IN the newest series based on the works of George R.R. Martin, the plot again centres around the fight for the throne and who will end up sitting upon it.
None of the characters in House of the Dragon have as of yet intrigued me much apart from Daemon Targaryen, and I find myself missing Tyrion, Arya, Littlefinger and Brienne of Tarth, but most of all perhaps, Bran Stark, the “winner” of the Game of Thrones, and who was very likely based on a Scot. Stark is a prophet, a seer, a visionary, just like the Brahan Seer is said to have been.
Coinneach Odhar (his Scots Gaelic name), was born on the Isle of Lewis in the 16th century, later moving to Dingwall in Ross-shire, and going on to make several prophecies which apparently came true.
Martin is a renowned history buff, especially regarding British and French history, and the Song of Ice and Fire writer must have known about him and in some ways been inspired by his story.
This Scottish Nostradamus, who lived around the same time as the more famous Frenchman, was also a mystic and from “the north”.
It is difficult not to see the similarities, though another Celtic nation, Wales, could also have been an origin. “Bran” in Welsh means “Raven,” and “Bran the Blessed” was an ancient mythological Welsh king, but he did not have the prophetic power or vision of the Brahan Seer.
Most likely, Bran Stark’s character is a combination of them both and perhaps one or two more characters from Celtic history – but the Brahan Seer influence seems clear to me.
After moving to Ross-shire, the Brahan Seer moved around working as a labourer and making prophecies thanks to his “second sight”.
Some of his most well-known predictions related to the many deaths at Drummossie Moor during the battle of Culloden and the Highland Clearances. At the battle site, at least a century before it took place in 1746, it is claimed he said: “Oh! Drummossie, thy bleak moor shall ere many generations have passed away, be stained with the best blood of the Highlands.
“Glad am I that I will not see that day, for it will be a fearful period; heads will be lopped off by the score, and no mercy will be shown or quarter given on either side.”
He also spoke of “great black, bridleless horses, belching fire and steam, drawing lines of carriages through the glens”.
Two hundred years later, the railways were laid down throughout the Highlands and the trains went steaming through.
But most impressive for me is the detail on the Highland Clearances, when men and women were forced to move from the land to be replaced by sheep, and later deer farms, and the emigration of the masses.
“The sheep shall eat the men – the day will come when sheep shall become so numerous that the bleating of the one shall be heard by the other,” he is thought to have said.
“From Lochalsh to Kintail they shall be at their height in price … the ancient proprietors of the soil shall place to strange merchant proprietors, and the whole Highlands will become one huge deer forest, the whole country will be so utterly desolate and depopulated that the crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Drumochter, the people will emigrate to islands now unknown, but which shall yet be discovered in the boundless oceans.”
The Brahan Seer reportedly met his end after Lady Isabella Seaforth, the wife of the 3rd Earl of Seaforth, asked him to give news of her husband, who was in Paris at the time. The Brahan Seer reluctantly told her that her husband was with another woman, more beautiful than her, and for this she had him burned alive as a witch, in a barrel of tar.
You can find a memorial to the Brahan Seer where he died, at Chanonry Point in the Moray Firth, a place where many other so-called witches were burnt to death.
The idea of prophets and seers, and of witches, has diminished across the centuries, but the Brahan Seer lives on – with some prophecies as yet unfulfilled – through characters like Bran in Game of Thrones. And in the imaginations of us all.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here