3-080-810 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Scene in The Hal of the Wynd's Smithy (The Fair Maid of Perth), 1875. Here the bandy-legged Gow Chrom, the blacksmith hero in Walter Scott's "The Fair Maid of Perth", whom Scott described as a man of unusual strength, is seen working at his forge. He was reputed to have been the only unwounded survivor on the victorious side of Robert III at the famous clan battle, which took place on the North Inch at Perth in 1396. It is said he accompanied Clan Chattan back to the Highlands, and that his race is represented by the Gows or Smiths, who have been ranked as a sept of Clan Chattan in more recent times.