Neid Fire - Research
This page pulls together my research. You are welcome to use this page for your own research but please acknowledge if this is where you got your references from
5-Aug-25 : This section does need a bit of work on it but does include references that I have found in my research.
5-Aug-25 : This section does need a bit of work on it but does include references that I have found in my research.
Neid Fire Pages
- An overview of the Neid Fire rituals can be found here : Neid Fire Overview
- Information on the Neid Fire Apparatus can be founder here: Fire Churns
My research into some of the references:
I have started some research into the references mentioned in the Carmina Cadelica (see below.) Although I've not yet found much to substantiate it - I have found some interesting info relating to the references to North Uist (a Scottish Island) where apparently Neid Fires were lit.
I found a reference in the Inverness-shire OS Name Books, 1876-1878 (click link for an image of the original record) of the place name Skellor \ Cladh Sgealoir in Sollas on the Island of North Uist . The transcription reads as "This name is applied to an ancient burying place, situated 30 chains north from the farm house called Dunskellor. It is a sandy knoll and a number of graves and rude stones are to be seen on the summit. Recently, a quantity of ashes and [word cut off by fold] which appeared to have been used in ...ding [part of word cut off by fold] were exposed at this burying place by the wind having moved the sand which covered them. Actorway (? word hard to decipher?) is said to have been buried here."
It is a shame that some words had been cut-off .... is this the Sandy Knoll where the Neid Fires were performed and are the aforementioned remains of ashes the remains of a Neid Fire in Sollas, as described in the Carmina Cadelica??
Sollas is a small crofting village in North Uist and there are various records of sites of interest such as the Sgealoir Burial Ground and remains of roundhouse\fort etc. I have not found any reference to the sandy plain Sail Dharaich, in Sollas, which was apparently named after the Oak Log used in the Neid Fires - but looking at the OS map there are various strips of sand there, and Sgealoir is next to dunes, so who knows!
Maybe one day I'll have a pilgrimage to the Isles and Highlands of Scotland, and visit many of these places mentioned in a respectful way - North Uist, Houstry, Isle of Arran, Helmsdale, Reay to name a few
I have started some research into the references mentioned in the Carmina Cadelica (see below.) Although I've not yet found much to substantiate it - I have found some interesting info relating to the references to North Uist (a Scottish Island) where apparently Neid Fires were lit.
I found a reference in the Inverness-shire OS Name Books, 1876-1878 (click link for an image of the original record) of the place name Skellor \ Cladh Sgealoir in Sollas on the Island of North Uist . The transcription reads as "This name is applied to an ancient burying place, situated 30 chains north from the farm house called Dunskellor. It is a sandy knoll and a number of graves and rude stones are to be seen on the summit. Recently, a quantity of ashes and [word cut off by fold] which appeared to have been used in ...ding [part of word cut off by fold] were exposed at this burying place by the wind having moved the sand which covered them. Actorway (? word hard to decipher?) is said to have been buried here."
It is a shame that some words had been cut-off .... is this the Sandy Knoll where the Neid Fires were performed and are the aforementioned remains of ashes the remains of a Neid Fire in Sollas, as described in the Carmina Cadelica??
Sollas is a small crofting village in North Uist and there are various records of sites of interest such as the Sgealoir Burial Ground and remains of roundhouse\fort etc. I have not found any reference to the sandy plain Sail Dharaich, in Sollas, which was apparently named after the Oak Log used in the Neid Fires - but looking at the OS map there are various strips of sand there, and Sgealoir is next to dunes, so who knows!
Maybe one day I'll have a pilgrimage to the Isles and Highlands of Scotland, and visit many of these places mentioned in a respectful way - North Uist, Houstry, Isle of Arran, Helmsdale, Reay to name a few
Research \ References \ Articles
Here are some of the references \ articles \ research material I've found on Neid Fires - I'm happy to list them here. If you do find them useful and use them then an acknowledgement would be nice as some of them took a bit of digging to find!
Neid fires in Cumbria 2011 by Diane Mcllmoyle (added 12-Oct-2018)
This is a very interesting and good article about Neid Fires in Cumbria\England by Diane McIlmoyle . I need to follow up on the references, and I do credit\acknowledge Diane for the time she spent writing and researching her article on Neid Fires. These are the first references I've seen of Neid Fires in England.
URL to Diane's Blog= https://esmeraldamac.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/need-fires-the-last-celtic-tradition/
References cited by Diane:
"Hawkshead (the northenmost parish of Lancashire)" by Henry Swainson Cowper (1899) - click here for an on-line copy - this is a fascinating read! It lists the last known locations of the Neid Fires in Hawkshead Parish which seem to be around the 1840s (see link here to the relevant page.) Interestingly, Cowper also references the banning of the Nedfri in 742 by the Synodus Francisca (which is only the 2nd reference I've found on this - other than James Fraser)
What a marvelous book! I need to find time to read more of it!
"The Folklore of the Lake District" by Marjorie Rowling (1976) - another one I need to look into
This is a very interesting and good article about Neid Fires in Cumbria\England by Diane McIlmoyle . I need to follow up on the references, and I do credit\acknowledge Diane for the time she spent writing and researching her article on Neid Fires. These are the first references I've seen of Neid Fires in England.
URL to Diane's Blog= https://esmeraldamac.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/need-fires-the-last-celtic-tradition/
References cited by Diane:
"Hawkshead (the northenmost parish of Lancashire)" by Henry Swainson Cowper (1899) - click here for an on-line copy - this is a fascinating read! It lists the last known locations of the Neid Fires in Hawkshead Parish which seem to be around the 1840s (see link here to the relevant page.) Interestingly, Cowper also references the banning of the Nedfri in 742 by the Synodus Francisca (which is only the 2nd reference I've found on this - other than James Fraser)
What a marvelous book! I need to find time to read more of it!
"The Folklore of the Lake District" by Marjorie Rowling (1976) - another one I need to look into
The Scotsman - The Ancient Fires Lit Across Scotland for Good Fortune - Oct 2018
This is a recent article from Oct 2018 which is well written and pulls together a lot of the references and research that I list on this page, plus a couple that I'm not familiar with, and it summarises the Neid Fire practices nice and succinctly. This quote was intriguing "In 1649 , the Synod of Moray rules that raisers of needfire in the Presbytery of Strathbogie had to wear the sackcloth for three days."
See full article here: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/the-ancient-fires-lit-across-scotland-for-good-fortune-1-4809688
This is a recent article from Oct 2018 which is well written and pulls together a lot of the references and research that I list on this page, plus a couple that I'm not familiar with, and it summarises the Neid Fire practices nice and succinctly. This quote was intriguing "In 1649 , the Synod of Moray rules that raisers of needfire in the Presbytery of Strathbogie had to wear the sackcloth for three days."
See full article here: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/the-ancient-fires-lit-across-scotland-for-good-fortune-1-4809688
"Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore "by Walter Keating Kelly 1863
Chapter II is very interesting as it talks about Sacred Fire, Fire Churning (in India and Europe) and Neid Fires.
I've found a free on-line version here.
Chapter II is very interesting as it talks about Sacred Fire, Fire Churning (in India and Europe) and Neid Fires.
I've found a free on-line version here.
Need-fire – a Celtic tradition that lasted till the 1840s - Cumbrian Characters
I've only recently (Aug 2025) come across this which has led me to the British Newspaper Archive and a whole load of newspaper articles from around 1830s onwards (over 40) about Neid Fires across the UK - it felt like I had struck Gold! I've been looking for more evidence ! I need to spend time going through all the articles which I will do at some point but very exciting!
I've only recently (Aug 2025) come across this which has led me to the British Newspaper Archive and a whole load of newspaper articles from around 1830s onwards (over 40) about Neid Fires across the UK - it felt like I had struck Gold! I've been looking for more evidence ! I need to spend time going through all the articles which I will do at some point but very exciting!
"Primitive Beliefs in the North East of Scotland" by J McPherson 1929
There is an online version here- https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.39000005937615;view=1up;seq=11
There is an online version here- https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=inu.39000005937615;view=1up;seq=11
English Dialect Dictionary 1902 - Neid Fire is also referenced in the English Dialect Dictionary on page 243
Go to the below link for the article, including an account (presumably passed down the family) from Mr Sutherland of the last Teigne Eigin in Houstry (I find this absolutely fascinating and I have located the Burn (stream) of Houstry mentioned where the ritual took place on an island. ) Houstry is one place I would love to visit!
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Folk-lore_-_A_Quarterly_Review._Volume_9,_1898.djvu/306
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Folk-lore_-_A_Quarterly_Review._Volume_9,_1898.djvu/306
The Golden Bough by Sir James Fraser
Sir James Frazer writes a lot about Neid Fires of Europe and Scotland within the Golden Bough - see below for a link to the relevant chapters in an online version. Although, I am a little dubious of some of his references and theories.
http://www.bartleby.com/196/159.html
Sir James Frazer writes a lot about Neid Fires of Europe and Scotland within the Golden Bough - see below for a link to the relevant chapters in an online version. Although, I am a little dubious of some of his references and theories.
http://www.bartleby.com/196/159.html
L-Wyl by John Jamieson 1806
L-Wyl is The Entymological Dictionary of The Scottish Language (1806) which includes a definition of Neid Fyr, simply "The fire produced by the friction of two pieces of wood". Click here for more info.
L-Wyl is The Entymological Dictionary of The Scottish Language (1806) which includes a definition of Neid Fyr, simply "The fire produced by the friction of two pieces of wood". Click here for more info.
The Dwelly Gaelic Dictionary (1901-1911) by Edward Dwelly
The following is taken from Dwelly-d , the online version of the authoritative dictionary of Scottish Gaelic by Edward Dwelly (English lexicographer and genealogist 1864–1939). I assume some of this is actually referencing A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland by Dr Martin written 1703/1711 and maybe extracts from Carmina Cadelica as well.:
"teine-éiginn - Fire by friction, forced fire or fire of necessity. The teine-éiginn was considered an antidote against the plague and murrain and all infectious diseases among cattle. Dr. Martin says all the fires in the parish were extinguished and 81 married men, being deemed the proper number for effecting this purpose, took two planks of wood and nine of them were employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts, rubbed the planks against each other, till the heat thereof produced fire and from this forced fire each family was supplied with a new fire. No sooner was the fire kindled than a pot filled with water was put thereon, which was afterwards sprinkled on people who had the plague or on cattle that had the murrain, and this process was said to be followed invariably by success — **. A term applied to fire produced by friction — in olden times a means employed to check evils arising from being bewitched. If a household suffered loss such as indicated being under evil influence, all fires in the district between two running streams were extinguished on a set day. Then a spinning-wheel was put in motion and kept going furiously until the spindle became heated. Tinder or tow was applied to the hot spindle, fire was thus procured and distributed to all households affected by evil influences. Within the memory of persons still living, fire was thus procured to check witchcraft in a township in Uist where some sickness, supposed to be evil eye, carried off some cows and sheep. It is odd that neither cow nor sheep died after, possibly the epidemic had exhausted itself — DC. Last made in N. Uist about 1829, in Arran about 1820, in Helmsdale about 1818 and in Reay about 1830 — AC."
The following is taken from Dwelly-d , the online version of the authoritative dictionary of Scottish Gaelic by Edward Dwelly (English lexicographer and genealogist 1864–1939). I assume some of this is actually referencing A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland by Dr Martin written 1703/1711 and maybe extracts from Carmina Cadelica as well.:
"teine-éiginn - Fire by friction, forced fire or fire of necessity. The teine-éiginn was considered an antidote against the plague and murrain and all infectious diseases among cattle. Dr. Martin says all the fires in the parish were extinguished and 81 married men, being deemed the proper number for effecting this purpose, took two planks of wood and nine of them were employed by turns, who by their repeated efforts, rubbed the planks against each other, till the heat thereof produced fire and from this forced fire each family was supplied with a new fire. No sooner was the fire kindled than a pot filled with water was put thereon, which was afterwards sprinkled on people who had the plague or on cattle that had the murrain, and this process was said to be followed invariably by success — **. A term applied to fire produced by friction — in olden times a means employed to check evils arising from being bewitched. If a household suffered loss such as indicated being under evil influence, all fires in the district between two running streams were extinguished on a set day. Then a spinning-wheel was put in motion and kept going furiously until the spindle became heated. Tinder or tow was applied to the hot spindle, fire was thus procured and distributed to all households affected by evil influences. Within the memory of persons still living, fire was thus procured to check witchcraft in a township in Uist where some sickness, supposed to be evil eye, carried off some cows and sheep. It is odd that neither cow nor sheep died after, possibly the epidemic had exhausted itself — DC. Last made in N. Uist about 1829, in Arran about 1820, in Helmsdale about 1818 and in Reay about 1830 — AC."
Carmina Cadelica by Alexander Carmichael (folklorist 1832-1912) [https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg.htm]
These extracts are taken from Carmina Cadelica by Alexander Carmichael (folklorist 1832-1912)
Volume 1 p.183 The Beltane Blessing:
BEALLTAIN, Beltane, is the first day of May. On May Day all the fires of the district were extinguished and 'tein eigin,' need-fire, produced on the knoll. This fire was divided in two, and people and cattle rushed through for purification and safeguarding against 'ealtraigh agus dosgaidh,' mischance and murrain, during the year. The people obtained fires for their homes from this need-fire. The practice of producing the need-fire came down in the Highlands and Islands to the first quarter of this century. The writer found traces of it in such distant places as Arran, Dist, and Sutherland. In 1895 a woman [p. 183] in Arran said that in the time of her father the people made the need-fire on the knoll, and then rushed home and brought out their 'creatairean,' creatures, and put them round the fire to safeguard them, 'bho 'n bhana bhuitsich mhoir Nic-creafain,' from the arch-witch Crawford.
The ordeal of passing through the fires gave rise to a proverb which I heard used by an old man in Lewis in 1873:--'A Mhoire! mhicean, bu dora dhomhsa sin a dheanamh dhuit na dhol eadar dha theine mhoir Bheaill,' Ah Mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee, than to pass between the two great fires of Beall.
p.333 In North Uist there is a sandy plain called 'Sail Dharaich,' Oak-log. A beam of oak lay there, from which the people produced the 'tein-eigin,' neid-fire. This was done by 'naoi naoinear ciad ginealach mac,' nine nines of first-begotten sons, these being in the estimation of the people the most sacred and enduring.
Teine, fire. (Vol. i. p. 174.)
'Cha loisg teine, grian, no gealach mi.'
No fire, no sun, no moon, shall burn me.
Similar immunity from fire is mentioned in an Arthurian ballad taken down in Uist:--
'Cha loisg teine 's cha dearg arm air an fhear,
Ach a chlaidhe geal glan fein.'
No fire shall burn, no arm can hurt the man,
But his own white sword of light
[paragraph continues] --therefore while he slept his enemy killed him with his own sword.
Tein-eigin, neid-fire, need-fire, forced fire, fire produced by the friction of wood or iron against wood.
The fire of purification was kindled from the neid-fire, while the domestic fire on the hearth was rekindled from the purification fire on the knoll. Among other names, the purification fire was called 'Teine Bheuil,' fire of Beul, and 'Teine mor Bheuil,' great fire of Beul. The fire of Beul was divided into two fires between which people and cattle rushed australly for purposes of purification. The ordeal was trying, as may be inferred from phrases still current. 'Is teodha so na teine teodha Bheuil'--Hotter is this than the hot fire of Beul. Replying to his grandchild, an old man in Lewis said:--'A Mhoire! mhicean, bu dhurra dhomh-sa sin a dheana dhusa na dhol eadar dha theine mhor Bheuil'--Mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee than to go between the two great fires of Beul.
The neid-fire was resorted to in imminent or actual calamity upon the first day of the quarter, and to ensure success in great or important events.
The writer conversed with several persons who saw the neid-fire made, and who joined in the ceremony. As mentioned elsewhere, a woman in Arran said that her father, and the other men of the townland, made the neid-fire on the knoll on 'La buidhe Bealltain'--Yellow Day of Beltane. They fed the fire from 'cuaile mor conaidh caoin'--great bundles of sacred faggots brought to the knoll on Beltane Eve. When the sacred fire became kindled, the people rushed home and brought their herds and drove them through and round the fire of purification, to sain them from the 'bana bhuitseach mhor Nic Creafain,'--the great arch witch daughter Cranford, Mac Creafain, now Crawford.
That was in the second decade of the nineteenth century.
John Macphail, Middlequarter, North Uist, said that the last occasion on which the neid-fire was made in North Uist was 'bliadhna an t-sneachda bhuidhe'--the year of the yellow snow--1829 (?). The snow lay so deep and remained so long on the ground, that it became yellow. Some suggest that the snow was originally yellow, as snow is occasionally red. This extraordinary continuance of snow caused much want and suffering throughout the Isles.
The people of North Uist extinguished their own fires and generated a purification fire at Sail Dharaich, Sollas. The fire was produced from an oak log by rapidly boring with an auger. This was accomplished by the exertions of 'naoi naoinear ciad ginealach mac'--the nine nines of first-begotten sons. From the neid-fire produced on the knoll the people of the parish obtained fire for their dwellings. Many cults and ceremonies were observed on the occasion, cults and ceremonies in which Pagan and Christian beliefs intermingled.
'Sail Dharaich,' Oak Log, obtained its name from the log of oak for the neid-fire being there. A fragment of this log riddled with auger holes marks a grave in 'Cladh Sgealoir,' the burying-ground of 'Sgealoir,' in the neighbourhood.
Mr Alexander Mackay, Edinburgh, a native of Reay, Sutherland, says:--'My father was the skipper of a fishing crew. Before beginning operations for the season, the crew of the boat met at night in our house to settle accounts for the past, and to plan operations for the new season. My mother and the rest of us were sent to bed. I lay in the kitchen, and was listening and watching, though they thought I was asleep. After the men had settled their past affairs and future plans, they put out the fire on the hearth, not a spark being allowed to live. They then rubbed two pieces of wood one against another so rapidly as to produce fire, the men joining in one after the other, and working with the utmost energy and never allowing the friction to relax. From this friction-fire they rekindled the fire on the hearth, from which all the men present carried away a kindling to their own homes.
'Whether their success was due to their skill, their industry, their perseverance, or to the neid-fire, I do not know, but I know that they were much the most successful crew in the place. They met on Saturday, and went to church on Sunday like the good men and the good Christians they were--a little of their Pagan faith mingling with their Christian belief. I have reason to believe that other crews in the place as well as my father's crew practised the neid-fire.'
A man at Helmsdale, Sutherland, saw the 'tein-eigin' made in his boyhood.
The neid-fire was made in North Uist about the year 1829, in Arran about 1820, in Helmsdale about 1818, in Reay about 1830.
These extracts are taken from Carmina Cadelica by Alexander Carmichael (folklorist 1832-1912)
Volume 1 p.183 The Beltane Blessing:
BEALLTAIN, Beltane, is the first day of May. On May Day all the fires of the district were extinguished and 'tein eigin,' need-fire, produced on the knoll. This fire was divided in two, and people and cattle rushed through for purification and safeguarding against 'ealtraigh agus dosgaidh,' mischance and murrain, during the year. The people obtained fires for their homes from this need-fire. The practice of producing the need-fire came down in the Highlands and Islands to the first quarter of this century. The writer found traces of it in such distant places as Arran, Dist, and Sutherland. In 1895 a woman [p. 183] in Arran said that in the time of her father the people made the need-fire on the knoll, and then rushed home and brought out their 'creatairean,' creatures, and put them round the fire to safeguard them, 'bho 'n bhana bhuitsich mhoir Nic-creafain,' from the arch-witch Crawford.
The ordeal of passing through the fires gave rise to a proverb which I heard used by an old man in Lewis in 1873:--'A Mhoire! mhicean, bu dora dhomhsa sin a dheanamh dhuit na dhol eadar dha theine mhoir Bheaill,' Ah Mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee, than to pass between the two great fires of Beall.
p.333 In North Uist there is a sandy plain called 'Sail Dharaich,' Oak-log. A beam of oak lay there, from which the people produced the 'tein-eigin,' neid-fire. This was done by 'naoi naoinear ciad ginealach mac,' nine nines of first-begotten sons, these being in the estimation of the people the most sacred and enduring.
Teine, fire. (Vol. i. p. 174.)
'Cha loisg teine, grian, no gealach mi.'
No fire, no sun, no moon, shall burn me.
Similar immunity from fire is mentioned in an Arthurian ballad taken down in Uist:--
'Cha loisg teine 's cha dearg arm air an fhear,
Ach a chlaidhe geal glan fein.'
No fire shall burn, no arm can hurt the man,
But his own white sword of light
[paragraph continues] --therefore while he slept his enemy killed him with his own sword.
Tein-eigin, neid-fire, need-fire, forced fire, fire produced by the friction of wood or iron against wood.
The fire of purification was kindled from the neid-fire, while the domestic fire on the hearth was rekindled from the purification fire on the knoll. Among other names, the purification fire was called 'Teine Bheuil,' fire of Beul, and 'Teine mor Bheuil,' great fire of Beul. The fire of Beul was divided into two fires between which people and cattle rushed australly for purposes of purification. The ordeal was trying, as may be inferred from phrases still current. 'Is teodha so na teine teodha Bheuil'--Hotter is this than the hot fire of Beul. Replying to his grandchild, an old man in Lewis said:--'A Mhoire! mhicean, bu dhurra dhomh-sa sin a dheana dhusa na dhol eadar dha theine mhor Bheuil'--Mary! sonnie, it were worse for me to do that for thee than to go between the two great fires of Beul.
The neid-fire was resorted to in imminent or actual calamity upon the first day of the quarter, and to ensure success in great or important events.
The writer conversed with several persons who saw the neid-fire made, and who joined in the ceremony. As mentioned elsewhere, a woman in Arran said that her father, and the other men of the townland, made the neid-fire on the knoll on 'La buidhe Bealltain'--Yellow Day of Beltane. They fed the fire from 'cuaile mor conaidh caoin'--great bundles of sacred faggots brought to the knoll on Beltane Eve. When the sacred fire became kindled, the people rushed home and brought their herds and drove them through and round the fire of purification, to sain them from the 'bana bhuitseach mhor Nic Creafain,'--the great arch witch daughter Cranford, Mac Creafain, now Crawford.
That was in the second decade of the nineteenth century.
John Macphail, Middlequarter, North Uist, said that the last occasion on which the neid-fire was made in North Uist was 'bliadhna an t-sneachda bhuidhe'--the year of the yellow snow--1829 (?). The snow lay so deep and remained so long on the ground, that it became yellow. Some suggest that the snow was originally yellow, as snow is occasionally red. This extraordinary continuance of snow caused much want and suffering throughout the Isles.
The people of North Uist extinguished their own fires and generated a purification fire at Sail Dharaich, Sollas. The fire was produced from an oak log by rapidly boring with an auger. This was accomplished by the exertions of 'naoi naoinear ciad ginealach mac'--the nine nines of first-begotten sons. From the neid-fire produced on the knoll the people of the parish obtained fire for their dwellings. Many cults and ceremonies were observed on the occasion, cults and ceremonies in which Pagan and Christian beliefs intermingled.
'Sail Dharaich,' Oak Log, obtained its name from the log of oak for the neid-fire being there. A fragment of this log riddled with auger holes marks a grave in 'Cladh Sgealoir,' the burying-ground of 'Sgealoir,' in the neighbourhood.
Mr Alexander Mackay, Edinburgh, a native of Reay, Sutherland, says:--'My father was the skipper of a fishing crew. Before beginning operations for the season, the crew of the boat met at night in our house to settle accounts for the past, and to plan operations for the new season. My mother and the rest of us were sent to bed. I lay in the kitchen, and was listening and watching, though they thought I was asleep. After the men had settled their past affairs and future plans, they put out the fire on the hearth, not a spark being allowed to live. They then rubbed two pieces of wood one against another so rapidly as to produce fire, the men joining in one after the other, and working with the utmost energy and never allowing the friction to relax. From this friction-fire they rekindled the fire on the hearth, from which all the men present carried away a kindling to their own homes.
'Whether their success was due to their skill, their industry, their perseverance, or to the neid-fire, I do not know, but I know that they were much the most successful crew in the place. They met on Saturday, and went to church on Sunday like the good men and the good Christians they were--a little of their Pagan faith mingling with their Christian belief. I have reason to believe that other crews in the place as well as my father's crew practised the neid-fire.'
A man at Helmsdale, Sutherland, saw the 'tein-eigin' made in his boyhood.
The neid-fire was made in North Uist about the year 1829, in Arran about 1820, in Helmsdale about 1818, in Reay about 1830.
Other references
The Needfire Ritual by Thomas Davidson 1955 in The Antiquity Publication - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/the-needfire-ritual/4944E4D16BCF71227B16F664AD19E34F
Antiquity , Volume 29 , Issue 115 , September 1955 , pp. 132 - 136
I can't access it! It seems to have some good references too!
Origins of English history 1890: Origins of English history : Elton, Charles Isaac, 1839-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive - there is little of note in here
Strange Survivals by Baring Gould 1892 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52024/52024-h/52024-h.htm#V - there is little of note in here and nothing really to backup what Gould is saying - mostly saying what others have said that The Church banned the heathen practice and that only Flint & Steel was allowed by The Church
The Needfire Ritual by Thomas Davidson 1955 in The Antiquity Publication - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/the-needfire-ritual/4944E4D16BCF71227B16F664AD19E34F
Antiquity , Volume 29 , Issue 115 , September 1955 , pp. 132 - 136
I can't access it! It seems to have some good references too!
Origins of English history 1890: Origins of English history : Elton, Charles Isaac, 1839-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive - there is little of note in here
Strange Survivals by Baring Gould 1892 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/52024/52024-h/52024-h.htm#V - there is little of note in here and nothing really to backup what Gould is saying - mostly saying what others have said that The Church banned the heathen practice and that only Flint & Steel was allowed by The Church
Germany - Meaning of Not Feuer - taken from RD Glossary
Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration.[1] In many countries, such as Croatia, bonfires are lit on the evening of 23 June for people to jump over.
Saint John's Eve, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:36, 56–57) states that John was born about six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of John the Baptist was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas Eve. This feast day is one of the very few saints' days which commemorates the anniversary of the birth, rather than the death, of the saint being honored.
Emergency Fire (old German Nodfyr , Wild Fire - in the true sense of real fire. The lightning bolt and thereby caused the fire, still alive in the Styrian dialect wildfire was also the term for passion), in Germanic antiquity that used to religious use and for medicinal purposes Fire , which had to be recreated by friction of two woods according to the method of natural peoples. Both the Easter and woodcock fire, as well as those through which the sick cattle were driven, had to be produced in accordance with the previous extinction of all burning fires in the village.it was the uncontrolled wild fire of the year 1813, which at that time was still burning. This wild fire flashed, a fire that indicated the hoard of the sunken folk. Heinrich Pröhle (1822-1895) By the way, custom was already found in ancient India and passed to Greeks and Romans, in whom the fire of the Vesta on a particular day of the year (as later the Easter fire), or when it had been extinguished by negligence, was thus produced as well as that through which the herds of cattle were driven at the shepherd's feast of the Paliles in Rome. The custom has been maintained the longest in Thuringia and the Harz, where 1842 and later (in the region of Quedlinburg), officials were officially ordered by the local mayor to kindle emergency fire to protect the pigs against anthrax.
Translated by Google Translate. Note: Author\source unknown.
Fire is the most typical element associated with the Saint John's Eve celebration.[1] In many countries, such as Croatia, bonfires are lit on the evening of 23 June for people to jump over.
Saint John's Eve, is the eve of celebration before the Feast Day of Saint John the Baptist. The Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:36, 56–57) states that John was born about six months before Jesus; therefore, the feast of John the Baptist was fixed on 24 June, six months before Christmas Eve. This feast day is one of the very few saints' days which commemorates the anniversary of the birth, rather than the death, of the saint being honored.
Emergency Fire (old German Nodfyr , Wild Fire - in the true sense of real fire. The lightning bolt and thereby caused the fire, still alive in the Styrian dialect wildfire was also the term for passion), in Germanic antiquity that used to religious use and for medicinal purposes Fire , which had to be recreated by friction of two woods according to the method of natural peoples. Both the Easter and woodcock fire, as well as those through which the sick cattle were driven, had to be produced in accordance with the previous extinction of all burning fires in the village.it was the uncontrolled wild fire of the year 1813, which at that time was still burning. This wild fire flashed, a fire that indicated the hoard of the sunken folk. Heinrich Pröhle (1822-1895) By the way, custom was already found in ancient India and passed to Greeks and Romans, in whom the fire of the Vesta on a particular day of the year (as later the Easter fire), or when it had been extinguished by negligence, was thus produced as well as that through which the herds of cattle were driven at the shepherd's feast of the Paliles in Rome. The custom has been maintained the longest in Thuringia and the Harz, where 1842 and later (in the region of Quedlinburg), officials were officially ordered by the local mayor to kindle emergency fire to protect the pigs against anthrax.
Translated by Google Translate. Note: Author\source unknown.
Illustration by H M Brock (1875 - 1960) British Illustrator "At Quedlinburg Germany sick pigs are driven through the NOT FEUER literally the need fire"
Germany - Not Feuer by Johannes Reiske printed 1696
Historian Johannes Reiske (German educator and historian 1641 - 1701) wrote Not Feuer , published in 1696 , which apparently was considered a pioneering achievement.
The title of the book being:
Kurtze so wohl historische, als vernunfftmässige Untersuchung desbeym alten Teutschen gebräuchlichen Heydnischem Nodfyrs und desdaher aufgekommenen heutigen Nothfeurs ... Benebenst einem Anhange J. Timei (von Oster. Feuer.).
Loosely translates as: "Reiske, Johann: Kurt so well a historical, as an ingenious investigation, the Heydnian Nodfyr, used in the old Teutschen, and the present emergency , as well as of the Easter and St. John fire, which was placed at his next edifice, Johannes Reiskius, Frankfurt et al., 1696"
This caught my attention as it was written in the late 17th century and backs up that the Fire Churns and purifying fires were commonly known about. I've managed to decipher it enough using Google Translate to get a jist of it, tho it turns out not to be quite as exciting as I hoped but still interesting for me all the same. Not Feuer translates as Emergency Fire which makes sense as these fires were used in times of distress and were seen to be purifying. Johannes goes round the houses a lot and references God and Christianity quite a bit but the jist of it seems to be that he's theorising the origins of the Not Feuer amongst the Germanic peoples. Johannes theorises they were about 900 years old though how he came to that I don't know! He backs up what 19th\20th century writers have also written - he describes the fire churns similar to the descriptions and the reconstructions I've seen, and that they were used for purifying purposes and livestock and even children were walked through the fires to "cure" them. As others have written, these fires and devices were seen to be heathen and banned by the church (hence why they disappeared.) He also seems to indicate that the Saint John's Eve fires originated from the Not Feuer \ Need fires. (again the church replacing pagan rituals with Christian festivals) all quite interesting....
A copy of the scanned book can be downloaded in Google Play
Historian Johannes Reiske (German educator and historian 1641 - 1701) wrote Not Feuer , published in 1696 , which apparently was considered a pioneering achievement.
The title of the book being:
Kurtze so wohl historische, als vernunfftmässige Untersuchung desbeym alten Teutschen gebräuchlichen Heydnischem Nodfyrs und desdaher aufgekommenen heutigen Nothfeurs ... Benebenst einem Anhange J. Timei (von Oster. Feuer.).
Loosely translates as: "Reiske, Johann: Kurt so well a historical, as an ingenious investigation, the Heydnian Nodfyr, used in the old Teutschen, and the present emergency , as well as of the Easter and St. John fire, which was placed at his next edifice, Johannes Reiskius, Frankfurt et al., 1696"
This caught my attention as it was written in the late 17th century and backs up that the Fire Churns and purifying fires were commonly known about. I've managed to decipher it enough using Google Translate to get a jist of it, tho it turns out not to be quite as exciting as I hoped but still interesting for me all the same. Not Feuer translates as Emergency Fire which makes sense as these fires were used in times of distress and were seen to be purifying. Johannes goes round the houses a lot and references God and Christianity quite a bit but the jist of it seems to be that he's theorising the origins of the Not Feuer amongst the Germanic peoples. Johannes theorises they were about 900 years old though how he came to that I don't know! He backs up what 19th\20th century writers have also written - he describes the fire churns similar to the descriptions and the reconstructions I've seen, and that they were used for purifying purposes and livestock and even children were walked through the fires to "cure" them. As others have written, these fires and devices were seen to be heathen and banned by the church (hence why they disappeared.) He also seems to indicate that the Saint John's Eve fires originated from the Not Feuer \ Need fires. (again the church replacing pagan rituals with Christian festivals) all quite interesting....
A copy of the scanned book can be downloaded in Google Play
Russia - Taken from Russian wikipedia:
Representations about the annual renewal of the fire are due to the rites of burning the Living Fire on certain days and calendar holidays . For Bulgarians, the replacement of the "old" fire with a new one, obtained by friction, is carried out on the Goryshchnik ( in Bulgarian ) , in some regions - on the eve of Ivanov's Day (Enovden, Varna ), on St. Jeremiah (1.V) (SJ- Rhodope ), in the New Year (Hasvah.), On the day of St. George (Wed- Rhodope ), on Christmas Eve , the day of St. Panteleimon (27.VII).
In the Eastern Slavs, the rite of collective ignition of the Living Fire took place on the eve of the Seminary of the Letnorodets on the first of September (i.e., at the beginning of the new year according to the pre-Petrine calendar) or on Ivan Kupala : from the Living Fire, the campfire was lit, and the cattle were jumped over and overtaken. The Hutsuls watched the holy fire that had been caught on Christmas Eve and spread through the huts throughout the year, preventing it from going out. The Poles, with the help of this fire, fired a large rural fire on Good Saturday, his flame was consecrated, and people carried home smoldering bunches. With the idea of renewing the life force, the symbol of which is the "new" fire, the rituals of burning the Living Fire in a new house are connected, when the village is moved from one place to another (especially in case of an epidemic).
Representations about the annual renewal of the fire are due to the rites of burning the Living Fire on certain days and calendar holidays . For Bulgarians, the replacement of the "old" fire with a new one, obtained by friction, is carried out on the Goryshchnik ( in Bulgarian ) , in some regions - on the eve of Ivanov's Day (Enovden, Varna ), on St. Jeremiah (1.V) (SJ- Rhodope ), in the New Year (Hasvah.), On the day of St. George (Wed- Rhodope ), on Christmas Eve , the day of St. Panteleimon (27.VII).
In the Eastern Slavs, the rite of collective ignition of the Living Fire took place on the eve of the Seminary of the Letnorodets on the first of September (i.e., at the beginning of the new year according to the pre-Petrine calendar) or on Ivan Kupala : from the Living Fire, the campfire was lit, and the cattle were jumped over and overtaken. The Hutsuls watched the holy fire that had been caught on Christmas Eve and spread through the huts throughout the year, preventing it from going out. The Poles, with the help of this fire, fired a large rural fire on Good Saturday, his flame was consecrated, and people carried home smoldering bunches. With the idea of renewing the life force, the symbol of which is the "new" fire, the rituals of burning the Living Fire in a new house are connected, when the village is moved from one place to another (especially in case of an epidemic).
Russia - quoted from "We Are Slavs" by Maria Semyonova - note this is a google translation...
"A special sacred power was attributed to Fire, which was obtained by the most primitive way - friction. And here, perhaps, I should say a few words, why all the ancient used such honor, and even nowadays it uses: the best advertisement is "made according to ancient recipes". The fact is that all the most ancient customs, methods and crooks, it was believed, the forefathers and foremothers of living people now learned directly from the Gods. Let us recall the blacksmith's pliers and plow, "fallen from heaven", or "first" laws! Accordingly, all subsequent technical and social progress was partly a distortion of the great-grandfather's "divine" wisdom, above which, according to ancient people, nothing could be.
So, the fire, obtained by friction, was considered "clean", not in contact with any nasty things. With the ignition of such a Fire, the New Year was celebrated every time. At the same time, it was believed that all the sins of the past remain with the old fire that was extinguished: thus, every year the world is given a chance to reborn, to become kinder and better ... Let's note in passing that the beginning of the new year in Russia was repeatedly postponed, it was celebrated in March , then in September, but one of the oldest scientists still recognize the New Year, celebrated on the days of the winter solstice, December 22-23.
With the Fire, Gentile Slavs were also associated with the emergence of people. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman out of two sticks, between which the Fire flared up - the very first flame of love ..."
"A special sacred power was attributed to Fire, which was obtained by the most primitive way - friction. And here, perhaps, I should say a few words, why all the ancient used such honor, and even nowadays it uses: the best advertisement is "made according to ancient recipes". The fact is that all the most ancient customs, methods and crooks, it was believed, the forefathers and foremothers of living people now learned directly from the Gods. Let us recall the blacksmith's pliers and plow, "fallen from heaven", or "first" laws! Accordingly, all subsequent technical and social progress was partly a distortion of the great-grandfather's "divine" wisdom, above which, according to ancient people, nothing could be.
So, the fire, obtained by friction, was considered "clean", not in contact with any nasty things. With the ignition of such a Fire, the New Year was celebrated every time. At the same time, it was believed that all the sins of the past remain with the old fire that was extinguished: thus, every year the world is given a chance to reborn, to become kinder and better ... Let's note in passing that the beginning of the new year in Russia was repeatedly postponed, it was celebrated in March , then in September, but one of the oldest scientists still recognize the New Year, celebrated on the days of the winter solstice, December 22-23.
With the Fire, Gentile Slavs were also associated with the emergence of people. According to some legends, the Gods created a Man and a Woman out of two sticks, between which the Fire flared up - the very first flame of love ..."
Russia - Svarozic's Fire Temple -
In Krasotynka near Kaluga is a Svarozic Fire temple complex reconstruction based on research devoted to the study of the pre-Christian rites of the Slavs of the 8th-13th centuries. Click here for more info. The complex also has a Fire Gate.
In Krasotynka near Kaluga is a Svarozic Fire temple complex reconstruction based on research devoted to the study of the pre-Christian rites of the Slavs of the 8th-13th centuries. Click here for more info. The complex also has a Fire Gate.
Other useful Russia links:
https://ou.tsu.ru/school/natureslav/17.html: The "living fire" was extracted for ritual purposes by rubbing chocks and dry wood four times a year in accordance with the solar phases of the winter solstice and the stay of the sun (Kolyada), the spring equinox (Maslenitsa), the summer solstice (the Kupala days), the autumnal equinox (days Dazhdbog). The Orthodox Church once established the New Year's meeting on September 1. This day was called the "New Year", and the common people greeted him with the "burning fire"
Festival of Kupala - http://midgard-svaor.com/tradiciya-prazdnovaniya-dnya-boga-kupala/
https://ou.tsu.ru/school/natureslav/17.html: The "living fire" was extracted for ritual purposes by rubbing chocks and dry wood four times a year in accordance with the solar phases of the winter solstice and the stay of the sun (Kolyada), the spring equinox (Maslenitsa), the summer solstice (the Kupala days), the autumnal equinox (days Dazhdbog). The Orthodox Church once established the New Year's meeting on September 1. This day was called the "New Year", and the common people greeted him with the "burning fire"
Festival of Kupala - http://midgard-svaor.com/tradiciya-prazdnovaniya-dnya-boga-kupala/
Latin
In Latin Neid Fire is NedFri or Nedfres - I've found a few references to it in Latin texts but Google doesn't translate too well!
See here:
Synodus Francica a 742 sub Carolomanno habita; resp. Mart. Difenbach. - Jenae, Muller 1708 This looks interesting as the Synodus Francica 742 is mentioned in a few texts but I can't translate it :)
http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/NEDFRI
History of Germany 1730
In Latin Neid Fire is NedFri or Nedfres - I've found a few references to it in Latin texts but Google doesn't translate too well!
See here:
Synodus Francica a 742 sub Carolomanno habita; resp. Mart. Difenbach. - Jenae, Muller 1708 This looks interesting as the Synodus Francica 742 is mentioned in a few texts but I can't translate it :)
http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/NEDFRI
History of Germany 1730
Neid Fire Pages
- An overview of the Neid Fire rituals can be found here : Neid Fire Overview
- Information on the Neid Fire Apparatus can be founder here: Fire Churns
List of References
- British Newspaper Archive - needs a subscription - lots of articles from 19th c on Neid Fire
- Neid fires in Cumbria 2011 by Diane Mcllmoyle (blogpost)
- Need-fire – a Celtic tradition that lasted till the 1840s - Cumbrian Characters (blogpost)
- Hawkshead (the northenmost parish of Lancashire)" by Henry Swainson Cowper (1899)
- "The Folklore of the Lake District" by Marjorie Rowling (1976) - no free online version available
- The Scotsman - The Ancient Fires Lit Across Scotland for Good Fortune - Oct 2018 (article)
- "Curiosities of Indo-European Tradition and Folk-lore "by Walter Keating Kelly 1863
- "Primitive Beliefs in the North East of Scotland" by J McPherson 1929
- English Dialect Dictionary 1902 - page 243
- https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:Folk-lore_-_A_Quarterly_Review._Volume_9,_1898.djvu/306 (free)
- The Golden Bough by Sir James Fraser 1890
- L-Wyl by John Jamieson 1806
- Carmina Cadelica by Alexander Carmichael (folklorist 1832-1912)
- The Dwelly Gaelic Dictionary (1901-1911) by Edward Dwelly
- The Needfire Ritual by Thomas Davidson 1955 in The Antiquity Publication (not free)
- Origins of English history : Elton, Charles Isaac, 1839-1900 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive - there is little of note in here
- Strange Survivals by Baring Gould 1892
- Not Feuer by Johannes Reiske printed 1696
- Meaning of Not Feuer - taken from RD Glossary
- "We Are Slavs" by Maria Semyonova 1997
- "A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland" 1703 by Màrtainn Màrtainn