Scota
In medieval Irish and Scottish
Early sources
Edward J. Cowan traced the first mention of Scota in literature to the 12th century.[3] Scota appears in the Irish chronicle Book of Leinster, in a redaction of the Lebor Gabála Érenn.[4] The 9th-century Historia Brittonum contains the earliest surviving version of the Lebor Gabala Erenn story (centred on an unnamed Goídel Glas), but this earliest version does not mention Scota even indirectly.[5]
The Lebor Gabála Érenn states that Scota was the mother of
Other twelfth-century sources state that Scota was the wife of Geytholos (Goídel Glas), rather than his mother, and was the founder of the Scots and Gaels after they were exiled from Egypt.[7]
Other manuscripts of the Lebor Gabála Érenn contain a legend of a Scotia who was the wife of Goidel's descendant
The Gaels, known in Gaelic as Goídel and in Latin as Scoti, are said to be named after Goidel and Scota. However, historians say they were characters created to explain the names and to fit the Gaels into a historical narrative.[2][1]
Scota and the Stone of Scone
Baldred Bisset is credited with being the first to connect the Stone of Scone with the Scota foundation legends in his 1301 work Processus, putting forward an argument that Scotland, not Ireland, was where the original Scota homeland lay.[9]
Bisset wanted to legitimize a Scottish (as opposed to English) accession to the throne when Alexander III of Scotland died in 1286. At his coronation in 1249, Alexander himself heard his royal genealogy recited generations back to Scota. Bisset attempted to legitimize a Scottish accession by highlighting Scota's importance as the transporter of the Stone of Scone from Ancient Egypt, during the Exodus of Moses, to Scotland. In 1296, the Stone was captured by Edward I of England and taken to Westminster Abbey. In 1323, Robert the Bruce used Bisset's legend connecting Scota to the Stone in an attempt to return it to Scone Abbey in Scotland.[10]
The 15th-century English chronicler John Hardyng later attempted to debunk Bisset's claims.[11]
Later sources
Walter Bower's 15th-century Scotichronicon included the first illustrations of the legends. The 16th-century writer Hector Boece included the story of Scota in his Historia Gentis Scotorum, and William Stewart made a verse translation in the Scots language for the Scottish royal court.[12]
Scota's Grave
"Scota's Grave"[13] or "Scotia's Grave" is a rock feature in Gleann Scoithín or 'Glenscoheen', south of Tralee in County Kerry, Ireland. According to the National Monuments Service, "Following a site inspection in 1999 it was concluded that the evidence was not sufficient to warrant accepting this as an archaeological monument".[14]
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 9780815631644. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
- ^ a b Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí (1991). Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition. Prentice Hall Press. pp. 296–297.
- Scottish Historical Reviewixiii, No. 176 (Oct. 1984). pp.111–135.
- ^ "Lebor Gabála Érenn".
- ^ Dumville, David (1974), "Some aspects of the chronology of the Historia Brittonum", Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, 25 (4): 439–445
- ^ Wood, Thomas (1818). Fable and Fact in the Early Annals of Ireland, and on the Best Mode of Ascertaining What Degree of Credit These Ancient Documents Are Justly Entitled to. Dublin: Graisberry and Campbell, printers to the Royal Irish Academy. p. 14 – via Internet Archive. From The Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol.13, p.xvii Antiquities: Read July 8th, 1816. jstor.org/stable/30078874?seq=13
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Matthews, William. "The Egyptians in Scotland: the Political History of a Myth". Viator 1 (1970). pp.289–306.
- ^ MacKillop, James. A dictionary of Celtic mythology. Oxford University Press, 2004, p. 330.
- ^ Broun, Dauvit. The Irish identity of the kingdom of the Scots in the 12th and 13th centuries. Boydell & Brewer Ltd, 1999, p. 120.
- ^ McMullan, Gordon and David Matthews. Reading the medieval in early modern England. Cambridge University Press, 2007, p. 109.
- ^ Carley, James P. Glastonbury Abbey and the Arthurian tradition. Boydell & Brewer, 2001, p. 275 ff.
- ^ William Turnbull, Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland, vol. 1 (London, 1858), pp. 8-16
- ^ "Scota's Grave". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Historical Environment Viewer". National Monuments Service. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
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