Aberfeldy-based writer Linda Cracknell had a surprise when she was randomly matched with an object from the National Museum of Scotland for the new ‘26 Treasures’ exhibition. The exhibition is a trail of words composed by 26 writers responding in just 62 words to objects which trace Scotland’s history from its ancient geological roots to its technological future.
The object she was matched with, ‘The Coigrich’, is the ‘crozier shrine’ of Saint Fillan, an Irish missionary active in Glendochart in the early 8th Century.
The Coigrich is on display in the Museum’s ‘Kingdom of the Scots’ gallery, where, from Thursday 1 December, it was joined by Cracknell’s 62 word piece written in response to it.
“The writing process is always a bit mysterious,” she said. “But my mystery object turned out to have its origins not far away from home, and had me stomping along the West Highland Way between Crianlarich and Tyndrum to discover more about the places associated with the Saint.
“The Coigrich had an almost magical potency in a cult of people who believed it to have healing powers for their cattle.”
The elaborate shrine in the shape of a crozier handle dates from the 15th century but with earlier elements including a crystal believed to have come from the original crozier. The Dewar family were its hereditary keepers, and in 1818 Archibald Dewar emigrated to Canada and took it with him. It was returned to Scotland in 1877 by his grandson.
“One of the things that intrigued me about the Coigrich,” said Linda Cracknell, “was that even when it left the country, Canadian Highlanders still sought it out to help their sick cattle. Such was the belief in its power.”
Other objects in the trail range in time from a 3 billion year-old rock from the Isle of Lewis to a bionic hand, stopping at various historical points in between, with the Cramond Lion from Roman times, a sporran linked to Rob Roy, Mary Queen of Scots’ harp and Bonnie Prince Charlie’s travelling silverware.
The 26 writers are just as diverse, from poets and novelists (such as Alexander McCall Smith, James Robertson, Sara Sheridan) to screenwriters, journalists and academics. Writers have been paired up with objects at random, and set the intriguing challenge of responding to their object in exactly 62 words.
The trail of words is on display at the Museum until Burns’ Night.
 The pieces are online along with audio recordings, and the Museum is also inviting the public to take part by writing their own pieces about any of the 20,000 objects they have on display. You can enter via the Museum’s website or, for a real challenge, via Twitter.
See also http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_museums/national_museum/exhibitions/26_treasures.aspx.