Clach na Bratach — The Stone of the Standard

Iona, Argyll, Scotland

A crystal found by Clan Donnachaidh on the march to Bannockburn in 1314 became their oracle stone — clouding over, by tradition, only before a chief's death.

Clach na Bratach, the Stone of the Standard, belongs to Clan Donnachaidh — Clan Robertson — and by tradition was found in 1314, when the clan's standard was pulled from the ground on the march to join Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, and a globe of clear crystal came up tangled in its roots. The stone, roughly the size of a small apple, was fixed in a cage at the top of the clan standard and carried into battle by successive chiefs for centuries afterward. It was credited with two powers. Water in which it had been dipped was said to have genuine healing properties, used on both people and livestock. And its clarity was read as an omen: a clear stone meant the clan would prevail, while a stone gone cloudy or cracked was taken as a warning of a chief's approaching death. Clach na Bratach survives today and is kept at the Clan Donnachaidh Museum in Pitlochry, Perthshire — one of comparatively few Highland clan charm-stones whose physical object, not just its legend, can still be seen.