Seanchas Ìle - Collecting, recording and preserving Islay's Gaelic Heritage

Maclagan manuscripts

Bowmore in the early 1900s

The Maclagan manuscripts are a collection of West Highland folklore material collated towards the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century. Robert Craig Maclagan (1839 - 1919), who instigated the collection, was himself originally from north Perth-shire and in his later years was a member of the Folklore Society where he was involved in various folklore publications such as "The Evil Eye of the West Highlands" and "Religio Scotica". In 1893 Maclagan circularised a survey to parsons and teachers of Argyllshire and the Isles where a considerable collection of local folklore was undertaken. This collection, along with material collected from other areas of the West Highlands, now comprises of over 40 volumes held at the School of Scottish Studies.

On this page you will find a selection of stories, beliefs and even a few recipes that were collected in Islay as part of Maclagan’s collection.

The material from the manuscripts on this site are typed exactly as found in the original manuscript. Permission has been kindly given by the School of Scottish Studies to use these manuscripts on our site.

Downloads

Cookery	Legends	Supernatural	Superstitions
Recipes	Local legends Place legends Ulaidh (treasure troves)	Fairies Water horses Will o the wisp Witchcraft	Lucky/unlucky

Help

How to view the manuscripts:
The manuscripts are in PDF format. To view the pages you need to click on the link. The page will open in a new window and you can then choose to print a copy.