Books & Music #2
BlackRood
ByDavidWillem ReviewedbyKateMacRitchieTakeoneancientartefact shroudedinmystery.Adda smugglerprincess(andfuture QueenofScotland),Norman invaders,andapotentblend ofnationalsymbolismand whatdoyouget?Itmight soundlikethetrappingsofa DanBrownthriller,but The BlackRood isthetruestoryof Scotland’smissingcrown jewel.
SmuggledintoScotlandby piousMargaretofWessex(also knownas‘ThePearlof Scotland’),theBlackRood symbolisedthe“infinitely valuable,immutable, incorruptiblenatureofeternal life”.Itsbejewelledandgilded exteriorsupposedlyconcealed atreasurebeyondmeasure:a splinteroftheTrueCross,the treeuponwhichChristbled anddiedforhumanity’ssins.
Why,then,hassucha treasurefadedintoobscurity?
Forthefirsttime,DavidWillem tellsthetaleofScotland’slost reliquary,theBlackRood, whichiseverybitasworthyof commemorationasthe famousStoneofScone.A historywriteranddiarist, Willemtakesusonawellresearchedbutfarfromdry journeytoaturbulenttimeof bloodshedandpower struggle.
Itbeginsasallgoodorigin storiesoughtto;withan influentialfamily(theHouse ofWessex)oncemoredown ontheirluck,reducedto fleeingrefugeesbythe Normaninvasionandseeking succourintheunlikelyarmsof anoldenemy:Scotland.
Butthecompelling interpersonalconflictsare
eclipsedbyheadyquestionsof nationhoodandspirituality,as readersareinvitedtoconsider thesymbolicimportanceof thislong-forgottentotem,and whatimplicationmightarise wereittoberediscovered.
Willemexplainsthatthe BlackRoodisn’ttheonly mysteriousrelicofitsilk.A largepartofthebook’s excitementisstirredby drawingtogetherTheBlack RoodofScotlandwithcousin crossesYGroesGnethofWales andtheIrishCrossofCong.
Couldthesethreereliquaries oftheTrueCross,belongingto theUK’sthreeCelticnations, pointtoasymbolicandsacred coalition?Withrumblingsofa secondreferendumon Scottishindependence,it’sa tantalisingtheory.
YGroesGnethwaslikely destroyedbyCromwellduring therevolution,andtheCross ofCongiscurrentlydisplayed attheNationalMuseumof Ireland.ButtheBlackRood hasvanished,leavingonly echoesofitsexistence.
SignificantScottishplaces taketheirnamefromthis mysterious,gemstoneencrustedrelic—nonemoreso significanttothenational psychethanHolyrood parliament.
DavidWillemhasfollowed theseechoesthroughhistory, skilfullypiecingtogethera heretoforeuntoldnarrativeof aforgottennationaltotem. Presentduringmanyiconic turnsintheUK’shistory,one mustask,whathappenedto theBlackRood?Whyhasitnot attainedthehallowedstatus
ofothernationalsymbolsliketheStoneofSconeorthe DeclarationofArbroath?
Whetheryouenjoy TheBlackRood isaquestionofhowyou likeyourhistory.Ifit’swithadashofnarrativeflourish, compellingcharacters,andtantalizingbutultimatelyunsolved mysteriestoponder,thenthisabookforyou.
Whatcan’tbedeniedisthat TheBlackRood shedslightona shadowyrelicthat’sundeservedlyfallenfromScotland’s collectivememoryandoffersafreshperspectiveonthebonds thatonceexistedbetweenScotland,England,Ireland,andWales withintrigueandclarity.ThatitdoessoatatimewhentheUK’s nationsfindtheirrelationshiptooneanotheronceagainon shakygroundonlymakesthereadmorecompelling.
TheA-ZofWhisky PlaceNames
ByJakeKingHaveyoueverwondered abouttheplace-namesthat appearonScotchwhisky bottles?Whatlanguagethe namescomefrom,whatthey meanoriftheyareevenreal places?TheA-ZofWhisky Place-Namesdiscusseseach place-namethatis concernedinsomewaywith Scotchwhisky,eitherasthe nameofthewhiskyitself,or asthenameofthedistillery. Foreachofthesenamesthe authorprovidesan informativediscussionofthe origin,historyand developmentofthename fromalinguisticand historicalperspective.
Thetextonabottleof Knockandoclaimsthatthis namemeansinGaelic‘the blacklittlehill’,presumably asif*AnCnocanDubh, althoughoftenglossed
ungrammaticallyas‘Cnocan-Dubh’.Thiswouldbea reasonableassumptionif onewerelookingatthe nameintextonly.Infact,the realGaelicformisquite different,beingCnoc Cheannachd‘thehillof
buying’.Theearlyspelling alsosupportsthis. Presumablythehillwasthe siteofamarketofsomesort, butthishasbeenlostto history.
ThenameEdradouris fromanolderGaelicname
EadarDàDhobhairmeaning broadly‘betweenthetwo waters’InmodernGaelic,the
Dobhar’respectively.Thisis anexcellentplacefora distillery.Atthefootofthe BlackSpoutisapoolinthe rivercalledPollDobhair‘the poolofDobhar’.
Dobharisanoldwordfor ‘water’whichisnolongerin useinmodernGaelicbut hereisreallyusedasthe nameforthewatercourse.
DobharinmodernGaelic means‘otter’,inthesenseof acreaturethatlivesinwater, althoughthisisnotthe meaninghereashasbeen claimed.Thisisparalleledby theEnglishwordotterwhich isrelatedtothewordwater.
nameisEadraDhobhair.The tworiversarenowcalled KinnairdBurnandTheBlack SpoutorEdradourBurn,but inGaelictheywereknownas AlltDobharShuas‘upper burnofDobhar’andAllt DobharShìos‘lowerburnof
Auchentoshanissaidtobe fromAchadhant-Oisein‘the fieldofthecorner’oreven ‘thecornerofthefield’.This, however,isnotverygood Gaelic;theformwouldbe *AchadhanOisein.Aplace nearbyAuchentoshanis OceanFieldwhichlooksto beaparttranslationofthe name,wherebyGaelic achadhistranslatedas ‘field’,andthe-oshenpart adoptedandreanalysedas Englishocean.OceanField waswell-knownasasite
containingRomanartefacts. Whilstthename
Auchentoshaniscertainly Gaelicandthefirstwordis achadh‘field’,theidentityof thesecondelement-toshan isunclear.
likely,however,itisrelated totheGaelicwordfiodh ‘wood,timber’,thus perhapsmeaning‘the woodedglen’,orperhaps ‘theglenoftheFithich’ whereFithichmeans‘the woodedriver’.
Glenfiddichcomesfrom theGaelicformGleann FithichorFidhich.Gaelicspeakinglocalslatterly understoodthistobeeither fitheach‘raven’orfiadhach ‘rough’.Fiadh‘deer’toois commonlyunderstood nowadays,andadeereven appearsonthewhiskybottle withtheexplanation:“The ValleyoftheDeer”.Most
Bunnabhainisalsoa Gaelicname:BunnahAbhainn‘thefootofthe water’.BuninGaelicmeans thefootorbaseof something,whilstabhainn means‘river’.Theriverin questioniscalledAbhainn Araig‘theriverofAraig’.This
nameAraigisofNorseorigin,perhapsfromÁrvik‘riverbay’, whichissimilarinmeaningtoBunnah-Abhainn.Since whiskyneedsflowingwaterforthedistillationprocess,itis nosurprisemanyoftheplace-namescontainwaterwords.
Thisisasmallselectionofplace-namesdiscussedinTheA-Zof WhiskyPlace-NamespublishedbyWhittlesPublishing(£16.99)978184995-503-4.
LisabettRusso
Lisabettlauncheshernewandfifthalbumthisspring.Sheis accompanyingthiswithatourroundScotland.Ifyouhave missedherdatesthenwesuggestyouputanoteinyour diarytocatchhernexttime.
ShehastouredextensivelythroughEuropeandAsiawhile makingherhomeandbasehereinScotland.NationalUK radiostationsandmajorfestivalshavefeaturedherwork overthelastfewyearsbringinghertonewaudiences.
WeweregoingtowritealongpieceaboutLisabett,hermusic andlifestylebutwefeelitisbetterifyouwatchthevideo whichnotonlytellsitallinherownwordsbutalsofeaturesa numberofliveperformancesshowingoffherincrediblevoice andtheguitarskillsofheraccompanistGraemeStephen.
HamishHawk
IfyouareunawareofHamish,wesuggestyouremedythat nowandbecomeafrontrunnersupportinganewScottish talent.
Hehasjustreleasedhisthirdalbumandisnowatthestage ofgatheringfollowersatanalarmingpace.Thisis unsurprising,hislyricsarevivid;tellingstories,releasing thoughtsandideasbackedbypiano,guitarorhandclap percussions
Hisloveofwordsisobviousandhisstrongvoicetakesus onatouraroundsmallScottishtowns,Berlin,ElvisandThe Smiths.Thisnewalbumisourcurrentofficefavouriteandwe thinkwewillnotbealoneonthat.