Not Just Nessie Scotland and the rest of Great Britain are known for their rich histories in many areas, including a vast amount of fairy tales and folklore. From the legend of King Arthur to the fairies in Shakespeare’s works, there are countless whimsical mythologies from all parts of the United Kingdom. Scotland, however, having the unicorn as its national animal, may be home to some of the most peculiar. Many tales from Scotland might seem as if they are useless and insignificant stories, created for mere entertainment, but, when thoroughly examined, these myths reveal important lessons and culture about the land they come from, as well as the people and creatures they might have been inspired by. Scotland’s landscape gives a large
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The idea of sea monsters is in no way exclusive to Scotland, as almost every culture has a story about a sea serpent. From one of the earliest mentions in the 4th century BCE in Libya, across various Native American tribes, and with several varieties in Europe, the sea monster is not a new idea by far (Varner 25-6). Despite the probably hundreds of versions of water monsters and serpents, one of the most famous is the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. While not as old as the first sea monster, though relatively close, the earliest reported legend of encountering a water monster near Loch Ness is of Irish Saint Columba in the 6th century when he ordered the creature about to attack a man, “Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once” (Adomnán np). This initial depiction suggests a vicious and demonic monster that would be harmful and dangerous to humans, but one that is also able to be controlled by a Christian saint. This story of a holy person defeating a monster coincides with the spread of Christianity in Scotland, providing a plausible reason for this particular monster’s original creation and purpose. Many believers of the monster cite this as proof, however this is impossible to prove as factual, even less so than the claim of the 19th and 20th centuries (Loxton and Prothero 137). The Loch Ness Monster’s Christian …show more content…
One creature that is obviously based on a real animal are selkies, women with seal skins that can be worn in order to transform into a seal, who are, in stories, forced into marriages when men steal their seal skin so they cannot return to the ocean (Logan np). This is obviously a lesson teaching boys to not steal and force women into relationships and for girls to be wary of men who might do these things. This is an example of a real animal that was seen frequently in the area that simply had a story made around it. However, there are countless other examples of stories with monsters that have unknown origins and the animal that they are based on, if any is still speculated. One of the most famous examples of this is the connection of mermaids and manatees. A detailed report of a mermaid from the early nineteenth-century describes traits that quite clearly resemble a manatee such as “no ears,” “in place of a nose there were two small openings immediately above the mouth,” and “from the waist down the body tapered off to a tail,” which would definitely be a strange animal to encounter, so understandably people were confused and tried to make sense of it by equating it to what they were familiar with (Parsons 77). On the contrary, horses in Scotland
The idea of sea monsters is in no way exclusive to Scotland, as almost every culture has a story about a sea serpent. From one of the earliest mentions in the 4th century BCE in Libya, across various Native American tribes, and with several varieties in Europe, the sea monster is not a new idea by far (Varner 25-6). Despite the probably hundreds of versions of water monsters and serpents, one of the most famous is the Loch Ness Monster of Scotland. While not as old as the first sea monster, though relatively close, the earliest reported legend of encountering a water monster near Loch Ness is of Irish Saint Columba in the 6th century when he ordered the creature about to attack a man, “Go no further. Do not touch the man. Go back at once” (Adomnán np). This initial depiction suggests a vicious and demonic monster that would be harmful and dangerous to humans, but one that is also able to be controlled by a Christian saint. This story of a holy person defeating a monster coincides with the spread of Christianity in Scotland, providing a plausible reason for this particular monster’s original creation and purpose. Many believers of the monster cite this as proof, however this is impossible to prove as factual, even less so than the claim of the 19th and 20th centuries (Loxton and Prothero 137). The Loch Ness Monster’s Christian …show more content…
One creature that is obviously based on a real animal are selkies, women with seal skins that can be worn in order to transform into a seal, who are, in stories, forced into marriages when men steal their seal skin so they cannot return to the ocean (Logan np). This is obviously a lesson teaching boys to not steal and force women into relationships and for girls to be wary of men who might do these things. This is an example of a real animal that was seen frequently in the area that simply had a story made around it. However, there are countless other examples of stories with monsters that have unknown origins and the animal that they are based on, if any is still speculated. One of the most famous examples of this is the connection of mermaids and manatees. A detailed report of a mermaid from the early nineteenth-century describes traits that quite clearly resemble a manatee such as “no ears,” “in place of a nose there were two small openings immediately above the mouth,” and “from the waist down the body tapered off to a tail,” which would definitely be a strange animal to encounter, so understandably people were confused and tried to make sense of it by equating it to what they were familiar with (Parsons 77). On the contrary, horses in Scotland