About us
The Rowan Group is a focus for policy-related research on children and young people's education, health and well-being. It is a collaborative group based in the School of Education at the University of Aberdeen and the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Teesside. The Rowan Group builds on a long and strong tradition of work with young people, previously in the Centre for Educational Research, and before that, the Department of Education.
Our aim is to undertake research that promotes the well-being and development of children and young people:
- to establish a coherent body of research on children's and young people's issues
- to disseminate work in a way which properly informs practitioners and policy makers
- to act as a focus for the policy and practice community and researchers working with children's and young people's issues, in formal and informal education, in health promotion, and in health service delivery
Why Rowan
We chose "Rowan" for the name and symbol of our research group to reflect the significance of the rowan tree in the landscape and culture of Scotland past and present.
Rowan has had a wide range of popular folk names, the best known being mountain ash. Its old Gaelic name from the ancient Ogham script was Luis from which the place name Ardlui on Loch Lomond may have been derived. The more common Scots Gaelic name is caorunn (pronounced choroon, the ch as in loch), which crops up in numerous Highland place names such as Beinn Chaorunn in Inverness-shire and Loch a'chaorun in Easter Ross. Rowan was also the clan badge of the Malcolms and McLachlans.
Rowan trees or "mountain ashes" (sorbus aucuparia) have traditionally been associated in Scotland with peace, sanctuary, privacy and beauty, and, for centuries, the rowan - also known as the tree of life - has been planted at the doors of houses in the Highlands to give protection against evil. To this day, as you travel around, you will see rowan trees growing beside long-deserted crofts, and they are often the most visible sign that a family once lived there. It is still traditional for rowan trees to be planted in the gardens of houses to ward off bad luck.
Rowans have long been celebrated in poetry, song and writing - in Shakespeare's "Macbeth", and more recently in a short story "The Boy and the Rowan Tree" by the acclaimed Scottish writer Iain Crichton Smith.
The mythology and folklore of the rowan
The rowan's mythic roots go back to classical times, and this is where the rowan is linked with youth - the prime subject of our research. Greek mythology tells of how Hebe the goddess of youth, dispensed rejuvenating ambrosia to the gods from her magical chalice. When, through carelessness, she lost this cup to demons, the gods sent an eagle to recover the cup. The feathers and drops of blood, which the eagle shed in the ensuing fight with the demons, fell to earth, where each of them turned into a rowan tree. Hence the rowan derived the shape of its leaves from the eagle's feathers and the appearance of its berries from the droplets of blood.
The rowan is also prominent in Norse mythology as the tree from which the first woman was made, (the first man being made from the ash tree). The tree was said to have saved the life of the god Thor by bending over a fast flowing river in the Underworld in which Thor was being swept away, and helping him back to the shore. Rowan was furthermore the prescribed wood on which runes were inscribed to make rune staves.
In the British Isles the rowan has a long and still popular history in folklore as a tree which protects against witchcraft and enchantment. The physical characteristics of the tree may have contributed to its protective reputation, including the tiny five pointed star or pentagram on each berry opposite its stalk (the pentagram being an ancient protective symbol). The colour red was deemed to be the best protection against enchantment, and so the rowan's vibrant display of berries in autumn may have further contributed to its protective abilities, as suggested in the old rhyme: "Rowan tree and red thread / make the witches tine (meaning 'to lose') their speed". The rowan was also denoted as a tree of the Goddess or a Faerie tree, by virtue (like the hawthorn and elder) of its white flowers.
There are several recurring themes of protection offered by the rowan. The tree itself was said to afford protection to the dwelling by which it grew. Thus we find documented instances as late as the latter half of the twentieth century of people being warned against removing or damaging the rowan tree growing in their newly acquired garden in the Scottish Highlands. Pieces of the tree were carried by people for personal protection from witchcraft, so women often wore necklaces of rowan berries threaded on red thread and crosses made from rowan twigs manufactured without the use of a knife were worn by people. Similar equal-armed crosses made from rowan twigs and bound with red thread were sewn into the lining of coats or carried in pockets.
Livestock were not forgotten either - rowan twigs were placed over the entrance to the byre (stable) to protect cows and their dairy produce from enchantment. Other permutations of the use of rowan's protective abilities are many and widespread. In Scandinavia, rowan trees found growing not in the ground but out of some inaccessible cleft in a rock, or out of crevasses in other trees' trunks or boughs, possessed an even more powerful magic, and such trees were known as 'flying rowan'.
The rowan today
Nowadays, rowans abound in Highland native woodlands as well as being a favourite ornamental tree for gardens and parks. They can be seen at their best - resplendent with clusters of deep red berries - in the autumn.
The rowan's wood is strong and resilient, making excellent walking sticks, and is suitable for carving. It was often used for tool handles, and spindles and spinning wheels were traditionally made of rowan wood. Druids used the bark and berries to dye the garments worn during lunar ceremonies black, and the bark was also used in the tanning process. Rowan twigs were used for divining, particularly for metals.
The berries can be made into or added to a variety of alcoholic drinks, and different Celtic peoples each seem to have had their favourites. As well as the popular wine still made in the Highlands, the Scots made a strong spirit from the berries, the Welsh brewed an ale, the Irish used them to flavour Mead, and even a cider can be made from them. Today rowan berry jelly is still made in Scotland and is traditionally eaten with game and other savoury dishes but is also delicious on Highland scones and pancakes!
Contacting Us
Write to us at:
The Rowan Group
School of Education
University of Aberdeen
MacRobert Building
King's College
Aberdeen
AB24 5UA
Telephone us at:
- 01224-272734
- the individual numbers given for Rowan group members. You may leave a Voicemail message if we are not available
E-mail us at:
- the individual addresses given for Rowan Group members