Ber Weyde

The following description of the procedure at an old-time harvest-home is gathered from a pamphlet by George Quarrie entitled ‘The Melliah’. It is a rhymed account of the final harvesting …

The Manx Church was very active in the detection and punishment of sexual irregularities and exercised powers of divorce of marriage, though these appear to have been used only on …

Olave, son of Godred Crovan, began his reign over Mann and the Isles in 1114 CE. He married Affrica, the daughter of Fergus, a chieftan or prince of Galloway. He …

The numeral ‘three’ has some charm about it. King Cormac wrote a poem on the virtues of the number three. The first ruler of Mann had a gold cup which …

The Irish expressions “the Gentry” and “the Gentle Folk” were not bestowed on the Manx fairies as a body, or at least they have not survived; neither has any other …

At the bottom of the Ballagilbert Glen on the Isle of Man lies Grenaby, where the valley narrows and squeezes its river under Grenaby Bridge into the upper part of …

Small fragment of cross-slab of the late 10th century, illustrating splendid Norse animal ornament, showing the forepart of a boar. Note the representation of bristles and the characteristic spiral where …

LAA LUANYS – LUGHNASADH – LAMMAS Is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season that was historically observed throughout the Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland. Originally …

JULY 31st – LAA’L MAGHAL TOSHEE – FIRST FEAST-DAY OF MAUGHOLD There were two days on the Manx Calendar dedicated to St. Maughold.  July 31st was known as “Laa’l Maghal …

There was once a little, little man, and a little, little woman, and a little, little house, and a little, little dog. The man, the woman, and the dog went …

Overlooking the sea…the groove of rock at Scarlett known as Cromwell’s Walk has a flat place half-way along its ledge called Cromwell’s Chair. Sit on it and wish. If you …

In the Animal Folklore of the Isle of Man there is a notion that pigs have a tendency to grow fatter or leaner according as the moon is waxing or …

It is stated that on King Orry’s landing at the mouth of the river Lhane in the 10th century, he was met on the shore by some inhabitants, and on …

The Chi-Rho is one of the earliest forms of christogram, and is used by some Christians. It is formed by superimposing the first two (capital) letters ‘chi’ and ‘rho’ (ΧΡ) …

Manx Fairies seem to have been especially fond of the chase. If a horse were found in his stall wet with perspiration – for which no particular reason could be …

About a league and a half from Barrule, there is a hole in the earth, just at the foot of the mountain, which they call “The Devil’s Den.” They tell …

“In the yeere 1066, Godredus Crovan gathered a fleete of ships, and sailed unto Man, and giving battell unto the people of the countrey, was vanquished and put to flight. …

The practice of letting a goat accompany flocks and herds at pasture was favoured in the Isle of Man. It is said to be followed still on a few farms. …

Once upon a time there landed at the Lhane river a number of Danes, who took possession of that part of the Island. Amongst them was a huge monster of …

• Before 1594, when it was forbidden by Statue, it was customary to carry bells and banners before the dead. • There were formerly crosses on the roads leading to …

The following story was told last year by a man who is now living: “One morning as he was returning from courting – courting it should be mentioned was, and …

A woman whom I knew in Ramsey, Mrs. C., practiced for her own benefit, and for others without payment, a method which is employed in England also.  She melted lead …

The importance attributed to keeping the Manx home-fires burning reappears in the apocryphal “law” believed to regulate squatters on other men’s land. If, after sufficient materials for four walls and …

FREE DOWNLOAD: From the University of Iceland, a great resource. 95 pages. Available in PDF format. http://bit.ly/13KZaZq

There is an old Manx cottage in Spaldrick, which I wish to choose as a type that has been inhabited in succession by four generations of a very long-lived family …

“On Sundays we used to have Manx broth, porridge and milk, potatoes and herrings, and in the morning sollaghyn for breakfast, which was made of porridge and meat broth. On …

A witch, or anyone knowing the necessary charm, or even the right pronunciation of the Manx word “giense!” (dance), could, as easily as the ringmaster in the circus, make a …

The Isle of Man contains 12 peaks which stand at over 1,500 ft. All of these except for South Barrule (which is found in the south) are found in the …

“With lips of rosy hue, Dipp’d five times over in ambrosial dew, She led them to their destruction.”~ Old Poet. Long hundreds of years ago there was a witch in …

There was supposed to be a submerged island near Port Soderick which appeared every seven years: “Many a time and oft had Nora Cain heard her old grandsire relate the …