Green Man Projects

I recently came upon the “Polygon” edition of this 1927 Scottish novel, whose author’s Prologue – from which the following extract is taken – seemed to encapsulate my notion of a “Spirit of the Land” :

“Then one evening from the Hill of Deer I saw with other eyes. There was a curious leaden sky, with a blue streak about sunset, so that the shadows lay oddly. My first thought, as I looked at the familiar scene, was that, had I been a general in a campaign, I should have taken special note of Woodilee, for it was a point of vantage. It lay right in the pass between the Scottish midlands and the South – the pass of road and water – yes, and – shall I say ? – of spirit, for it was in the throat of the hills, on the march between the sown and the desert. I was looking east, and to my left and behind me the open downs, farmed to their last decimal of capacity, were the ancient land of Manann, the capital province of Pictdom….

….My mouth shaped the word ‘Melanudrigill’, and I knew that I saw Woodilee as no man had seen it for three centuries, when, as its name tells, it still lay in the shadow of a remnant of the Wood of Caledon, that most ancient forest where once Merlin harped and Arthur mustered his men…”

Incidentally, parts of the the Caledonian Forest are now being restored. Please see www.treesforlife.org.uk