|
 The
Fairy Flag of the MacLeods In
the drawing room of Dunvegan Castle is the most precious treasure of
the MacLeods. It
is a flag, rather tattered, made of faded brown silk and carefully
darned in places. This is the MacLeods Fairy Flag. In
1066, King
Harald Hardrada of Norway set out to conquer England. He
took with him the magic flag, "Land Ravager". This flag
guaranteed victory to whoever possessed it. At the battle of
Stamford Bridge, Harald Hardrada was killed and the flag vanished! The
MacLeods of Dunvegan can trace their ancestry back to Harald and
have in their possession a tattered silk flag called the Fairy
Flag. How the Fairy Flag came to be in Dunvegan Castle on the
Isle of Skye, the MacLeods home, has never been revealed but it was
said that a MacLeod received it when he was in the Holy Land on a
Crusade. There
is a tradition that should the MacLeods be in peril in battle they
can unfurl the Fairy Flag and they will then be invincible. But
the magic will only work three times, and it has been used twice in
the past. In
1490 the MacLeods were engaged in a desperate battle against the
MacDonalds. They unfurled the flag and immediately the tide of
battle turned. Many of the MacDonalds were killed and victory went
to the MacLeods. The
second time was at Waternish in 1520. Again the MacDonalds, of the
Clanranald branch, were the enemy and the MacLeods were hopelessly
outnumbered. The Fairy Flag was unfurled and the MacDonalds
were beaten! During
the Second World War many young clansmen carried a photograph of the
flag as a lucky charm. Unfortunately
the flag did not quite work when Dunvegan Castle was seriously
damaged by fire in 1938, but without the Fairy Flag maybe the Castle
would have been completely destroyed. Who knows? Useful
links:The
Clan MacLeod Accommodation at Sleat, Isle of
Skye -
Hotel Eilean Iarmain Accommodation
in the North West of Scotland
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E.P.C |