Some living object, however, either vegetable or animal, was the usual repository of the external soul. A familiar folk-tale tells of a giant whose heart was in a swan, and who could not be killed while the swan lived. Hunting was a favourite occupation among the inhabitants of the Western Isles; but on the mountain Finchra, in Rum, no deer was killed by any member of the Lachlan family, as it was believed that the life of that family was in some way linked with the life of these animals. A curious superstition is mentioned by Camden in his “Britannia.” In a pond near the Abbey of St. Maurice, in Burgundy, were put as many fish as there were monks. When any monk was taken ill, one of the fish was seen to float half-dead on the surface of the pond. If the fish died the monk died too, the death of the former giving warning of the fate of the latter. In this case the external soul was thought of as stowed away in a fish. As is well known, the Arms of the City of Glasgow are a bell, a tree, a fish with a ring in its mouth, and a bird. The popular explanation of these emblems connects them with certain miracles, wrought by Kentigern, the patron saint of the burgh. May we not hold that an explanation of their symbolism is to be sought in a principle, that formed an article in the beliefs of men, long before Kentigern was born, as well as during his time and since? The bell, it is true, had, doubtless, an ecclesiastical association; but the other three symbols point, perhaps, to some superstitious notion like the above. In various folk-tales, as well as in Christian art, the soul is sometimes typified by a bird. As we have just seen, it has been associated with trees and fish. We are entitled therefore to ask whether the three symbols may not express one and the same idea under different forms. It is, of course, open to anyone to say that there were fish in the river, on whose banks Kentigern took up his abode, and quite a forest with birds singing in it around his cell, and that no further explanation of the symbolism need be sought. All these, it is true, existed within the saint’s environment, but may they not have been regarded as types of the soul under the guise of objects familiar to all, and afterwards grouped together in the burgh Arms? On this hypothesis, the symbols have survived the belief that gave them birth, and serve to connect the practical life of to-day, with the vague visions and crude conjectures of the past.
CHAPTER XV.
Charm-Stones in and out of Water.
Stone-worship—Mysterious Properties of Stones—Symbolism of Gems—Gnostics—Abraxas Gems—Gems in Sarcophagi—Life-stones—Use of Amulets in Scotland—Yellow Stone in Mull—Baul Muluy—Black Stones of Iona—Stone as Medicine—Declan’s Stone—Curing-stones still used for Cattle—Mary, Queen of Scots—Amulet at Abbotsford—Highland Reticence—Aberfeldy Curing-stone—Lapis Ceranius and Lapis Hecticus—Bernera—St. Ronan’s Altar—Blue Stone in Fladda—Baul Muluy again—Columba’s White Stone—Loch Manaar—Well near Loch Torridon—Stones besides Springs—Healing-stones at Killin—Their connection with Fillan—Mornish—Altars and Crosses—Iona—Clach-a-brath—Cross at Kilberry—Lunar Stone in Harris—Perforated Stones—Ivory—Barbeck’s Bone—Adder-beads—Sprinkling Cattle—Elf-bolts—Clach-na-Bratach—Clach Dearg—Lee Penny—Lockerbie Penny—Black Penny.
We have already seen that in early times water was an object of worship. Stones also were reverenced as the embodiments of nature-deities. “In Western Europe during the middle ages,” remarks Sir J. Lubbock in his “Origin of Civilisation,” “we meet with several denunciations of stone-worship, proving its deep hold on the people. Thus the worship of stones was condemned by Theodoric, Archbishop of Canterbury, in the seventh century, and is among the acts of heathenism forbidden by King Edgar in the tenth, and by Cnut in the eleventh century.” Even as late as the seventeenth century, the Presbytery of Dingwall sought to suppress, among other practices of heathen origin, that of rendering reverence to stones, the stones in question having been consulted as to future events. It is not surprising therefore that stones had certain mysterious properties ascribed to them. In all ages precious stones have been deservedly admired for their beauty, but, in addition, they have frequently been esteemed for their occult qualities. “In my youth,” Mr. James Napier tells us, in his “Folklore in the West of Scotland,” “there was a belief in the virtue of precious stones, which added a value to them beyond their real value as ornaments …. Each stone had its own symbolic meaning and its own peculiar influence for imparting good and protecting from evil and from sickness its fortunate possessor.” By the ancient Jews, the topaz and the amethyst were believed to guard their wearers respectively against poison and drunkenness; while the diamond was prized as a protection against Satanic influence. Concerning the last-mentioned gem, Sir John Mandeville, writing about 1356, says, “It makes a man stronger and firmer against his enemies, heals him that is lunatic, and those whom the fiend pursues and torments.” By certain sects of the Gnostics, precious stones were much thought of as talismans. Among the sect founded by Basilides of Egypt, the famous Abraxas gems were used as tokens by the initiated. The Gnostics also placed gems inscribed with mystic mottoes in sarcophagi, to remind the dead of certain prayers that were thought likely to aid them in the other world. In Scandinavia, warriors were in the habit of carrying about with them amulets called life-stones or victory-stones. These strengthened the hand of the wearer in fight. In our own country, the use of amulets was not uncommon. A flat oval-shaped pebble, measuring two and a half inches in greatest diameter, was presented in 1864 to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It had been worn as a charm by a Forfarshire farmer, who died in 1854 at the age of eighty-four. When in use, it had been kept in a small bag and suspended by a red string round the wearer’s neck.
Even when stones were not used as amulets, they were sometimes held in superstitious regard. When in Mull, Martin was told of a yellow stone, lying at the bottom of a certain spring in the island, its peculiarity being that it did not get hot, though kept over the fire for a whole day. The same writer alludes to a certain stone in Arran, called Baul Muluy, i.e., “Molingus, his Stone Globe.” It was green in colour, and was about the size of a goose’s egg. The stone was used by the islanders, when great oaths had to be sworn. It was also employed to disperse an enemy. When thrown among the front ranks, the opposing army would retreat in confusion. In this way the Macdonalds were said to have gained many a victory. When not in use, the Baul Muluy was carefully kept wrapped up in cloth. Among oath-stones, the black stones of Iona were specially famous. These were situated to the west of St. Martin’s Cross, and were called black, not from their colour—for they were grey—but from the effects of perjury in the event of a false oath being sworn by them. Macdonald, Lord of the Isles, knelt on them, and, with uplifted hands, swore that he would never recall the rights granted by him to his vassals. Such a hold had these oath-stones taken on the popular imagination, that when anyone expressed himself certain about a particular thing, he gave weight to his affirmation, by saying that he was prepared to “swear upon the black stones.” Bishop Pocoke mentions that the inhabitants of Iona “were in the habit of breaking off pieces from a certain stone lying in the church,” to be used “as medicine for man or beast in most disorders, and especially the flux.”
Charm-stones were sometimes associated with early saints. The following particulars about St. Declan’s Stone are given by Sir Arthur Mitchell in the tenth volume of the “Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland”:—“We are told in the life of St. Declan that a small stone was sent to him from Heaven while he was saying Mass in a church in Italy. It came through the window and rested on the altar. It was called Duivhin Deaglain or Duivh-mhion Deaglain, i.e., ‘Declan’s Black Relic.’ It performed many miracles during his life, being famous for curing sore eyes, headaches, &c.; and is said to have been found in his grave sometime, I think, during last century. Its size is two and a-fourth by one and three-fourth inches, and on one side there is a Latin cross, incised and looped at the top. At the bottom of the stem of this cross there is another small Latin cross. On the other side of the stone there is a circle, one and a-fourth inch in diameter, and six holes or pits.” Curing stones are still used occasionally in connection with the diseases of cattle, particularly in Highland districts; but they have ceased to do duty in the treatment of human ailments. Mary Queen of Scots seems to have been a firm believer in their efficacy. In a letter to her brother-in-law, Henry the Third of France, written on the eve of her execution, the Queen says, “She ventures to send him two rare stones, valuable for the health, which she hopes will be good, with a happy and long life, asking him to receive them as the gift of his very affectionate sister-in law, who is at the point of death, and in token of true love towards him.” In a case of curiosities at Abbotsford, there is an amulet that belonged to Sir Walter Scott’s mother. It somewhat resembles crocodile skin in colour, and has a setting of silver. The amulet was believed to prevent children from being bewitched.
It is nowadays difficult to ascertain the whereabouts of curing-stones in the Highlands, owing to the reticence of those who still have faith in their virtues. Till lately there was one in the neighbourhood of Aberfeldy that had been in use, it is believed, for about three hundred years. In shape, the charm somewhat resembled a human heart, and consisted of a water-worn pebble fully three inches in greatest length. When required for the cure of cattle, it was rubbed over the affected part or was dipped in water, the water being then given to the animal to drink. Recently the family who owned it became extinct, and the charm passed into other hands. Martin gives some curious information with regard to the employment of charm-stones, among the inhabitants of the Western Isles. After describing a certain kind of stone, called lapis ceranius, found in the island of Skye, he remarks, “These stones are by the natives called ‘Cramp-stones,’ because (as they say) they cure the cramp in cows by washing the part affected with water in which this stone had been steeped for some hours.” He mentions also, that in the same island, the stone called lapis hecticus was deemed efficacious in curing consumption and other diseases. It was made red-hot, and then cooled in milk or water, the liquid being drunk by the patient. On Bernera, the islanders frequently rub their breasts with a particular stone, by way of prevention, and say it is a good preservative for health. Martin adds, “This is all the medicine they use: Providence is very favourable to them in granting them a good state of health, since they have no physician among them.” In connection with his visit to the island of Rona, the same writer observes, “There is a chapel here dedicated to St. Ronan, fenced with a stone wall round; and they take care to keep it neat and clean, and sweep it every day. There is an altar in it, on which there lies a big plank of wood, about ten feet in length; every foot has a hole in it, and in every hole a stone, to which the natives ascribe several virtues: one of them is singular, as they say, for promoting speedy delivery to a woman in travail.” The blue stone in Fladda, already referred to in connection with wind-charms, did duty as an oath-stone, and likewise as a curing-stone, its special function being to remove stitches in the side. The Baul Muluy in Arran, alluded to above, also cured stitches in the side. When the patient would not recover, the stone withdrew from the bed of its own accord.
A certain white stone, taken by Columba from the river Ness, near what is now the town of Inverness, had the singular power of becoming invisible, when the illness of the person requiring it would prove fatal. The selection of this stone was made in connection with the saint’s visit to the court of Brude, king of the Picts, about the year 563. Adamnan, who tells the story, thus describes an interview between Columba and Brochan (the king’s chief Druid or Magus), concerning the liberation of a female slave belonging to the latter: “The venerable man, from motives of humanity, besought Brochan the Druid to liberate a certain Irish female captive, a request which Brochan harshly and obstinately refused to grant. The saint then spoke to him as follows:—‘Know, O Brochan, know, that if you refuse to set this captive free, as I advise you, you shall die before I return from this province.’ Having said this in presence of Brude the king, he departed from the royal palace, and proceeded to the river Nesa, from which 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.’ Having thus spoken, he added, ‘Brochan is punished grievously at this moment, for an angel sent from heaven, striking him severely, has broken in pieces the glass cup which he held in his hands, and from which he was in the act of drinking, and he himself is left half-dead.’ ” Messengers were sent by the king to announce the illness of Brochan, and to ask Columba to cure him. Adamnan continues:—“Having heard these words of the messengers, Saint Columba sent two of his companions to the king with the pebble which he had blessed, and said to them:—‘If Brochan shall first promise to free his captive, immerse this little stone in water, and let him drink from it; but if he refuse to liberate her, he will that instant die.’ The two persons sent by the saint proceeded to the palace, and announced the words of the holy man to the king and to Brochan, an announcement which filled them with such fear that he immediately liberated the captive and delivered her to the saint’s messengers. The stone was then immersed in water, and, in a wonderful manner and contrary to the laws of nature, it floated on the water like a nut or an apple, nor could it be submerged. Brochan drank from the stone as it floated on the water, and instantly recovered his perfect health and soundness of body.” The wonderful pebble was kept by King Brude among his treasures. On the day of the king’s death, it remained true to itself, for, when its aid was sought, it could nowhere be found.