The well of the heads

In the Highlands of Scotland till modern times lived a warrior-society whose way of life had remained unchanged for centuries. Focused on the central role of the warrior, the Scottish clan system, built round the ties of blood, continued to exist alongside the modern rapidly industrializing society of eighteenth-century Britain. The warriors of the clan, fiercely loyal to each other and to the chief, were known for their remarkable courage, selfless loyalty and highly developed military skills. Not for nothing were they considered the best fighting men in the world. The tales collected here illustrate the drama and the dynamics of a society that lived close to nature, had little in the way of material wealth but possessed a treasure house of story and song. That tradition gives us instances of outstanding bravery and cold-hearted deceit, loyalty to the death and the eeriness of magic and the supernatural.