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Broonies, Silkies, & Fairies
Williamson vividly retells the timeless travellers' tales of these magical beings of the Otherworld.
Editor’s Note
Introduction
TheSilkie's Revenge
The Broonie on Carra
Saltie the Silkie
The Taen-Awa
Torquil Glen
The Lighthouse Keeper
Archie and the Little People
The Broonie's Curse
The Fisherman and His Sons
The Tramp and the Boots
The Crofter's Mistake
The Broonie's Farewell
Glossary
Editor’s Note
Introduction
TheSilkie's Revenge
The Broonie on Carra
Saltie the Silkie
The Taen-Awa
Torquil Glen
The Lighthouse Keeper
Archie and the Little People
The Broonie's Curse
The Fisherman and His Sons
The Tramp and the Boots
The Crofter's Mistake
The Broonie's Farewell
Glossary
Hardcover
First published April 22, 1987
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About the author
Duncan Williamson
39 books18 followersDuncan James Williamson was a Scottish storyteller and singer, and a member of the Scottish Traveller community. The Scottish poet and scholar Hamish Henderson once referred to him as "possibly the most extraordinary tradition-bearer of the whole Traveller tribe."
Williamson is reputed to have been born in a bow-tent on the banks of Loch Fyne, near the village of Furnace in Argyll, to Jock Williamson and Betsy Townsley, and was one of 16 children. He learned his repertoire of stories and songs from family, and other members of the Traveller community. His illiterate father was a basketmaker & tinsmith, and insisted that his children get an education, sending Williamson to school in Furnace. Like other Scottish travellers, the Williamson family lived in a fairly large tent during the winter months and took to the roads for the summer, walking from camping place to camping place and picking up seasonal work as they went. At age fourteen, he was apprenticed to a stonemason and dry stane-dyker. A year later, he left home with an older brother, travelling all over Argyll and Perthshire. He worked as a farm labourer, and later as a horse dealer. He was married to his first wife, Jeannie Townley (a distant cousin) in 1949 and had seven children together. Jeannie died in 1971.
On 22 February 1977, Williamson married the American-born musicologist/folklorist Linda Headlee, with whom he had two children. For the first four years of their marriage they lived in a tent, following which they lived in a cottage in Fife. It was largely through her that Duncan came into demand as a storyteller in Scottish schools, as well a featured performer at storytelling festivals both in the UK and abroad.
Williamson's life on the road in his teens and as a young married man is recounted in his oral autobiography, The Horsieman: Memories of a Traveller 1928-1958. From early on he developed a zest for storytelling as well as a love for the conviviality that attends "having a crack" (trading talk with friends or companions). His repertory of songs and stories continued to expand throughout his life, particularly after he gained entry to the world inhabited by folklorists by taking part in Scotland's folksong and storytelling revivals during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
In 1967 Williamson met the travellers' rights activist Helen Fullerton, a collector of traditional folktales, who had previously recorded his mother and siblings in 1958. Fullerton told another collector, Geordie MacIntyre, about Williamson, with MacIntryre making further recordings, also in 1967. In 1968, Williamson performed at the Blairgowrie Folk Festival.
Thanks chiefly to Linda's skill in editing his tape-recorded performances, a number of Duncan's stories came into print during his lifetime. A few audio recordings of his songs and stories have been issued commercially as well. Many more recordings remain in storage in personal or public archives, including the Sound Archive of the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.
Williamson's talents as a storyteller are celebrated in several books written by specialists in Scottish tradition and the art of oral narrative.
Williamson is reputed to have been born in a bow-tent on the banks of Loch Fyne, near the village of Furnace in Argyll, to Jock Williamson and Betsy Townsley, and was one of 16 children. He learned his repertoire of stories and songs from family, and other members of the Traveller community. His illiterate father was a basketmaker & tinsmith, and insisted that his children get an education, sending Williamson to school in Furnace. Like other Scottish travellers, the Williamson family lived in a fairly large tent during the winter months and took to the roads for the summer, walking from camping place to camping place and picking up seasonal work as they went. At age fourteen, he was apprenticed to a stonemason and dry stane-dyker. A year later, he left home with an older brother, travelling all over Argyll and Perthshire. He worked as a farm labourer, and later as a horse dealer. He was married to his first wife, Jeannie Townley (a distant cousin) in 1949 and had seven children together. Jeannie died in 1971.
On 22 February 1977, Williamson married the American-born musicologist/folklorist Linda Headlee, with whom he had two children. For the first four years of their marriage they lived in a tent, following which they lived in a cottage in Fife. It was largely through her that Duncan came into demand as a storyteller in Scottish schools, as well a featured performer at storytelling festivals both in the UK and abroad.
Williamson's life on the road in his teens and as a young married man is recounted in his oral autobiography, The Horsieman: Memories of a Traveller 1928-1958. From early on he developed a zest for storytelling as well as a love for the conviviality that attends "having a crack" (trading talk with friends or companions). His repertory of songs and stories continued to expand throughout his life, particularly after he gained entry to the world inhabited by folklorists by taking part in Scotland's folksong and storytelling revivals during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
In 1967 Williamson met the travellers' rights activist Helen Fullerton, a collector of traditional folktales, who had previously recorded his mother and siblings in 1958. Fullerton told another collector, Geordie MacIntyre, about Williamson, with MacIntryre making further recordings, also in 1967. In 1968, Williamson performed at the Blairgowrie Folk Festival.
Thanks chiefly to Linda's skill in editing his tape-recorded performances, a number of Duncan's stories came into print during his lifetime. A few audio recordings of his songs and stories have been issued commercially as well. Many more recordings remain in storage in personal or public archives, including the Sound Archive of the Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh and the Archive of Folk Culture at the Library of Congress, Washington DC.
Williamson's talents as a storyteller are celebrated in several books written by specialists in Scottish tradition and the art of oral narrative.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 7, 2026
This book has the most delicately, exquisitely detailed silhouette drawings/art I have ever seen! Simply gorgeous! The book is charming in that the stories are those told down through the years orally in Scotland. All are about either the Broonie, or fairies, or silkies, which are seals that can go back and forth between being seals or people.
The stories are told with a brogue and specific words and phrases that are defined for the reader. They involve ordinary people going about life in ordinary ways, and they all have a moral. These are the kinds of stories told to children in cozy settings and told among fishermen and simple folk. You'll have to read it to learn about the Broonie. He often comes in disguise.
The stories are about life back when -- before anything remotely related to computers. People have always known that stories of all kinds help people to "behave" and be kindly to others. Religion does that as well.
The stories are told with a brogue and specific words and phrases that are defined for the reader. They involve ordinary people going about life in ordinary ways, and they all have a moral. These are the kinds of stories told to children in cozy settings and told among fishermen and simple folk. You'll have to read it to learn about the Broonie. He often comes in disguise.
The stories are about life back when -- before anything remotely related to computers. People have always known that stories of all kinds help people to "behave" and be kindly to others. Religion does that as well.
November 11, 2023
Loaned by a friend, this was for a project to write an exhibition on Scottish Folklore. Could not do that without considering the Gypsy Traveller contribution. A few books containing Duncan Williamson's stories have been helpful to contextualise the stories, characters and how they relate to the history of Scotland. Short stories I enjoyed first thing in the morning to get the brain imagining what might happen throughout the day.
April 26, 2024
This was a really well done collection of traditional fairy and folk tales. There were clear themes running throughout, yet it was never repetitive, and Williamson had great command of the voice, the pacing (essential in a folk tale!), and the atmosphere. Highly recommended.
August 6, 2012
Why did I read it? I had read Duncan Williamson’s “
Land Of The Seal People
” and truly enjoyed it, so I purposely sought his other publications, mostly because he includes so many tales of the Silkie, also known as the Selkie and seal people, a subject which truly fascinates me: a race people who move between two worlds.
What’s it about? This is a collection of fireside tales told to Duncan Williamson during the years he spent travelling. The tales are from the north-west of Scotland and include:
“The Silkie’s Revenge”;
“The Broonie on Carra”;
“Saltie the Silkie”;
“The Taen-Awa”;
“Torquil Glen”;
“The Lighthouse Keeper”;
“Archie and the Little People”;
“The Broonie’s Curse”;
“The Fisherman and his Sons”;
“The Tramp and the Boots”;
“The Crofter’s Mistake”;
“The Broonie’s Farewell”; and
an annotated glossary.
As can be gleaned from the titles, all are tales involving other folk, and include lessons on how to behave, or not when encountering these folk.
What did I like? Aside from relishing the tales of the seal folk, I was particularly taken aback by the lack of happy endings often encountered in children’s tales of the modern age. These stories contain warnings, though not all, and very few have a particularly happy ever after feel. Though these are cautionary tales, none was overly terrifying; rather the some characters terrified themselves, particularly in the case of “Torquil Glen”.
I also enjoyed learning different lore surrounding certain creatures, such as the broonie. I had always understood them to be attached to particular families, or homes, but this appears not to be the case in the stories presented in this book relating to the broonie. Rather, a broonie appears as a travelling man to assess the nature of a human’s character and reflecting their fortune accordingly; more as a short lesson than a lifetime curse.
Each story is preceded by a few paragraphs revealing the source of the tale; many have summaries wherein Duncan Williamson adds his own thoughts and feelings on the preceding story, which provides a unique insight into the purpose, and culture of fireside storytelling.
What didn’t I like? It was the small matter of some of the dialect. There are footnotes for some words, and the editor, Linda Williamson, the author’s wife, provides an explanation in the glossary of how they arrived at appropriate language for the publication, it was still sometimes a little hard to discern what was being said. Still, the language did evoke a sense of authenticity of the tales.
Would I recommend it? Yes. I highly recommend “The Broonie, Silkies & Fairies: Travellers' Tales” by Duncan Williamson to anyone that enjoys a good story, folklore, fairy tales, or has an interest in otherworld beings, and/or the culture of travelling folk, crofters or the north west of Scotland.
Rating: 4½/5.
What’s it about? This is a collection of fireside tales told to Duncan Williamson during the years he spent travelling. The tales are from the north-west of Scotland and include:
“The Silkie’s Revenge”;
“The Broonie on Carra”;
“Saltie the Silkie”;
“The Taen-Awa”;
“Torquil Glen”;
“The Lighthouse Keeper”;
“Archie and the Little People”;
“The Broonie’s Curse”;
“The Fisherman and his Sons”;
“The Tramp and the Boots”;
“The Crofter’s Mistake”;
“The Broonie’s Farewell”; and
an annotated glossary.
As can be gleaned from the titles, all are tales involving other folk, and include lessons on how to behave, or not when encountering these folk.
What did I like? Aside from relishing the tales of the seal folk, I was particularly taken aback by the lack of happy endings often encountered in children’s tales of the modern age. These stories contain warnings, though not all, and very few have a particularly happy ever after feel. Though these are cautionary tales, none was overly terrifying; rather the some characters terrified themselves, particularly in the case of “Torquil Glen”.
I also enjoyed learning different lore surrounding certain creatures, such as the broonie. I had always understood them to be attached to particular families, or homes, but this appears not to be the case in the stories presented in this book relating to the broonie. Rather, a broonie appears as a travelling man to assess the nature of a human’s character and reflecting their fortune accordingly; more as a short lesson than a lifetime curse.
Each story is preceded by a few paragraphs revealing the source of the tale; many have summaries wherein Duncan Williamson adds his own thoughts and feelings on the preceding story, which provides a unique insight into the purpose, and culture of fireside storytelling.
What didn’t I like? It was the small matter of some of the dialect. There are footnotes for some words, and the editor, Linda Williamson, the author’s wife, provides an explanation in the glossary of how they arrived at appropriate language for the publication, it was still sometimes a little hard to discern what was being said. Still, the language did evoke a sense of authenticity of the tales.
Would I recommend it? Yes. I highly recommend “The Broonie, Silkies & Fairies: Travellers' Tales” by Duncan Williamson to anyone that enjoys a good story, folklore, fairy tales, or has an interest in otherworld beings, and/or the culture of travelling folk, crofters or the north west of Scotland.
Rating: 4½/5.
September 16, 2007
This is a great book of Scottish fairy tales.
August 1, 2008
This was a gift from my sister, Lisa. This was another whose illustrations mystified me as a child.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews