EDINBURGH EXPERT WALKING TOURS - BLOG

On Edinburgh's Royal Mile, sited outside the High Court on Lawnmarket, sits a statue of an imposing figure reclining in a chair. He often has a bagpiper in his vicinity, and if you linger a moment as you pass him you may notice passers-by rubbing the statue's foot.

The man in the chair is David Hume, an eighteenth-century philosopher born in Edinburgh on 26 April* 1711.

​Hume has entered the world rankings of influential figures, and is broadly considered to be one of history's most important philosophers writing in the English language. He was also a prolific writer of British history, and economic theory. His philosophical ideas and theories about human nature still have influence today, and he is justly celebrated here in Edinburgh, the city of his birth (and, in 1776, his death).

The people rubbing Hume's foot on the Royal Mile - specifically designed by the sculptor Alexander Stoddart with the big toe of his right foot dangling seductively over the edge of the plinth on which he sits - are enacting a superstitious ritual whereby the rubber of the toe is somehow magically endowed with either good luck or something of Hume's own wisdom and insight. 

One of Hume's great contributions to philosophical enquiry describes the relationship between cause and effect, and considers (in essence) that we can never explicitly connect two events in any sense of 'doing this caused that to happen'. As such, those rubbing Hume's toe for luck are directly contravening one of his fundamental assertions about the world...

On this day, 14 April, 1670, one of Edinburgh's most infamous figures met his death following a short but sensational trial for witchcraft.

Thomas Weir had retired to live with his sister in a  house on the top part of West Bow, for centuries one of the main routes to the top of the Royal Mile. He'd been born at the end of the previous century in Lanarkshire, and as a septuagenarian gained a reputation for his devotion to the Protestant cause, giving impromptu anti-Catholic sermons to public gatherings when he left the house, which he shared with his older sister, Jean. 

Neither of the pair was married, and the community also considered them to be a strange couple. Jean, in particular, was often referred to by the nickname 'Grizel', and despite Thomas's reputation for religiosity rumours abounded about the precise nature of their relationship.

Thomas also held the prestigious position of captain of the city guard, a body of men (largely ex-soldiers) who were charged with enforcing a rough sense of law and order in the city.

One day in 1670, Thomas Weir had accumulated a small crowd waiting for one of his denouncements of the Catholic faith, when instead they were treated to Thomas's confession of a lifetime of heinous crimes. Of particular note was his sworn friendship with the devil, whom he would meet in Dalkeith (on the outskirts of Edinburgh) or bring to his house, where he and Jean would entertain him with food and dancing. 

Other salacious confessions followed, including admissions of bestiality, and confirmation of the local rumours that he and Jean were engaged in an unnatural relationship with each other. 

Thomas was promptly arrested, shortly followed by his sister Jean, when he corroborated his claims. The pair were put on trial for witchcraft, and were (of course) found guilty, and sentenced to death. Jean was hanged in the Grassmarket, where she determined to go to her death with the least dignity possible by stripping naked as she climbed the steps to the gallows.

The night before his execution. Thomas was offered a final opportunity to make his peace with God. He declined, claiming:

... on which basis, on 14 April, they burned him alive, and buried him in a shallow grave with Jean.

It was said that no one would then live in the Weirs' old house for the following two centuries, spooked by the usual array of supernatural effects (strange lights, noises, doors opening and closing) as well as the creatively described effect of going upstairs but feeling as though you were going downstairs...

It was thought the house was lost when the area around the the Lawnmarket and West Bow was being redeveloped in the 1830s. Recent archaeological surveys have discovered that the house survives largely intact, inside the shell of the surrounding facade which was built in the 1880s.

​The surrounding streets have been reconfigured slightly from Weir's time, and the street today bears little resemblance to the image above.

For those who believe such things, the building is considered one of the most haunted buildings in Edinburgh. For those who don't believe such things, the building today is the Quaker Meeting House.

Explore the West Bow in more detail with my private walking tours!

Originally the royal emblem of Scotland was two unicorns either side of a crown. Some versions of this original emblem still exist, and can be spotted around Edinburgh.

In 1603, when James VI of Scotland took the throne of England (becoming James I of England) the unicorn  joined the lion (representing England) on the British royal insignia. Two versions of the crest exist, one in which the lion is crowned and the unicorns stands on the right hand side of the crest, and a Scottish version in which the unicorn and lion are transposed, with the lion now on the left hand side. In this Scottish version, both lion and unicorn are adorned with crowns.

(Note the different mottos of the respective countries on the bands beneath the crests: England's translates as 'God and my right'; Scotland's is 'No one provokes me with impunity'...)

Traditionally, when featuring in a heraldic form, the unicorn is shown wearing a golden chain, securing it to the ground. This is a nod to the mythical beliefs that unicorns were magical and therefore unpredictable, and therefore dangerous. Some would suggest that in modern times, the chaining of the unicorn embodies the relationship between Scotland and England, with the unicorn unable to roam freely and independently.

Unicorn figures can be found all across Scotland - the emblem of Stirling Castle, for example, is a unicorn design - as well as around Edinburgh.

Book a private Edinburgh tour for a unicorn hunt - how many unicorns will you find around the city?! 

Stirring stuff indeed! (Unfortunately for the Scots who crafted the document, Scotland would indeed be brought under English rule four hundred years later, and the country remains largely governed by London to this day.)

But it has been thought that the Declaration of Arbroath in turn inspired and informed the writing of the American Declaration of Independence, in 1776, when the former colonies of Britain fought to operate independently of British governance.

As such, on 6 April each year, America celebrates Tartan Day, when this iconic patterned material (often referred to as 'plaid' in America) gets celebrated as an emblem of Scottish identity.

The history of tartan in Scotland itself is complex and rich. Originally a tartan cloth need not have had any particular colour or pattern - whereas today 'tartan' often refers to the pattern of colours specifically, rather than the material itself. The pattern of crossing coloured lines and stripes is known as a 'sett'. 

In Scottish culture, the distinct colours and patterns of tartan cloths were once said to be used to distinguish between particular clans, or families, of the Highlands and islands. In fact the idea of 'clan tartan' was invented by Sir Walter Scott at the start of the 19th century when Scotland began to fashion its cultural and historical identity for the benefit of visitors.

So powerfully did the tartan enshrine notions of Scottish identity that in 1746 the wearing of tartan 'or any Highland dress' was banned under British law, with men found guilty of wearing the material punishable by up to six months in prison for the offence. 

Today visitors to Scotland delight in finding (or, in same cases, creating) the particular tartan of their family name, which need not have any historical or genealogical basis in Scotland. Many large companies and organisations also have their own tartan design, for corporate identity.

Tartan has another historic role, being the subject of the world's first colour photograph, taken by scientist James Clerk Maxwell in 1861. 
​
Edinburgh itself has only one functioning tartan weaving mill today, at the top of the Royal Mile, near Edinburgh Castle. There are plenty of shops, however, who will sell you tartan-patterned products of varying degrees of authenticity and quality...

Explore Edinburgh with my private walking tours! Contact me for more information!