Legend of a Norse tomb
To a stone on a hilltop to the south-west of the lighthouse and in the
neighbourhood of the Retreat of the Cunning One (? fox), the name of Leac
Nighinn Righ Lochlainn has been given.
According to its legend, the son of the King of Greece went to Denmark to
attend a royal banquet and, incidentally, to woo the daughter of the King of
that country. On his arrival in Denmark he met the son of the King of Sweden
and other suitors. So jealous did he become that he eloped with the
princess. But the son of the King of Lochlann(Sweden in this case) pursued
the couple and overtook them at Rona, where he challenged the son of the
King of Greece to mortal combat.
In the contest that ensued the Greek was slain ; and for his corpse a grave
was prepared on the summit of a hillock above Blarain, in Rona.
And it was at the request of the daughter of the King of Lochlann the grave
was made wide, that she might leap in beside her slain lover. This she did ;
and the folks of Rona placed ‘leac or slab to mark the site of this
mysterious burial.
And ever since this spot has been identified as Leap Njghinn Righ Lochlainn
- the Tombstone of the Daughter of the King of Denmark.
The Widow's light
One night, while the husband and sons of the aged occupant of this place
were fishing in the Little Minch, there arose a great storm. When she went
out to see if there were any signs of their returning, she noticed the boat
to be making for the rocks and for its doom : they had lost their direction
in the darkness and storm, and perished within earshot of home.
And thereafter, and until the lighthouse was built, the lonely widow
nightly kept a lamp burning in the window of her cottage, lest other Rona
fishermen should be uncertain as to the exact whereabouts of their bourne.
Rona local carriage stamps depicting the Danish Princess' grave, and the
widow's light are available on our
produce>local carriage stamps page.
Before the erection of the lighthouse at the northern end of Rona, seafarers
were guided beyond the treacherous rocks and reefs defending this wild
Hebridean coast by a light that was kept burning in what was known as the
Widow's Cot.
