15 galleries
Scotland
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15 imagesPLEASE NOTE: NOT TO BE PUBLISHED BEFORE THE FILM'S RELEASE IN FEBRUARY 2017 At least in the locations of King Arthur, the legend of the sword, inspired by the legend and directed by Guy Ritchie, released in March 201, but the Scots have now the opportunity to rectify what they consider an identity theft. Because Arthur was not Welsh, worst English, was a Scot. The Holy Grail, the kingdom of Camelot, The Knights of the Round Table and the magical sword Excalibur are all key ingredients of the legends surrounding King Arthur. But who was he really, where did he come from, and how much of what we read about him in stories that date back to the Dark Ages is true? So far historians have failed to show that King Arthur really existed at all, because they have been looking in the wrong place. In the fascinating and thought-provoking book, Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms, Alistair Moffat shatters all existing assumptions and with reference to literary sources, historical documents and archaeology he builds up a thesis which enables him to reveal the location and identity of the real Arthur, arguing that he was not a king but a cavalry general chosen around 500AD to lead a coalition army. As with many legends it’s nearly impossible discover the real locations and this reportage is a visual pilgrimage on places connected to the movie locations, places of Scotland that speak of the Holy Grail, like Rosslyn Chapel, of Merlin, like the Glasgow’s cathedral of St Mungo his historical christian adversary and the tiny island of Iona in the Hebrides, where for the legends are buried 84 kings, between them Macbeth. For some rearchers this could be also the Avalon where has been buried King Arthur. Also the earliest report of a monster associated with the vicinity of Loch Ness appears in the Life of the Irish monk St. Columba written in the 7th century. Many images also speak of old Iron Age forts, Chieftains stones, rugged cliffs and a mystical atmosphere where every legend come true.
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81 imagesOrkney, an archipelago in the Northern Scotland, are approximately 70 islands and the largest is Mainland. The islands are mainly low-lying except for rugged cliffs on some western coasts. Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes invading the Orkney islands cultivated the land, built farmsteads and rapidly established a vibrant culture, erecting giant stone circles, chambered communal tombs. About 5,000 years ago, Orkney was the centre for innovation for the British isles. Ideas spread from this place to the rest of the Neolithic Britain. Orkney are called the “Egypt of the North” because contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, designated UNESCO World Heritage. The village of Skara Brae is Europe's best-preserved Neolithic settlement, older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids it has been called the "Scottish Pompeii" because of its excellent preservation. Other remains from that era include the Standing Stones of Stenness, the Maeshowe Passage grave, the Ring of Brogdar and other standing stones. Later the islands were occupied and settled by the Norse and reannexed by Scotland only in 1472. The most impressive Iron Age structures are the ruins of round towers called “brochs" but later the Vikings made the islands the headquarters of their pirate expedition against the coasts of Scotland. After the Norse occupation, the toponymy of Orkney became almost wholly Norse and the local rich folklore has strong Scandinavian connections. St. Magnus Cathedral dominates the skyline of Kirkwall, the main town capital of the islands and is the most northerly cathedral in Britain, built when the islands were ruled by the Norse Earls of Orkney.
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63 imagesHEBRIDES ISLANDS The Hebrides are a archipelago off the west coast of Scotland divided between the Inner and Outer Hebrides. The islands have a long history and their culture has been affected by the influences of Celtic, Norse and English-speaking peoples. The Inner Hebrides, closer to mainland Scotland, include Skye, Mull, Iona, Staffa and other islands. Skye is the largest island in the Inner Hebrides, of Scotland, and his coastline is a series of peninsulas and bays radiating out from a centre dominated by the Cuillin hills. Skye has Skye has historically been a very strong Gaelic speaking area and has a strong folk music tradition.
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71 imagesThe Hebrides islands have a long history and their culture has been affected by the influences of Celtic, Norse and English-speaking peoples. The Inner Hebrides include the Iona, Scotland’s hidden mystical island, Staffa and Mull. Iona, a small island off the western coast of Scotland, was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries. A tiny piece of land, measuring just 6 km long by 2 km wide. However, Iona is famous for being something of a symbolic centre of Scottish Christianity, and still today is one of the best places in the world to seek silence, with a profound feeling of peace. According to tradition a important monastery was founded in 563 by the monk Columba, also known as Colm Cille, exiled from his native Ireland. The monastery played a crucial role in the conversion to Christianity of Scotland in the late 6th century and of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Iona became the centre of one of the most important monastic systems in Great Britain and Ireland, its scriptorium produced important documents and many Scottish early kings were buried there. The monastery is often associated with the distinctive practices and traditions known as Celtic Christianity. Iona's prominence diminished as a result of Viking raids and in 849 the monastery was abandoned. Today the ancient but heavily reconstructed abbey is the spiritual heart of the island. with the beautiful cloister, and a museum displaying fabulous carved high crosses. Next to the abbey is an ancient graveyard where there's an evocative Romanesque chapel, as well as a mound that marks, according many legends, the burial place of 48 of Scotland's early kings, including Macbeth. Not far from Iona, on the other side of a stormy stretch of sea, Staffa is a small island of legends, giants, great sea caves, and wildlife, a unique geological phenomenon recognised as one of the wonders of the natural world. The Vikings named the island Staffa, “Pillar Island” in Old Norse because its columnar basalt reminded their traditional houses built from vertically placed tree-logs. In the 18th century the first travellers admired the basalt columns of the island's main sea cavern, the “Fingal's Cave”, and many personalities visited Staffa, including Queen Victoria, Richard Wagner and Felix Mendelssohn. The latter's Hebrides Overture brought further fame to Staffa. The sea gate to Iona and Staffa is the bigger island of Mull, where the pretty capital is complemented by majestic scenery and castles like Duart, the ancestral seat of the Maclean clan on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Sound of Mull.
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76 imagesScotland's Western Isles, the Norse heritage "Na h-Eileanan Siar", the gaelic name of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides, are an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. Separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the stormy waters of the Minch and the Sea of the Hebrides, the Western Isles still are another Scotland, a fascinating destination of rocky and mountainous landscapes, contrasting with the coastal machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland. The islands remain a relatively strong Gaelic speaking area where the Gaelic culture is appealing. In the 2001 census each island overall was over 50% Gaelic speaking, the most strongly Gaelic speaking area in the world. The Christianity has deep roots in the Western Isles and the religion still plays an important part in people's lives, mainly the Wee Frees as are nicknamed the believers of the Free Church of Scotland, a important presence in Lewis and Harris where the Sabbath (Sunday) is so respected that you are unlikely to find shops open on a Sunday. The southern islands are predominantly Roman Catholic, due to the different allegiances of the clans in the past. Known as Suðreyjar ("Southern Islands") in Norse the islands were ruled by Vikings for about 200 years, until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland in 1266. The Norse heritage is still strong in many names of geographical places and clans.
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18 imagesScotland's Western Isles, the Norse heritage "Na h-Eileanan Siar", the gaelic name of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides, are an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. Separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the stormy waters of the Minch and the Sea of the Hebrides, the Western Isles still are another Scotland, a fascinating destination of rocky and mountainous landscapes, contrasting with the coastal machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland. The islands remain a relatively strong Gaelic speaking area where the Gaelic culture is appealing. In the 2001 census each island overall was over 50% Gaelic speaking, the most strongly Gaelic speaking area in the world. The Christianity has deep roots in the Western Isles and the religion still plays an important part in people's lives, mainly the Wee Frees as are nicknamed the believers of the Free Church of Scotland, a important presence in Lewis and Harris where the Sabbath (Sunday) is so respected that you are unlikely to find shops open on a Sunday. The southern islands are predominantly Roman Catholic, due to the different allegiances of the clans in the past. Known as Suðreyjar ("Southern Islands") in Norse the islands were ruled by Vikings for about 200 years, until sovereignty was transferred to Scotland in 1266. The Norse heritage is still strong in many names of geographical places and clans.
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