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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Wells O' Wearie » OT: Wells and folklore |
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Branwen 824 posts |
Edited Sep 26, 2009, 04:00
Sep 25, 2009, 17:50
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Probably the only reason I think it a lothian story is because I've only heard in Musselburgh, Dunbar, and Edinburgh. That just means I haven't heard storytellers in the other areas that might be possible locations, of course. I wasn't aware of those other possibilities but am looking at them for some clue just now. It being such an old story, it would have been told and localised in the way of the storytellers, all over Scotland. Localisation of stories is just part of the storytellers craft, but can lead to one tale being ascribed to hundreds of places, hence arthur being buried under so many hills. It's called "the wearie well at the worlds end" in the oldest stories though, these tales resembling the cuthilldorie story, not the false knight stories, and the goblin is a frog that turns into a prince. There is a world's end near the edinburgh weary well - it's a pub!
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Branwen 824 posts |
Edited Sep 26, 2009, 04:15
Sep 25, 2009, 17:51
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Theres a mill near the east lothian (east linton) cuthilldorie too, I think it's called preston mill now though. Several wells in the neighbourhood.
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Branwen 824 posts |
Edited Sep 26, 2009, 03:56
Sep 25, 2009, 18:07
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RE the crows wood name. Yeah, similar names being included expands the possibilities, but I'm thinking that you have to set a limit on the parameters of your search to not include any old well with a similar sounding name but obvious different etymology. So we have black well, goblin well, and dead well to work with. A lot of black wells were connected with druids, the church seeing black as an evil colour and the druids as evil. Then again, a well of the dead, which is the other name of some black wells, are actually celtic burial shaft wells. Druid wells often became "rude" wells over time, or christianised as "well of the (black) rood". If you start including these possibilities, there is the rood well near east linton as a consideration. I'm not as familiar with landmarks out of the lowlands where I grew up to know offhand if other possibilities are opened by looking at it this way.
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Hob 4033 posts |
Sep 25, 2009, 18:46
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Branwen wrote: A lot of black wells were connected with druids... Aye, whereas Waterstones were more associated with Shamanism, Borders with Mammonism, and Amazon? Who knows what they get up to? }I've already got me coat on...{
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Sep 25, 2009, 19:24
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Branwen wrote: Theres a mill near the east lothian cuthill too, I think it's called preston mill now though. There is a Preston Mill near East Linton .
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Sep 25, 2009, 19:30
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Branwen wrote: Yeah, similar names being included expands the possibilities, but I'm thinking that you have to set a limit on the parameters of your search to not include any old well with a similar sounding name. So we have black well, goblin well, and dead well to work with. A lot of black wells were connected with druids, the church seeing black as an evil colour and the druids as evil. Then again, a well of the dead, which is the other name of some black wells, are actually celtic burial shaft wells. Druid wells often became "rude" wells over time, or christianised as "well of the (black) rood". If you start including these possibilities, there is the rood well near east linton as a consideration. I'm not as familiar with landmarks out of the lowlands where I grew up to know offhand if other possibilities are opened by looking at it this way. The other problem is the Dorie which is only found afaik in Auchindorie in Angus but it is likely to be a corruption of something like duran which is found in association with cuthill in the 14 th C .
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moss 2897 posts |
Sep 25, 2009, 19:37
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}I've already got me coat on...{ Took some time to work out your clever quip ;) Amazon of course is the fount of all knowledge........ Hi Branwen, To return to the subject of wells, a lot of wells have 'celtic' saints attached to them. the saint having the attributes of, or a direct relation to a god/ goddess. Healing wells probably come under this heading, so what does a 'black well' have to do with death considering wells are for water and healing? I can think of cattle poisoning if the water is foul but not much else....
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Sep 25, 2009, 22:30
Sep 25, 2009, 22:28
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Branwen wrote: I actually find the internet limited in my searches, but it's getting better. Perhaps I'm just googling more out of the way stuff though. A good place to start is Colin and Janet Bord's books "Sacred Waters" and "Holy Wells in Britain". It gives quite a comprehensive list of wells in a format much like TMA, with grid references, and a bit of folklore, I seem to remember. I will have a look and see about some links I might have saved too, but I just got out of hospital so dragging out my old computer to find them is a no no until my stitches heal ... ...If it's stuff about the Wells O Wearie, I could post what I have on the site page where I posted the picture, if you like. I'm going to be off for 3 weeks and adding stuff to Wikipedia on the subject of Edinburgh anyways. Something to do while I am inactive. Wishing you wellness Branwen ... good healing to you. june
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tiompan 5758 posts |
Sep 25, 2009, 23:14
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http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_017/17_152_210.pdf Is quite good
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Branwen 824 posts |
Sep 26, 2009, 03:06
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LMAO at Hob The Black Well at Culloden is also called The Dead Well, and the well o wearie was connected with the legends of all those women that were killed there too, which got me thinking on connections between these two names, apart from the obvious fact of black being a mourning or negative colour. The connection to death I thought of was that some wells were actually shafts, dug in celtic times with funerary or votive deposits in the bottom. T D Kendrick describes some which had a tree placed upside down in them, postulating a path climbing downwards to the underworld as well, perhaps for sacrificial messages to be carried, though that is speculation, obviously. Other well shafts have had little votive offerings, and animal bones in them, as well as those with human remains. I'm wondering now if a black well might be something like the red water wells, like the chalice well mentioned earlier in the thread. Is there anything that might make the water black, apart from peat? Peat wouldn't be poisonous though, I guess. Just wild speculations of my own, but sometimes you get a breakthrough bouncing ideas around. A light bulb over the head moment...
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