Thomas the Rhymer (also Thomas Rhymer or Thomas Rymer) is the better-known name of Thomas Learmonth of Erceldoune, a 13th century Scottish soothsayer. Many people have encountered him in fictional form as the protagonist in the ballad Thomas the Rhymer. Popular esteem of Thomas lived on for centuries after his death, to the extent that several people have fabricated Thomas' "prophecies" in order to further the cause of Scottish independence. His reputation for supernatural powers for a time rivalled that of Merlin. Thomas became known as "True Thomas" because he could not tell a lie. Popular lore recounts how prophesied many great events in Scottish history including the death of Alexander III of Scotland. Several different variants of the story of Thomas Rhymer exist, most having the same basic theme. They tell how Thomas either kissed or had sex with the Queen of Elphame and either rode with her or was otherwise transported to Fairyland. One version relates that she changed into a hag immediately after sleeping with him, as some sort of a punishment to him, but returned to her originally beautiful state when they neared her castle, where her husband lived. Thomas stayed at a party in the castle until she told him to return with her, coming back into the mortal realm only to realise that seven years (a significant number in magic) had passed. He asked for a token to remember the Queen by; she offered him the choice of becoming a harper or a prophet, and he chose the latter.