strathspey@strathspey.org:45381

Herbold.Bruce

Re: Braes of Mellinish

May 26, 2006, 1:02 a.m. (Message 45381)

I may have found it!!!  The Braes of Mellinish might be the hills around 
Loch Linnie.  There was a Laird of Mellin, whose estates were outside of 
Perth and so the hills would have been sort of Mellinish -- don't ya 
think?  According to legend...

Perth
has long been known as the 'bonnie toun' on account of its lovely women. 
This dates back to the time of King Arthur. When he first ascended to his 
throne, he dispatched heralds to summon the most beautiful maidens in the 
land to Camelot to attend the first Tournament of his Knights of the Round 
Table. The fairest of all the girls that he saw there was Lady Guinevere, 
from Perth. It is said that he fell in love with her almost at first 
sight, and would not rest until she consented to become his bride. But her 
father, Hamish, Laird of Mellin, set him a task to perform to prove his 
worthiness before he would consent to the marriage. Arthur was asked to 
swim across Loch Linnie in the cold of December. So on the appointed day, 
Arthur went to the shore of the loch, stripped off his tunic and hose, and 
waded into the icy water. On Merlin's advice, he chose a part of the shore 
where the loch was narrow, and succeeded in reaching the other side in 
less than a minute, thus avoiding hypothermia. There is a children's 
rhyme"Frae Perth came Guinevere, to make the King revere, He saw her face 
in the Loch of the north, and never went more forth" 

Okay, okay, now I'm going back to work.