
The Brahan Seer
The Making of a Legend
Alexander Sutherland(Author)
Peter Lang Verlag
Published on 7. January 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
282 pages
978-3-03911-868-7 (ISBN)
Description
The Brahan Seer is a legendary figure known throughout Scotland and the Scottish Diaspora and indeed anywhere there is an interest in looking into the future. This book traces the legend of the Seer between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries. It considers the seer figure in relation to aspects of Scottish Highland culture and society that shaped its development during this period. These include the practice and prosecution of witchcraft, the reporting and scientific investigation of instances of second sight, and the perennial belief in and use of prophecy as a means of predicting events. In so doing the book provides a set of historicised contexts for understanding the genesis of the legend and how it changed over time through a synthesis of historical events, oral tradition, folklore and literary Romanticism. It makes a contribution to the debates not only about witchcraft, second sight and prophecy but also about the relationship between 'popular' and 'elite' culture in Scotland. By taking the Brahan Seer as a case study it argues that 'popular' culture is not antithetical to 'elite' culture but rather in constant (and complex) interaction with it.
More details
Series
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Peter Lang Group AG, International Academic Publishers
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
New edition
Dimensions
Height: 21 cm
Width: 14.8 cm
Weight
400 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-03911-868-7 (9783039118687)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Alexander Sutherland
Second Sight: The Making of the Brahan Seer Legend
E-Book
07/2025
2nd Edition
Peter Lang Verlag
€74.49
Available for download

Alexander Sutherland
Second Sight: The Making of the Brahan Seer Legend
E-Book
07/2025
2nd Edition
Peter Lang Verlag
€74.49
Available for download
Person
The Author: Alex Sutherland was educated at the University of Aberdeen where he took a joint honours degree in philosophy and psychology, and a Ph.D. in history. He is now a freelance scholar.
Content
Contents: The Fowlis Affair and the 'Real' Coinneach Odhar? - Witchcraft Trials in Restoration Scotland: Rational Reluctance and Corrupt Exploitation - Enlightenment and Elite Interest in Second Sight - Coinneach Odhar in Oral Tradition - The Making of a Legend - The Power of Prophecy.