This week’s post is actually an “addendum” to a former post I wrote around two weeks ago. Here is the link.
Syncretism in the Beliefs of Scottish Highlanders
It is also an addendum to another blogger’s post.
The Duality of Jamie Fraser or Religion in Outlander
Of interest is the following passage detailed in the aforementioned blog posts.
‘Whatever it is that lives in such water is older than the notion of saints,’ he’d assured her. ‘But it listens.’
At the time that I wrote my blog post in regards to this scene in An Echo in the Bone, I was aware that the practice of praying and doing other rituals at the White Spring has a syncretic origin. However, I could not tell from where it originated from. However, there is a newly published book, The Symbolism and Sources of OUTLANDER by Valerie Estelle Frankel, which details the origin of this practice. For a blogger like me, who concentrates on topics that are hardly discussed, this book is a great tool. In regards to the White Spring, the author provides information about what people believed of wells and springs. Here are the main points (131):
- Wells and springs are associated with healing and curing different maladies.
- Both Highlanders and Lowlanders used to frequent these springs, a practice that continued into the 20th century in remote areas.
- These practices and beliefs predate the Christian era. During the conversion phase, springs were named after saints, and churches were built near them (they were also built near or inside stone circles).
Jamie mentions that Saint Killian is the patron saint of rheumatism and gout. How does Jamie know that it is Saint Killian at the White Spring? This is not clearly defined. However, Jamie does seem to have a little bit of interest in rheumatism. In Dragonfly in Amber, Monsieur Forez gives Claire a bottle containing the fat of hanged criminals. Jamie just feels a little bit odd about it since he was supposed to be hanged at certain point in the past. However, he mentions that fat of hanged people is expensive and good for rheumatism.
Concerning the Gaelic version of the marriage vows, they were invented by the author. I remember reading about this in a blog long time ago. However, the notion of them being syncretic still applies in the fictional world of Outlander.
In regards to my last post about white animals, the author of the aforementioned book has a different interpretation of the white mare turning to black. She does not use the colour symbolism that I used for my post. She uses the symbolism associated with horses. It is also a good interpretation, but you will have to buy the book to get that information. If you are interested in reading my post, here is the link.
White Animals and the King of Ireland
This is probably my last post for the summer. I will be writing back again in September.
Works cited
Frankel, Valerie E. The Symbolism and Sources of OUTLANDER. Jefferson: McFarland. 2015. Print.