Camus (folklore)

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title: "Camus (folklore)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["scottish-mythology", "scandinavian-scotland", "scottish-literature", "11th-century-in-scotland"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camus_(folklore)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

Camus, in historic literature, was a Scandinavian general dispatched to engage the Scots in battle, reportedly in the early eleventh century AD. The legendary engagement was called the Battle of Barry, and was first alluded to by Boece.

The historical nature of Camus and the Battle of Barry was called into doubt in the early nineteenth century. Evidence formerly cited for the battle included the large number of human remains found on Barry Links, where the town of Carnoustie, Angus now stands, now reinterpreted as a Pictish cemetery of earlier date. The remains of a fort near Kirkbuddo, formerly known as 'Norway Dykes', from where the Danish army are supposed to have marched is now recognised to be of Roman origin.

Boece attributed Pictish sculptured stones found throughout Angus and the surrounding area to the Danish invasions. The battle depicted on the reverse of the Aberlemno kirkyard stone was cited by tradition as a depiction of the Battle of Barry. | last = Johnston | first = W.A. | title = Angus or Forfarshire, the land and people, descriptive and historical. Volume 2 | year = 1881 | location = Dundee | publisher = Alexander Current thought dates this stone from the mid-8th century and it is now commonly thought to depict the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685 AD. The Camus Cross near Monikie, 2 miles north of the supposed battle site and formerly thought to be the site of Camus' death, is now thought to be of earlier, Pictish origin.

The name 'Camus' derives from 'Camuston', the location of the Camus Cross. Local tradition claims the hill to have been named in honour of Camus, but it is found in early documents as 'Cambeston' and is thought to have a Celtic rather than Scandinavian derivation. | last = Worsaae | first = J.J.A. | title = An account of the Danes and Norwegians in England, Scotland and Ireland | year = 1852 | publisher = John Murray | location = London | url = https://archive.org/details/anaccountdanesa00worsgoog | page = 210 | quote = camus battle of barry.

Line notes

References

  • Hector Boece. 1527. Historia Gentis Scotorum (History of the Scottish People)
  • John Carrie. 1881. Ancient Things in Angus: A Series of Articles on Ancient Things, Manners, and Customs, in Forfarshire, published by Thomas Buncle, 156 pages

References

  1. John Carrie. 1881
  2. Hector Boece. 1527
  3. Dickson, R. (1878) [http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_012/12_611_615.pdf Notice of the discovery of stone coffins at Carnoustie, Forfarshire] {{webarchive. link. (June 11, 2007 , Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 12, 611-615, ads.ahds.ac.uk; retrieved 2 September 2008. Dickson reports three long cist burials disinterred in 1878. The burials were aligned with feet pointing to the east, signifying [[Christian burial]] and, despite Gordon's (1726) assertions about size, gives a femur size of {{convert). 18. in. cm. 5. ft. 6. in. m
  4. Coutts, H. (1971) [http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/PSAS_2002/pdf/vol_103/103_233_235.pdf Two long cists at the High Street, Carnoustie], Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland 103, 233-235, archaeologydataservice.ac.uk; retrieved 2 September. Coutts reports two long cist burials found by workmen during excavations in the 1960s. The burials were again in an approximately East-West orientation, with feet facing East. One was of a male aged approximately 25-30 with a height of {{convert. 5. ft. 4. in. cm. 5. ft. 4. in. cm
  5. {{Historic Environment Scotland
  6. Walker, B. and Ritchie, G. (1996) Exploring Scotland's Heritage: Fife, Perthshire and Angus. 2nd Edition. HMSO, Edinburgh.

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scottish-mythologyscandinavian-scotlandscottish-literature11th-century-in-scotland