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Charms

 Subject

Staff Only
Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Scope Note: Created For = CW

Found in 162 Collections and/or Records:

Riddle for a pregnant woman, 1877

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW108/12
Scope and Contents

Riddle for a pregnant woman beginning 'Craobh sa choille ud shios' probably collected from Mary Stewart, age 76, Malacleit [Malaclate, Uibhist a Tuath/North Uist] also known as Màiri Bhreac, sean bhanachaig [old dairywoman]. Text scored over with note saying 'Transcribed'.

Dates: 1877
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Song entitled 'Eala Bhan Na h-Eireann', accompanying translation and charm, nd

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW152/5
Scope and Contents

Song entitled 'Eala Bhan Na h-Eireann' beginning 'Latha chaidh Calumcille mach, Anns a mhaduinn mhoich' and accompanying translation. The song is composed of thirty lines, arranged as five verses of six lines each. After the translation, which is given in prose format, is a charm which reasd 'The mild eye of C[hrist] be on thy hurt, The charm of love to make thee whole'.

Dates: nd
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Notebook of songs belonging to Alexander Carmichael

Story about a Bean Nithidh [washerwoman], January 1871

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW116/158
Scope and Contents Story about a man in Sgir Mhiongais in Skye, possibly Ruandunain [Minginis/Minginish, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach/Isle of Skye], who met a bean-nighe [washer-woman] who gave him a gri'eagag [griogag or bead] and told him that as long as he kept it he would be happy. This happened but one day his brother put on his vest for church and discovered the griogag sewn into the vest. He looked at it losely then raised it up but when he lowered his hand it had disappeared. It was never found and the man...
Dates: January 1871
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story about a cow taken by the fairies, 1895

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW1/73
Scope and Contents Story written down by John Ewen MacRury, Beinn na Faoghla/Benbecula telling how 'about 37 years' before [c1858] in Cnoc na Monadh/Torlum Alexander Campbell's cow, which was his wife's tocher went missing. He went looking for it calling the cow's name and as he passed a fairy hill called 'Sithean Beag' he heard a voice saying 'Tha mi so tha mi so I am here I am here.' Realising that the fairies had his cow, he took fright that he fled for home. When he arrived he had the appearance of being...
Dates: 1895
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Notebook belonging to Alexander Carmichael

Story about a woman's trip to a wise woman for a snaile, 5 Aug 1870

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW116/105
Scope and Contents Story collected from an unnamed woman Carmichael met on the road probably in Uibhist a Tuath/North Uist about her trip to a wise woman for a snaile. She had gone to the wise woman because she had a cow which was unwell and she did not know why. The wise woman or witch friend as Carmichael describes her, told the woman that it was probably because a number of people had 'put the eye' on the cow and gave her two snaile, 'which she kindly showed me each about 6 or 9 inches long and twisted of...
Dates: 5 Aug 1870
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story about removing a 'culm' [mote] using a charm, August 1909

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW117/69
Scope and Contents

Story about removing a 'culm' [mote] using a charm collected from [John] Murray, farm grieve, Arcan, Urrad [Arcan, Urraidh/Urray, Ros is Cromba/Ross and Cromarty] in which a culm of peat is dislodged from his eye by a woman from Edderton [Eadardan, Ros is Cromba/Ross and Cromarty] using a basin of water reciting a rhyme. Text has been scored through as if transcribed elsewhere.

Dates: August 1909
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story about the 'iolair charm', 1901

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW110/10
Scope and Contents Story about the 'iolair charm' collected from Isabella Macdonald nèe Stewart 'from the Chisholms. Grandaughter of Hanna Chisholm and grandniece to Isabella Chisholm'. The story tells how her mother used the iolair charm and dogs to get her children, including Isabella, from among the deer at a place called Garbhath mhor between Lochaber and Badenoch. It also states that her husband nearly married again but that she got home in time to stop him. Carmichael describes Isabella Macdonald as 'a...
Dates: 1901
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story about the use of a charm to remove a crumb from an eye, July 1909

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW117/22
Scope and Contents Story about the use of a charm to remove a crumb from an eye collected from [John] Maclennan, crofter, in which his brother gets a biscuit crumb in his eye following a practical joke but the crumb is stuck there for two days. They are sent to an old woman at [Fairburn Tower, Siorramachd Inbhir Nis/Inverness-shire] who does not touch the brother but places three pebbles in water and repeats a charm at which point a crumb falls into her hand and the brother no longer feels pain as the crumb in...
Dates: July 1909
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story entitled 'An Tarbhan' about a bull being healed, 3 September 1909

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW117/82
Scope and Contents

Story entitled 'An Tarbhan' [charm for surfeit] about a bull being healed. The story states that the informant's father had a stirk which was swollen and which was healed by Mary MacKenzie of Badfearn [Ros is Cromba/Ross and Cromarty] who circled the animal sunwise repeating a charm 'in the name of the Trinity'. Text has been scored through as if transcribed elsewhere.

Dates: 3 September 1909
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook of Alexander Carmichael

Story entitled 'Bhean Shith', 1871

 Item
Identifier: Coll-97/CW119/29
Scope and Contents Story entitled 'Bhean Shith' collected from an unnamed informant, telling how a man had courted a fairy but had married a human. His wife became pregnant and when he went to fetch the midwife, he met the fairy woman he had courted. She gave him a belt for his wife but on his way hom he tied the belt around a stone instead and it split in two. he then pulled some mungan [pearlwort] and placed it under his wife's feet and she gave birth to a healthy son and was all right. The text has been...
Dates: 1871
Found in: University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections / The Carmichael-Watson Collection / Field notebook belonging to Alexander Carmichael