Or perhaps you are a Blacke or Blake? Are you Black Irish? Is dark eyes and hair common in your family? If so, then have you ever wondered where your surname and your ancestors came from?

Most, if not all surnames have a meaning from the distant past, many are based on trades or declaring parentage, while others refer to a particular physical trait common to the family, such as the colour of a person's hair.

The Saga of the Black Clan
The Black clan saga is not just the tale of how the ancestors of the Black family first came to the isle of Inisfáil, modern day Éire or Ireland, but the origins of all the Gaelic peoples.

According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn, the Book of the Takings of Ireland, many winters ago a fleet of ships left the Iberian Peninsula bearing warriors intent on bloody revenge. Their destination was Inisfáil, the Island of Destiny. This battle hardened, mercenary force clashed against the powerful Tuatha Dé Danaan; beings skilled in combat and steeped in magical lore. Eventually the invading Gaels were victorious and the Tuatha Dé Danaan passed on to the Otherworld of Tír Na Óg.

The descendants of the Gaels slowly spread north, settling in the lands of the Picts. These invaders called themselves the Scots after Gael's wife, Scota, an Egyptian Princess and daughter of the Pharaoh. The dark haired descendants of the Gaels eventually merged their kingdom with the Picts after a series of bitter wars. When the Norse came and settled the lands of the Scots-Gaels they bestowed the epithet Black on those who still bore the dark hair of their distant kin. Over time this became a surname for some, though time saw it's spelling changed, such as Blake. When the Highlands were cleared by greedy Chieftains, the clans and peoples became scattered, their once proud heritage lost and forgotten by many.

The Black Clan Saga is my current project; a 36 page illustrated book detailing the mythic origins of the Black Clan and the Gaelic people. It will contain 11 full-page illustrations and maps as well as many smaller illustrations and a full glossary detailing the key characters and places of the Saga.

OS