Silver Bough. Volume 1, Scottish Folklore and Folk-Belief / F. Marian McNeill. Glasgow: William MacLellan, 1977
About
"The Silver Bough of the sacred Aplle-tree, laden with crystal blossoms or golden fruit, is the quivalent in Celtic mythology of the Golden Bough of classical mythology - the symbolic bon between the world we know and the Otherworld. The analogy of the title with that of Sir James Frazer's stupendous work may welll make it seem a pretnetious choice - the more so as I have made not attempt to cove the whole corpus of Celtic folk-lore, but only so much as is necessary for a better understanding of our national and local festivals, which are dealt with in the subsequent volumes in this series. It is thus no more than a studry spray of the Silver Bough that I offer, paradoxically, to a country in search of its roots"--Foreword, F.M. McN., Edinburgh, December, 1956
Dates
- Publication: 1977
Creator
- McNeill, F. Marian (Florence Marian), 1885-1973 (Author, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Extent
1 Books : 220 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 23 cm
Language
English
Contents
Acknowledgements (p.4)
Foreword (p.9)
Quote from Thalamus by Hugh Macdairmid. Incipit: reason discounts for the most part (p.10)
I. Introductory (p.11-15)
II. Ethnic origins of the festivals (p.16-19)
III. The Druids: (p.20-30 inclusive)
Evidence of classical writers (p.21-23)
Sacrifice (p.23-24)
Organisation (p.24-25)
The Druids of Scotland (p.25-28)
Survivals of Druidical beliefs and practices (p.28-30)
IV. The Gods: (p.31-37 inclusive)
The Celtic Gods (p.33-35)
Prehistoric temple on the Clyde (p.35-36)
The Gods commemorated in place names (p.36-37)
V. The new faith: (p.38-51 inclusive)
The death of Pan (p.38-39)
The new faith (p.39-40)
The Pictish Church (p.40-42)
The Columban Church (p.42-43)
Romanization (p.43-46)
Reformation (p.46-47)
"The Christian myth" (p.47-48)
The Christianising of the festivals (p.48-51)
VI. Magic: (p.52-99 inclusive)
The practice of magic (p.53)
The airts (p.53-54)
The quarter days (p.54-56)
The Frith (p.56-57)
The quarter cakes (p.57)
Moon magic (p.57-59)
Earth magic (p.59-62)
The Gudeman's croft (p.62-63)
Fire magic (p.63-65)
Water magic (p.65-74)
Magical objects (p.74-76)
Magical animals (p.76-77)
Magical plants (p.77-84)
Magical stones: (p.84-96 inclusive)
The standing stones (p.84-87)
The Mercat Cross (p.87-88)
The Stone of Destiny (p.88-89)
Stone as witness (p.89-90)
Sanctuary stones (p.90)
Healing stones (p.90-92)
The knocking stone (p.92)
Family charm stones (p.92-94)
Stone of the Brahan Seer (p.94-96)
Sanctuary from evil (p.96-97)
The horseman's word (97-98)
Magic in the modern world (p.98-99)
VII. The fairies: (p.100-128 inclusive)
Fairyland (p.102-104)
The secret commonwealth (p.105-107)
Popular beliefs about fairies (p.107-108)
The fairy hills (p.108-110)
Fairy gifts (p.110-111)
The "Taking" of mortals (p.111-114)
The Changeling (p.114)
The Trolls (p.114-115)
Tutelary beings (p.115-118)
The Sluagh (p.118-119)
Traces of animism (p.119-120)
The Merfolk (p.120-121)
Spirits of the forest (p.121-123)
The Brownies (p.123-124)
Spirits in animal form (p.124-127)
The fairy faith today (p.127-128)
VIII. The witches: (p.129-156 inclusive with 2 pages of preceding plates)
The Horned God (p.131-132)
Sacrifice (p.132-133)
Organisation (p.133-134)
Admission rites (p.134-13)
The coven (p.135-136)
Familiars (p.136)
The broom (p.136-137)
Transformation into animals (p.137-138)
The cauldron (p.138-139)
The witch cake (p.139-140)
The garter (p.140-141)
The Sabbaths (p.141-142)
The dances (p.142-144)
The practice of witchcraft (p.144149)
The witches and the fairies (p.149-150)
Highland witches (p.150)
Types of witch (p.150-152)
The evil eye (p.152-156)
Notes (p.157-196)
Index (p.197-216)
Bibliography (p.217-218)
Subscribers to the First edtion (p.219-220)
Repository Details
Part of the Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections Repository
Valdosta State University Archives, Odum Library
1500 N. Patterson St.
Valdosta GA 30601 United States
7063728116
229-259-5055 (Fax)
archives@valdosta.edu