That certain stones possessed
curative properties of an occult nature was formerly the common belief of
the people throughout Scotland, and even at this day is not quite extinct
among us. With the exception of the crystal balls already described, the
greater number of these curing-stones are merely naturally-formed pebbles,
such as may be found in the bed of any stream, or picked up on the
sea-shore. Some of these curing-stones are known by name, and have
acquired a more than local celebrity from their association with
particular individuals. Of these the chief is the Curing-Stone of St
Columba, the virtues of which have been recorded by Adamnan as follows:-
Curing-Stone of St Columba.—" About the same time the venerable man, from
motives of humanity, besought Broichan the Druid to liberate a certain
Scotic female slave, and when he very cruelly and obstinately refused to
part with her, the saint then spoke to him to the following effect:—‘
Know, O Broichan, and be assured, that if thou refuse to set this captive
free, as I desire thee, that thou shalt die suddenly before I take my
departure again from this province.’ Having said this in presence of Brude,
the king, he departed from the royal palace and proceeded to the river
Nesa (the Ness); from this stream he took a white pebble, and showing it
to his companions said to them :— "‘Behold this white pebble, by which God
will effect the cure of many diseases among this heathen nation.’
"Having thus spoken, he instantly added, ‘Broichan is chastised
grievously at this moment, for an angel being sent from heaven, and
striking him severely, hath broken into many pieces the glass cup in his
hand from which he was drinking, and hath left him gasping deeply for
breath, and half dead. Let us await here a short time, for two of the
king’s messengers, who have been sent after us in haste, to request us to
return quickly and help the dying Broichan, who, now that he is thus
terribly punished, consenteth to set the girl free.’
"Whilst the saint was yet speaking, behold there arrived, as he had
predicted, two horsemen, who were sent by the king, and who related all
that had occurred to Broichan in the royal fortress, according to the
prediction of the saint—both the breaking of the drinking goblet, the
punishment of the Druid, and his willingness to set his captive at
liberty; they then added, ‘The king and his friends have sent us to thee
to request that thou wouldst cure his foster-father Broichan, who lieth in
a dying state.’
"Having heard these words of the messengers, St Columba sent two of his
companions to the king with the pebble which he had blessed, and said to
them, ‘If Broichan shall first promise to set the maiden free, then at
once immerse this little stone in water, and let him drink from it, and he
shall be instantly cured; but if he break his vow, and refuse to liberate
her he shall die that instant.’
"The two persons, in obedience to the saint’s instructions, proceeded
to the palace, and announced to the king the words of the venerable man.
When they were made known to the king and his tutor Broichan, they were so
dismayed that they immediately liberated the captive, and delivered her to
the saint’s messengers. The pebble was then immersed in water, and in a
wonderful manner, contrary to the laws of nature, the stone floated on the
water, like a nut or an apple, nor, as it had been blessed by the holy
man, could it he submerged. Broichan drank from the stone as it floated on
the water, and instantly returning from the verge of death, recovered his
perfect health and soundness of body.
"This remarkable pebble, which was afterwards preserved among the
treasures of the king, through the mercy of God effected the cure of
sundry diseases among the people, while it in the same manner floated when
dipped in water. And what is very wonderful, when this same stone was
sought for by those sick persons whose term of life had arrived, it could
not be found. Thus on the very day on which King Brude died, though it was
sought for, yet it could not be found in the place where it had been
previously laid."
Curing-Stones of St Fillan.—In a niche in the wall of the mill at Killin,
Perthshire, there are preserved a number of stones, which are locally
known as the healing or curing stones of St Fillan, and considered to be
efficacious in cases of insanity and rheumatism. The stones are merely
small boulders of quartzite taken from the bed of the river, but are
marked by small, shallow, rounded cavities on their faces. They are now
known to be nothing more than the "socket stones in which the spindle of
the upper millstone used to work before the introduction of the improved
machinery." It is stated that a niche has always been made in the wall of
the new mill which succeeded the old one down to the present day, as a
resting-place for the stones; and that on the saint’s day in 1879, the
villagers assembled and put clean straw under them. The precise manner in
which the stones were used in effecting a cure is not clear, but it is
stated that water poured over them was used by the patient—whether
outwardly or inwardly is not known. A correspondent of the late Dr John
Stuart, in a letter dated March 1865, also refers to the stones, and adds
that each one "was supposed to have the power of healing a particular
disease. The tradition of the country points them out as the identical
stones blessed by the saint, and used for healing disease through so many
centuries, almost to our own time. One was called the ‘heart stone,’
another the ‘thumb stone.’ "
In a paper communicated to the Society some years ago by the Rev. Dr
Hugh Macmillan, the writer describes two curing-stones of white quartz
which lie on a tombstone in an old burying-ground known as Cladh Davi, on
the shore of Loch Tay. These curing-stones, like those at Killin already
described, were also originally socket stones. Dr Macmillan says:—"These
stones are said to cure pectoral inflammation when the water is applied to
the nipples; and not long since a woman, who was thus afflicted, came a
considerable distance, from the head of Glen Lochay, to make use of this
remedy. In all likelihood the stones belong to the series which is
carefully preserved in the modern mill at Killin, as relics of St Fillan.
It is said that some of the stones in the collection at the mill were
lost. In all likelihood the stones in Cladh Davi are the missing ones,
though how or why or when they were brought to the latter spot there is no
record to tell."
Curing-Stone of St Molio.—Martin is the only writer who describes this
stone, which appears to have been held in great repute in Arran in his day
for removing stitches from the sides of sick people, and for securing
victory in battle to Macdonald of the Isles. The stone has now
disappeared. Martin’s description is as follows:-
"I had like to have forgot a valuable Curiosity in this Isle, which
they call Baul Muluy,’ i.e. Molingus his Stone Globe: this Saint was
Chaplain to Mack-Donald of the Isles; his Name is celebrated here on the
account of this Globe, so much esteem’d by the Inhabitants. This Stone for
its intrinsick value has been carefully transmitted to Posterity for
several Ages. It is a green Stone much like a Globe in Figure, about the
bigness of a Goose-Egg. The Vertue of it is to remove Stitches from the
sides of sick Persons, by laying it close to the Place affected; and if
the Patient does not out-live the Distemper, they say the Stone removes
out of the Bed of its own accord, and è contra. The Natives use this Stone
for swearing decisive Oaths upon it. They ascribe another extraordinary
Vertue to it, and ‘tis this: The credulous Vulgar firmly believe that if
this Stone is east among the Front of an Enemy, they will all run away;
and that as often as the Enemy rallies, if this Stone is east among them,
they still lose Courage, and retire. They say that Mack-Donald of the
Isles carried this Stone about him, and that Victory was always on his
side when he threw it among the Enemy. The Custody of this Globe is the
peculiar Privilege of a little Family called Clan-Chattons, alias
MackIntosh; they were antient Followers of Mack-Donald of the Isles. This
Stone is now in the Custody of Margaret Miller, alias Mack-Intosh: she
lives in Baellmianich, and preserves the Globe with abundance of care; it
is wrapped up in fair Linen Cloth, and about that there is a piece of
Woollen Cloth, and she keeps it still look’d up in her Chest, when it is
not given out to exert its qualities."
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