Another quote about the absolutely absurd story about Henry Sinclair's trip to the USA in 1398 and the consequent ridiculous Clan Gunn Westford Knight myth - 'Westford Knight.... the text detailing this alleged voyage - the so-called Zeno narrative - was not written until 1558 and is widely regarded as being highly spurious.' Being from pages 136-137 of Sean Martin's 'The Knights Templar The HIstory and Myths of the Legendary Military Order'.
For detailed academic discussion as to why the narrative is totally spurious see http://www.alastairhamilton.com/sinclair.htm As well as the narrative being impossible as history, there is also much that is impossible with the story on an historic basis and on an archaeological basis it also has no support. See On a Gunn helping 'discover' North America - 'Sir James Gunn of Clyth Crowner of Caithness' and the 'Westford knight' myth The Clan Gunn Societies should not support this myth as history as it is not history, but they do...
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I have been reading some more of Neil M. Gunn’s work. I really like his non-fiction such as Whisky and Scotland and Off In A Boat but I find his fiction less appealing as plot lines can be implausible and the characters sentimental. His sense of place in his writing is fine – the evocation of ‘Gunn land’ is strong. Neil M. Gunn viewed himself as a ‘remnant of an ancient race among mere upstart Gaels ... and parvenu Norsemen.’ Page 155 Selected Letters And he believed that ‘the people got on very well without a chief. The old feeling of equality among themselves remained...' Pages 117-119, The Atom of Delight |
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