Scottish Folk Tales of Coast and Sea (eBook)

NORTHERN ISLES

THE DENSCHMAN’S HADD

Shetland

The islands of Orkney and Shetland had been Norwegian crown property since the Viking Age. In 1468, Orkney was pawned to Scotland as security for the dowry of Princess Margaret, the daughter of King Christian I of Denmark, on her marriage to King James III of Scotland. King Christian ruled both Denmark and Norway, but he didn’t have the legal authority to dispose of any Norwegian territory. As his coffers remained empty, Shetland was added to the pawning in 1469. The Scottish kings had long desired the Northern Isles, so when the Danish king couldn’t pay his daughter’s dowry, his son-in-law annexed the islands in 1472.

The new rulers soon took control of all aspects of island life, including dismantling the laws and even eradicating the Norn language, which had been spoken for centuries. As the islands were no longer under the protection of the king of Denmark and Norway, they fell victim to raiding by Danish pirates. On the island of Unst in Shetland, no one was feared more than the ‘Denschman’ (the Danish Man), who raided the islands in his ship, the Erne. An erne was the Old Norse word for an eagle, and this ship lived up to its namesake. It was fast and showed no mercy to its victims. The ship was dark in colour and its lines were known to all in Unst. When the Erne was sighted the people fled in terror and hid in the hills, leaving their homes to be plundered by the Denschman and his crew.

One midsummer, the fishing fleet from Unst were at sea when a storm began to form, driving then back home to the shelter of their voes. The women were relieved to have their menfolk home and safe, but their joy soon turned to fear when they heard that the Erne had been sighted near the Holm of Gloup in Yell. The people fled to the hills in despair, despite the stormy weather.

At last, the Erne was sighted to the west of the island, between Hermaness and Windwick. The fishermen thought that it would lie behind Muckle Flugga to the north of Unst, in the shelter of its cliffs, until it was safe to lower boats to attack. But it was soon apparent that the ship was in trouble. It was very low in the water, like it had sprung a leak and the sea was pouring into it.

All who watched prayed that the ship would be taken by the sea, and that they would be free of the Denschman and his evil crew for once and for all. An old uddler, a wealthy farmer on the island, said that the Denschman was trying to beach the ship on the Ayre of Windwick, but the ship wasn’t responding to the helm. It missed its target and was carried on to the Holm of Windwick, a small island, and its side suffered a terrible gash that sealed her fate. It was carried along by the sea until it struck the rocks at Flubersgerdie, and was broken into pieces.

The people were safe to return to their homes and wait out the storm. After two days, the wind dropped and it was safe to take a boat out to where the Erne had met its end. Soon they were finding pieces of wood, canvas and ropes floating on the sea, which they collected eagerly. Wood is a scarce commodity in the islands and a shipwreck had its own value to the islanders.

Suddenly, one of the fishermen cried, ‘It’s the Denschman!’

All the men looked where the man was pointing, where they saw, to their horror, that the Denschman was standing in the mouth of a cave that had been cut by the sea into the cliff face. He was waving a sword defiantly and shouting curses at them. They saw a large plank of wood in the sea below the cave, and guessed that this had been his means of reaching the safety of the cave. Panicked by the sight of him, the men turned their boats and rowed away. They discussed what they should do next. They decided that although there were six of them and they could overpower him, it would still likely cost the lives of two or three of their number.

They saw that there was an overhang in the cliff above the cave mouth, so he couldn’t climb upwards. There were rocks on either side of the cave mouth just under the surface, and with the strong tide he would be torn to pieces and drowned if he tried to swim to safety. As he had no food or drink it was decided that they would leave him there to die. Their courage returned to them, and they rowed back to the cave and retrieved all the wood that floated there, to prevent their enemy from using them as a float. Then they headed for home with the news.

The next day, more boats returned to look at the Denschman, who said nothing this time. He just sat on a ledge of rock and stared at them. More boats came the following day, to gloat at the fate of their former foe, but again he showed no sign of interest. Days passed, and more boats visited the cave, which now bore the name ‘The Denschman’s Hadd’. A ‘hadd’ in Shetland is the hole or den of a wild animal, like an otter. But as the days passed, they noticed that the Denschman was not growing weaker. By rights he should have been dead of thirst or of cold by now, but he seemed to be as strong as ever. People started to whisper that he must be under the protection of the Devil himself, otherwise how could he survive for so long? The only thing that could save him was if a man was supplying him with food, but what man on Unst would do such a thing to one who had brought so much misery to the island?

After two weeks, the Denschman was as strong and defiant as ever. The women said that it was a shame on the men to leave him there, they should attack him and kill him. The men were not keen on the idea. They had seen how he swung that sword of his. But they decided that they would go the following day with a boat full of sharp stones, and they would stone the Denschman and then climb into the cave with staves and axes and finish him off.

The old uddler, being the wealthiest man on the island, had the largest boat, so it was decided that they would use it. Stones were gathered, and the men set off on the agreed morning to attack and kill the Denschman. He asked his three beautiful fair-haired daughters to pray for them, and they said that they would. The three young women stood and watched as the men headed towards the beach where the boat lay. When the men got there, the boat was gone. It hadn’t sunk, or they could have easily raised it again. It hadn’t drifted away either, as the sea was flowing towards the land. A murmur started to circulate among the stunned men: ‘The Denschman …’

Another boat was prepared, and sailed towards the Denschman’s Hadd, but the cave was found to be empty. He had been seen there on the previous evening, but now he was gone. How did he get out? No man on the island would have helped him, that was for sure.

Weeks passed, months passed, but there was still no news of the Denschman or the uddler’s boat. Everyone on the island felt sure that the Denschman had taken the boat and that he was alive and well and plotting his revenge on the islanders. Then one autumn afternoon, a strange ship was sighted sailing towards the island. It had a sinisterly familiar look to it, but it couldn’t be! They had seen the Erne smashed to pieces on the rocks. How could it be here again?

The strange ship was flying a white flag, a sign that it had come in peace. Behind the ship a boat was being towed. Some of the Unst men prepared their boats and rowed out to the ship, but they stopped when they saw a familiar sight on the deck. It was the Denschman.

He ordered them to come no further. ‘Take the uddler’s boat back to him. There are gifts in it for his three fair daughters. Without those fine young ladies, I would have gone through your isle with sword and flame. You owe them much, as do I.’

The men took the boat in tow and rowed back to the shore while the ship turned and sailed away. The old uddler, who was standing on the shore, examined the contents of his boat: silver tableware, golden jewellery, silk dresses, white linen, fruit, wine and grain. The old man turned to his daughters and said, ‘Can you answer this riddle for me?’

The two youngest daughters fell on their knees in front of their father and begged to be forgiven. The eldest daughter, a proud and fearless woman, said in a low voice: ‘We saved the Denschman. We knew the harm that he had done to us, but he possessed such a brave and bold spirit that his plight touched our hearts. To die in such a miserable hole was more than our hearts and our honour could stand. We took him baskets of food, drink and warm clothing at night when you all slept. That was why he didn’t perish like an animal in a snare. Then, when we heard that you intended to attack him, we couldn’t bear for him to die such a shameful death. We also knew that many of you here today would fall by his sword. Your deaths weighed heavily on our conscience as well. We took your boat and rescued him, but we made him swear that he would never harm a soul on this island again, and he agreed. He is a man of his word, as you have seen by his deeds today.’

An old woman said, ‘The lass has spoken words of wisdom.’

‘Aye’, said one of the fishermen, ‘and where would we men be without the tenderness and wisdom of the lasses?’

The old uddler felt humbled by the bravery of his daughters, and he forgave them. The Denschman kept his word, and he never brought harm to the island again. And it was said that Unst did benefit from his benevolence for many years after that.

THE SELKIE BOY OF BRECKON

Shetland

In the north of the island of Yell is a place...