Campbell, John Lorne. " Carmina Gadelica: George Henderson’s corrections and suggestions", Scottish Gaelic Studies, xiii(2) (1981), pp. 183–216; Stiùbhart, "Alexander Carmichael and Carmina Gadelica", pp. 21–2; Sugg, Laura. "The experience of God in everyday life in Alexander Carmichael’s Carmina Gadelica" (University of Edinburgh, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, 1997), pp. 53–8, 275–87. Carmina Gadelica: Hymns and Incantations, with Illustrative Notes on Words, Rites and Customs, Dying and Obsolete, Orally Collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Translated into English, by Alexander Carmichael (6 vols, Oliver and Boyd, 1900–1971).

Attention to Carmichael’s field notebooks suggests that while Gaelic culture was already under pressure in the nineteenth century, this may have meant that belief and practice in charms and other folk magic even have increased during the period. Gaelic lore is full of sayings about serpents. These indicate close observation. 'Tha cluas nathrach aige,'--he has the ear of a serpent (he hears keenly but does not speak); 'Tha a bhana-bhuitseach lubach mar an nathair,'--the witch-woman is crooked as the serpent; 'Is e an t-iorball is neo-chronail dhiot, cleas There’s a lot of water-related Midsummer lore from human sacrifices in Germanic regions and later folklore from the German Saale and Spree(specific rivers) to the Norweigan Nokk(a spirit), both are different names for the same water spirit that claims a life once a year on either Walpurgisnacht or Midsummer(Gundarsson, 63). The Poet and the Spae-wife says “Many a fisherman of the Elbe knows better than to launch his boat and trust himself to the treacherous river on Midsummer Day.” (Allen, 1960, 107). On Galician Midsummer, the water spirit called the Xane would display her wares at the mouth of the nearest cave to her fountain displaying mythical farming tools(like shears) behind a booth(Carrín, 2011, 14). The same practice of casting lots for their fishing-banks prevails among the fisher-folks of the Lofodin Islands, Norway. At least the first two volumes, the original published volumes (out of an eventual four) of the Carmina are now available as online searchable scans - links can be found at Carmina Gadelica. Also important is Carmichael's two written testimonies to the Napier Commission of 1883 into the condition of Scottish crofters. All five volumes of Napier have now been scanned and placed online by Lochaber College, and an extract PDF, containing just the Carmichael material with its ethnographic account, is online at the external link below. In the Napier material that in some of the "old hymns" cited, Carmichael specifies "close translation", and not so with others. A folklorist with an approach to living tradition such as that of the late Hamish Henderson (also of the University of Edinburgh) on seeing such specification might have surmised that in some cases, where "close translation" was not specified, Carmichael allowed himself to enter into the tradition by allowing it to flow via his own interpretation of what he heard ... and that as an indigenous West Highland himself (from Lismore) this could be considered as being eminently appropriate - depending on how one views the rigidity or fluidity of a folk tradition. [ citation needed].His person collection of artefacts was gifted by his family to The West Highland Museum where it is on display. [1] Personal life [ edit ]

We might attach other herbal gods such as Airmid and Miach and their father the Dian Cecht to our Midsummer worship themes. As leeches(healers), they form an essential part of herb collection at this time. So they’re good deities of the occasion, and the relationship Miach and Dian Cecht have is reminiscent of that between Asklepios and Apollo (Kondratiev, 2003). Asklepios’ ability to resurrect people disturbed the gods and like Miach, he met a tragic end as a result. Most people think Dian Cecht is jealous of Miach, however, the myth says that Miach used a perverse or evil cure. Since Belenus’ association with henbane is called apollo’s herb, and Apollo and Asklepios share a relationship, then Belenus like Canta, just another name for Dian Cecht. So Bels fire is Dian Cechts fire. Bealtaine is the Leeches fire. Midsummer is also a leech’s fire. Both are about purity, healing, and blessing. If this isn’t the case, at a minimum we’re looking at a festival that is about the Thunder and his Children. Customs and Traditions The theology of Carmina Gadelica’, in D. Fergusson and M. W. Elliot (eds), The History of Scottish Theology Volume 3: The Long Twentieth Century (Oxford University Press, 2019), pp. 1–19. Ritual lament or ‘keening’ at Highland funerals. The soundscape of death is a fascinating anthropological topic. Women could make themselves and their concerns heard at key moments while commemorating and bewailing the dead—although later Presbyterian practice restricted graveyard attendance to men.

The notes are particularly wonderful, listing the reciter, and filling out the selections with contextual notes and the stories behind them. This is a really strong sourcebook for those interested in Scottish Celtic spirituality, and Carmichael has given us an incredible gift in this work. His project could not have been more timely, since he died in 1912 just before the Great War ushered in a new age for the British Isles. Many of these poems would have slipped into oblivion if not for his dedication, making the Carmina Gadelica a document of times past in addition to a collection of spiritual value.The aid-woman was held in reverence by all nations. Juno was worshipped with greater honour than any other deity of ancient Rome, and the Pharaohs paid tribute to the aid-women of Egypt. Perhaps, however, appreciation of the aid-woman was never more touchingly indicated than in the reply of two beautiful maidens of St Kilda to John Macdonald, the kindly humorist, and the unsurpassed seaman and pilot of Admiral Otter of the West Coast Survey: 'O ghradhanan an domhain agus an t-saoghail, carson a Righ na gile ’s na greine! nach ’eal sibh a posadh is sibh cho briagh?' 'A ghaol nan daona, ciamar a phosas sinne? nach do chaochail a bheanghluin!' 'Oh! ye loves of the domain and of the universe, why, King of the moon and of the sun! are ye not marrying and ye so beautiful?' 'Oh! thou love of men, how can we marry? has not the knee-wife died!' Dixon-Kennedy, Mike. Encyclopedia of Russian & Slavic Myth and Legend . Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1999. Print. Hymns and incantations with illustrative notes on words, rites, and customs, dying and obsolete orally collected in the Highlands and islands of Scotland and translated into English by Alexander Carmichael". Volume 3 only. (Volumes 3-4, translated and edited by James Carmichael Watson from the author’s unfinished manuscripts, published 1940-41.) In the honor of God and of St John, and of increase and profit of our planting and our work in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, So be it (Danaher, 1972, 139).