The Fairy Flag is an heirloom passed down in the McLeods of Dunvegan family for generations. It is held in the Clan’s ancestral home, Dunvegan Castle. This castle has been in the possession of Clan McLeod for over 800 years, making it Scotland’s oldest castle continuously inhabited by the same family.
Dunvegan Castle & Gardens (Wiki Commons, by Dunvegan Castle)
| There are many different stories of how the Fairy Flag came into the possession of the McLeods of Dunvegan. Otta F. Swire, in her book “Skye: The Islands and its Legends” shares one of them. According to lore, marriage between human and fae folk was not terribly unheard of during the early Middle Ages. And so, as befitting a strong clan chief, it was either the third or fourth McLeod chieftain who married an ethereally beautiful fairy maid. As is common in human/fae marriages, one of the stipulations to their betrothal was that McLeod must promise to allow his beloved to return to her own folk at such time as they deemed appropriate to beckon her. And so it came to pass that the young couple was very happy, and very much in love. But, when their first child was born, the young fairy mother heard the fae pipers calling her home. She had no choice but to obey. Her husband was able to walk his bride part of the way, but they must say their goodbyes at Fairy Bridge. After the two lovers parted, McLeod returned to Dunvegan Castle to begin preparations for the customary celebratory feast that accompanies the birth of every new heir. |  Take the fair face of Woman, by Sophie Anderson  The real Fairy Bridge in Dunvegan, Skye. (Wiki Commons photo by Graeme Smith) |
 Illustration by H.J. Ford, 1921 | The festivities were so merry that the guest of honor, the babe himself, was completely forgotten. His nurse had been enticed to join in the revelries and lost track of time. The bairn was therefore unattended when the wee thing wriggled of his coverings. Feeling the bite of the cold northerly air, the child began to cry. The merriment in the castle was so great that not one person heard his cry. Not one human, that is. With the strength of love only a mother can possess, enhanced by her fairy senses, the fairy Queen of Dunvegan heard the cry of her child from all the way in Fairy Land. Though her hands may have been unseen, she reached out to cradle her young lad, and draped his cold body with the softest cloth of the fairies. A choir of otherworldly voices filled the chamber, singing a soft and most angelic lullaby. Soon the sweet child drifted gently back to sleep. The blanket draping the McLeod bairn’s wee body would be known forever as the Fairy Flag. |
The Flag’s true origins are actually unknown. It is said that Sir Reginald McLeod, the Clan’s 27th chief, took the flag to a museum expert for analysis. The curator hypothesized that the cloth was brought back to Scotland by knights on crusade during the Middle Ages, stating that the silk appeared to be of Eastern origin. Sir Reginald replied “You believe it to be a relic of the Crusades. I know it was given to my ancestor by the fairies.” Whatever the case, the cloth has been in the McLeod family for centuries and is recorded as being observed by numerous people over the years.
An old sketch of the tattered old flag pictured with the other McLeod heirlooms: The Dunvegan Cup and Sir Rory Mor’s Horn
The Flag was said to be a sort of beacon to be able to summon the fairies to the aid of the McLeod during times of great need. At least two uses are recorded when the McLeods required the aid of their allies and fairy kin during battle.
 Photo of the real items mentioned above, taken sometime before 1927 | In both instances the Flag was not used until absolutely necessary. And, in both cases, when the McLeod Clan was on the verge of defeat, the wave of the Flag summoned legions of otherworldly soldiers to the battlefield. Needless to say, these battles ended in favor of the McLeods. It was said that as recently as World War I, members of the McLeod Clan carried photographs of their beloved Fairy Flag on their person to give them nerve and luck in battle.  |
 | My name is Carolyn Emerick, and I write on the history, myth, and folklore of Northwestern Europe. Please explore this website for more articles, and check out the new section for books! Please follow me on Facebook to be updated on new articles! |
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