The Little Letter for Gaelic Learners

The Battle of Bannockburn took place in June 1314. A Scottish army defeated an English army. Some people say that the Scots had a special force of knights. They were extremely skilful at fighting. They were the Knights Templar. Ruairidh can’t say that if the story is true, or not … Why not listen in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruairidh was talking about Iain Geal Donn from Lochaber. He was plundering cattle in Ross-shire in the seventeenth century. Alasdair Breac of Gairloch was out to stop him and hired Alasdair Buidhe MacAoidh from Strath Oykell. Alasdair Buidhe shot Iain in a shieling bothy in Scardroy in Strathconon. Find out more about this exciting tale in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruairidh has a story about how a farm in Ross-shire got its name. The name is Scardroy, or Sgàrd Ruaidh in Gaelic. Ruadh refers to red and according to folklore, it’s the colour of blood. Ruairidh has the full story in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Roddy was in Strathconon in Ross-shire recently. The name Conon is interesting. Part of the River Conon flows through Strathbran. And part of it is in Strathconon.

Roddy told you about a Gaelic proverb in the book by Thomas Garnett: Is mairg a loisgeadh a thiompan ris. Pity the man who’d burn his harp for him. Alexander Nicolson has the same proverb in his collection – Is mairg a loisgeadh a thiompan dhut – pity him who would burn his harp for you. Where did this proverb come from? Roddy has the answer in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruaraidh talks of an interesting place-name from Mull – Maol Tobar Leac an t-Sagairt. The bare hill of the well of the flagstone, or gravestone, of the priest. Maol Tobar Leac an t-Sagairt. It’s in the middle of the south of the island. It’s close to the road between Craignure and Fionnphort.

There is a statue of Donald Dewar, Scotland’s first First Minister, at the top end of Buchanan Street in Glasgow. But more than two hundred years ago, a memorial was nearly erected there to somebody else. Who? Find out in this week's Little Letter to Gaelic Learners.

Thomas Garnett wrote the book Observations on a Tour Through the Highlands and Part of the Western Isles of Scotland. He was on a journey in the Highlands in 1798. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Do you know Loch Innis mo Cholmaig? It’s an unusual place. Why? Well, the name of the loch in English is the Lake of Menteith. “The only lake in Scotland” as people often say – although it’s a “loch” in Gaelic. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Roddy was thinking about Thomas Garnett the other day. Garnett was in the Highlands at the end of the eighteenth century. He wrote a book about his journey – Observations on a Tour Through the Highlands and Part of the Western Isles of Scotland. But why was Roddy thinking about Thomas Garnett? Find out in this week’s podcast. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

There is a seiche in Loch Ness from time to time. Seiche is a word from Swiss French. It looks like seiche in Gaelic. But it doesn’t mean an animal’s hide. It means big waves in a loch. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Roddy was looking at old newspapers the other day. They were on the internet. He saw this from the Derby Mercury in November 1755. The report was from Amsterdam. What was in the report? Why did it interest Roddy? Find out in this week's letter! Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Ruaraidh tells a traditional story - The Old Woman of the Nuts and the Tailor of the Boards. An evil Cailleach was living in the Highlands. She got her nickname, 'The Cailleach of the Nuts' because she would always have a bag full of nuts.

Have you ever heard the English word – graddaning? It comes from the Gaelic gradan. It means a method of making flour.Do you know how people used to make flour? People flailed the corn. They were winnowing it. In addition to the grain, they were getting chaff and straw. The straw was useful as food for cattle. It was also useful for bedding and house thatch. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag

Blessed silverweed of spring, the seventh bread of the Gael. Blessed silverweed of spring, the seventh bread of the Gael. The old Gaels used to eat it regularly. Sometimes they cultivated it. The silverweed is the seventh bread. What are the other six? Find out in this week’s letter. Accompanying text is available in both English and Gaelic at bbc.co.uk/litirbheag