Nightbringer | The Arthurian Online Encyclopedia

Castle of Ercildoune

Rhymer’s Tower, Thomas the Rhymer’s Tower
Erceldoune

A historic tower located near the village of Earlston in the Scottish Borders region of Scotland. It is associated with the legendary figure of Thomas the Rhymer, who was a renowned poet and prophet in Scottish folklore.

Here, in the thirteenth century, lived Thomas the Rhymer, who, according to the ballad of True Thomas, visited the Queen of Faery in her own land and who, according to Glennie, became a guide to those adventures trying to find the sleeping Arthur. Perhaps already in Arthur’s day this was a gateway into the Otherworld of Faery.

Rhymer’s Tower is a small, four-story tower with a design typical of medieval Scottish tower houses, which were common during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Like many tower houses of its time, Rhymer’s Tower served both residential and defensive purposes.


See also
Eildon Hills | The Legend of King Arthur