'Aki'lles

Pontius Pilate, the infamous Roman Prefect of Judea, who presided over the trial of Jesus and ordered his crucifixion, is supposed to have been born in Fortingall, a small village in the Scottish Highlands.

Incidentally, it was the Romans who gave the name 'Caledonia' to Scotland which literally translates to 'wooded land', a reference to the vast tracts of forested Scottish highlands.

The Scottish legend, Sir William Wallace, immortalised by Mel Gibson in the movie Braveheart apparently died a death more painful and gory than that depicted in the movie (digest that!). Wallace was dragged naked through the streets of London, then hung slowly to ensure maximum suffering but not death. Wallace was revived back to consciousness after this painful ordeal and his body was cut open and his intestines were burnt in front of him (while he was still alive). He was finally beheaded and his body was cut into four parts, to teach a lesson to everyone in the kingdom about the consequences of rebellion. A punishment considered extreme even by 13th-14th Century standards!

Of course, all this could not have been shown in the movie. However, the movie I was told, has a number of historical inaccuracies (typical of any Hollywood period movie I suppose). For a start, the Scots never painted their face before they went into a battle. The tour guide joked about it saying that the only Scots who ever painted their faces (as depicted by Gibson) in the last millennia were probably Scottish football fans in the 70's. Also Wallace, was not a Highlander. Lowland Scots did not wear Kilts or play Bagpipes; a very basic error in the movie.

There are over 30,000 Lochs (Gaelic for Lake) in Scotland, but none more famous than Loch Ness, thanks to the legend surrounding its supposed inhabitant - Nessie or the Loch Ness Monster. The earliest known sightings of Nessie date back to as early as the 6th Century and was mentioned by St. Columba, the monk who brought Christianity to Scotland. The most recent sighting of Nessie was in 2005. Of course, the sightings always peak in the tourist season ;-).

As one travels further up the Highlands, it is quite commonplace to see signage in both Gaelic and English. It is estimated that there still about 60,000 Scots, who can speak Gaelic fluently. The names of most rivers, hills, Lochs, Glens (Gaelic for Valley), towns and cities in Scotland are derived from Gaelic. For instance, 'Inver' and 'Aber' are Gaelic words which mean "mouth of", hence the names 'Inverness' - at the mouth of river Ness, 'Aberdeen' - at the mouth of river Dee. The Celtic tribes preferred using 'Inver', while the Picts preferred 'Aber'. Most Gaelic names seemed to me like names of people and places in 'Lord of the Rings'. Would not be surprised if it really were!

We are quite familiar with Scottish and Irish surnames names typically starting with the letters 'Mc' or 'Mac', as in McDonald, McGregor etc. 'Mc'/'Mac' means "son of" in Gaelic, hence McDonald is a descendant of some dude called Donald. A quick and easy way to trace your lineage!

'Children of the Mist' was the colloquial name given to MacGregor clan, one of the many Highland clans. The MacGregors it is said, would come down from the Highlands to raid farms, pilfer cattle, waylay merchants and disappear swiftly back into the hills with the loot. The clan had built such a reputation that in fact at one time the surname MacGregor was proscribed in Scotland and anyone with that surname was simply executed without any questions asked.

Rob Roy was the most famous (infamous ?) of the MacGregors and is credited with the origin of the English word 'blackmail'. Rob Roy used to pilfer cattle and demand a ransom for them from the hapless villagers. The villagers had to a pay a 'meal' (Gaelic for Rent/Money) to get their cattle back from Rob Roy. Hence the term blackmail!

Phew! That's quite a lot of info to spew out in one post. Altogether, it was an unforgettable trip!

Labels: Braveheart, Gaelic, Loch Ness, Pontius Pilate, Scotland, William Wallace

# posted by Akshai @ 6:26 AM