ends to both chambers. Both are heavily overgrown with trees and shrubs.

References:
CW 106/124, ff. 51v–52r.
Carmina Gadelica, i, pp. 82–83.
Carmina Gadelica, ii, pp. 130 –1; pp. 132–35 & p. 345 n.7
Dun Raouill [http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk/en/site/9879/details/south+uist+loch+druidibeg+dun+raouill/].

Raven, J. A. & Shelley, M., ‘South Uist and Benbecula Duns (South Uist Parish), Survey’, Discovery Excavation Scotland, vol. 4 (2003).

Image: Aerial photograph of Dùn Raghnaill.

Caibeal Bhrianain in Barra

Archaeological remains, particularly those of an ecclesiastical nature, held quite a fascination for Alexander Carmichael. On 5 March 1869, Carmichael took time out of his busy schedule to jot down his observations concerning Caibeal Bhrianain at Borve Point near Craigston, in the isle of Barra:

Caibial Bhrianain with taigh eisd

eac[hd] at end. The orig[inal] entrance to the Con
fessional is thro[ugh] the chapel. The walls
of the chapel can orig[nally] be traced but those
of the Conf[essional] are up a few feet. As the door
is in the centre of the wall at east end the
altar must have stood at the west end
surely an unusual thing. The original
door was 37.4 In[ches]. At north side of door a piece
is built up and the door stands now 2½ f[eet].
A Mr Aon[gh]as mac Fir Dhaileile
is the only priest who is known to have
died in Barra and he is said to be
buried in the caibeal beag – 2 & the
taigh eisdeac[hd] at end of chapel
here at Borve.

Elsewhere, in Carmina Gadelica, some traditions were recorded about St Brendan from a smith named Malcolm Maclean (1815–1881), Kentangval, in Barra, who Carmichael later recalled as being ‘a man of quiet wit, natural intelligence, and independence of mind.’ It is a bit too long to give in full but here is the gist of the story which explains that Dòmhnall Dubh Mòr took to working on the Lord’s Day and is said to have ‘had opinions of his own about Saints and Saints’ days, in consequence of which he and the priest of St Brendan had occasional rubs, sometimes bordering on anger. The man was neighbourly and industrious, but some said sceptical and irreligious, barely observing the Sunday, and hardly even the Feast Day.’ On the feast of St Brendan, Dòmhnall decided to go ploughing instead of attending Mass. When he began to work a magic mist descended and transformed his horses and plough. This he tried three times but finally had to give up the ploughing as a bad job. Those who knew Dòmhnall rebuked him ‘for disturbing the rest of the blessed Brendan, and breaking his holy day.’ Such was the ‘curse’ laid upon him that Dòmhnall Dubh’s comely young wife ran to the priest for help. ‘Let Domhull Dubh Mor revel in his agony,’ said the priest, “till he shows by his good deed contrition for his evil ways.” But the good priest came notwithstanding, and, after administering a rebuke to Domhull Dubh, sprinkled on him the water of peace, and bade him go and give alms to the poor and the needy made in the image of God, and sin no more.’

References:
Carmina Gadelica, ii, pp. 235–38
CW 107, fol. 19r
Image:
St Brendan’s Craigston Church, built in 1857

Underwater Churches in South Uist

In a fascinating piece about submerged archaeological remains recorded on 4 November 1873 by Alexander Carmichael from Kenneth MacKenzie (c. 1805–1889), a mason then living in Daliburgh, South Uist, the informant tells of an old church that lies near Upper Bornish which can only be visited (back then) at low tide. Carmichael was clearly intrigued by what the mason had to say about these ruins and went out to investigate for himself and where he took the opportunity to write down two folios of notes. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Carmichael, as was his wont, did not take the time to draw a rough sketch of the submerged church. It might have been the case that the tide was already coming back in when he visited and so he only had enough time to jot down some notes before returning to the safety of land.

Below Bornish Uarach & side

of point lowest of spring tide

the best tide. I was shearing
& us[in]g a sharp stone An old h[and]
said to me if you were at Caib
eal Mhic Ceallaich. “Where?
past below you search & find
a build[in]g with door & 1 side arch 20 in[ches]
visible freestone rebut. Half inch
bead ab[ou]t 4 inch[es] back fr[om] edge of corner
and an inch juniper on the face
Wall 21 inch[es] thick & ap[pears] to be a door
There was no way inside such as a
window w[ou]ld have – The up[per] end of the
arch ap[pears] to be ab[ou]t 15 in[ches] fr[om] the Key
Gothic arch. Door ap[pears] ab[ou]t 2½ f[ee]t at
real gothic juniper is wher[e]
edge is cut aw[a]y. Built of lime
& mosslayers inside small & far
larger stones out[side]. Wall cover[ed] over
with tangles large staimh. I tore
off these for 7 f[ee]t of all. There
was more wall but this was
all I bare. rubble filled up the
wall to near top. 200 y[a]rds out fr[om]
the triusa. When I saw the beaut[iful]
work so beaut[ifully] done I had not
the heart to touch it. Her[e] oth[er]
rebuts seemed to have been
taken away. This was ab[ou]t 30
y[ea]rs ago in Aug[us]t. On s[outh] side of
Ruairdvaoilein nearer
Bornish than Kildonan
Caibeal Mhic Cheall[aich] also
at Dallabrog. MacCeallan
request[ed] to be buried as low as
the tide went out & a caib[eal]
about him. But how was
soft lime to solidify?
My sons bro[ugh]t home some bits
of the masonry of the caibeal
at Dallabrog.
Mrs Martin Dallabrog (Allan
her son also) knows all the
sub-mar[ine]-places
Kil phead[air] is under
the sea – It is not seen
now but another.

Reference:
CW111, fos. 2r–2
Image: Aerial view of Ruairdvaoilein nearer Bornish, South Uist.

Loch Up Your Daughters!

Ancient artefacts as well as buildings held a particular fascination for Alexander Carmichael and when the opportunity arose he would ask his many informants if they knew something about them or if they had heard any stories connected with them. In a notebook (CW 90), there are not a few such items and one story which Carmichael picked up, probably taken down from John Pearson or MacPherson (1814–1885), concerns a dun in Loch Nic na Ruaidhe. On modern maps this name is given as Loch Nic Ruaidh which on first impression doesn’t make a great deal of sense. But on earlier maps this geographic feature is referred to as Loch na Nighinn Ruaidh, giving the ‘Loch of the Red-haired Girl’, which lends credence to the following traditional story:

Dun loch

nic na Ruaidh – an Ruai
Mhor a da[ugh]t[er] of Ri Loch Lea’ad
Nam Fear Mora when the loch
used to stand above this dun
W[est]side. Nic na Ruaidh was
sought by many heroes of Loch
lan & here a dun was built to
save her fr[om] them & they would
come to the “Lea’ad” op[posite] & look[ed] on
& wi[th] delight to get a look
at her even at a dist[ance] They live[d] at
Dun a Bhairp. Dun a ghlinne
Auin an Duin Lamruig an Duin

So, according to this story, the dun was built to keep a beautiful princess from her many but distant Viking admirers. In reality, of course, the dun is far older than Viking times for it can be dated back to the Iron Age. The ruin in Loch Nic Ruaidh is described as follows:

A tumbled mass of stones rising some 8ft above the water, the remains of a dun on one of the smaller islets in the North East corner of the loch, with a number of boulders, possibly the commencement of a sunk causeway, stretching out towards it from the North shore.

The site was excavated more than fifty years ago when the following description was given:

The other crannog site, on the Loch of the Red-Haired Girl, Loch nic Ruaidhe, also shows tumbled walling, a causeway leading to the dun from the shore by way of a second and larger island. Mr J. S, McRae reported the find of a worn hammer-stone at a depth of two feet from the surface while cutting peat near the shore of this lochan, in the summer of 1955

An alternative version of why the loch was given such a name is explained by the red colour of the Rowan berries found there in autumn and thus is said to have given Loch Nic Ruaidh its name but we think you’ll agree that Carmichael’s folk etymology of this place-name is far more entertaining if a bit less prosaic.

References:

CW 90 fo. 41v

Macneil, Calum, ‘Carmichael in Barra’ in Domhnall Uilleam Stiùbhart (ed.), The Life & Legacy of Alexander Carmichael (Ness: The Islands Books Trust, 2008), pp. 44–57.

Young, Alison, ‘Excavations at Dun Cuier, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides’, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. 82 (1952), pp. 290–95

Image: A dun in a loch

A Description of a Baptismal Font

Alexander Carmichael took a great interest in material culture, particularly archaeological remains and objects that had either a religious function or resonance. Book-ended, as it were, between two fairly long Fenian narratives, there appears a fairly detailed description, probably written around 1866, of a baptismal font as follows:

Font.
Sav[iour] and cross one side. On each side
of this beautiful celtic basketwork. On
another side Virgin and child. Another side
a bishop in full pontifical and
crozier – [del: old font old] and mitre
vestments. Holding crozier in left
hand. Another side A Knig[del: h]t in
kilt and full armour. In right hand
a sword and under sword a shield
in left is a cross. A palm like a
moss rose. Some plant often on
tomb stones. Another rose some
what different from the other. Time of
the Crusades. Inscriptions on two
sides and ro[u]nd the rim. Illigible now
Chirst cross legged and and hands
at right a[n]gles with the body

Unusually Carmichael was rather lax here and he makes no mention of the actual place that he saw this baptismal font. At first, the context is unclear whether he is describing the font from actually seeing it and taking down notes as he made observations; whether he is describing the font from a book illustration; or, indeed, whether he is writing down someone’s recollections of actually seeing the font. It seems, though, that as the detail is so rich that a tentative identification can be made for the description seems to match rather well with a baptismal font from Skye which is called St. Michael’s Font at Eynort in one of St Maelrubha’s Churches. The image of St Michael would seem to fit the description that Carmichael gave as well as fitting in with the rest of the details. There are two churches along the coast at a place called Borline, Eynort, Skye. The larger church is eighteenth-century, the smaller is undated and the baptismal font was discovered here and is thought to date to around the sixteenth-century. There the matter would have rested if it had not been for the fact that Carmichael had written about it and gives an even more precise description of the font which relegates the above description to note-taking perhaps with a view to publication. Interestingly enough, the back-story of how the font came to be in Carmichael’s possession is also provided:

Many years ago, a crew of South Uist fishermen, while on their way to Glasgow with a cargo of fish, were driven into Lochaoineart, Skye. Upon the north-west side, and near the head of Lochaoineart, stand the church and churchyard of St Malrube, the former a roofless ruin, and the latter a deserted wild. Here the fishermen saw an old Font, and deeming it too sacred to be left with the heretic Protestants of Skye, resolved to bring it to their priest, the late Rev. James MacGrigor. They accordingly carried it to their boat, and, the weather moderating, resumed their voyage. But before reaching the island of Canna, the weather again became boisterous, and again forced them back to Lochaoineart. Attributing their misfortune to their removal of the font, a debate arose among the fishermen whether or not they should restore it to its original position; but the wind becoming fair, it was decided by a majority of the crew to make another attempt, which was done accordingly. But the weather again became stormy, so much so, that when south of the Small Isles, they were in imminent danger, and unanimously concluding that the elements were conspiring against them for removing the font, they agreed to return, and replace it. Much angry recrimination now took place. The minority, who were against sailing with the font a second time, abused the majority in no measured terms, and told them that this was what they predicted, and the majority blamed one another. The gale increased, and with it the superstitions fears of the fishermen. Consequently, they returned to Lochaoineart, and, with much care, replaced the font where they found it.

The fishermen reached Glasgow, and disposed of their cargo. On their return voyage, they again called at Lochaoineart. They still cherished the desire to bring the font to Mr MacGrigor, and they accordingly placed it again in their boat, and, after much misgiving, ventured across the Minch, landed at Iocar, and carried the font in triumph to Mr MacGrigor, at Aird-Choinnich. There it lay in a corner of the chapel till a few weeks ago, when it was sent me in a present by my friend, the Rev. Donald Macintosh, the late Mr MacGrigor’s successor.

Reerences: CW104/27  ff.87v–86r

Carmichael, Alexander, ‘Donation of baptismal font from Chapel of St Maelrube, Lochaoineart, Skye’, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries for Scotland, vol. viii (1868–70), pp. 237–39

Image: Detail of St Michael’s Baptismal Font