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Q: Scottish Blood Vow - Origin? ( No Answer,   1 Comment )
Question  
Subject: Scottish Blood Vow - Origin?
Category: Miscellaneous
Asked by: wolfshifter-ga
List Price: $70.00
Posted: 21 Jan 2004 15:55 PST
Expires: 22 Jan 2004 10:08 PST
Question ID: 298921
There is a Scottish Blood Vow that goes like this?

Ye are Blood of my Blood,
and Bone of my Bone.
I give ye my Body,
that we Two might be One.
I give ye my Spirit,
'til our Life shall be Done.

I would like to find out what its origin is.
How old is it?  How long has it been around?
Where did it come from? 
Who wrote it (if it?s known)?

Links to the resources that support the information would be helpful.

I have written a novel, historical fiction set in Scotland in the
1600?s, and would like to use this vow in my book.
But I have concerns that it may not be in the ?traditional? public
domain, but actually is attributable to someone who must be mentioned
if I use it.

I made a superficial search on the web, and here is what I have found so far.

Diana Gabaldon referred to it in her book ?Outlander?.  (written in 1990?s)
Some of her fan sites will claim that she is the author of the vow,
but I don?t think that?s true.
It?s been around longer than that.

I found references to this vow as far as it being used in hand fasting
and wedding ceremonies.

There is a web site of poetry (www.poetropical.co.uk) that lists the
poem as traditional, but upon emailing the gentleman, he was unsure of
its origin.

Can anyone help?

Would be willing to tip for a timely answer.

Thanks
WriterLady
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Scottish Blood Vow - Origin?
From: pinkfreud-ga on 21 Jan 2004 16:33 PST
 
I am a huge fan of the Outlander series. A few years ago, out of
personal curiosity, I tried to trace the origins of this "blood vow,"
since I suspected that it might have old roots. Although I found many
people who seemed convinced that it was "ancient," I was not able to
find a shred of proof, nor any printed reference earlier than
Gabaldon's.

Here's a site which says Gabaldon claims to have created the vow:

"When asked for the origins of this wonderful blood vow, during the
Surrey Gathering, in October 1998, Diana Gabaldon told us she had
created it. Thus, even though Jamie and Claire say the vow in Gaelic,
there's not an official Gaelic version of this blood vow.

At the request of some ladies, Iain Taylor, Diana Gabaldon's
consultant for Gaelic, has kindly provided us with a beautiful Gaelic
version of Jamie and Claire's blood vow (for an account of how Diana
Gabaldon and Iain Taylor met in person, see The Northeastern Hosers
First Meeting, and a dinner with Herself).

Here it is, complete with literal English translation and pronunciation guide.

 GAELIC BLOOD VOW

Is tu fuil ?o mo chuislean, is tu cnaimh de mo chnaimh.
Is leatsa mo bhodhaig, chum gum bi sinn ?n ar n-aon.
Is leatsa m?anam gus an criochnaich ar saoghal.
Copyright © 1999 by Iain Taylor. All rights reserved.

Literal Translation

You are blood of my veins, you are bone of my bone.
Yours is my body, that we may be one.
Yours is my soul until our worlds end."

http://www.lallybroch.com/LOL/blood-vow.html

If (as I suspect) Diana Gabaldon was the first to publish the vow
under copyright, you may want to consider rewriting it (or creating a
different Gaelic text) to avoid any chance of legal difficulties when
your book is published. The vow is very short, and it might fall under
the "fair use" provision of copyright law, but you could be taking a
risk by using it intact.

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