European Mythology

Shetland is steeped in a rich folklore which springs from a society that has traditionally depended upon the land and the sea for its survival. It shows in the island’s place names, in its stories and indeed in the everyday conversation of its inhabitants.Folklore is largely a product of history and Shetland folklore is redolent with references to the Scandinavian roots of much of its culture. It also reflects a long seafaring and crofting tradition.Shetland folklore is diverse and covers a wide range of tales, legends, proverbs and odd sayings. A key component of much of it is the ancient Norn language which has been modified and watered down into the presentShetland dialect.

Many of the terms used in folklore are based on Norn words. Indeed it is only in old tales and proverbs that many of these words now survive, having been lost to general usage. Among the most popular elements of Shetland folklore are the substantial populations of unearthly creatures which inhabit the islands. The variety is such that this article cannot hope to cover them all but the following paragraphs relate to some of the more well known.Any student of Shetland folklore will soon become acquainted with trows, Shetland's own hidden people. Almost all Scandinavian countries have a tradition of a hidden race which co-exists with humans. In Shetland this is personified by the small, dark and infinitely mysterious trow. The trow is generally shy, nocturnal and, more often than not, was tolerated by the human population rather than welcomed.While trows were more than likely to reward the provider of a service, they could also take revenge on those they felt had slighted them, and it never paid to cross one if you didn’t want your best cow to end up trow shot.They also had a disturbing habit of kidnapping musicians and drawing them down into the depths of their trowie knowes to play at their wedding feasts. The length of these feasts could often stretch into years in the outside world for the poor soul concerned, although it seemed to them that only a few days had passed. This aspect of the trows is mirrored in a great many societies and in more than a few countries and it is interesting to speculate on the existence of ancient 'urban myths' with regard to such abductions. The trows appear to have a very keen ear for music and in particular the fiddle, which perhaps explains why they have lingered in Shetlandfo......

An Eerie corner of Gloucestershire lying between Stroud and Tetbury is noted for its monoliths, mounds and mysterious happenings. Here, near Avening, are to be found the best known standing stones in the county - the Long Stone and the Tingle Stone. Some notice a "charged" sensation in the vicinity of certain stones, and experience a tingling sensation when they touch them. Doubtless, this is why the Tingle Stone is so-called. It's on Princess Anne's land at Gatcombe Park, and has long been thought to be charged with electricity. It could be the remains of a portal dolmen connected with a long barrow. Local legend has it that, when church bells strike at midnight, the Tingle Stone and the Long Stone run aroundtheir fields.

They are also said to go to Minchinhampton to drink from a spring there. These are familiar stories associated with standing stones, and they indicate our ancestors' respect for them, even after the advent of Christianity. The Long Stone, a rough lozenge shape similar to some of the stones of Avebury, is famous for the two holes in it which, although created by natural weathering, have given rise to various folk tales. The stone was thought to have healing properties. People would pass their limbs through the holes for cures, and mothers would put their children through to keep them healthy.It may also have been associated with fertility rites, as couples would hold hands through the stone and pledge themselves to one another.A group of dowsers once registered a powerful pulse of magnetism from the Long Stone. They tried to "recharge" it by circling and laying theirhands on it, but were stricken by headaches and sudden tiredness.Another large standing stone, the Cobstone, stood due east of the Long Stone on the edge of MinchinhamptonCommonbutwasbrokenupfor building materials in the 1830s, and the Picked Stone once lay to the south.The Devil's Churchyard at Minchinhampton, as late as the 1950s, was avoided at night by people who thought it was haunted.Attempts to build a church there, on the site of a stone circle, foundered when the project was continually vandalised. Some said it was the devil's work and a new site was selected.Later, a clergyman ordered destruction of the stone circle, and the locality gained a reputation for evil. A ghostly rider sometimes put the wind up passers-by, and a grim spectre was seen following people in the lanes.And because of a phantom black dog at Woefuldane's Bottom, carters had to blindfold their horses when theypassed.......

GALLANT knights in shining armour, ladies draped in silk and satin, lavish banquets, medieval castles, a round table and the Holy Grail. This is the mental image conjured up by the mention of King Arthur, a world of courage, honour, romance, glory and, of course, Camelot. But according to Touchstone Pictures, which has made what it claims is a historically accurate epic of the monarch, much of that image is no less mythical than, dare we breathe the words, the Loch Ness Monster. Touchstone and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have embarked upon their own epic quest - for "the truth" - daring to suggest that there was no mystique, no shining armourand - whisper it - no Camelot.

It’s sacrilege, almost blasphemy. In place of the medieval legend emerges a story of savagery, warfare, darkness and doom, set in the fifth-century AD. But far more exciting than that is the fact that it is not set in Somerset or Cornwall. It is, in fact, located tantalisingly close at Hadrian’s Wall and the Scottish Borders. Set on the Border between Scotland and England, the film places Arthur - played by British star Clive Owen - in the Scottish Lowlands. "You’ve got a Lucius Artorius Castus in the second century, on whom all of the subsequent Arthurian characters are based. The one in the movie is a descendant of that first Arthur," explains the film’s consultant historian, John Matthews, who haswritten several books on Arthur. "We’re saying in the movie that Arthur comes from the Borders. We have evidence that Arthur lived and fought and died around the area of Hadrian’s Wall. "The theory is that there is this character, Lucius Artorius Castus, a Roman officer from the Borders, in charge of Sarmatian knights, and that they were stationed at several forts along the wall, particularly at Birdoswald, and that they fought against the Picts. This is the same Arthur. When I started work on the movie two years ago I was aware of the theory but wasn’t sure of it."I have now found so much evidence that links Arthur with this part of the world that I am completely convinced by it." He adds: "The forts at Camboglanna,now. ...