Understanding the History of Loch Ness

The history of the Loch Ness monster is closely associated with St Columba. He was responsible for recording a sighting which has become iconic in the mythology of the locality. The book where the sightings were recorded is known as the “Life of St. Columba” and was written by Adomnán in the 7th century. St Columbia was an Irish monk who was staying in the lands of the Pictish tribes. The locals were seen burying a man by the river. It was then explained that the man had been swimming when he was attacked by a water beast. The saint then sent his follower Luigne Moccu Min to swim across the river. When the best came the saint commanded it to go back. It fled in terror. This was then accredited to God as a miracle.

1. Unraveling the various histories of Loch Ness: Although the story of St Columba is very fascinating, there are still some people that are not convinced about its truth. They claim that this was a common motif used by Adomnán. There is a suspicion that the story was told as a means of converting the Pictish tribes to Christianity. A symbolic representation might make sense if you consider the fact that this was the time when the Christian pilgrimages were taking place. Therefore the monster can be taken to represent paganism while the saint is the slayer that spreads Christianity. Other people claim that this was just a walrus that had swum up the river.
2. The George Spicer tales: In the 20th century we have the figure of George Spicer. He is said to have seen the beast on the 22nd of July 1933. The creature was described as having a large body with a long narrow neck. They did not see limbs because the lower part was being obscured underneath the water. It then left some broken undergrowth on the way. Arthur Grant then also claimed to have seen the creature. Many people are not convinced by these tales since there is no concrete evidence to suggest that the mythical creature is in existence.

3. A sporadic series of sightings: There were other tales of seeing the creature. A film was shot in 1963. A poor quality image was produced but there are many people that are still not sure about the creature. The Chief Constable of Inverness Shire in 1938 was William Fraser. He wrote a letter intimating that he was convinced of the existence of the creature. The letter was written in an effort to protect the creature from trophy hunters. The National Archives of Scotland released the letter on the 27th of April 2010.

4. Relevance for modern audiences: Given the fact that there is no scientific proof of the creature, the mystery has to be taken with a leap of faith. There are many people that are happy to take the stories at face value regardless of the circumstances that are being described. It is part of the attraction that is associated with this locality.