Scottish folklore Scottish folklore (Scottish Gaelic: ''Beul-aithris na h-Alba'') encompasses the folklore of the Scottish people from their earliest records until today. Folkloristics, Folklorists, both academic and amateur, have published a variety of works focu ...

, the beithir is a large snakelike creature or

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

Etymology

The

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

word ''beithir'' has been defined variously as "serpent", "lightning", and "thunderbolt".Briggs, Katharine (1976). ''An Encyclopedia of Fairies''. Pantheon Books. p. 20. .Mackenzie, Donald (1935). ''Scottish Folklore and Folk Life''. Blackie & Son Limited. p. 247.Carmichael, Alexander (1900). ''Carmina Gadelica'' (Vol. 2). Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable. p. 228. It is also referred to as beithir-nimh ("venomous serpent") and nathair ("serpent" and "adder"). The word may also mean "wild beast" and may be derived from the Norse for "bear" according to

Celtic mythology Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...

scholar James MacKillop.

Folklore

The beithir is described as "the largest and most deadly kind of serpent",Campbell, John Gregorson (1900). ''Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland''. Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons. p. 224. or as a dragon (but without certain typical European folklore draconic features such as wings or fiery breath). It dwells in mountainous caves and corries (valleys) and is equipped with a

venomous Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

sting. If a person is stung by the beithir then they must head for the nearest body of water such as a river or

loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

. If they can reach it before the beithir does then they are cured, but if the monster reaches it first then the victim is doomed.Mackenzie (1935). p. 250. Another cure for the sting is water in which the head of another snake has been placed. The beithir is considered one of the

fuath A fuath (; ; lit. ‘hatred'; ''fuathan''; vough, vaugh) is a class of malevolent spirits in Scottish Highland folklore and Irish Folklore especially water spirits. In Sutherland was the so-called ''Moulin na Vaugha/Fouadh'', ‘Mill of the ...

, a general term for various monsters and spirits associated with water. It is said that if a normal snake is killed then the head must be separated a proper distance from its body and destroyed. Otherwise, both parts will come together and the snake will return to life as a beithir.

Donald Alexander Mackenzie Donald Alexander Mackenzie (24 July 1873 – 2 March 1936) was a Scottish journalist and folklorist and a prolific writer on religion, mythology and anthropology in the early 20th century. Life and career Mackenzie was born in Cromarty, son ...

in ''Scottish Folklore and Folk Life'' (1935) drew a possible connection between the beithir and the mythological hag known as the Cailleach Bheur. In a story from

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

the Cailleach was slain by a hunter who hacked her to pieces, but she returned to life when all her body parts came together again. Mackenzie suggested that the serpent-dragon of the loch may be one of her forms. John Francis Campbell in 1890 recounted a traditional story about a

wicked stepmother ''Wicked Stepmother'' is a 1989 American black comedy fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Bette Davis and Barbara Carrera. It is best known for being the last film of Bette Davis, who withdrew from the proj ...

who was the wife of an Irish king, and she gave the king's son a magic shirt that was a beithir in disguise. As long as the "great snake" remained coiled about his neck, the prince was under his stepmother's enchantment, but he was eventually freed from the beithir with the help of a wise woman.Campbell, John Francis (1890). ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'' (Vol. 1). Alexander Gardner. Introduction, pp. lxxxix–xc. John Gregorson Campbell in 1900 provided an account of the beithir:

The big beast of Scanlastle in
Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...
was one of this kind. It devoured seven horses on its way to Loch-in-daal. A ship was lying at anchor in the loch at the time, and a line of barrels filled with deadly spikes, and with pieces of flesh laid upon them, was placed from the shore to the ship. Tempted by the flesh, the "loathly worm" made its way out on the barrels and was killed by the spikes and cannon.

Writing in the ''Celtic Review'' in 1908, the

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

E. C. Watson described the beithir as a "venomous and destructive creature". She suggested the basis of the legends were founded in the destructive characteristics of

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

and serpents. The beithir was said to be sighted on summer nights when lightning strikes occurred.

References

{{Scottish mythology, state=collapsed Scottish legendary creatures Scottish folklore Legendary reptiles European dragons

Etymology

Folklore

See also

References