Category: Animals

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Animals Crime and Punishment

Kirk Dogge-less

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In 1640, so many Aberdonians brought their dogs to church, the burgh council had to ban them from sermons. “The barking and peturbation of these dogges, aftin withdraw people from hearing of God’s word!”

UPDATE: It seems that it was fairly common for shepherds and other folk to bring their dogs to church with them, which for some parishes, was considered “sabbath-breaking”. In Inverurie there were stiff fines for bringing your dog to the kirk as outlines in this extract from the Kirk Session minutes:

Every an that brings doggs to the kirk with them to pay 40 shillings for the first time; hav a merk for the second tym, whilk is still to be doublit, so long as they continue so doing.

Inverurie Kirk Session Minutes, 17th February 1650.

In March 1673, Oyne parish kirk in The Garioch, Aberdeenshire, paid for a “dog-clip” to be made– a long handled pair of forceps that the official dogwhipper would use to grab dogs from the church and take them outside.

The role of “dogwhipper” can be seen the bottom right of David Allan’s 1807 etching “Presbyterian Penance (The Black Stool).

References

Mackinlay, J. (1897). Dogs in Church. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 31, 98-103.

Turreff, G. (1871) Antiquarian Gleanings from Aberdeenshire Records. James Murray, Aberdeen. pg. 174

Davidson, J. (1878) Inverurie and the Earldom of the Garioch. David Douglas, Edinburgh. pg. 316.

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Animals Folklore Words

MILK THE TETHER

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v. to transfer milk from a neighbour’s cow to another by magic. Spells were cast using a tether made from a human hair rope. A skill believed to be held by witches and Highlanders.

Facts for Farmers – Materials fror Land-owners about Domestic Animals, Gardens and Vineyards, Edited by Solon Robinson in Two Volumens New York, A.J.Johnson 1873
References

Dictionary of the Scots Language. https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/milk

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Animals Disasters Food and Drink Words

GONIEL

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n. Mutton from dead sheep.

On the 21st January 1794, a sudden storm hit the Solway Firth area causing major floods. The toll, found at low tide on the Beds of Esk was:

1840 sheep
9 cattle
3 horses
3 people
45 dogs
180 hares
and innumerable smaller animals.

It was remembered as the Goniel Blast.

References

Dictionary of the Scots Language. https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/goniel

Hyslop, J.D. and R. Hyslop (1912) Langholm as it was : a history of Langholm and Eskdale from the earliest times. John Menzies & Co, Edinburgh, pg. 850

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Animals Rural Life

WHITE CATTLE TURNED BLACK

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After a rainstorm in December 1916, South Uist awoke to find their white cattle turned completely black. The rains had coated everything on the island with “a strange black dust like burnt gunpowder”.

image: Dirk Ingo Franke (CC)

The press gave no explanation at the time as to what the source of the strange “burnt gunpowder”. Suggestions from Twitter followers were industrial pollution from the Central Belt and battle dust from the fighting in France. The winds were strong from the Southeast that night so both ideas are plausible.

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Animals Crime and Punishment Folklore

Schoolmaster seduced a cow

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John Fian, executed 1591, was said to have accidentally seduced a cow instead of a young woman he liked. He asked her brother to get “her private hairs” for a spell, but her mother (being a witch also) gave him hair from an udder instead. Sorcerer no, perv yes.

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Animals Folklore Hoaxes

The Merboy of Leith

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Abt. 1770, a supposed “merboy” was caught by Newhaven oyster dredgers and was shown at Leith races, giving weight to merfolk as a “true species” i.e. not all were mer-maids. It was apparently preserved and kept in the museum of Alexander Weir of Edinburgh

a “faked” mermaid skeleton, probably made in Japan in the 18th century.
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Animals

Mongoose loose aboot the hoose

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In the 1920s and 1930s mongooses were common pets across Scotland, and were prized for their extreme mousing ability. Someone in Milngavie had one called Sammy who apparently had a wide radius clear of rats for sometime!

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Animals

A Bold Hare

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Animals Folklore Food and Drink Rural Life Words

PANDORE

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PANDORE. n. large oyster from Prestonpans. Supposed to be big because of the proximity to the doors of the saltpans. Prestonpans oyster fishers would sing “dreg sangs” to charm the oysters into their nets. “Oysters are a gentle kin, wullna tak unless ye sing”

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Animals Crime and Punishment

The deil is a black dog

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In 1704, one of the “Pittenweem Witches” Beatrix Layng met the devil on Ceres Moor. She knew because he appeared as a black dog. This is Ceres Moor today, and my pup, Scout. She is rarely a devil. Layng denied being a witch, but adamant she had been chatting with Satan himself. Layng was released from prison after paying £8 and eventually pardoned by Queen Anne in 1708.