Cateran Trail - "The Tomb" - Lancelot? Traditional Cache

A WARRIOR, A KING AND TWO QUEENS...

In the late 6th Century, legend has it there lived in Scotland, a great warrior named Diarmid, reputedly a man of outstanding martial prowess and a great favourite with the ladies, so much so that Queen Grainne, the wife of the incumbent King Fingal, was having an affair with him. The king got to know of the affair, but according to Celtic custom he could not appoint a deputy to act for him or seek help from any relative - he had to deal with Diarmid man to man. The king knew if he challenged Diarmid he would lose, such was Diarmid's fearsome reputation.

However, an opportunity came for Fingal. The people of Glenshee petitioned the king to come and rid them of what they claimed was a demon boar. This beast had for some considerable time caused great damage to property and livestock in the area and several attempts to hunt it down had all failed with a number of hunters losing their lives. It was considered the king's job to deal with matters of this kind, therefore a hunting party was raised and Fingal personally invited Diarmid to the hunt. When they arrived in Glenshee, camp was made in the area of the Spittal of Glenshee. The king then challenged Diarmid to go and hunt the boar himself. Diarmid accepted the challenge and duly managed to track the boar down. There ensued a vigorous battle in which according to the epic handed down through the centuries, his mighty hunting spear was smashed by the beast and he had to fight it with a sword, axe and dirk before it succumbed. In the desperate fight Diarmid was wounded and pierced by the spines along the boar's back. Wounds from boar spines become infected very quickly and result in death within one day. This did not concern Diarmid too much as there was a known antidote for the poison which was carried by hunting parties. He cut off the boar's head, carried it back to camp, placed it in front of the king and asked for the medicine. The king had prepared for this by throwing the supply of antidote into the burn. The infection from the wounds spread through Diarmid's body and he died. When Queen Grainne heard of his death, she committed suicide.

Diarmid was so highly regarded that an area at the foot of the SE ridge of Bad an Loin was levelled and Diarmid buried, A large mound was built over his grave and four standing stones in the shape of a spearhead, which, if you stand to the eastern side, and line up on Ben Gulabin it points to where he was reputed to have killed the boar. The Grave is to this day marked on all maps as "Tomb".

Soon after this double tragedy, another queen who was staying in a castle between Alyth and Glen Isla, some 15 miles to the south east was put to death. The method of her death was quite horrendous - she was thrown into a pit of starving dogs, which was apparently a Pictish punishment for an adulterous woman. The queen's name was Guinevere, ex King Arthur. Legend has it that her remains were taken to Meigle where there existed an early Culdee monastery, and buried there.


Researchers have recently claimed to have found a Pictish stone at Meigle which they claim is possibly that of Queen Guinevere. The legends and stories of King Arthur and the Round Table do not give any satisfactory answer as to where Guinevere and Sir Lancelot went after they were found out. A Queen and a Great Warrior, even in those times, could not just disappear without trace but one could imagine that wherever Guinevere was, her lover and protector would not be far away. So who was Diarmid? Could he and Sir Lancelot have been the same person? Historians would probably not agree but then what evidence have they got otherwise.

The Clan Campbell claim direct descent from the man known as Diarmid - or Sir Lancelot? They grew to be the most potent and powerful clan in Scotland. Their motif is the boar's head.

Listen to my heart,
Forever sad
I'm lost without you
The great love in our lives
Will guide me.
Be with me always
Day and night.

A thought, on the day
Telling tales
Of how things were.,
I remember the day
Carefree and happy
Be with me always
Day and night.

Weeping due to the great loneliness
The tears, sorrowfully
Asleep in the quiet green grave
In a deep peace.

Click HERE For Smaointe.

THIS STORY HAS BEEN PASSED ON THROUGHOUT THE CENTURIES IN THE BOTHYS AND SHEILINGS IN FRONT OF THE HEARTH, IN THE GLENS AROUND THE SHEE..........A LEGEND IS BORN..........

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