The Burrymen War
No-one knows for sure when or why the Burryman ceremony in South Queensferry began, although many say it celebrates the granting to the town of Royal Burgh status by James VI in 1588. This account of it was penned by the writer, W. W. Fyffe, in 1865:
“On the day preceding the Queensferry Fair, the Burry Man who requires to be either a stout man or robust lad, as weakly persons, like the man in complete steel who annually sacrifices his life to the Lord Mayors Show in London, have been known to faint under the heat and fatigue of the dressing, is indued in his flannels; face, arms, and legs, body all being covered, so as nearly to resemble a man in chain amour, from the adhesion of the burrs; and the head, as well as the tops of the staves grasped with extended arms, being beautifully dressed with flowers; whilst the victim, thus accoutered, is led from door to door by two attendants who likewise assist in holding up his arms by grasping the staves.
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At every door in succession, a shout is raised, and the inhabitants, severally come forth, bestow there kindly greetings and donatives of money on the Burry Man who in this way collects, we believe, considerable sums of money to be eventually divided and spent at the Fair by the youth associated in this exploit.”
Whatever its origins, the ceremony was held every year for hundreds of years until it was suspended by the authorities after the gruesome and mysterious death of a participant in the 1990 ceremony.
The Burrymen War is the story of the events surrounding that death. It is a story exposing the violence, bigotry and sectarianism that fester in the underbelly of small-town Scotland.
The Burrymen War is the story of the events surrounding that death. It is a story exposing the violence, bigotry and sectarianism that fester in the underbelly of small-town Scotland.
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The Burrymen War can be purchased in both paperback and ebook formats at the following links:
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