A Scottish take from ScotsClan: The Fairy Flag of Dunvegan One of the most treasured possessions of the clan MacLeod is the famous Fairy Flag of Dunvegan. The story behind the flag is one of the greatest romantic tales in all the highlands... One night, the chief of Clan MacLeod accidentally stumbled into a fairy dwelling, where he happened upon the beautiful Fairy Princess. They fell instantly in love with each other. But when the princess appealed to her father, the king, for permission to marry the handsome Laird, her request was denied. Unlike we bean sidhe, the Shining Folk, her father explained, humans age and die. Marriage would only mean a broken heart. But the princess was so devastated with his answer that the king relented with a compromise: he would allow his daughter to go with the Laird to the human world for a year and a day. But after that, she would have to leave her husband and return to the fairy realm. The happy couple returned to MacLeods home at Dunvegan Castle, and soon Lady MacLeod gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The love she and her husband shared grew ever stronger with each passing day; but the days passed quickly, and her time was up before she knew it. At the end of the last day, the Fairy King waited at the end of the great causeway of Dunvegan Castle with his hosts, the Knights of the Fairy Raide, for his daughter to return to her true home. Although Lady MacLeod was heartbroken, she knew she had no choice but to leave the mortal world. Before she crossed the causeway, she hugged her beloved child to her breast, and begged her husband to promise that he could never leave the baby alone, for the sound of his cries would be too much for her to bear. The Laird kept his promise, but he was devastated. For weeks he grieved; his nights passed in sleeplessness, his days passed in silence. His kinsmen decided to throw a great feast to cheer him up, with dancing and revelry until dawn. As festive piping filled the banquet hall, the lairds spirits slowly picked up. At long last he was persuaded to join in the dancing, and he smiled for the first time in many weeks. The celebration created such a ruckus that the young maid assigned to watch the infant laird snuck out of the nursery to watch the merriment. The pipes were so loud that she failed to hear the baby awaken. With no one around, he began to cry. The Laird then spotted the young maid peeking through the doorway. Realizing that the maid had left the nursery, the laird dashed from the banquet hall. As he approached his sons room, his ears were filled with the melody of an enchanting lullaby. He peered inside the nursery and spotted his wife kissing the baby and lying him down in his cot. Their eyes met, but before the Laird could call to his lady, she vanished into mist. The Laird approached the cot and stroked the forehead of his comforted, sleeping son. His wife had wrapped the baby in a yellow silk blanket that glittered with fairy magic. Many years later when the child grew into a young man he recounted a tale to his father that the shawl was a great talisman for the clan and that should they ever find themselves in mortal danger they could wave the flag three times and the fairy legions would come to their aid. however this talisman could only be used three times whereupon it would return to where it had come form taking the flag bearer with it. The Chief instantly realised his son was telling the truth and the flag was kept safe. The Flag in Action The Flag is said to have been used twice; Once when the MacDonalds landed ashore and proceeded to burn down the church with the locals inside, the MacLeods saw the smoke and knew the culprits would escape before they could reach them and bring retribution. The Chief called on the power of the flag and as the MacDonalds fled to their ships they found the tide far from the shore, grounding their boats and barring their escape. A second time the land was blighted by a plague on the cattle and the clan kinsmen were dying of starvation. The chief again raised the flag and the Fairies returned to bring the cattle back to life. This may seem like a fanciful tale but many MacLeods believe wholeheartedly in the legend. So much so that during world War II many Macleod servicemen carried a picture of the flag in their wallets. It is said that of the Macleod airmen who defended these shores during the Battle of Britain not one who carried the picture was lost and indeed the Chief of the clan offered to bring the flag to Dover to wave at the Germans should they attempt to invade. The flag can still be seen in Dunvegan Castle on Skye.
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 23:50:58 +0000
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