Legend Of Brigadoon: Mythical Village Where Time Stands Still
Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - People who visit Scotland often ask where they can find the mysterious and beautiful village of Brigadoon.
It's a place where the passing of a century seems no longer than one night. The village is hidden somewhere in the Scottish Highlands, and it appears every hundred years for just one day.
The village of Brigadoon is said to be hidden somewhere in the Scottish Highlands. Credit: Gary Campbell-Hall - CC BY 2.0
The enchantment on the village of Brigadoon will only last as long as no citizen leaves. If the enchantment is broken, the village will disappear forever into the Highland mists.
A long time ago, the village fell under an evil magical curse. As part of an agreement made with God, the village must remain unchanged and invisible to the outside world except for one special day every hundred years when it could be seen and even visited by outsiders. That day is a moment of joy and celebration, but none of the villagers can leave the place. If anyone does, the enchantment would be broken, and the village and all its inhabitants will vanish forever into the Highland mists.
It is believed the village of Brigadoon disappeared in 1754. Bob Curran writes in his book Lost Lands, Forgotten Realms: Sunken Continents, Vanished Cities, and the Kingdoms that History Misplaced that "the spell that was cast over Brigadoon was put in place to protect it from advancing English Redcoats during the Jacobite Rebellion."
The village still exists, but it is stuck in some kind of time warp and has not appeared since 1754.
Those who have researched the myth about Brigadoon have reason to think the legend does not originate from Scotland, but from Germany.
There is an old German legend of a cursed village named Germelhausen. It was said that the village's bells were so loud that they could be heard ringing out of across the Bavarian Mountains. The Brothers Grimm recorded these tales in their collection of ghostly tales. Curran explains that those who followed the sound of the bells and entered the village were never seen again. They tried to return to the mortal world, but all their attempts were in vain.
Germelhausen was allegedly inhabited by dark and evil forces that only desired to harm humanity. The evil village of Germelshausen is said to still exist, hidden somewhere in the Bavarian Hills. Unseen by the human eye and ready to draw the unwary traveler into its curse, anyone should avoid this place at all costs.
The village of Germelhausen is a place of evil. Credit: Public Domain
So while Germelshausen is associated with evil forces, the village of Brigadoon reflects joy and Scottish romance.
Today many people associate the name Brigadoon with a musical written by Frederick Loewe in 1947.
The musical is world-famous and its plot centers around the chaos that unfolds when a pair of traveling Americans stumble upon the village right before a wedding is going to be celebrated.
Medieval bridge Brig o' Doon - Image credit: Education Scotland
The village of Brigadoon is a myth, but there is a Medieval bridge south of Alloway that is called Brig o' Doon. Alloway is a former Scottish village that is now a suburb of Ayr. It is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns and the setting for his poem "Tam o' Shanter."
Some believe the musical was named for Brigid, a Celtic goddess. Others have suggested it may also be a compound of the Celtic words briga, for "town" and dun, for "fortifications," suggesting a fortified or sheltered town.
The Brigadoon musical was written during a period when German themes would not have been popular on the British or American stage due to the recent World War. Many think that Lerner retooled the story, setting it in Scotland so that he could use the distinctive sounds of traditional Scottish music and the lush setting of the Scottish highlands.
Whatever the truth might be behind the village of Brigadoon, it's a wonderful tale.
Written by Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com
Updated on November 17, 2023
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
Neanderthals And Modern Humans Diverged At Least 800,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | May 17, 2019
-
On This Day In History: Adventurer Thor Heyerdahl And His Kon-Tiki Reached French Polynesia – On August 7, 1947
News | Aug 7, 2016
-
Secrets Of The Freemasons – Masonic Symbols Reveal Worship Of Ancient Mother Goddesses
Ancient Symbols | Jun 18, 2018
-
Urban Resiliency Lie Within Ancient Cities – New Study Suggests
Archaeology | Jul 25, 2023
-
Ten Inscriptions Related To Sargon Unearthed At Ancient Assyrian Site In Iraq’s Kurdistan Region
Archaeology | Jan 20, 2020
-
Evolution Mystery – Mini-Proteins In Human Organs Appeared ‘From Nowhere’
Human Beginnings | Feb 20, 2023
-
Were The Viking Berserkers True Or Drug Addicted Warriors Fighting In Trance?
Featured Stories | Feb 3, 2015
-
On This Day In History: Discovery Of X-Rays By Wilhelm Roentgen Reported – On Jan 5, 1896
News | Jan 5, 2017
-
Kingdom Of Mitanni: Forgotten For Millennia But Once Great Power Of Ancient West Asia In 2000 BC
Featured Stories | Jun 20, 2023
-
Ancient City Of Isaura And Zengibar Castle Used By The Hittites, Persians, And Romans
Archaeology | Jun 25, 2020
-
Centuries-Old Authorship Mystery – Solved By Stanford Musicologist Jesse Rodin
Archaeology | Jul 18, 2022
-
Ancient Egyptians Invented Toothpaste
Ancient Technology | Dec 26, 2015
-
Riddle Of The Hanging Gardens Of Babylon – Highly Advanced Technologies – Part 2
Featured Stories | Jun 11, 2019
-
Pre-Columbian Americans Mastered Electricity – Ancient Inscription And Document Reveal Proof Of Advanced Ancient Technology
Ancient Technology | Feb 4, 2018
-
Does The Shigir Idol Depict Demons And Evil Spirits?
Archaeology | May 3, 2018
-
Scientists Found A Link Between Ancient Human Teeth And An Extinct Reptile
Archaeology | Jan 10, 2022
-
Study: Paleo-Americans Hunted Mastodons, Mammoths And Other Megafauna In Eastern North America 13,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Jun 15, 2023
-
Ancient Roman Wine Production May Hold Clues For Battling Climate Change
Featured Stories | Jan 4, 2024
-
Sōhei And Yamabushi: Fearsome Ancient Warrior Monks Of Japan
Featured Stories | Feb 26, 2022
-
Archaeologists Have A Lot Of Dates Wrong For North American Indigenous History
Archaeology | May 4, 2020