Legends
of the Rollright Stones
Many ancient sites in the British Isles have legends
connected
with them and the Rollrights have their share. Here is a
selection
of those legends.
The King
and the Witch
Probably
the most famous legend is about a King and his men that were
crossing the
Cotswolds when they met a witch. She taunted the king with these
words -
"Seven
long strides shalt thou take
And if Long Compton thou canst see,
King of England thou shalt be."
The King knowing
Long Compton was just over the ridge went off shouting -
"Stick,
stock, stone
As King of England I shall be known."
Of course there
was a catch, take those seven steps and a mound sometimes known
as the
Arch Druid's barrow blocks the view (and still does today).The
witch laughed and said -
"As
Long Compton thou canst not see
King of England thou shalt not be.
Rise up stick and stand still stone
For King of England thou shalt be none;
Thou and thy men hoar stones shall be
And I myself an eldern tree."
And so it was
that the King became the King Stone, his men the King's Men Stone
Circle, and his
knights the Whispering Knights. The witch an Elder tree growing
in a hedge between the King Stone
and the Stone Circle, looks over them until the spell is broken.
The King Stone
Over the
centuries the stories have been embellished, the stones are said
to go down the hill to a brook at
Little Rollright at midnight on new years eve to drink, and any
mortal witnessing this will surely go insane or
die. If the Elder is cut when in blossom it will bleed. On
midsummers eve at midnight people once gathered at
the King Stone and when the Witch Elder was cut the King moved
his head.
The
Kings Men
Legend has it
that it is impossible to count the kings men to the same total
twice, and even today during the
hours of darkness it is a near impossible task. The Stones of
course resist being moved and cursed be any
mortal man that would try.
The Kings men
Fertility
Rites and the Stones
As with
other ancient sites the Rollright Stones are believed to aid with
fertility, women
wanting a child would go to the King Stone at night and embrace
it with their naked bodies.
Today the Stone is surrounded by a fence which could make this a
little difficult.
The Whispering Knights were visited by girls and young women
who could hear the stones whispering the name of their future
husbands to them.
The
whispering Knights