Let's talk cromachs

[BobsYourUncle]

The Lord Of The Rings by ol' JRR Tolkien abounds with characters who bear staves imbued with magic.

There's the Staff of Elrond, the Staff of Gandalf...

...I, myself, carry what is know (and feared) far and wide as "The Staff Of The Meyer And Bessie Feinberg Jewish Community Center"...it has aided me many times in fording streams, fending off Balrogs and finding the leanest corned beef sandwiches in any burg that I visit.

Best

AA

OK, settle down now, you've made me spit my coffee twice in the same thread. You're great, you are!

[budd4766]

Don't know much about cromachs...hadn't even heard the term before reading this thread...but, if you're interested in a good 'stik' for hiking, defense, etc., take a gander at these:

http://www.bubbastik.com/stafs.cfm

I'd call it the Southern U.S. version...

I discovered the cane version while recovering from a motorcycle accident, and loved it. That mule hame has some heft to it, and would make a nice dent in an aggressor's head if needed..

[CaseyB]

That mule hame has some heft to it, and would make a nice dent in an aggressor's head if needed..

This is only slightly off topic, but worth checking out!
http://www.real-self-defense.com/unb...-umbrella.html

[MacBean]

Here's an inspired possibility for Clan Claus

[BoldHighlander]

Here's an inspired possibility for Clan Claus

Nice!

[figheadair]

I doubt very much if there are any pre-Victorian references and suspect these belong in the same C19th historical box as plant badges and eagle feathers.

Yes, they are basically a shepherd's crook but I think that there was a Victorian 'adoption' of the bishop's crosier as being symbolically equivalent; the rationale being that like a bishop, the chief is the shepherd of his flock (clan).

[Drac]

Nice.

[Micric]

Cromachs;

I always thought they were made (mostly) of hazel.
Hazel is nice and light, and grows straight, but not much use for belting things!

I admire Jock, for having the same cromach all these years!!............It shows an uncommon amount of restraint!

When I first saw Jock's cromach, my first thought was, ... "You haven't been around cows too much, have you!?!"

A ground ash, or hawthorn or blackthorn make a better stick if it might be used for hitting things, IMO!

The traditional use of a cromach is for hill walking, and many an old house had spare ones for guests to use.
One thing not mentioned up to now, is how handy they are for steadying the telescope when glassing the hill.

[Tobus]

As far as I know, there's no particular significance to the cromach (e.g., it doesn't show you to be a chief, chieftan, armiger, Lord-Lieutenant, or Chief Cook and Bottle Washer). It's just a traditional type of walking stick.

That is pretty much the sense I had gotten of it too, but I started this thread to see if our resident experts had a different take on it. What I find very interesting is that (judging by the lack of info on the web and the lack of definitive answers here) nobody seems to really have a firm grasp on their history or their meaning... yet you don't see any sort of Highland gathering where they aren't just as much a part of the 'uniform' as all the other accoutrements that we love to nit-pick over.

So how is it that the cromach has become such a staple of Highland outdoor accessories when it has such a vague or obscure background?

[Jock Scot]

Tobus.

I am not at all sure that the Cromach has a "vague and obscure" history. Shepherds have been around the Highlands for centuries, so anyone who is out "on the hill" will have spotted the wisdom of using one. Also, the Cromach used to be carried by Officers of Highland regiments(do they still?), so carrying one would come as second nature to them at civilian events such as a Highland Games. When all said and done we used to have many shepherds and serving and retired officers of Highland regiments in Scotland to set the trend.