Rhymer reasoning

The observant amongst you will have spotted we have a club motto – Absum cum Nymphae.  A bit pretentious you might think?  Hmmmm!  Read on.

We in Earlston are fortunate to have a link to a notable character from history, the 13th century laird and poet, Thomas Rimor de Ercildoun.  Ercildoun being the old form of the village name.  Born around 1220, the story goes that Thomas fell asleep one day under a hawthorn tree and was awakened by a kiss from a fairy queen.  He fell in love and she transported him to fairyland beneath the Eildon Hills where he served her for some time.  After seven years he returned at which time she bestowed upon him fairy gifts, among them, the ability to foretell the future.

In case you think this is merely myth and silliness, Thomas really was an important figure of the times and his first predictions of future events were recorded in early manuscript.  Amongst those were Scottish victory at Bannockburn in 1314 and the defeat of King James at Flodden in 1513.  His prophesies were consulted by Jacobites before the uprisings in 1715 and 1745.

Now some say he returned to fairyland at the end of his life and others say he was killed in some political conspiracy or other skulduggery.  The magical hawthorn tree linked to his romance lived on until 1814 when it was blown down in a gale.  Now, its demise would supposedly trigger ill fortune in the community and local people were keen to keep it flourishing and attempted to revive its roots with whisky.  This did not work.  The Rhymer Stane marked the place the tree grew and ‘Rhymer’s Tower’, a ruined 16th century keep, stands at the edge of the village on the site of a much older site.

His story was retold by Sir Walter Scott in his ‘Minstrely of the Scottish Borders’ in 1804.  Whilst it is often derided as myth and superstition it did inspire us to coin our motto.  In keeping with our aim of enjoying our curling whatever the result and of not taking ourselves too seriously, we came up with  Absum cum Nymphae. – ‘Away wi’ the Fairies‘.

A more authoritative account of Thomas, his life and prophesies can be found here: Friends of Thomas