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The Fairy Flag (Scottish Gaelic: ''Am Bratach Sìth'') is an heirloom of the chiefs of Clan MacLeod. It is held in Dunvegan Castle along with other notable heirlooms, such as the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn. The Fairy Flag is known for the numerous traditions of fairies, and magical properties associated with it. The flag is made of silk, is yellow or brown in colour, and measures about squared. It has been examined numerous times in the last two centuries, and its condition has somewhat deteriorated. It is ripped and tattered, and is considered to be extremely fragile. The flag is covered in small red "elf dots". In the early part of the 19th century, the flag was also marked with small crosses, but these have since disappeared. The silk of the flag has been stated to have originated in the Far East, and was therefore extremely precious, which led some to believe that the flag may have been an important relic of some sort. Others have attempted to associate the flag with the Crusades or even a raven banner, which was said to have been used by various Viking leaders in the British Isles. There are numerous traditions and stories associated with the flag, most of which deal with its magical properties and mysterious origins. The flag is said to have originated as: a gift from the fairies to an infant chieftain; a gift to a chief from a departing fairy-lover; a reward for defeating an evil spirit. The various powers attributed to the Fairy Flag include: the ability to multiply a clan's military forces; the ability to save the lives of certain clanfolk; the ability to cure a plague on cattle; the ability to increase the chances of fertility; and the ability to bring herring into the loch at Dunvegan. Some traditions relate that if the flag were to be unfurled and waved more than three times, it would either vanish, or lose its powers forever. Clan tradition, preserved in the early 19th century, tells how the Fairy Flag was entrusted to a family of hereditary standard bearers. Only the eldest male of this family was ever allowed to unfurl the flag; the first such hereditary standard bearer was given the honour of being buried inside the tomb of the chiefs, on the sacred isle of Iona. Tradition states that the flag was unfurled at several clan battles in the 15th and 16th centuries; the flag's magical powers are said to have won at least one of them. Another 19th century tradition linked the flag to a prophecy which foretold the downfall of Clan MacLeod; but it also prophesied that, in the "far distant future", the clan would regain its power and raise its honour higher than ever before. In the mid-20th century, the Fairy Flag was said to have extinguished a fire at Dunvegan Castle, and to have given luck to servicemen flying bombing missions in the Second World War. ==Description== In the 19th century, the writer Rev. Norman Macleod (1783–1862) recalled seeing the Fairy Flag during his childhood around 1799 (see relevant section below). He described the flag as then having crosses wrought in gold thread, and several "elf spots" stitched upon it. N. Macleod recollected that when the flag was examined, bits were taken off it from time to time; so much so, that later in his life he did not believe the flag still existed.〔 In August 1814, Sir Walter Scott visited Dunvegan Castle on the Isle of Skye, and wrote of the visit in his diary. One of several items he mentioned seeing was the Fairy Flag. Scott described it as "a pennon of silk, with something like round red rowan-berries wrought upon it". John Francis Campbell saw the flag in 1871, and described it as being "made of yellow raw silk with figures and spots worked on it in red".〔 In 1927, Roderick Charles MacLeod described the flag as then being square and brown. He measured it as about squared. He considered the flag to have originally been much larger; and remarked on its extreme fragility and the requirement for careful handling, if it should be handled at all. R.C. MacLeod noted N. Macleod's description of the flag, but observed that it now only contained the "elf spots"—there was then no evidence of any crosses upon what remained of the flag. R.C. MacLeod also observed that several tears in the flag had been carefully mended. The flag was examined in the early 20th century by A.J.B. Wace of the Victoria and Albert Museum, who concluded that the silk was woven in either Syria or Rhodes, and the darns were made in the Near East. It was his opinion that the flag, in its original state, would have been quite precious, possibly a relic like the shirt of a saint. The belief at the time of this examination was the MacLeods were descended from Harald Hardrada, who spent some time in Constantinople in the 11th century. In line with this belief, it was suggested that the flag may have passed from Harald Hardrada down to the eponymous ancestor of the clan—Leod.〔 The MacLeod Estate Office (Dunvegan Castle) website claims that experts have dated the flag to the 4th and 7th centuries—hundreds of years before the Crusades.〔 The flag is currently held in Dunvegan Castle,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=The Fairy Flag )〕 along with other notable heirlooms such as the Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor's Horn. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fairy Flag」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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