The Brahan Seer
A Highland seer is said to have looked through a stone with a hole in it and foretold the fall of a great family.
What was reported
The Brahan Seer, Coinneach Odhar, is a figure of Highland legend, said to have lived in the 17th century and to have seen the future through a small stone with a hole in it. Many prophecies are credited to him, including that ships would one day sail behind Tomnahurich hill, near Inverness, where the Caledonian Canal now runs.
His best-known prophecy foretold the downfall of the Mackenzies of Seaforth. In the legend, the Countess of Seaforth had him put to death at Chanonry Point, where a memorial stone now stands.
Explanations offered
Historians have found no clear record of him in the 1600s, and most of his prophecies were first written down in the 19th century, after the events they seem to predict. A man with a similar name appears in records from the 1500s, which may have seeded the legend.
- When
- Said to have lived in the 1600s
- Where
- Chanonry Point, Black Isle, Scotland
- Witnesses
- Highland tradition
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.