Fairy Flag

Many legends exist on the origins of the fairy flag.

In one such story, the chieftain took a fairy woman as a wife and she brought the cloth to the marriage. She agreed to stay for seven years, but when that time was done, she left the flag to protect her children. Another legend the banner was brought to Dunvegan Castle by a MacLeod chieftain after years spent with the Sidhe.

The Fairy Flag is a fragment of cloth owned by the Clan MacLeod and preserved at Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The MacLeods consider it a magical artifact and family treasure.

A popular version of the legendary origin of the Fairy Flag is that an early clan chieftan spent some time in the fairy realm. In his time there, he fell in love with the daughter of the fairy king, and they were married. Clan duty called, and he and his bride returned to the mortal realm. However, the fairy princess could only live in there for 7 years.

Towards the end of this time, she gave birth to a boy, whom she tearfully left behind with the chief. Just before crossing under the fairy bridge back into her world, she begged that the baby never be left alone, as the sound of his crying would be too much for her to bear. That night, the clan had a feast, to distract the chief from his grief. The nursemaid in charge of the baby left the nursery to join the party.

When she was discovered, the chief immediately ran up to his son’s doorway, only to find his fairy wife already there, singing the child back to sleep. When the chief entered the room, the fairy vanished, but left behind a blanket on their son, which became the Fairy Flag. The song she was singing is still sung within the clan, known either as the Dunvegan Lullaby or the Fairy Lullaby.

In addition, waving the Fairy Flag is said to provide salvation to the Clan MacLeod in the event of disaster, by summoning a fairy army. The flag has been waved twice, in the Middle Ages, but only one wave is left. In the first waving, the MacLeods were greatly outnumbered in battle with the MacDonalds. At the exact point when the chief waved the Fairy Flag, the battle turned in favor of the MacLeods. In the second waving, the clan’s cattle were dying of pestilence. To avoid starvation, the chief summoned the fairy armies, who magically restored the cattle to health.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fairy bridge, originally uploaded by oonyack.