True Thomas - Poet and Seer
The story of Thomas the Rhymer
Thomas the Rhymer is but one among a long tradition of prophets or seers who have played their part in Scottish history. He is thought to have been an illegitimate son of the Earls of Dunbar, and to have lived from around 1220 until 1297. Although his existence is partly legendary, his name is in fact actually documented in Berwickshire in the 1260's, when a Thomas Rimor de Ercildoun witnessed a charter of land to the abbey at Melrose. Ercildoun is the modern town of Earlston, where the ruined Rhymer's Tower, allegedly his home, is still to be seen. Thomas is also linked to the hospice at Soutra in a transaction of lands to this foundation, in 1294. Another name which has been associated with him is Learmonth. There is no evidence for this alternative name other than the late mediaeval historian Hector Boece, but he is still recognised today as 'True Thomas'.
His epithet of 'rhymer' was probably well deserved and Sir Walter Scott, at least, believed him to be the author of the poem, the 'Romance of Sir Tristrem', the tragic, romantic story of Tristram and Isolde, which Scott edited in 1804, reputedly the oldest known piece of Scots poetry. His story is told in the ballad of "Thomas the Rhymer " (below) which Sir Walter Scott included in his collection "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border ". In the early 15th century, the prophecies of Thomas had appeared in literary form, Romance and Prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune (edited in 1875 by J.A.H. Murray). The most well known of the works associated him is the allegedly autobiographical tale in which Thomas is carried away to Elfland, an enchanted kingdom under the Eildon Hills, by the queen of the Faeries, for seven years but remains there for ever as her lover. When he finally leaves, he is blessed/cursed with true speech, the inability to say anything but the truth (this is where the name True Thomas originates from.) Unfortunately the story is probably only as old as circa 1400 and therefore cannot be Thomas's work - it will, however, always be linked to his name.
Thomas's continuing reputation as a prophet or seer, however, is the one on which his place in history has been founded. John Barbour, the author of the epic poem, 'The Brus', the story of the life of Robert the Bruce, acknowledged Thomas's importance as early as 1338.
Here are a list of some of his prophecies:
The death of King Alexander III in 1286
On the 18th of March 1286 at Dunbar, Thomas is said to have uttered -
"Alas for the morrow, day of misery and calamity! Before the hour of noon there will assuredly be felt such a mighty storm in Scotland that its like has not been known for long ages past. The blast of it will cause nations to tremble, will make those who hear it dumb, and will humble the high, and lay the strong level with the ground."
The following day King Alexander III fell from his horse at the cliffs between Burntisland and Kinghorn, ending the Golden age and precipitating the Wars of Independence.
The succession of Robert the Bruce to the throne and victory at Bannockburn
"Of Bruce's side a son shall come,
From Carricks bower to Scotland Throne:
The Red Lion bearth he.
The Foe shall tread the lion down
A score of years but three:
Till Red of English blood shall run
Burn of Bannock to the sea."
The disastrous Scots defeat at Flodden in 1513
The defeat of Mary Queen of Scots ' forces at the Battle of Pinkie in 1567
The Union of the Crowns in 1603
1603 was also the year in which his prophecies were first collected together and published in print. Belief in his predictions was so enduring that they were even consulted before the Jacobite uprisings of 1715 and 1745.
The dismantling of Dunnottar and the forfeiture of Inverugie.
Dunnottar (or Inverugie) by the sea,
Lordless shall thy landis be;
And underneath the hearthstane
The tod (fox) shall bring her broodis hame.
Another prophecy
As lang's this stane stands on this craft
The name o' Keith shall be alaft;
But when this stane begins to fa'
The name o' Keith shall wear awa'.
The stone was removed in 1763 and the last Earl Marishal sold the lands in 1766.
The Highland Clearances
"The teeth of the sheep shall lay the (useless) plough up on the shelf."
So, did the Queen of the Elves ever summon Thomas back? It would seem so. He allegedly disappeared one day after walking out of his tower house and was never seen again. According to the legend, he will return again to come to Scotland 's aid in the hour of her greatest need.
Thomas the Rhymer (Child, traditional)
True Thomas lay on Huntly bank;
A ferly he spied wi' his ee;
And there he saw a lady bright
Come riding down by the Eildon Tree.
Her shirt was o' the grass-green silk,
Her mantle o' the velvet fine;
At ilka tett of her horse's mane
Hung fifty sil'er bells and nine.
True Thomas he pulled off his cap
And louted low down to his knee:
All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
For thy peer on earth I never did see.
O no, O no, Thomas, she said,
That name does not belang to me;
I am but the Queen of fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee.
Harp and carp, Thomas, she said,
Harp and carp along wi' me;
And if ye dare to kiss my lips,
Sure of your body I will be.
Betide me weal, betide me woe,
That weird shall never daunten me.
Sine he has kissed her rosy lips,
All underneath the Eildon Tree.
Now ye maun go wi' me, she said,
True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me;
And ye maun serve me seven years
Through weal or woe, as may chance to be.
She mounted on her milk-white steed;
She's ta'en True Thomas up behind;
And ay whene'er her bridle rung,
The steel flew swifter than the wind.
O they rade on and further on;
The steed gaed swifter than the wind,
Until they reached a desert wide,
And living land was left behind.
Light down, light down now,
True Thomas, And lean your head upon my knee.
Abide and rest a little space,
And I will show you ferlies three.
O see ye not yon narrow road,
So thick beset with thorns and briars?
That is the path of righteousness,
Though after it but few inquires.
And see ye not that braid, braid road,
That lies across that lily leven?
That is the path of wickedness,
Though some call it the road to heaven.
And see not ye that bonny road
That winds about the ferny brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Where thou and I this night maun gae.
But Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue,
Whatever ye may hear or see;
For if you speak word in Elfenland,
Ye'll ne'er get back to your ain country.
O they rade on and farther on,
And they waded through rivers aboon the knee,
And they saw neither sun nor moon,
But they heard the roaring of the sea.
It was mirk, mirk night, and there was nae stern-light,
And they waded through red blude to the knee,
For a' the blude that's shed on earth
Rins through the springs o' that country.
Sine they came onto a garden green,
And she pulled an apple frae a tree.
Take this for thy wages, True Thomas,
It will give thee the tongue that never can lee.
My tongue is mine ain, True Thomas said;
A gudely gift ye wad gi'e to me!
I neither dought to buy nor sell
A fair or tryst where I may be.
I dought neither speak to prince or peer,
Nor ask of grace frae fair lady.
Now hold thy peace, the lady said,
For as I say, so must it be.
He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green;
And till seven years were gane and past,
True Thomas on earth was never seen.
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