The Five Sisters from Mam Ratagan:
There is another legend. [Update: as per the comments, I don't have a source for this legend, so I couldn't tell you where it came from. Reader beware!] The five sisters were originally seven, but two brothers sailed into Loch Duich from a foreign land and were smitten by the youngest two sisters. Their father refused to allow them to marry until their older sisters were all first betrothed, but relented when the sailors swore they had five eligible elder brothers of their own who would be delighted to marry them. The two brothers sailed off with their new brides, never to be seen again. The five remaining sisters waited... and waited... until they turned into stone, their feet in the rivers and heads in the clouds, there to wait in Kintail for ever for their non-existant husbands.
The Five Sisters from Loch Duich:
The sisters were to be disappointed again last weekend, as we wandered over their tops in the company of a man already betrothed - it was our friend Duncan's stag weekend. As we were all keen hillwalkers, Kintail was a great place for a weekend, and the Five Sisters is one of the classic ridgewalks in Scotland. In the pub, by chance we met a friend's walking group and compared accounts of the walk, which had been a tough one on steep mixed terrain and worsening weather.
On the Five Sisters Ridge before the sleet came in:
We enjoyed a meal and pint in comfort and conviviality, neither warriors nor stone maidens. Pity those who know only mountains and lonliness!
9 comments:
I love these stories. Where do you find them?
A real legend? BTW Did you stay in the Clunie Inn perchance?
PG: most of these stories I read in books while at university instead of studying my course...
Dave: we stayed in the NTS hostel at Morvich, don't think the Cluanie could have contained our wild frat boy antics ;)
lol I went on a tour with Haggis and they told this story though...
Good to know Anon - did they also get you to wash your face in the River Sligachan?
THE FIVE SISTERS OF KINTAIL
Kintail had a gracious king
With wealth beyond compare
But finer still than all his gold
Were seven daughters fair.
Of fluid form and beauty bright
In essence, kind and good
They pleased the king in every way
And loved him as they should.
Then on a cold and wind-swept day
A storm raged round the Loch
A vessel frail in shattered caste
Lay ruined on a rock.
Upon the shore two wearied youths
Fatigued but still alive
Were rescued at the king’s command.
They managed to survive.
The kinsmen were of royal blood
And hailed from Ireland’s shore
And to the youngest sisters fair
Their dying love they swore
They begged the king to let them wed
But he was quite explicit
The oldest daughters must first wed
This statute was implicit.
‘Our brothers five will be their grooms
We’ll fetch them from our realm
They are such gallant noblemen
Their love will overwhelm.’
The king consented to the pact
The lovers sailed away
The sisters waited patiently
Without complaint each day.
The days rolled on the months sped by
The years began to fly
“Our beauty will recede from us
Unless some time we buy.”
The Grey Magician’s help was sought
His home in Coire Dhunnaid
He showed them how to pledge their faith
Each as a mountain maid.
The sisters of Kintail now raised
In everlasting splendour
Eternal beauty cast in stone
Such wonder to engender.
And if perchance one sunlit day
Glen Shiel you might pass by
Then cast your eyes at lovelorn maids
Who soar into the sky.
Do not despair for there is hope
That in some distant life
Five handsome princes will appear.
To claim for each a wife.
Hope you like my poetry.
Jacky
I believe your tale about a Five Sisters legend is almost certainly utter nonsense that diminishes the reputation of your web site.
It appears your story has been taken up as fact by others and so your disinformation is now spreading on the internet.
Please provide a source for this legend. (You mentioned reading books at university. Which book is this legend in?)
Further, if this was a legend, and the mountains are named for it, what is the long-standing Gaelic name for the Five Sisters? Answer: the name has never been known in Gaelic. The name only started appearing on maps in the late 19th or early 20th century, in the early days of mass tourism.
The highly respected Seton Gordon's "Highways and Byways in the West Highlands", which has a wealth of lore, and which deals with Glen Shiel, says nothing at all about your supposed legend.
Scottish heritage, which has plenty of real lore, should not be disrespected by made-up 21st century myths. I suggest you put a very clear statement on this page that your information is fictional.
Fair point anon. Years ago I used to collect stories, but it's only in the last few years I've realised the importance of quoting sources. I will have read it somewhere, but buggered if I can remember where! I've updated the article accordingly.
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