The Surname Livingstone or Mac an Leigh

Continuing with the theme of a recent blog, another enquiry sent in by a reader elicited a response in the Celtic Review from Alexander Carmichael’s pen as follows:

REPLY Mr. Niall Campbell’s note in the October 1909 issue of the Celtic Review is interesting and informative. It seems, however, probable that the name Mac-an-leigh (Livingstone) originated in two ways, i.e. Mac an leigh, Son of the Physician, of which the equivalent is to be found in the Manx Clegg or Legge; and Mac-Dhun-sleibh corresponding to the Irish Donlevy.

The late Dr. Alexander Macbain gives much information regarding Livingstones in his papers on Gaelic Personal Names and Etymological Dictionary. It would be a most natural thing to have such a name as ‘son of the physician’ in Gaelic.

I may mention that besides Eilean an t-Sagairt in Lochanan Dubh there is Eilean an t-Sagairt in Loch Etive near Achnacloich, so that two islands of the same name are in the same neighbourhood. ALEXANDER CARMICHAEL.

It may be imagined that Carmichael had a personal interest in the matter as he wrote, rather effusively as it happens, about the Barons of Bachuil, who were indeed Livingstones. Perhaps it was modesty that prevented him from mentioning his own article in his reply and so he name-checked a better authority than he in the form of Dr Alexander MacBain (1855–1907). There can be little doubt that the most famous Livingstone is the one remembered for being a missionary and an explorer of darkest Africa. Carmichael mentions him thus in his article about the Barons:

Donald Livingstone, the son of Neil Livingstone, was in the local Fencibles of his day. During the annual drills at Oban and Stirling he made the acquaintance of his namesake and distant kinswoman, Catherine Livingstone, whose father was a farmer at Bailemore in Kerrara, opposite Oban. When his regiment was finally disbanded Donald Livingstone married Catherine Livingstone and brought her home with him to Ulva. Things, however, did not prosper in Ulva with the young people, and after a time they removed to Blantyre on the Clyde. Donald Livingstone had a son, Neil, the father of David Livingstone, whose name will live while courage, honesty, and humanity are admired among men.

References:

Carmichael, Alexander, ‘The Barons of Bachuill’, The Celtic Review, vol. V (1908–09), pp. 356–75.

Carmichael, Alexander, ‘Reply’, The Celtic Review, vol. 6, no. 23 (Jan., 1910), p. 288.

Image:

Dr David Livingstone (1813–1873). Reproduced with the permission of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

Columba of the Graves and Tombs

As may be remembered Alexander Carmichael’s printed output after the publication of the first two volumes of Carmina Gadelica was almost solely restricted to the Celtic Review. This journal, founded in 1904, and lasting until just before the outbreak of the First World War, was edited by Carmichael’s daughter, Ella, under the consulting editorship of Prof. Donald MacKinnon, the first incumbent of the Chair of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh. The year of MacKinnon’s death also saw the Celtic Review fold thus it would seem the impetus to continue publication was lost through this. Responding to a query from J. M. Mackinlay, Alexander Carmichael gave the following reply in the Celtic Review:

Calum-cille nam feart ’s nan tuam. Columba of the graves and tombs. (Carmina Gadelica, vol. i. p. 249 [recte 246].)

In the Celtic Review of April Mr. J. M. Mackinlay asks the meaning of this phrase. Like many other passages in the work, this was translated tentatively. I am under the impression that the phrase refers to the many churches, with burying-grounds attached, named after St. Columba.

Feart is a grave, a graveyard; tuam is a tomb, a place of tombs, a chambered place of burial.

Tung is also applied to a chambered place of burial, and sometimes to an underground house. ALEXANDER CARMICHAEL.

The context for the query was the last verse from Beannachadh Buana or ‘Reaping Blessing’, collected by Carmichael from Angus MacDonald, a crofter from Gearrynamoine, South Uist:

Air sgath Mhicheil mhil nam feachd,
Mhoire chneas-ghil leac nam buadh,
Bhride mhin-ghil ciabh nan cleachd,
Chaluim-chille nam feart ’s nan tuam,
Chaluim-chille nam feart ’s nan tuam.

Translated by Carmichael thus:

For the sake of Michael head of hosts,
Of Mary fair-skinned branch of grace,
Of Bride smooth-white of ringleted locks,
Of Columba of the graves and tombs,
Columba of the graves and tombs.

Not content with just one query, J. M. Mackinlay also merited a response from Alexander Carmichael’s son-in-law, William John Watson, soon-to-be Rector of Edinburgh Royal High School and afterwards the second holder of the Chair of Celtic Languages, Literature, History and Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. It can be seen that Watson was not shy in flexing his onomastic muscles, and his scientific method of enquiry can be easily discerned:

In last number Mr. J. M. Mackinlay queries whether Maolrithe (Carmina Gadelica, i. 285) is ‘to be identified with St. Maolrise, otherwise St. Finlagan, who is believed to have given name to Knock Mulreesh in Islay, near which is his chapel Cill Fheileagan.’

Maolrithe is none other than Maelruba, the genitive being used as nominative. The pronunciation is seen in Amulree, Maelruba’s ford.

Mr. Mackinlay also asks if Maolruain is a diminutive of St. Maelrubha. It is not. Maolruain is an independent name, occurring twice in the Martyrology of O’Gorman. The latter part of the compound is found with extension in the Irish word ruanad, a champion, whence the very common Irish name Maol-ruanaidh.

Whatever ‘St. Maolrise’ may be, Finlagan is a place-name, meaning ‘little white hollow,’ well known in connection with the Lords of the Isles. W. J. W.

References:
Carmichael, Alexander and Watson, William J. [W.J.W.], ‘Replies’, The Celtic Review, vol. 4, no. 13 (July, 1907), p. 96.
Carmina Gadelica, i, p. 246.
Image: St Columba, Calum Cille

The Pipers of Smerclete – II

In a previous blog from last year the well-known South Uist tradition regarding the Pipers of Smerclete was given and so, as a kind of reprise, here is another version. Alexander Carmichael was not adverse to take down the same stories – sometimes from the very same reciters – allowing comparisons to be made. This is clearly an advantage when looking at repeated versions of a tale or, for that matter, migratory legends or stories with an international resonance. In this instance, Carmichael neglected to take down the name of the reciter but it seems likely that it was collected in Kilpheder, a village in close proximity to where the action of the story takes place. Basically, as in the previous version of this story given in an earlier blog, as well as many other variants that have subsequently either been printed or collected, a fairy gifts an idiotic son – who was only good for looking after cattle – with such an ability to play music on the pipes that no one else could match his peerless skill. The crux of this particular version of tale hangs on the proverbial phrase: “ealain gun rath” skill without luck, or “rath gun ealain” luck without skill. The choice had to be a wise one, otherwise the fairies would get the upper hand. By making sure that the door of the fairy mound was closed by either a knife or a nail (something made of steel or iron in order to counteract fairy bewitchment), the so-called half-witted son managed to get both luck and skill which stood him in good stead, as he became a celebrated piper.

Sithein a Phiobaire Kil Pheadair
S[outh] Uist. Used to hear pip[ing] ther[e].
Clan[n] an t Saoir Smearcleit wer[e] c[e]lebr[ated]
pip[ers] a mach s a staigh cha
ro[bh] ann a gheo[bhadh] buai[dh] orra. One
son was a “lecheallach” unfit for a pip[er]
So he was sent to faire buaile crui[dh]
He saw the sith[ein] light & he ent[ered]. First
plac[in]g a Knife or nail in the door
aft[er] which the sith[ein] could close it.
“Rath us ealain rath us eal[ain]” said he
& all the sith[ein] pip[ers]. Rath gun eal[ain] rath
gun eal[eain] they rep[eated] & tried to close the door
& keep him but they could [not] so they
were obl[i]g[ed] to give him also the eal[ain] Go you
hom[e] said the sean bod[ach]. sì & send
the bones of the black dead horse
at y[ou]r fath[er’s] door & get a pipe made
& you shall be a pip[er] such as non[e]
of y[ou]r people nev[er] saw. He did & got a pipe & sett[led]
to piob[aireachd] & eclip[sed] them all. We may stop
if you re[frain] said his fath[er] and bro[ther] for no one
will list[en] to you so go you to [sic] out into
the world and not m[e]n[tion?] us. He did so
& he was celebr[ated].

References:

CW 160 ff., 22v–23r.

D.M.N.C., ‘Uamh an Oir’, An Ròsarnach (1917), pp. 159–71.

Ella C. Carmichael, ‘“Never was Piping so Sad, and Never was Piping so Gay”’, The Celtic Review, vol. II (1905–06), pp. 76–84

Fr. Allan McDonald, ‘Pìobairean Smearclait (The Pipers of Smerclait)’, The Celtic Review, vol. V (1908–09), pp. 345–47.

Image: Still from Pìobairean Bhòrnais. Many thanks to Catrìona Black http://www.ambocsa.co.uk/ for permission to use her image.

Tragic Deaths of Flora MacDonald’s Brothers

There can be little doubt that Flora MacDonald is one of the most famous Highland heroines. She is, of course, chiefly remembered for the help she gave to Prince Charles Edward Stuart in making his hair-breadth escape from South Uist to Skye. When on the point of being captured, she intervened and disguised the Prince as a maid called Betty Burke who was supposed to be one of Flora’s companions as she was making her way to visit her mother in Skye. The ploy worked a treat and the Prince remained uncaptured. The Prince had been on the lam for a number of months as a fugitive in the wake of his disastrous defeat at Culloden. Flora was born in Milton on South Uist in 1722 and was the daughter of Ranald MacDanald there, and his wife, Marion, a daughter of Angus MacDonald. She later married Allan MacDonald of Kinsburgh, Isle of Skye, and had a large family of five sons and daughters. She died at Kingsburgh aged sixty-eight in 1790 and was buried in Kilmuir Cemetery. Alexander Carmichael collected this historical anecdote about the tragic deaths of two of Flora MacDonald’s brothers, Alexander and Donald, from Donald MacInnes (c. 1800–1880), who belonged to Balgarva in South Uist, sometime in September 1872. It is also interesting to note that the aunt Isobel whom Flora’s brother visited was married to mac Leaspa ’ic a’ Mhinistear who is described as having visited Rìoghachd nan Daoine Buidhe which probably means ‘Kingdom of the Yellow-skinned People’ – perhaps a veiled reference to China – where the king’s daughter had fallen in love with him. Expecting to marry him, the king’s daughter made him a suit of multicoloured feathers, but he returned to Scotland to marry ‘his friend Isebal’.

Alex[ander] brother to Flora Macdonald shot
in Carras[a]y. was on a vis[i]t to his Aunt Isebal
ni[gh]ean fir Airi[dh] mhuil[ean]. Saw a flock of ducks
in the Creagun below the house. He rush[ed]
to the gun not know[ing] it was load[ed] It went
off & kil[led] him. Old Don[ald] who was th[e]n
2 y[ea]rs saw the blood. He was sent
with this Isibel. Isibels hus[band]
was mac Leaspa ’ic a mhinisteir.
He was long in rio[ghac]c[hd] nan daoine bui[dhe]
& the da[ugh]t[er] of Ri[gh] nan dao[i]n[e] bui[dhe]
fell in love with him & ex[horted] him to marry
her. She made him a deise of itean
ian – dhan na chuile dath bha eir ial[aith] nan speur & an deise
e[i]le do shioda agus uisgair eir
But he ran from her & came home & mar[rried]
his friend Isebel.
Flora & the Prince left Buail
Unacleit at Minngeary Milton
& crossed to Lochaoineart fr[om]
which they sailed.
Don[ald] saw her bro[ther] Angus who was
a thorough soldier. Poor Donald! He went
away one day to cut rushes & was found dead
aged

References:
CW 106, fos. 26r–26v
Image:
Portrait of Flora MacDonald, oil on canvas, by Allan Ramsay (1713–1784)

St John’s Wort or St Columba’s Plant

Another short anecdote from Archibald Currie (1821–1896) from Iochdar, South Uist, collected at the same time, was one which concerns St John’s wort or, as it is sometimes referred to, St Columba’s plant. This plant is, in any case, known under many other names in Gaelic such as achlasan Chaluim Chille, which Carmichael literally translates as ‘armpit package of Columba’ and has many medical properties that were well-known to herbalists who practiced folk medicine. The first recorded use of this plant for medicinal purposes stems from ancient Greece. Since then St John’s wort has been used over the centuries for mental conditions as well as for other health problems and it was (and still is) used as a remedy for the debilitating effects of mild to moderate depression:

Achlasan C[aluim]-chille gun sire[adh]
gun iar[raidh] is scraped ag[ainst] its bark & a crosgag
(a ring) is made & place[d] in the
bottom of the milk boyne
Cneapag is the first worsted put
on the fearsaid the round ball
before the crosgag is made
C[alum] Cille the best herd that ev[e]r
lived & this he [presid[e]s?] ov[e]r sprei[dh]

Introducing a piece about St John’s wort in Carmina Gadelica, Carmichael adds that the plant has other very useful properties aside from those which may be termed medicinal. Indeed, St John’s wort could claim to be a panacea for all ills, whether physical or otherwise:

Saint John’s wort is one of the few plants still cherished by people to ward away second-sight, enchantment, witchcraft, evil eye, and death, and to ensure peace and plenty in the house, increase and prosperity in the fold, and growth and fruition in the field. The plant is secretly secured in the bodices of the women and in the vests of men, under the left armpit. Saint John’s wort, however, is effective only when the plant is accidentally found.

Echoing the first phrase to be met with in the above fragment, a fuller version of the incantation was provided by Carmichael:

‘Achlasan Chaluim-chille,
Gun sireadh, gun iarraidh!
Dheoin Dhia agus Chriosda
Am bliadhna chan fhaigheas bas.’


Saint John’s wort, Saint John’s wort,
Without search, without seeking!
Please God and Christ Jesu
This year I shall not die.

It is specially prized when found in the fold of the flocks, auguring peace and prosperity to the herd through the year. The person who discovers it says:–


‘Alla bhi, alla bhi,
Mo niarach a neach dh’ am bi,
An ti a gheobh an cro an ail,
Cha bhi gu brath gun ni.’


Saint John’s wort, Saint John’s wort,
Happy those who have thee,
Whoso gets thee in the herd’s fold,
Shall never be without kine.

References:
CW 106, fo. 33r.
Carmina Gadelica ii, pp. 96–101.
Image:
St John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) or achlasan Chaluim Chille.

Cures for Black Warts

Curious folk cures were also one of the genres which greatly interested Alexander Carmichael. The following cure for black warts or foinneachan dubha was probably noted down from Archibald Currie (1821–1896), a shoemaker who was aged around 46 at the time, and who belonged to Iochdar, South Uist, on 28 October 1872:

Foineachun du[bha] old wom[an]
at Bornish had warts. She set
to get straws with 9 uilt on
each sop & 81 for each wart.
Then to dig a pit & put 81 of these
in each for each wart. They were
to be left in the pits till they crione[adh]
& the warts were gone.

Elsewhere in Carmina Gadelica, Carmichael adds the following, presumably stemming from the same source:

A woman of Upper Bornish, who had many warts on hands and feet, procured with time and trouble ‘naoi naoi glùinean’, nine nine knees, i.e. nine stalks with nine joints on each stem. These she buried in the ground, and as the knots of the straws decayed, the warts disappeared.

Mar a chrìon a sìos na stràilleanan,

Chrìon gu bràth na foinneachan.

As withered down the straws,

Withered till doom the warts.

Other perhaps more scientific cures are then suggested by way of rubbing dry dust upon a wart, or to apply moist rust to it. Another method was to apply a poultice of broad-leaved tangle, a type of seaweed, to the wart which may result in getting rid of it due to the beneficial effect of the constituent iodine. Perhaps the most unlikely cures that were said to work are between these two methods: either to go to a cemetery and to ‘dip the wart in water lying on a gravestone’ or to rub ‘the wart against the clothes of one who has committed fornication.’

References:
CW 106/102.
Carmina Gadelica ii, p. 334.
Carmina Gadelica iv, p. 221.
Image: Barley Straw.

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.