PS 025 – Castle Menzies / The Frasers’ Salute

Primary Sources

C1 McGrigors Gathering C1.24: 52
D2 Piobaireachd Uaidh Castle Menzies D2.8: 31
K3 Index: Piobaireachd Uaidh, na Maor na coille duibh / Index: Menzie of that Ilk’s Pibroch K3.32: 115
KK Piobaireachd Uaidh (na) Maor na Coille Duibh [;] Failte na Frisallach / The Frazer’s Salute KK.27: 47
JK The Fraser’s Lament JK.10: 24
SC [hi anana] Ho dró vee o hiridi hu o dróu SC.44

Notes on Gaelic Titles

Fàilte nam Frisealach  Failte na Frisallach / The Frazer’s Salute KK. The Frazers’ Salute.

Maor na Coille duibhe  Maor na coille duibhe K3 index. Maor na coille duibhe KK. The factor (= manager) of the dark woodland. Cf. maor-coille, ‘wood-ranger’ (Dwelly). The other titles for this tune, Pìobaireachd Uaimh and ‘Castle Menzies’, suggest that this perhaps refers to the woodland of Kyanachan, Rannoch, a Menzies property.

Pìobaireachd Uaimh Piobaireachd Uaidh / Castle Menzies D2; Piobaireachd Uaimh / Menzie of that Ilk’s Pibroch K3 index; Piobaireachd Uaidh KK. (Menzies of) Weem’s Pibroch, but conventionally called ‘Castle Menzies’, the seat of the Clan Menzies chief. The Menzies of Weem dynasty built this castle beside the village of Weem (from Gaelic uamh, a cave) after Weem Castle was destroyed in 1502. In 1910, the line died out and the castle was sold. It is characteristic of Angus MacKay (K3 index) to prefer the most dignified title possible, especially when writing in English; but his translation may simply indicate that the chief conventionally known as ‘Menzies of that Ilk’ in English was known as ‘Uaimh’ in Gaelic.

Roderick Cannon (2009), rev. Barnaby Brown 2016

Other Material

2004 William Donaldson: Set Tunes Notes