The Fairy Chanter of the MacCrimmons
On the Isle of Skye, a boy who couldn't play the pipes well was given a silver chanter by a fairy woman. From then on, no one in Scotland could match him.
What was reported
The MacCrimmons were the hereditary pipers to the MacLeod chiefs of Dunvegan, on Skye, and ran a famous piping school at Boreraig for generations. They were said to be the greatest pipers in the Highlands.
Legend says their gift came from the fairies. A young MacCrimmon, the least talented of his brothers, was sitting sadly by a fairy knoll when a woman of the fairies appeared and gave him a silver chanter, telling him it would make him the finest piper of all. When he played, his family were astonished. The gift would last as long as the family kept faith with her.
Explanations offered
Tales of musicians learning their art from the fairies are common in Scotland and Ireland, explaining extraordinary talent. The MacCrimmons were real, and they shaped the classical music of the Highland bagpipe, called pìobaireachd. A memorial cairn now stands at Boreraig.
- When
- Told since the 1600s
- Where
- Boreraig, Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK
- Witnesses
- Highland folklore
- 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.
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