The Silver Bough: Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-Belief (Canongate Classic) [Paperback]

F. Marian McNeill (Author)

Book Description

Series: Canongate Classic | Publication Date: October 1989

Introduced by Stewart Sanderson.This book, the first and most popular of four volumes, is a marvellous and indispensable treasury of Scottish folklore and folk belief from the world of Celtic magic, gods and fairies, to the prophecies of the Brahan seer, second sight, witchcraft, earth magic, selkies, changelings and a host of traditional spells and cures.The Silver Bough involved many years of research into both living and recorded folklore. Its genesis lies perhaps in the author's need to reconcile the old primitive world she had glimpsed in her Orkney childhood, with the sophisticated modern world she later entered. This much loved and highly regarded work remains a classic of literature.'If you are looking for an insight into the Celtic mindset, or interested in the background of Scottish literature or in Scottish folklore for its own sake . . . I know of no other single volume I could so unreservedly recommend to you.'Books in Scotland

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 242 pages
• Publisher: Canongate Pub Ltd (October 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0862412315
• ISBN-13: 978-0862412319
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,146,705 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Work That Should Be Re-released, January 6, 2002

By 

Frank MacEowen - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silver Bough: Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-Belief (Canongate Classic) (Paperback)

F. Marian McNeill, in the tradition of Alexander Carmichael (Carmina Gadelica) and Anne Ross' The Folklore of the Scottish Highlands, has done an immense service in her writing The Silver Bough Series. These books are currently out of print, unfortunately. If you can find a copy of the first volume you will not be sorry. Little known are the other three volumes which explore a number of very ancient Scottish customs and beliefs, from Selkirk to Orkney to the Isle of Mull to Aberdeen and Fife, which survive to the present day in many cases. In an era of "Celtic" insta-books some of these classical ethnographic sources are deeply refreshing.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insight on Scottish Folk Customs, May 9, 2000

By 

Aimee (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Silver Bough: Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-Belief (Canongate Classic) (Paperback)

This book is excellent for ethnologists and the curious alike! Although it is out of print, it is a book worth finding! Written in 4 volumes, each takes a look at different parts of the Scottish folk beliefs -from witchcraft and second sight, to songs and stories told over time, this book has it all, and in an easy to read-straight forward fashion. Definitely a book for anyone remotely interested in Scotland or non-christian customs!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful summary of many folk beliefs, January 5, 2009

By 

Christopher R. Travers "Einhverfr" (Chelan, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Silver Bough: Scottish Folk-Lore and Folk-Belief (Canongate Classic) (Paperback)

This work contains a great summary of many elements of Scottish folklore, but there are some areas where McNeil accepts the sources a little too uncritically. For example, I didn't find her discussions of the druids particularly enlightening, and there were several points where I saw a great deal of Germanic material and the author didn't seem interested in sorting Germanic from Celtic.

This being said, I found the discussions of magic, witchcraft, and fairy folk to be of interest and adding considerably to my knowledge in the field of folklore.

On the whole, though, this is a useful resource for understanding uniquely Scottish folklore. I would generally recommend it with the above reservations.