In Scottish folklore, the Pech (or Pèch) are gnome-like, subterranean beings known for their immense strength, skill in brewing heather ale, and role as ancient builders of megaliths, often depicted as aboriginal inhabitants alongside giants, possibly related to the Picts and pixies, who eventually warred with humans. They were short but incredibly strong, capable of crushing metal with their bare hands, and their legend may stem from folk memories of the Picts, an enigmatic ancient people.
Key Characteristics:
- Appearance: Short, gnome-like humanoids, sometimes described as somewhat ugly.
- Strength: Possessed superhuman strength, demonstrated by an old Pech snapping a metal cup.
- Skills: Master brewers of potent heather ale and builders of ancient stone structures like megaliths.
- Nature: Believed to be an older, aboriginal race of Scotland, not fully immortal but long-lived.
- Conflict: Fought wars against the Scots, leading to their eventual decline, though some tales feature them being captured for their ale-making secrets.
Origins & Connections:
- Picts: Some theories suggest the Pech legend is a folk memory of the Picts, an ancient people known for their mysterious culture and stone carvings, who were also small in stature in the imagination.
- Gnomes/Dwarves: They share characteristics with European folklore dwarves, magical earth elementals connected to underground realms.
- Pixies: They are often linked to pixies, another type of Scottish fairy creature.
Tales & Legends:
- A common story involves a dying Pech testing his sons' strength, only for them to trick him with a metal object, which he easily breaks, highlighting their incredible power.
- Another tale tells of the king of Scots capturing a Pech pair to learn the secret of their famous ale, with the old Pech agreeing to tell only after a condition - "I wish for the death of my son. But I do not want to take his life myself” said the Pech. The king was astonished at this outlandish and unexpected request, but as he greatly desired to know how the Pechs brewed their ale, he ordered his executioner to slay the young Pech at once.
“Now that my son is dead,” answered the elderly Pech, “there is nothing you can take from me. If he were alive, you might have tortured him and I would have caved because I don’t want to see my son suffer. But he is dead and there is nothing you can do to me: I will never tell you the secret of our ale.”
The king now understood that he had been tricked. But instead of executing or torturing the Pech, he let him go, reasoning that having lost his son and being the only surviving member of his species was the worst punishment he could give the creature.