418:, where he lives as a wild man. In this tale, the captor of Lailoken is the local king Meldred. Lailoken's madness has endowed him with the gift of prophecy and Meldred holds him in his fortress at Drumeller in the hope of extracting prophecies which he can use to his advantage. During negotiations over his release, Lailoken draws attention to a leaf caught in the queen's wimple which he claims is evidence of an assignation with her lover in the king's garden. Lailoken secures his release, but the queen takes revenge on him for revealing her affair by arranging to have him ambushed and killed by a gang of shepherds.
311:
323:
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22:
275:, to his eldest son, James. Catherine may already have been married to one of Lord Fleming's illegitimate sons. Three surviving members of Fleming's party were held captive by the Tweedies until Catherine was delivered to Drumelzier. In 1530, in an attempt to resolve the dispute, the Lords of Council ruled that John Tweedie should fund a chaplaincy in
425:
at the 'altarstone' near the village and is said to have died through his 'three deaths' here also. Legend has it that he prophesied his own death of falling, drowning and stabbing. It is said that he was chased off a cliff by shepherds where he tripped and fell, impaled himself on a fishing rod on
227:
The castle probably dates from the late 15th or early 16th centuries and may have been built by the
Tweedies of nearby Drumelzier. The remains indicate a rectangular castle with curtain-walls that enclosed a courtyard with a tower-house at the south corner; circular towers were located at the north
207:
The Castle was abandoned and as a ruin became a convenient quarry for building stone for the farm its ruins now stand in; the square south tower stood at its original height as late as 1972. The remains have since been mainly demolished and the site cleared on the grounds of safety; only the
187:
along the Tweed Valley. The ruins of the old house are now in the midst of modern farm buildings, which have been built largely of stone salvaged from it. The fortunes of the
Tweedie family declined, and in 1633 the last Tweedie of Drummelzier was forced to sell the Barony of Drummelzier to
489:
A local tradition tells of a Baron of
Drumelzier returning from a long involvement in the Crusades to find his wife nursing a baby. The wife explained that one day she had been walking beside the Tweed when the river spirit appeared and ravished her. The Baron appears to have accepted the
138:
The name is recorded as
Dunmedler (circa 1200); Dumelliare (1305); Drummeiller (1326); Drummelzare (1492) and Drummelzier (1790). The name may derive from the Gaelic for 'bare hill'. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the village may be named after
490:
explanation; however, less convinced locals applied the nickname 'Tweedie' to the child, who became Baron
Drumelzier. The family name of the Barons was Tweedie. One of the Merovingian Kings of France was supposedly conceived under similar circumstances.
450:
The very day that James VI of
Scotland and I of England was crowned the prophecy was fulfilled, with the River Tweed bursting its banks and meeting with the Powsail Burn at Merlin's Grave, something it had not done before and has not done since.
433:. Pennicuick in 1715 states that Merlin was buried a little below the churchyard at the side of the Powsail Burn. Richard Brown, a minister of the parish, showed Pennicuick the exact spot, marked by a thorn tree. A prophecy is stated :
429:
Meldred has
Lailoken buried in the churchyard to the west of his fortress, close to where the Powsail Burn (today named Drumelzier Burn, flowing just north of Drumelzier Kirk) joins the
235:
in the course of an ongoing feud between the
Flemings and the Tweedies of Drumelzier. However, in 1592 James VI ordered the demolition of "Tynneis" belonging to James Stewart, with
271:
in the vicinity of the village. The feud between the
Tweedies and the Flemings had its roots in Tweedie's desire to secure the marriage of Catherine Frizzel, heiress of Freud in
925:
220:, known as 'Tennis, Tinnis or Tinnie's Castle', a name derived from 'Thanes Castle'. Only a few walls of the old fortalice remained when it was visited by
975:
143:, a sixth-century petty king or chieftain who features in literary accounts of post-Roman Britain and may have had his power base at Tinnis Castle.
179:
The village takes its name from
Drumelzier Castle, located hard by the River Tweed not far from the village centre. It was the ancient seat of the
385:(1250 A.D.), written in a Brythonic Celtic language. In the Welsh tradition of his life he is said to be a wild man of the woods, prophet and
1000:
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936:
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fires on the local hills. On this date several parishioners were put on trial by the kirk session for carrying out this pagan act.
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in 1790; it was used as a redoubt or citadel by the Lords of Tweedie and passed to the Hays family by marriage.
264:
122:
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medieval legends, regarded as a prophet, madman, pagan and a prototype for the composite representation of
718:
516:
985:
459:
Celtic beliefs included the existence of river spirits and the need to appease them with sacrifices.
276:
382:
109:. Powsail Burn (also called Drumelzier Burn) runs through Drumelzier to become a tributary of the
365:
claims is named after the bard; Celticist A.O.H. Jarman suggests that instead his original name
244:
193:
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637:
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410:, a warrior so traumatised by the scale of the slaughter he witnesses at the Battle of
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310:
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850:
758:
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643:
620:
593:, Canmore: National Record of the Historic Environment, Historic Environment Scotland
415:
347:
322:
267:, was attacked and killed by a party of men led by John Tweedie of Drumelzier while
338:', 'Merlinus Caledonensis' or 'Merlin Sylvestris' (c. 540 – c. 584) is a figure in
292:
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35:
589:
980:
678:
422:
288:
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183:, first chartered to Roger de Twydyn about 1320. It was also part of a chain of
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An anonymous 17th-century account indicates that Tinnis Castle was blown up by
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The Tweed is wide and shallow, whilst the nearby Till is deep and narrow.
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Merlin Sylvestris was baptised and thus converted to Christianity by
411:
314:
Merlin being converted to Christianity by Saint Kentigern (Mungo) at
102:
81:
The area of the village is extensive and includes the settlements of
407:
304:
155:
146:
Drumelzier is pronounced /drəˈmɛljər/. This is due to the original
499:
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As late as 1598, on the first day of May, the parishioners built
140:
343:
258:
62:
735:
Scotland's Merlin: A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins
546:
Scotland's Merlin: A Medieval Legend and its Dark Age Origins
21:
295:, was imprisoned inside a riverbank tree by the enchantress
461:
435:
386:
381:. Stories of the life of Myrddin Wyllt can be found in the
151:
53:
44:
755:
The Ghosts of the Forest: The Lost Mythology of the North
279:
to say masses for the soul of the murdered Lord Fleming.
59:
299:. Many historical sites can be found in the area, from
192:. The present Laird of Drumelzier is Alexander Hay of
828:; vol. 2. High Holborn, London: Hooper and Wigstead.
604:
Register of the Privy Council of Scotland: 1585-1592
426:
the sea bed and died with his head under the water.
70:), is a village and civil parish on the B712 in the
56:
41:
38:
862:
Stobo Kirk: A Guide to the Building and its History
50:
47:
967:
330:, on which Merlin was converted to Christianity.
154:, which was later erroneously confused with the
729:
727:
440:"When Tweed and Powsail meet at Merlin's grave,
571:
208:rubble-filled stump of the tower now remains.
835:; vol. 1. London: Caxton Publishing Company.
724:
615:Fleming, Alexander and Mason, Roger (eds.),
442:Scotland and England shall one monarch have.
259:The murder of John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming
150:spelling, Drumelȝier, containing the letter
117:hotel and health spa are in the area, as is
860:Seymour, Camilla and Randall, John (2007).
578:Tinnis on Scran. Accessed : 2010-07-11
375:
367:
357:legend Merlin is said to have been born in
976:Locations associated with Arthurian legend
414:(Arthuret) in 573 that he retreats to the
398:The Merlin of the 12th century manuscript
715:History and Poetry of the Scottish Border
680:Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia
454:
373:was derived from Carmarthen's Welsh name
361:, South Wales, which a popular but false
121:, one of three "Regional Gardens" of the
16:Village in Scottish Borders, Scotland, UK
757:, Inter-Celtic, Edinburgh, pp. 89 - 95,
558:Scran Record. Accessed : 2010-07-11
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170:
20:
786:
784:
782:
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737:, John Donald, Edinburgh, pp. 40 - 45,
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512:List of places in the Scottish Borders
869:Albion: A Guide to Legendary Britain.
663:
661:
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779:
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287:In local tradition it is here, that
1001:Peel towers in the Scottish Borders
606:, vol. 4 (Edinburgh, 1881), p. 769.
406:Titus A xix) was originally called
216:Above the village is a distinctive
13:
656:
619:, John Donald, pp. 162 & 163,
14:
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233:Malcolm Fleming, 3rd Lord Fleming
101:and to the south the road passes
1011:Villages in the Scottish Borders
639:Modern Druidism: An Introduction
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747:
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617:Scotland and the Flemish People
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326:A part of 'altarstone', now in
833:Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland
636:Byghan, Yowann (6 June 2018).
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265:John Fleming, 2nd Lord Fleming
196:and Drumelzier, he resides at
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123:Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
1:
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468:'What gars ye rin so still?'
7:
867:Westwood, Jennifer (1985).
842:. Edinburgh: David Douglas.
831:Groome, Francis H. (1903).
826:The Antiquities of Scotland
505:
133:
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753:Young, William A. (2022),
719:William Blackwood and Sons
517:List of places in Scotland
476:Yet where ye droun ae man,
175:Drumelzier Castle in 1790.
128:
683:. ABC-CLIO. p. 321.
548:, Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh
472:'Though ye rin wi' speed,
211:
991:Parishes in Peeblesshire
864:. Peebles: John Randall.
838:Johnston, J. B. (1903).
383:Black Book of Carmarthen
247:, for their part in the
871:London: Grafton Books.
840:Place-names of Scotland
400:Vita Merlini Silvestris
733:Clarkson, Tim (2016),
677:Koch, John T. (2006).
544:Clarkson, Tim (2016),
455:The Tweed river spirit
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291:, the great wizard of
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849:London: Robert Hale.
416:Great Wood of Caledon
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283:Merlin and Drumelzier
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119:Dawyck Botanic Garden
24:
808:Love (1989), Page 25
948: /
847:Scottish Kirkyards.
845:Love, Dane (1989).
470:Till said to Tweed,
466:Tweed said to Till,
952:55.5939°N 3.3726°W
799:Westwood, Page 362
790:Westwood, Page 361
474:And I rin so slaw,
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249:Earl of Bothwell's
190:Lord Hay of Yester
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97:. To the north is
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25:Drumelzier village
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535:Johnson, Page 106
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348:Arthurian romance
228:and west angles.
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478:I droun twa!'.
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389:as written in
363:folk etymology
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181:Tweedie family
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642:. McFarland.
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590:Tinnis Castle
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711:Veitch, John
706:
694:. Retrieved
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392:Vita Merlini
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374:
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286:
262:
245:Walter Scott
230:
226:
218:conical hill
215:
206:
202:Berwickshire
178:
145:
137:
115:Stobo Castle
80:
72:Tweed Valley
29:
28:
18:
955: /
696:23 November
431:River Tweed
377:Caerfyrddin
198:Duns Castle
185:peel towers
162:The castles
111:River Tweed
95:Kingledoors
970:Categories
940:55°35′38″N
921:Drumelzier
915:Wrae Tower
906:Peel tower
892:Peel tower
523:References
359:Carmarthen
328:Stobo Kirk
316:Stobo Kirk
303:forts, to
301:Bronze Age
273:Tweedsmuir
167:Drumelzier
107:Tweedsmuir
91:Mossfennan
30:Drumelzier
1006:Tweeddale
943:3°22′21″W
908:downwards
412:Arfderydd
340:Brythonic
263:In 1524,
103:Crook Inn
99:Broughton
824:(1797).
721:, p. 224
713:(1893),
506:See also
408:Lailoken
395:(1150).
305:medieval
251:raid on
156:tailed z
134:Toponymy
87:Stanhope
928:
926:Tinnies
917:
894:upwards
816:Sources
500:Beltane
369:Myrddin
307:casts.
269:hawking
241:Dryhope
141:Meldred
129:History
74:in the
981:Merlin
875:
853:
761:
741:
687:
646:
623:
404:Cotton
344:Merlin
289:Merlin
277:Biggar
237:Harden
212:Tinnis
904:Next
890:Next
355:Welsh
148:Scots
873:ISBN
851:ISBN
759:ISBN
739:ISBN
698:2009
685:ISBN
644:ISBN
621:ISBN
387:Bard
239:and
194:Duns
152:yogh
93:and
83:Wrae
353:In
346:in
105:to
972::
781:^
769:^
726:^
658:^
350:.
255:.
204:.
200:,
158:.
125:.
113:.
89:,
85:,
78:.
63:ər
879:.
857:.
700:.
652:.
402:(
334:'
66:/
60:j
57:l
54:ɛ
51:m
48:ˈ
45:ə
42:r
39:d
36:/
32:(
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