Post by Elly on Oct 11, 2006 19:31:52 GMT 10
The fortress Dunscaith. According to a 12th century manuscript, Dunscaith (the fort of gloom) was built by a witch in a single night.
The Isle of Skye, in which the fort was built, was ruled by a champion warrior- woman named Sgathach (SKY-ah). It is this Queen of the Isle that the Ossianic super-hero Cuchulainn came to in order to be trained in the arts of battle. But, before he could be worthy of her instruction, he had to prove himself by conquering the gates of Dunscaith. According to legend, the castle was surrounded by seven ramparts crowned by iron palisades, spiked by nine human heads. A hidden trap in the castle was a pit full of snakes in which Cuchulainn soon found himself. After killing the snakes, Cuchulainn was set upon by hundreds of vicious beasts described as "malevolent toads with sharp beaks" (insert your own Minnesota, mutated frogs joke). He fought them off at the same time that he was attacked by dragons until he finally became victorious and reaped the treasures of the castle.
The story of Cuchulainn's adventure is fiction, but Dunscaith was real indeed. Its ruins are still observable. It is the oldest known ruin in the Hebrides. The ruins on the Isle of Skye however, are mere rubble and getting regrettably smaller every year.
Dunscaith is located in an area called Sleat, which is the southern portion of the Isle of Skye.
Originally, the fortress was in the possession of the Norse Kings of Man, and securing Dunscaith were a race of savage Norse warriors known as the McAskills. The hereditary keeper of Dunscaith was Black Donald, the head of the McAskills, who along with his family kept watch on the seas from the tower.
It came to pass, that the McAskill's loyalty was given to the Clan MacLeod, a prominent family in the Hebrides. In exchange for their military service, the MacLeods granted the McAskill lands, especially in the area of Glen Brittle, where much of the family still resides.
----Tradition holds that the McAskills have lived in Skye for over 700 years.-----
Along with the honor of being associated with the MacLeods, the McAskills had to also take on the burden of the many MacLeod enemies. The most menacing of which were the MacDonalds. The MacDonalds owned much of the land in Sleat and it was only a matter of time before they set their sites on the noble fortress of Dunscaith.
In much of the literature of the Isles, the McAskills are always referred to as "great or savage warriors" , "notable for their strength and prominent stature." The MacDonald's knowing of the legends surrounding the family, planned very carefully their raid. Not daring to confront the Black Donald in an open battle, they descended upon the castle under the cloak of night and fell upon the McAskills as they slept.
When the sun rose the next morning, Dunscaith was in the hands of the MacDonalds and the Black Donald was dead. The skirmish had been a bloody and terrifying affair, with the McAskill children running from the castle into the dark Woods of Torkavaig (the grove of the Druids) their screams echoing in the cold night air as they were ridden down by MacDonald clansmen.
One of the few survivors, was Black Donald's youngest daughter, Mary McAskill, only thirteen at the time of the attack. But, old enough to know of the horror of clan rivalry----- and of revenge.
Mary hid in a rotted out log in the woods for three days and nights before gaining the courage to join the rest of the surviving family in Glen Brittle. It is speculated that it was during those three days cramped and freezing in the wet stink of the dead tree that she planned her revenge on the MacDonalds. Some say that she was protected by the Sidhe (the fairies) and it was they that whispered the plot in her young ear.
Mary, a very patient girl, waited for three years until she turned fifteen, before setting the plan in motion. She had blossomed into a fine beauty with flaxen hair that swung to her hips while her eyes stayed the dark brown of her youth. In order to be successful she needed to change her appearance. So not to be recognized. She sheared her locks to above her ears and dyed it the color of her eyes---
the color of rotting wood.
Ready, she journeyed back to Dunscaith, back thru the woods of Torkavaig, back to the place where her father had been stabbed repeatedly in his sleep, three years earlier. Knocking at the door of the castle, Mary advised she was there to apply for the position of housekeeper which the MacDonalds had advertised.
----Mary dazzled the MacDonalds with her sweet smile and beauty and she was quickly employed.-----
Patient again, Mary worked tirelessly for the MacDonalds, going above and beyond her duties and soon endeared herself to them.
Before long, Mary had so gained their trust that she was promoted to work in the nursery, as nanny to the MacDonald children.
Years passed. Mary nursed and entertained the young MacDonald children day in and day out. With no one the least bit suspicious of the kind girl.
One day, the MacDonalds being in the thralls of yet another land dispute, gathered all the Clan (women and men) to fight in a nearby battle with the MacLeods.
------Mary was left alone in the castle with only a few guards and the seven MacDonald children.------
As an encroaching storm gathered over the Isle and the sea began to churn under a cold wind, Mary awoke the children and escorted them to the tower, advising the guard that she was uneasy and felt they would be safer there---- under lock and key.
Lightening and thunder erupted with the rain and the youngest of the children began to cry. Mary calmed them with stories and sung soft lullabies until they were all steadfast asleep, a newborn cradled in her arms.
Softly, as not to wake them she walked to the east window, opened it and tossed the baby out of the window onto the rocks below.
Slowly, she picked up the sleeping children one by one and threw them from the tower into the storm to their inevitable demise. Not one of them so much as let out a sound, completely trusting the arms of their beloved nanny.
When the deed was done, Mary, walked out of the tower, passed the guards and out of the castle. One guard, curious that she should go out in such a storm followed her and watch as she walked barefoot into the woods and disappeared.
------Mary, was never seen or heard of again.------
When word spread through Skye of the horrible crime, the countryside were mortified. The McAskills, who were never known for being squeamish, were the most shocked. How could any woman care and love children as her own for YEARS, feed them and dress them only to murder them!? This was an evil even they could not comprehend.
For decades afterward, the McAskills and MacLeods were careful not to name any of their girls Mary, lest she grow up with the same inclinations. . .
The Isle of Skye, in which the fort was built, was ruled by a champion warrior- woman named Sgathach (SKY-ah). It is this Queen of the Isle that the Ossianic super-hero Cuchulainn came to in order to be trained in the arts of battle. But, before he could be worthy of her instruction, he had to prove himself by conquering the gates of Dunscaith. According to legend, the castle was surrounded by seven ramparts crowned by iron palisades, spiked by nine human heads. A hidden trap in the castle was a pit full of snakes in which Cuchulainn soon found himself. After killing the snakes, Cuchulainn was set upon by hundreds of vicious beasts described as "malevolent toads with sharp beaks" (insert your own Minnesota, mutated frogs joke). He fought them off at the same time that he was attacked by dragons until he finally became victorious and reaped the treasures of the castle.
The story of Cuchulainn's adventure is fiction, but Dunscaith was real indeed. Its ruins are still observable. It is the oldest known ruin in the Hebrides. The ruins on the Isle of Skye however, are mere rubble and getting regrettably smaller every year.
Dunscaith is located in an area called Sleat, which is the southern portion of the Isle of Skye.
Originally, the fortress was in the possession of the Norse Kings of Man, and securing Dunscaith were a race of savage Norse warriors known as the McAskills. The hereditary keeper of Dunscaith was Black Donald, the head of the McAskills, who along with his family kept watch on the seas from the tower.
It came to pass, that the McAskill's loyalty was given to the Clan MacLeod, a prominent family in the Hebrides. In exchange for their military service, the MacLeods granted the McAskill lands, especially in the area of Glen Brittle, where much of the family still resides.
----Tradition holds that the McAskills have lived in Skye for over 700 years.-----
Along with the honor of being associated with the MacLeods, the McAskills had to also take on the burden of the many MacLeod enemies. The most menacing of which were the MacDonalds. The MacDonalds owned much of the land in Sleat and it was only a matter of time before they set their sites on the noble fortress of Dunscaith.
In much of the literature of the Isles, the McAskills are always referred to as "great or savage warriors" , "notable for their strength and prominent stature." The MacDonald's knowing of the legends surrounding the family, planned very carefully their raid. Not daring to confront the Black Donald in an open battle, they descended upon the castle under the cloak of night and fell upon the McAskills as they slept.
When the sun rose the next morning, Dunscaith was in the hands of the MacDonalds and the Black Donald was dead. The skirmish had been a bloody and terrifying affair, with the McAskill children running from the castle into the dark Woods of Torkavaig (the grove of the Druids) their screams echoing in the cold night air as they were ridden down by MacDonald clansmen.
One of the few survivors, was Black Donald's youngest daughter, Mary McAskill, only thirteen at the time of the attack. But, old enough to know of the horror of clan rivalry----- and of revenge.
Mary hid in a rotted out log in the woods for three days and nights before gaining the courage to join the rest of the surviving family in Glen Brittle. It is speculated that it was during those three days cramped and freezing in the wet stink of the dead tree that she planned her revenge on the MacDonalds. Some say that she was protected by the Sidhe (the fairies) and it was they that whispered the plot in her young ear.
Mary, a very patient girl, waited for three years until she turned fifteen, before setting the plan in motion. She had blossomed into a fine beauty with flaxen hair that swung to her hips while her eyes stayed the dark brown of her youth. In order to be successful she needed to change her appearance. So not to be recognized. She sheared her locks to above her ears and dyed it the color of her eyes---
the color of rotting wood.
Ready, she journeyed back to Dunscaith, back thru the woods of Torkavaig, back to the place where her father had been stabbed repeatedly in his sleep, three years earlier. Knocking at the door of the castle, Mary advised she was there to apply for the position of housekeeper which the MacDonalds had advertised.
----Mary dazzled the MacDonalds with her sweet smile and beauty and she was quickly employed.-----
Patient again, Mary worked tirelessly for the MacDonalds, going above and beyond her duties and soon endeared herself to them.
Before long, Mary had so gained their trust that she was promoted to work in the nursery, as nanny to the MacDonald children.
Years passed. Mary nursed and entertained the young MacDonald children day in and day out. With no one the least bit suspicious of the kind girl.
One day, the MacDonalds being in the thralls of yet another land dispute, gathered all the Clan (women and men) to fight in a nearby battle with the MacLeods.
------Mary was left alone in the castle with only a few guards and the seven MacDonald children.------
As an encroaching storm gathered over the Isle and the sea began to churn under a cold wind, Mary awoke the children and escorted them to the tower, advising the guard that she was uneasy and felt they would be safer there---- under lock and key.
Lightening and thunder erupted with the rain and the youngest of the children began to cry. Mary calmed them with stories and sung soft lullabies until they were all steadfast asleep, a newborn cradled in her arms.
Softly, as not to wake them she walked to the east window, opened it and tossed the baby out of the window onto the rocks below.
Slowly, she picked up the sleeping children one by one and threw them from the tower into the storm to their inevitable demise. Not one of them so much as let out a sound, completely trusting the arms of their beloved nanny.
When the deed was done, Mary, walked out of the tower, passed the guards and out of the castle. One guard, curious that she should go out in such a storm followed her and watch as she walked barefoot into the woods and disappeared.
------Mary, was never seen or heard of again.------
When word spread through Skye of the horrible crime, the countryside were mortified. The McAskills, who were never known for being squeamish, were the most shocked. How could any woman care and love children as her own for YEARS, feed them and dress them only to murder them!? This was an evil even they could not comprehend.
For decades afterward, the McAskills and MacLeods were careful not to name any of their girls Mary, lest she grow up with the same inclinations. . .
