Fraoch Eilean

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

This edition is copyright © The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland, 2002-2022.

It has taken much time and money to make the six-volumes of Groome's text freely accessible. Please help us continue and develop by making a donation. If only one out of every ten people who view this page gave £5 or $10, the project would be self-sustaining. Sadly less than one in thirty-thousand contribute, so please give what you can.

Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry

Fraoch Eilean, a small island in Loch Awe, Argyllshire, 2½ miles SW of Kilchurn Castle and ½ mile NE of Inishail. The hero Fraoch, going to gather its serpent-guarded apples, which the fair Mego longed for, slew and was slain by the monster—a legend which recalls the classic myth of the Hesperides, and which forms the theme of an ancient Gaelic poem, translated about 1770 by the Rev. Dr John Smith. In 1267 the islet was granted by Alexander III. to Gilbert Macnaughton; and it contains the ruins of a strong fortalice, in which the Macnaughton chieftains resided.—Ord. Sur., sh. 45, 1876.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer