DUNVEGAN CASTLE is the oldest castle in Scotland
Today DUNVEGAN CASTLE is the home of John M acLeod, 29th clan chief. The Macleod family defended their castle from all aliens, it is believed, thanks to their ties with the elves, bringing good luck and longevity. The castle houses a large collection of paintings and relics of the Macleod clan: a silver goblet and a "Fairy Flag", each of which is associated with a legend. It all started in the 13th century.
Since the early 13th century, the castle has been inhabited by members of the Macleod clan, founded by Leod, the son of Olaf the Black, the last Viking king. A semblance of a fortress has existed at this place since the time of Christ. By 1280, Leod had built a formidable rampart on the rock, which became the basis for the future DUNVEGAN CASTLE - a castle standing on a rock that was then completely separated from Skye by a deep moat. Until 1748, the only entrance to the castle was the Sea Gate. To approach them, it was necessary to cross Lake Dunvegan.
But this single approach has been carefully reinforced. Malcolm, the 3rd chief and the great-grandson of Leod, built the keep, the very first and oldest stone structure inside the fortress walls today. In 1790, the roof was blocked on it, but otherwise it remained intact. Even the underground remains as it was in the 14th century. Alasdair Crotach, 8th chieftain, in order to be able to defend his territory from rival clans, in the early 16th century built the Fairy Tower in the southeast corner of the old wall, the protrusion of which can be seen even today.
After the death of Alasdair in 1547, the clan faced some of the worst times in their history. His son followed his father to the grave, leaving his young daughter Mary as the leader. After that, a meeting of the entire clan, which did not agree with the idea of female leadership, took place, at which her relative Malcolm was elected as the leader. But Iain Dubh, another relative, decided otherwise. He slaughtered all of his rivals, with the exception of Mary, who was under the tutelage of the Earl of Argyll, and Norman, Mary's uncle, who fled to the mainland. When an 11-member Campbell delegation was sent to DUNVEGAN CASTLE to assess Iain Dubh's ability to serve as a chieftain. He invited them to dinner, where instead of red wine, he served them goblets of blood, and then ordered his men to slaughter them. Earl of Argyll and Queen Regent Mary decidedthat by this act Iain crossed the line of what was permitted, and Hugh Ross of Kilravock was sent to avenge the slain. But Iain managed to escape to Ireland, where a terrible end awaited him. He fell out with the O'Donnels, who gutted him with red-hot knives. Thus, Norman was recognized as the next head of the clan, and after him in 1595, his second son, Sir Rory Mor, became chieftain.
In 1594, he brought 500 people from his clan to Ulster to help the Irish who rebelled against Queen Elizabeth I. He ignored the order of James VI to return to the great delight of the Irish, who presented him with a silver-trimmed goblet, which is preserved to this day. in the castle and is called "Dunvegan Cup". From a young age, Rory Mor had to defend his rights to power, especially during the final period of centuries of enmity between the MacLeod and Macdonald clans of Slaat. Many unsuccessful attempts were made to make peace between them, one of which had the bloodiest consequences. Donald Gorm, chieftain of Macdonalds, agreed to marry Rory Mor's sister, despite never seeing her.
Unfortunately, the bride only had one eye, and Donald sent her back astride a one-eyed horse, accompanied by a one-eyed groom and a one-eyed dog. After such an insult, war was inevitable. The king tried several times to stop her, and of course it stopped, but due to the exhaustion of both sides, and not due to royal mediation. With age, Rory Mor softened and in 1609 even agreed with the Statutes of Iona, a document that limited the power of the chieftains of the Scottish Highlands. According to him, the leader was now obliged to strive for peace and even limit the consumption of wine drunk by his people to 10 liters a day! Rory began to behave so roughly that the previously confiscated lands were returned to him, and relations with Jacob VI improved so significantly,that in 1613 at Greenwich he was knighted and invited to visit London at any convenient time. In 1623 he became burgomaster of Edinburgh and magistrate, after which he decided to make his castle more comfortable and built an east wing. After his death in 1626, MacLeods' relationship with the monarchy continued to be good. The members of the clan have established themselves as loyal royalists.
Fighting at Worcester on the side of Charles II in 1651, they lost 700 men. Considering this terrible loss, the leaders of the mountain clans decided that the MacLeods would not send their people to any war until they gained their former strength. Thus, they did not participate in the Uprising of 1715 and 1745, which saved them from land confiscation. But without taking part in battles, MacLeods often harbored fugitive Jacobites. Flora Macdonald, whose daughter married the Tutor of MacLeod, stayed at the castle and houses several relics associated with the Bonnie Prince Charlie, including a broken communion cup donated by the prince to a clan member who ferried it across the sea to Skye Island. Under Iain Breac, 18th chieftain and grandson of Rory Mor, some improvements were made to the castle,but a major overhaul was carried out under General Norman MacLeod in the last decade of the 18th century. He changed the roof on the old keep and transformed the old banquet hall into a cozy Georgian living room. In 1810, the front hall was added and another floor was added to the south wing. In the middle of the 19th century, the MacLeods fell into a difficult financial position, but Norman, who became the 25th chieftain in 1835, never shirked his duties and was able to find the funds to feed his 8,000 disadvantaged relatives.never shirked his responsibilities and was able to find the means to feed his 8,000 disadvantaged relatives.never shirked his responsibilities and was able to find the means to feed his 8,000 disadvantaged relatives.
In 1840, he added two floors with scalloped parapets to the Rory Mor wing and a porch to the front hall. Terrible potato crop failure in 1847-51. finally bankrupted the family, and for a number of years, for economic reasons, they rented out their castle.
Today DUNVEGAN CASTLE- home of John MacLeod, 29th clan leader. The Macleod family defended their castle from all aliens, it is believed, thanks to their ties with the elves, bringing good luck and longevity. The castle houses a large collection of paintings and relics of the Macleod clan: a silver cup and a "Fairy Flag", each of which is associated with a legend. The young leader was looking for his disappeared herd. He found him at the moment when he was surrounded by dancing elves. After the young man gave himself away, unexpectedly sneezing, the elves seized him and dragged him to their twilight kingdom. There he was given a cup of wine, after drinking which he had to stay with them forever. The leader grabbed the bowl and ran to the stream, crossed it and escaped, because elves cannot cross water obstacles. But the elves cursed the cup, and one day, after this young man did not return from a walk in the moor,family found him dead. Since then, the clan members have cherished this cup, maintaining the connection of one of the first Macleod with the elves. The Fairy Flag is an even more valuable relic kept in the castle. It dates from the 7th century. By tradition, each clan leader is wrapped in this flag at birth. He came to this family a long time ago, when one of the leaders of the clan married a lady from the kingdom of the elves.
W H A I M F E C D J H A V E A T H E
thousand-plus years of Dunvegan Castle, which stands on the west coast of the Isle of Skye, was the family castle Mc Laud from Mc Lauda. In ancient times, many leaders of this clan, having gone out to sea from the Lok Danvegan Bay with the warriors of their clan, led them on campaigns against their hereditary enemies, the McDonald of Aigg, the lawless "Lords of the Isles." And, perhaps, the most precious treasure of the MacLood clan was the banner of the fairies. It passed from generation to generation, and a well-known legend is told about it.
Malcolm was once the chieftain of the MacLood clan. One day, when the summer sky was reflected in the waters of Lok Danvegan, and the heather covered the slopes with a purple carpet, Malcolm married a beautiful fairy. He happily lived with her in his castle, Dunvegan, built of gray stone. But fairies cannot find complete happiness among humans. And when Malcolm's wife bore him a son, she yearned for her family, so much so that this longing overcame her love for her mortal husband. Malcolm was unable to see how his beloved wife yearned. And he himself undertook to take her to the path that led to the Land of the Fairies. And so the fairy approached the cradle of her child, tenderly said goodbye to him and went with her husband to the bay to cross it and go along this path to his homeland.
It was on a clear day. On the same day, Malcolm brought his fairy wife to his house, but now even the bright waters of the bay seemed dark and muddy to him - it was so hard on his soul.
Finally, their boat swam to the spot. Malcolm took his wife in his arms, carried her to the beach, and carefully lowered her to the ground. Then he walked her a little along the path. But when they came to the ridge of gray stones, called the Fairy Bridge, his wife asked him not to go further and went along the path alone. She never looked back, and Malcolm parted with his beautiful wife forever.
That evening, a feast was held in the castle in the great hall - the birth of Malcolm's son was celebrated. After all, the boy was later to take the place of his father and become the leader of the MacLoud clan.
No matter how hard it was on Malcolm's soul, he had to forcefully take part in the general merriment and exultation - the feast was given according to the established custom. And Malcolm himself was proud of his son, who in the future was to become the head of the MacLood family from McLoud.
The entire clan gathered in a large hall and feasted by the light of a hundred torches. Servants scurried about the room, carrying platters of juicy venison and jars full of good golden ales. And all night long the men of the McCrimmon clan, the hereditary pipers of the McLood clan, played merry songs for Malcolm's guests on their sonorous bagpipes.
And in the turret, far from the noisy hall, the baby, the culprit of all this jubilation, was sleeping peacefully in his cradle. His sleep was guarded by a nanny. It was a young, pretty girl. She was sitting by the cradle, and she herself was only thinking: how fun it should be at the feast now and what a delicious treat they serve! And she really wanted to be among the noisy guests. And when the moon rose high and illuminated the secluded turret, the girl wanted to death at least with one eye at the fun in the hall. She looked at the child and made sure that he was sleeping peacefully. And so she quietly got up and, stepping carefully on tiptoe, walked along the reed-covered floor to the door. Then she quickly ran through the moonlit winding corridors, descended the spiral staircase and entered the great hall, where the bagpipes sounded loudly.
The girl sat for a while at the very end of the hall, looking around with eager curiosity, and when she had seen enough of the celebration, she got up to return to the turret. And then her heart beat with fear - at that moment Malcolm himself got up from his place at the main table and looked in her direction.
“Oh, black was the hour when I left the child alone! the nanny thought. Now Malcolm is angry with me!
However, although Malcolm saw the girl, he did not get angry - he thought that another servant was left with his son. And so he called out to the nanny in an affectionate voice and ordered her to carry the child to the guests - he wanted to show his clan his future leader.
The nanny sighed freely and left, fervently hoping that nothing bad had happened to the child while she was not with him.
And I must say that when the child was left alone in the turret, he slept peacefully for a while. But then an owl flew past the window with an ominous cry, and
he woke up in fright. No one came to calm him down and rock him. He wept loudly, and his cry echoed from the walls of the empty room.
Not a single person heard his screams. But by some unknown route they reached his fairy mother, where she was among her own. The son, although born on earth, was dear to her, and she hurried to the turret to console him while no one was around. She no longer had the right to take him in her arms. But she covered him with a shining unearthly blanket of silk, green as grass. It was woven as skillfully as people do not know how to weave, and embroidered with specks, but not simple ones, but special ones - they are called "speckles of elves."
As soon as the fairy covered the child with a silk veil, he stopped crying - as if the mother herself had embraced him. Then he smiled and fell asleep. And the fairy, seeing that her son had calmed down, flew away from the cradle and disappeared.
The alarmed nanny was very happy when she entered the turret and made sure that her pet was sleeping. But then she saw a veil on it and realized that fairies were flying to the child. She guessed this because the veil was green - the very shade that the fairies chose. And it was embroidered with "specks of elves". But the child lay healthy and unharmed - the fairies did not replace him - and the nanny completely calmed down. She only promised herself never to leave him alone again.
She wrapped the child in a fairy blanket, took him in her arms and, obeying Malcolm's orders, carried him into the great hall.
And when she was already approaching the hall, the sounds of unearthly music were heard in the corridors behind her. They filled all the air, they kind of fanned the baby in the nanny's arms and finally drowned out the McCrimmons' bagpipes. The bagpipes fell silent, and silence fell in the great hall.
And MacLoud himself and all his relatives sat in silence and listened to the fairies singing with sweet voices. And they sang a prediction that will not be forgotten until at least one MacLoud remains on earth.
In their prophetic song, they proclaimed that the green veil of the child was the banner of the fairies. It was granted by the fairies to the MacLood clan. And until this glorious name is forgotten in Scotland, the banner will remain in the clan. It will save the clan three times in times of great disaster. However, it is allowed to deploy it only in the hour of formidable danger, but by no means on a trifling occasion.
And Malcolm, and his entire clan, and the nanny with the child in her arms listened to the singing of the fairies. But it soon became quieter and sadder. Now the fairies predicted what kind of curse would fall on the MacLoud clan if someone did not appreciate the fairies' gift and unfurl the banner when there was no urgent need for it.
If this happens, then, if it did not happen, three misfortunes will fall on the clan: the heir of MacLoud of MacLoud, the leader of the clan, will soon die; a ridge of rocks called the "Three Maidens" will pass into the possession of one of the Cambells; when the red fox brings fox cubs to one of the castle turrets, the glory of the MacLaud will fade; they will lose many of their lands, and in the family of the leader there are not enough men - rowers to sail on the Lok Danvegan Bay.
So, the fairies brought their gift and said what curse is associated with it. And so their voices melted away, like fog in the mountains, and no more sound was heard.
Then Malcolm got up and picked up the fairies' banner. he gently smoothed the green cloth and ordered it to be placed in an elaborate cast-iron box. From now on, he said, this chest would be carried in front of the clan every time he set out on a campaign. And Malcolm also bequeathed that no one, except the leader himself, MacLoud of MacLoud, would dare to take out of the casket and unfold the banner.
And now it's time for Malcolm to leave this world. Then his son also died. Generations were replaced by generations, and the clan carefully kept the magic banner and never unfurled it, until one day the McDonald's, having gathered a huge army, marched against the McLaud.
In those years, there was still an ancient enmity between these two clans, although they had long become related to each other, - after all, many MacLauds entered into marriages with McDonald's. There was even such a saying: "McLauds and McDonald's sometimes put a ring on each other's finger, then they thrust a knife into the heart."
But this time the McDonald's were determined to knock the arrogance off the McLowds forever. They landed at Waternish, marched towards Trumpen and plundered a church there. Then the leader of the MacLoods sailed across the bay of Lok Danvegan on a boat and led his clan on a campaign against the McDonald's. A long and fierce battle has raged for Trump. And it soon became clear that it would not be possible to curb the invaders with knives and broadswords alone.
And then the leader of the MacLaud ordered to give him a cast-iron casket with a magic banner. He unlocked the lock and took out a piece of thin green silk from the casket, believing that he was not resorting to the help of fairies in vain. The banner was raised on a long pole in the thick of the battle. And the entire clan watched in awe as it turned and soared high in the air.
And immediately, happiness changed McDonald's. It seemed to them that reinforcements were approaching the McLeods, so their strength suddenly increased. The MacDonalds wavered and retreated, and the MacLauds set off in pursuit, and this day became for them the day of victory.
So people first resorted to the banner of the fairies and were convinced of its power. The second time the banner was unfurled for a different reason. Again the clan was in danger, but it was not the enemies who raised their knives and broadswords against it. The death of cattle from the plague began, and the clan did not have a single healthy animal. The MacLeods had a hard time - after all, they lived mainly in their herds and their well-being depended on livestock.
The leader of the MacLoods knew what kind of trouble his relatives were in, how little cattle remained in the pastures, and realized that he could not return the wealth to his clan if he did not resort to the help of unearthly forces. And so he took the banner of the fairies out of the casket and, like his ancestor, said:
- I do not in vain resort to the help of otherworldly forces!
The banner was unfurled, raised on a pole, and it hovered over the doomed land. Since that hour, not a single animal has contracted the plague, and many of those who fell ill earlier recovered.
So the strength of the banner was tested a second time and again convinced of its power.
Time passed, and the magic banner of the fairies passed from generation to generation. But in 1799 a certain Buchanan entered the service of McLeod from McLoud. Like everyone else, he heard the legend about the banner of the
fairies, knew about the curse that was connected with it. But he was a distrustful man and did not want to accept such inventions on faith. He said that the banner is just a piece of rotten silk, and tradition is tales, the kind that old women whisper to each other.
And then one day, taking advantage of the fact that the leader was away, Buchanan decided to test the power of the banner in order to permanently wean people from such superstitions. An English blacksmith lived in a nearby village, and Buchanan ordered him to break open the cast-iron casket, because the chief always kept the key. When the lid of the box was lifted, Buchanan took out a light green cloth and waved it. Indeed, he summoned alien forces on a nonsense reason!
All who believed in the curse of the fairies were not at all surprised by what happened next - they said that the trouble was inevitable.
Here's what happened. The heir to the chief was soon killed in the explosion of the warship Charlotte, and the rocks of the Three Maidens passed into the possession of Angas Campbell of Isney. Then, as predicted by the fairies in ancient times, the tame fox of Lieutenant MacLane, who was then visiting Dunvegan, brought fox cubs in the western tower of the castle. At this time, the MacLood family had already become seedy, and most of its land was sold. True, the clan gradually regained its wealth, but its glory faded forever, and soon only three MacLauds remained in the family of the leader himself, which means that there were no more rowers in it to sail in a four-oared boat along the Lok Danvegan Bay.
Today, the magic banner is kept in a glass box in Dunvegan Castle, and those who know its strange history marvel at this almost decayed piece of ancient silk, dark with time. However, you can still distinguish the embroidered "speck of elves" on it.