SCOTTISH CHARMS AND AMULETS. By GEO.
F. BLACK,
ASSISTANT-KEEPER OF TEE MUSEUM.
The subject of Scottish charms and
amulets, although one of great interest, has scarcely as yet been touched
upon by antiquaries. With the exception of two or three brief notices of
individual charms, the only special article of any importance is the paper
of the late Sir James Young Simpson, published in the fourth volume of our
Proceedings. In the present paper it is purposed to describe in
detail all the known specimens of Scottish amulets and charms, accompanied
by such extracts from various sources as are calculated to shed light on
their uses and on the motives which induced the people to believe that
such objects possessed the power to protect them from innumerable dangers,
avert evil from themselves, or cause evil in others.
Although the words amulet and
charm, as now used, are synonymous, yet each has its own clearly
defined and distinct meaning.
The earliest known writer who uses
the word amulet is Pliny, and it is employed by him with the same
meaning that we attach to it, namely, as a preservative against poison,
witchcraft, and sorcery ("venoficiorum amulets," Historia Naturalis,
lib. nix, cap. xix). The derivation of the word is not known, but by
some a Latin origin is assigned to it as being that "quod malum amolitur."
By others the word is derived from amula, "vas lustrale." The
etymology from the Arabic himälah
(= "that which is
carried ") usually assigned to the word in modern dictionaries is wrong,
the resemblance between the two words being purely fortuitous.
The word charm, from the
Latin carmen, a song, was in later times understood to mean a form
of words possessing some occult power for good or evil, more often the
former. Charms were of two kinds, written and recited. Of the former, the
toothache charms described below are typical examples, and of the latter
the Shetlandic incantation for the cure of a sprained joint or sinew is an
instance:-
"The Lord rade, and the foal slade;
He lighted, and he righted,
Set joint to joint, bone to bone,
And sinew to sinew, heal in the Holy Ghost’s name."
BALLS OF ROCK-CRYSTAL USED AS CHARMS.
According to the Rev. C. W. King
crystal was extensively used among the Romans for the manufacture of
drinking-cups and similar vessels, and for personal ornaments. Mr King
also quotes two passages from Propertius as evidence that balls of
rock-crystal were carried by Roman ladies to keep the hands cool during
the summer heat, a fashion, he adds, which is "kept up by the Japanese to
the present day." In neither instance, however,
can the passage
quoted be understood to bear out his statement.
Orpheus appears to be the only
writer of antiquity who ascribes any medicinal virtue to crystal, and he
only recommends it as a cure for kidney disease by external application of
the stone, and as a burning lens for sacrificial purposes. Pliny
recommends a ball of rock-crystal as a cautery for the human body if held
up in the rays of the sun. Marbodus recommends crystal powdered in honey
for mothers nursing, to increase their supply of milk:—
"Hunc etiam quidam tritum cam melle
propinant
Matribus infantes quibus assignantur alendi,
Quo potu credunt replerier ubera lacte."
In various parts of Europe, and
especially in England, balls of rock-crystal have been found, mostly in
connection with interments of the Iron Age. Many of these balls when found
were enclosed within narrow bands of metal, chiefly of silver, but
sometimes of gold or bronze. Formerly these balls were considered by
archaeologists to have been used for magical purposes, but the general
opinion now is that they were worn on the person as ornaments. At a much
later period, however, the use of crystal balls for magical purposes
appears to have been common in England. In Scotland rock-crystal has been
used in the ornamentation of a number of objects of early date, but, with
the exception of the superstitious practices associated with the balls
described below, I have not been able to find any references to the use of
crystal for magical purposes. Lhwyd mentions the use of the crystal balls
among the Highlanders, and says they were held "in great esteem for curing
of Cattle; and some on May Day put them into a Tub of Water, and
besprinkle all their Cattle with the Water to prevent being Elf-struck,
bewitch’d, &c."
Dr Anderson has suggested to me that previous to their
use as curing-stones, the crystal balls, found in Scotland may have been
used as vexilla, and, like the Baul Muluy of St Molio described
below, have been borne into battle for the purpose of securing victory.
This seems a not unlikely theory, and I think it is supported by the
traditional account of the Clach-na-Bratach, and by the name given to the
Glenlyon ball of rock-crystal. The account of the former was probably
reduced to writing long after the actual facts had become confused by
tradition, and perhaps it is not going too far to read in it a record of
the discovery of the ball in a grave, and its subsequent use as a vexillum
or standard carried by the clan to battle for the purpose of securing
victory. According to Pennant, the Glenlyon ball was known as the "Clach
Bhuai, or the Powerful Stone," but it is just as probable that the name
was Clach Buaidh, or "Victory Stone." There is probably an allusion
to the use of victory stones by the Highlanders in a letter to Wodrow the
historian from the Rev. John Fraser, Episcopalian minister in the
Highlands. The letter is dated 1702, and in it he says: "Ther was a great
many fine and pretious stons amongst the Highlanders, many of which they
hung about their necks of old, and keepd in their standards, and
attributed more vertue to them [than] Albertus Magnus did, and that was
too much."
A common name in the Highlands for these rock-crystal
balls, which are apparently not common in Scotland, was Leug or Leigheagan.
The Clach-Dearg, or Stone of Ardvoirlich, is a ball
of rock-crystal, smaller than the Clach-na-bratach, mounted in a
setting of four silver bands, with a ring at the top for suspension (fig.
1).It is supposed to have been brought from the East, and the workmanship
of the silver mounting is also said to be Eastern. It was formerly held in
great repute, particularly in diseases of cattle, parties coming from a
distance of forty miles to obtain some of the water in which it had been
dipped. The belief in the virtue of this charm continued till within
thirty years ago. Various ceremonies had to be observed by those who
wished to benefit by its healing powers. "The person who came for it to
Ardvoirlich was obliged to draw the water himself, and bring it into the
house in some vessel, into which this stone was to be dipped. A bottle was
filled and carried away; and in its conveyance home, if carried into any
house by the way, the virtue was supposed to leave the water; it was
therefore necessary, if a visit had to be paid, that the bottle should be
left outside."
![](../images/cyristals.jpg)
The Clach-na-Bratach, or Stone of the Standard, is
an unmounted ball of rock-crystal 1 7/8 inches in diameter, and is stated
to have been in the possession of the Clan Donnachaidh since the year
1315. It has already been twice described in the Proeedings, and is
shown the full size in fig. 2.
The commonly accepted account of this ball is as
follows:—The chief of that time (1315), on his way with his clan to join
Bruce’s army before the battle of Bannockburn, observed, on his standard
being pulled up one morning, the ball glittering in a clod of earth
hanging to the flagstaff. The chief showed the ball to his followers, and
told them he felt sure its brilliant lights were a good omen, and foretold
their victory in the forthcoming battle. Ever after the stone accompanied
the clan whenever it was "out," and was always consulted as to the fate of
the battle. Its last outing was at Sheriffmuir in 1715, when a large
internal flaw was first observed. In a manuscript account of the ball,
written between 1749 and 1780, and communicated to the Society by Sir Noel
Paton, a slightly different account is given as follows:-
"There is a kind of stone in the family of Strowan
which has been carry’d in their pockets by all their representatives time
out of mind. Tradition says that this stone was found by Duncan Ard of
Atholl, the founder of that family in Perthshire, in the following manner:
as Duncan was in pursuit of M’Dougal of Lorn, who had made his escape from
him out of the island of Lochranoch, night came upon him towards the end
of Locherichk, and he and his men laid them down to rest, the Standard
Bearer fixing the Staff of his Standard in the ground; next morning, when
the man took hold of his Standard (as it happen’d to be in loose Spouty
Ground near a fountain), the Staff, which probably was not very small or
well polished in those Days, brought up a good deal of Gravel and Small
Stones, and amongst the rest came up this Stone, which, being of a
brightness almost equal to Crystal, Duncan thought fit to keep it. They
ascribe to this Stone the Virtue of curing Diseases in Men and Beasts,
especially Diseases whose causes and symptoms are not easily discover’d
and many of the present Generation in Perthshire would think it very
strange to hear the thing disputed."
In another manuscript, written about 1777, it is
further stated of the Clach-na-Bratach that "it is still looked upon" in
the Highlands "as very Precious on account of the Virtues they ascribe to
it, for the cure of diseases in Men and Beasts, particularly for stoping
the progress of an unaccountable mortality amongst cattle. Duncan
(i.e., Donacha Reamhar) and all the representatives of the Family from
Generation to Generation have carried this atone about their persons; and
while it remained in Scotland, People came frequently from places at a
great distance to get water in which it had been dipt for various
purposes."
The last occasion on which this ball was used appears
to have been somewhere between 1822 and 1830, when it was dipped with much
gravity, by the chief, in a great china bowl filled with water from a
"fairy" spring, after which the water was "distributed to a number of
people who had come great distances to obtain it for medicinal purposes."
Clach Bhuai, or the
Powerful Stone.—Pennant mentions having seen a ball of rock-crystal,
or a "crystal gem" as he prefers to call it, mounted in silver, in the
possession of Captain Archibald Campbell of Glenlyon, which he says was
known as the Clach Bhuai, or the "Powerful Stone," and that good
fortune was supposed to attend the owner of it. It appears to have been
efficacious in diseases of mankind as well as animal, and Pennant adds
that for the use of it "people came above 100 miles, and brought the water
it was to be dipt in with them; for without that, in human cases, it was
believed to have no effect." The ball is about 4 inch in diameter; and,
according to the late Sir James Simpson, "to make the water in which it
was dipped sufficiently medicinal and effective, the stone, during the
process, required to be held in the hand of the Laird."
In the Fingask Collection, at present exhibited in the
Museum of Science and Art, there is another of these balls of
rock-crystal, about 1 1/4 inch in diameter, mounted in silver bands, the
workmanship of which is probably of the end of the last or beginning of
the present century. Unfortunately it has no history.
A fourth ball, also mounted in silver, for use as a
charm, was exhibited to the Society on the 14th December 1891, by Mrs
Gibson, Bankhead House, Forfar. It measures about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
Unfortunately nothing is known of its history beyond the fact that it has
been in the possession of the family of the present owner since the middle
of last century at least. The ball may have been found in England, as the
first member of the family in whose possession it is known to have been
was a schoolmaster in Great Yarmouth.
The National Museum possesses a ball of rock-crystal, 1
3/8 inch in diameter, said to have been found somewhere in Fife many years
ago. It is unmounted, and may have been found in a grave, like the balls
mentioned in Appendix II.
In addition to the balls already described, there are
also a number of other charms of rock-crystal, formerly held in high
repute for the cure of various diseases.
Keppoch Charm-Stone.—This charm has already been
described in the Proceedings by the Rev. Dr Stewart, of Nether
Lochaber. He makes no mention, however, of what disease or diseases the
stone was intended to cure, nor how the water in which it was dipped was
administered to the patient. The charm is "an oval of rock-crystal, about
the size of a small egg, fixed in a bird’s claw of silver, and with a
silver chain attached, by which it was suspended when about to be dipped."
The charm was in the possession of the late Angus MacDonell of Insh, a
cadet of the MacDonells of Keppoch and the Braes, who emigrated to
Australia shortly after 1854, and is believed to have taken the charm with
him. The following form of words was repeated as the charm was being
dipped in the water :—
Gaelic
Bogam thu ‘sa bhũrn,
A lèug bhuidhe, bhoidheach, bhuadhar.
Ann am bũrn an fhior-uisg;
Nach d’ leig Bride a thruailleadh,
An ainm nan Abstol naomh,
S Muire Oigh nam beùsan,
‘N ainm na Trianaid ard,
‘S nan aingeal dealrach uile;
Beannachd air an lèug;
‘S beannachd air an uisge,
Leigheas tinneas cléibh do gach creutair cuirte. |
Translation
Let me dip thee in the water,
Thou yellow, beautiful gem of Power!
In water of purest wave,
Which (Saint) Bridget didn’t permit to be contaminated.
In the name of the Apostles twelve,
In the name of Mary, Virgin of virtues,
And in the name of the High Trinity
And all the shining angels,
A blessing on the gem,
A blessing on the water, and
A healing of bodily ailments to each suffering creature. |
"To understand the reference to St Bridget in the
incantation, it is necessary to mention that there is a well near Keppoch,
called Tobar-Bhride (Bridget’s Well), from which a small streamlet
issues. It was from this stream that the water was taken into which the
charm-stone was to be dipped."
The Marquess of Breadalbane possesses a charm of
rock-crystal set in silver, which was exhibited in the Glasgow Exhibition,
and has been figured. The setting is an octagonal disc of silver, with the
crystal secured to one face, and with eight pearls set round it at regular
intervals. The crystal is probably the one referred to in the "Inventar of
geir left by Sir Coline not to be disponit upon," as follows:—"Ane stone
of the quantitie of half a hen’s eg sett in silver, being flatt at the ane
end and round at the other end lyke a peir, quhilk Sir Coline Campbell,
first Laird of Glenvrquhy, woir quhen he faught in battell at the Rhodes
agaynst the Turks, he being one of the knychtis of the Rhodes." In
noticing this entry Cosmo Innes says:—"The jewel so particularly described
as the amulet worn in battle by the Knight of the Cross, would seem to
have been used as a charm for more homely purposes afterwards." He does
not tell us, however, what these "homely purposes" were.
Among the objects in the Sim Collection, presented to
the Museum in 1882, is an oblong piece of rock-crystal, 1 5/8 inch in
length, 7/8 inch in breadth, and 3/4 inch in height, in a setting of
brass, with a loop at one end for suspension. "A memorandum accompanying
it, in Mr Sirn’s hand, states that it was purchased at Oban on 6th June
1851, from Duncan White, jeweller there, and that it was believed to be an
amulet or charm-stone. The memorandum also states that it had been twenty
years in Mr White’s possession, and during that time he had met with
nothing similar, except a very fine one, set in silver and encased with
other red stones, for which he wanted a large sum."
An oval polished crystal of a yellowish colour, 7/8
inch in length by 1 1/6 inch in diameter, exhibited by Dr R. de Brus
Trotter, of Perth, is said to have been found at Leac-a-Geelie,
Carrochtrie, and to have been used like the clear stone of the diviners in
Yucatan, mentioned in the Appendix (p. 526), "for seeing things in."
CURING-STONES
That certain stones possessed curative properties of an
occult nature was formerly the common belief of the people throughout
Scotland, and