Generality of Superstition--Commencement of Monarchy
in Scotland--King Fergus I. crowned on the Fatal Stone
of Destiny--Signs, Assistance of Spirits, Magicians,
and Fortune-tellers--Natholocus sends a Friend to
consult a Cunning Woman--Her Prediction
verified--Constantine and Maxentius--A Heavenly
Cross--A Famous Standard--Queen Guanora's Grave--Fear
of St. Martin--The Church's Belief in the Intercession
of Departed Saints--Relics venerated--King bewitched
by Witches of Forres--Evil Signs during Elthus
Alipes's Reign--Sea Monster in the Don--Kenneth III.
killed by an Infernal Machine--Virtue of Precious
Stones--Weird Sisters--Consulting a
Pythoness--Predictions by Druids--Domitian's Death
foretold by Astrologers--Simon Magus--A Platonic
Philosopher charged with Sorcery--The Emperor Julian
instructed in Magic.
In speaking of superstition, it may be truly said, "As with the
people, so with the priest; as with the subjects, so with the
monarch." In the humble cot the peasant is deluded and overawed by
superstition; in the church the priest lays claim to supernatural
power; and crowned heads have played a not unimportant part among the
believers in and performers of the occult science, which has so long
held the souls of men in bondage. We have it on record that a monarch
has been made to tremble by the sayings of an old woman, supposed to
be in league with the prince of darkness. A king and his army have
been kept from battle by the movements of a harmless quadruped, or by
the flight of a bird, unaware that before sunset it would be the
eagle's portion. Other sovereigns have supported their tyranny over a
down-trodden people by an arrogant pretension to an authority derived
in a mysterious manner from another world.
Ancient historians date the commencement of monarchy in Scotland from
Fergus I., who was crowned according to the superstitious custom of
the age in which he reigned. He was seated on the fatal stone of
destiny, to be afterwards described. Both before and after the
introduction of Christianity into Scotland, not a freebooting
excursion was undertaken before seeking a sign; not a friend was to be
gained without asking the assistance of a generous spirit or fairy;
and not an enemy to be overcome till the magicians and fortune-tellers
secured the aid of unearthly creatures, either good or bad. When
Natholocus's cruelty and oppression excited an insurrection, he had
recourse to cunning people, supposed to be in league with Satan. He
sent one of his particular friends to a distant island to an old
woman, said to be skilled in necromancy, to inquire whether any of his
courtiers were seeking his destruction. The sorceress, having
consulted her familiar spirits, answered that Natholocus would die a
violent death by the hand of one of his most intimate friends. On
being pressed to disclose by whose hand the blow would be struck, she
replied, "By thine own." The messenger reproached the woman, and told
her that he entertained the greatest friendship for his master. He was
afraid to tell Natholocus what the fortune-teller had said, and
therefore entertained him with such false predictions as he knew would
inspire confidence. For what reason we are not informed, but this is
certain that the servant's friendship turned into hatred, and before
long he verified the witch's prophecy.
Constantine, the son of Constantius Chlorus, being proclaimed his
father's successor, caused Maxentius to declare war against
Constantine. The latter, although a heathen, implored the true Deity
to assist him. His prayers were heard. As he was marching with his
army, about mid-day, he, and all who were with him, beheld in the
heavens a bright cross of light, with an inscription over it, "By
this, conquer." Constantine was greatly surprised at the vision, and
the troops were equally astonished. On the following night a holy
being appeared to him, and ordered him to make a representation of
what he had seen in the sky, and use it for an ensign in battle. Next
morning he called workers of fine material, and instructed them to
make a standard according to tracings he prepared. It was made,
adorned with gold and sparkling precious stones; and we scarcely
require to say that Constantine was victorious when he fought under
such a famous standard.
Queen Guanora, widow of Arthur, was, after the king's fall, about the
middle of the sixth century, taken prisoner, and kept as such during
the remainder of her life at Dunbar. She was buried at Meigle; and, if
tradition can be trusted, every female walking over her grave is
doomed to perpetual sterility. Speaking of the grave reminds us of a
son of Clotaire, who was desirous of executing vengeance against his
enemy Bason. He was prevented from doing so by the latter fleeing to
St. Martin's Church for sanctuary. The prince, fearing that an invasion
of the church would displease the saint, wrote a letter, and placed it
on the glorified individual's tomb, requesting to be informed if he
would be guilty of an outrage against religion were he to drag Bason
from the church. For reasons best known to the saint, he did not
return an answer. This mode of obtaining information may now be
considered ridiculous; but it was not considered so, even in the
Church, in the eighth century. After due inquiry and consideration,
the second Council of Nice, in the year 787, declared that the Church
had always believed it lawful and useful to invoke the intercession
of departed saints, and to venerate their relics.
Duff, the son of Malcolm, having established Culen, son of Indulph,
Prince of Cumberland, set out for the Hebrides, where great predatory
disorders prevailed. He summoned the thanes of the isles to appear
before him, and swore that if any of them should oppress the poorer
inhabitants, he would visit the actors with condign punishment. His
threats not being enough to deter the depredators, active measures
were taken to punish the offenders. Meantime the king fell into a
languid sickness, which baffled the skill of his physicians. A rumour
was circulated that he was suffering under the incantations of certain
far-famed witches at Forres. The report reaching the king's ears, he
caused certain confidential servants to investigate the case secretly.
Donevald, master of the fort at Forres, having learned that the _bonne
amie_ of a soldier there was the daughter of a witch, apprehended the
damsel, and learned from her the whole secret concerning a diabolical
plot to torture his Majesty. Means were taken to secure the wretches
concerned when engaged in their devilish art. So carefully were the
faithful servants' plans laid, that they could tell what part each
traitorous one performed. While one of them turned, upon a wooden spit
before the fire, a wax image of the king, fashioned as was supposed by
Satan, another of them sang her charms, and poured a liquid slowly
upon the image. According to the interpretation of these wicked women,
the vocal charm kept his Majesty awake; that while the effigy was
exposed to the fire and moistened with the liquor, he would sweat and
consume away; and that when the image dissolved away, the king would
cease to exist. The women declared they had been hired by the nobles
of Murray--who were highly displeased at their king for oppressing
them and compelling them to betake themselves to labour unsuitable to
their rank--to perform the cruel acts. The implements of enchantment
were destroyed, the witches burned, and the king recovered. This was
but a mere respite to his Majesty: the friends upon whom he relied
turned their hands against him, and before long his mangled body lay
buried in the bed of the river Findhorn.
Elthus Alipes, or Swiftfoot, being a worthless prince, was confined in
prison to the day of his death. Historians record many evil signs seen
during his short reign--two years. An ominous comet, and shoals of
monstrous fishes resembling human beings, swimming with half their
bodies above the water, and having black skin covering their heads and
necks, were among the portentous appearances. Spalding, in his history
of the troubles of Scotland in his own time, describes a sea monster
seen in the river Don in the month of June 1635. It had, says the
historian, a head like a great mastiff dog, hands, arms, and breast
like a man, short legs and a tail. Spalding concluded that the
appearance of such a monster did not come as a sign of good to
Aberdeen.
Kenneth III. became a victim to revenge, an inordinate taste for
magnificence, and superstition. Kenneth, it appears, for reasons well
pleasing to the Church, visited the shrine of St. Palladius at Fordun;
and on returning home he fell into a snare laid for him. Around the
castle of Fettercairn were grounds well stocked with beasts of chase,
and there the king intended to indulge in the manly exercise of
hunting. The owner of that place, Lady Fenella, a relative of
Constantine and Grime, having a long deep-rooted hatred against
Kenneth, conceived the design of bringing him to an untimely end. With
this object in view, she built a grand tower, containing an infernal
machine for throwing javelins or sharp-pointed lances at any one who
should handle a golden apple, set with precious stones, held in the
hand of a bronze statue of Kenneth that stood in the centre of a room.
She invited him to become her guest--an invitation he accepted. After
dinner, the perfidious woman conducted him into the tower, professedly
to see and admire the exquisite furnishings with which it was
decorated. In his fondness for grandeur, he lingered to admire the
elegant figures and flowers; the rich tapestry, interwoven with gold;
and the statue with its golden apple. Just at the moment the king's
eyes rested on the statue, Fenella stepped forward and said, "Sire,
this is a statue of your Majesty; I have given it the most adorned
place in my castle, that all may perceive in what veneration I hold
you. The apple you behold is intended as a present to you, beloved
monarch--unworthy indeed of your acceptance, yet an expression of the
good-will of the donor. The inserted gems are an emerald, a hyacinth,
a sapphire, a topaz, a ruby, an azure, emitting an antidote against
pestilence and deadly poison." Having thus excited the king's
curiosity, she abruptly left the apartment, seemingly with the
intention of bringing some other strange article for his inspection.
Meantime Kenneth, left alone and charmed with the apple, commenced
handling it. In an instant the secret machinery, being set in motion,
discharged a shower of deadly darts against the king, who fell
mortally wounded on the floor. The traitorous Fenella, rejoicing at
her bloody cruelty, mounted a swift steed and fled far away before her
act of treachery became known. Had she remained in Scotland, a cruel
death would have been her doom, but she escaped to Ireland, and was
lost sight of.
Fenella is reported as pointing out to the king pretended special
virtues, to be found in the gems that ornamented the golden apple. And
no doubt the credulous monarch believed what she said, because we have
it on record, that not only in the tenth century, but long before and
after it, both pagans and professing Christians believed that precious
stones possessed greater virtues than even that which she ascribed to
the settings of her golden apple.
The story of Macbeth and the three witches, noticed in chapter XVII.,
does not require to be repeated. Greater men than Macbeth were wont to
consult fortune-tellers. A Druid told Alexander Severus that he would
be unhappy. Vopiscus relates that the prince, having consulted the
Gaulish Druids whether the empire should remain in his family,
received the answer, that no name would be more glorious in the empire
than that of the descendants of Claudius.
Titus Flavius Domitian, who commanded himself to be called by the
names by which the Most High is known, and who passed the greatest
part of his time in catching flies and killing them with a bodkin,
became suspicious of his best friends, and his fears were increased by
the predictions of astrologers. He was so frightened, that, to prevent
sudden surprise, he caused a wall of shining stones to be built round
the terrace where he usually walked, that he might perceive, as in a
looking-glass, whether any one was approaching him. His precautions
were unavailing: he perished by the hand of an assassin, as was
foretold.
It is reported that St. John was thrown into a cauldron of boiling
oil, by order of the Emperor Domitian, but that he came out unhurt. He
was then at Rome, and from thence he was banished to the Isle of
Patmos.
Lucius Apuleius, a Platonic philosopher of the second century, having
married a lady of fortune against the wish of her relatives, they
pretended that he had made use of sorcery to gain her heart and money.
He was dragged before Claudius Maximus, on the charge of being a
magician. In his defence he said, "Do you wonder that a woman should
marry again after living thirteen years a widow? It is much more
wonderful that she did not marry sooner. You think that magic must
have been employed to induce a widow of her age to marry a young man;
on the contrary, this very circumstance shows how little occasion
there was for magic." He continued: "She was neither handsome nor
young, nor such as could in any way tempt him to have recourse to
enchantments." He also took notice of many inconveniences which
attended the marrying of widows, and spoke highly of the advantages of
a maid over a widow. "A handsome virgin," said he, "let her be ever so
poor, is abundantly portioned; she brings to her husband a heart quite
new, together with the flowers and first fruits of her beauty. It was
with great reason," he argued, "that husbands set so great value upon
virginity; all the other goods which a woman brought her husband were
of such a nature that he might return them if he had a mind, but the
flowers of virginity could not be given back; they remained in the
possession of the first husband." Through his eloquence he escaped
punishment, and the odium of being branded a sorcerer.
Maximus, the celebrated cynic philosopher and magician of Ephesus,
instructed the Emperor Julian in magic. Certain historians say it was
through his teaching that the apostacy of Julian originated. When the
emperor went in search of conquests, the magician promised him
success, and even predicted that his triumphs would be more numerous
and brilliant than those of Alexander. After the death of Julian,
Maximus was nearly sacrificed by the soldiers, but his friends
succeeded in saving his life. He retired to Constantinople.
Subsequently he was accused of magical practices before the Emperor,
and beheaded at Ephesus in the year 366.