Chronicles of Strathearn Part 3

Port [of Monteith]. Included old parish of Lany or Leny.

St. Madocus or Aidus (St. Madoes, Perth), R. Also Samadoss.

Tullicultrie, St. Serf. _Cambuskenneth_. Colvilles of Tillicoultry, 1483-1634.

Crieff, St. Michael, R. Prebend. Religious house--St. Thomas at Milnab (= Abbot's Mill), belonging to Inchaffray. Besides Crieff _primo_ and Crieff _secundo_ in Strathearn, there was also a Crieff _tertio_ in Perthshire, probably the outlying portion of the parish in Glenalmond round Corrymuckloch.

Logie-Airthray, St. Serf (Airthrey, Bridge of Allan). _Nuns of North Berwick_.

Strogeyt or Strageith, St Patrick. Once church of Blackford, now in parish of Muthill. _Inchaffray_. Planted by St. Fergus c. 700.

Callender, St. Kessaig. Chapel of Kilmahog or St. Chug.

Fyndogask, St. Findoca (Gask). _Inchaffray_.

Tuelliallan (Tulliallan), R. Seat of the Blackaders, who gave an archbishop to Glasgow.

Glendovan (Glendevon), R. Old church in Gleneagles (= Glen Eglise).

_Cambuskenneth_.

Fossowy (Fossoway). _Cupar Angus_, c. 1310. Included Tullibole, _Culross Abbey_. United in 1614.

Buffuder, St. Angus (Balquhidder). Has Strathyre and Glenogle.

Prebendary, 1298, Abbot of Cambuskenneth _ex officio_.

Prebendary, 1240, for parish of Abernethy, Abbot of Arbroath _ex officio_.

Preceptor or Provost of Dunblane, Abbot of Inchaffray _ex officio_.

[1] II. 403.

[2] Preliminary Dissertation in Keith's "Bishops," iv.

[3] See Crawford's "Officers of State," vi.

[4] II. 404.

[5] Reeves' "British Culdees," Evidences, S., 141.

[6] "Hist. Scenes in Perthshire," 346.

[7] Ibid., 343.

[8] R=Rectory.

NEAR THE PICTISH CAPITAL

By Rev. P. THOMSON, B.D., Dunning

The t.i.tle is retained as it was given. But it would be more correct to say, "Near a Pictish Capital," for, as is well known, of such capitals there were more than one. n.o.body, however, who keeps in mind the origin and range of the present volume will need to be told that "The Pictish Capital" here meant is Forteviot--or, as it is often otherwise spelt in legends, and chronicles, and charters--_Fertebeith, Ferteuioth, Fertenyoth, Ferthevioth, Fetherthauethn, Fethirthant, Fothuirtabaicht, Fortewyot, Fetherteviot_.

When Forteviot attained the dignity of being a royal abode cannot be definitely ascertained. Dr Stuart gives it as his opinion that the royal residence is to be identified with the "Dun Fothir" mentioned in the Irish annals, which is recorded to have been twice besieged--in 681 and 694 A.D.; and it has been suggested by the same authority that probably the name means "the dun of the district, or of the men, or of the King of Fortren," which term latterly meant the kingdom of the Southern Picts.

Whatever probability there may be in the above suggestion, when we refer to the Legend of S. Andrew, we find what appears to be corroborative evidence that Forteviot was the residence of Pictish kings from a very early period. According to this legend, it was to Forteviot, in the hope of seeing the King there, that S. Regulus and certain of his followers made their way with the relics of the most holy Apostle Andrew, after their landing at Muckros or Kylrimont (now Saint Andrews). It so happened that the King (Hungus, or Ungus, or Angus, who died A.D. 761) was not at home, having gone on an expedition into Argyle (Argathelia).

But they found his three sons[1] residing at Forteviot, and these princes gave the tenth part of the town[2] to G.o.d and S. Andrew, the holy men blessing the place and the royal family who abode there. They then went in further search of the King himself, and having met him at Kindrochet, in Braemar, and subsequently at Monichi (Monikie), they returned in company with him to Forteviot, where he built a church ("basilica"[3]) to G.o.d and S. Andrew.

But these are not the only references that we have. According to one of the Pictish chronicles, it was at Fothuir-tabaicht that Drust (Filius Ferat), the last King of the Picts, was killed.[4] It was here--"in palacio suo de Fothuir-tabaicht"--where Kenneth MacAlpin, the first of the Scotic dynasty (formed by the union of the lines of the Picts and the Dalriadic Scots), died in 860. It was here, in Fothuir-tabaicht, where Donald I., Kenneth's brother and successor, established with his council the mode of succession to the throne, confirming "the rights and laws of the kingdom of Aodh, son of Eocha."

According to Skene, Forteviot continued to be a royal residence until the reign of Donald II., the son of Constantine, when the capital was transferred to Scone. But it would appear that the ancient "palace" at Forteviot was subsequently restored by Malcolm Canmore, and that his successors at least occasionally came to live in it. Malcolm the Maiden (1153-1165) is found to have granted at Fetherteviot a charter conveying certain lands--the names of Ada, the King's mother, and of William, his brother, appearing as witnesses. And even so late as 1306, during the English invasion, there is mention of a letter, dated from Forteviot by Edward, Prince of Wales.

The traditional site of the "palace," which would, no doubt, correspond also with the site of the early church dedicated to S. Andrew, as before mentioned, is still pointed out a little to the west of the village, and is known as the Halyhill or Holyhill. Whether this first church was built of stone is not known. But that there was a stone church at Forteviot at an early date is made comparatively certain by the discovery, in 1830 or thereby, of a large semi-circular and arched stone lying in the bed of the River May, and directly under the Halyhill. How long this most interesting arch had been hid away no one can tell; but it was a fortunate "spate" that washed it bare and exposed it to the light of day. It is now in the Antiquarian Museum in Edinburgh, where the writer recently made an inspection of it. An excellent engraving of it is contained in J. Romilly Allen's _Christian Symbolism in Great Britain and Ireland_, and with the kind permission of that gentleman it is here reproduced.[5]

The arch is 4 feet in span and 21 inches high. Carved in relief in the centre of the stone is a cross, on one side of which is an animal--very probably intended for the Agnus Dei; while, on the same side, a little below the Agnus Dei, there are three figures with helmets on their heads and swords in their right hands. On the other side of the cross there is a robed figure in a sitting posture, with a sword across his knees, and with one foot resting on the back of a horned animal.

It has been erroneously supposed by some that this arch must have formed part of the princ.i.p.al doorway of the "palace," but from the fact of its bearing such symbols as the Cross and the Agnus Dei, there is no doubt that it belonged to an early church.[6] Bearing in mind the legend of the founding of a church to S. Andrew in the time of Hungus, perhaps the suggestion of Dr Joseph Anderson has great probability--viz., that the four figures are "not contemporary, but early representations of King Hungus and his three sons."[7]

All lovers of antiquarian lore will be interested in knowing that, a few years ago, there was brought to light at Forteviot, and through the kindness of the parish minister, Dr Anderson, exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries a fine specimen of a bronze bell of Celtic type (the fifth of the kind known in Scotland), whose date is believed to belong to about the middle of the 10th century.

NEAR THE PICTISH CAPITAL would be found, as a matter of course, the royal hunting-grounds. Very probably these were on both sides of the Earn--stretching westward into the neighbouring parish of Dunning, the northmost part of which is still called Dalreoch or Dailrigh, a word which, in Gaelic, means the King's haugh or field.

To DUNNING, or rather to some of the objects in it, that are of the greatest archaeological or antiquarian interest, the remainder of this chapter will be devoted.

In many ways that we can readily conceive, traces of the proximity of Dunning to a royal residence must have existed from an early period. The existence of hill forts, as at Rossie-Law, and the discovery, from time to time, of arms and stone coffins, indicate that the parish must have been often the theatre of strife and bloodshed. Duncrub,[8] or, as it is called in a Pictish chronicle, "Dorsum Crup," is said to have been the scene of a battle, which is thus referred to by Robertson in his _Early Kings_--"The reign of Duff, the eldest son of Malcolm the First, and representative of the senior branch of the Royal family, appears to have been pa.s.sed in a continued struggle against the pretensions raised by the now rival line of Aodh in the person of Indulf's son Colin, and, though at first successful, defeating Colin at the Battle of Duncrub (A.D. 965), in which the Mormaor[9] of Atholl and the Abbot of Dunkeld, partizans apparently of the defeated prince, were numbered amongst the slain, he was subsequently less fortunate, and was driven by his rival from the throne, losing his life on a later occasion at Forres ... where his body is said to have been hidden under the bridge of Kinloss, tradition adding that the sun refused to shine until the dishonoured remains of the murdered monarch received the burial of a king."[10] Part of the ground which is believed to have been the site of the Battle of Duncrub now forms the village tennis-ground and the village bowling-green, and yearly are witnessed on it fightings still--though of a very different kind.

The traditional spot where the Abbot (by name Doncha) was slain is marked by the "Standing-Stone," on "the acres," a little to the east of the tennis-ground, while a similar "standing-stone," on the farm of "The Knowes," is said to mark the place where the Mormaor met his doom.

The spelling of the name Dunning, at various times, and in various records and charters, is rather interesting--_Donyng, Dunnyne, Dunyne, Dinnin, Dunin_, or (as _e.g._, in the inscription on the Communion cups presently in use, of date 1702) _Duning_. The word is generally thought to be derived from the Gaelic term dun (already referred to), which means a hill, or a hill with a fort.[11]

On first appearing on the page of tolerably trustworthy history, Dunning formed part of the Stewartry or Earldom of Strathearn, which dates back to a remote period. Among the ancient Earls of Strathearn there were some very notable figures. Particularly so was Malise, the Earl of Strathearn, who figured prominently in the Battle of the Standard. But, more particularly notable still, was his grandson, Gilbert, who held the Earldom in the reign of David I. Like his King--proverbially known as the "sair sanct for the crown"--Gilbert was most lordly in gifts to the Church, which was then fast rising into power. Dr Wilson[12] quotes an old writer to the effect that, at this time, the Earldom of Strathearn included "the haill lands lying betwixt the Cross of MacDuff, at Newburgh, and the west end of Balquhidder, in length, and the Ochil Hills and the hills called Montes Grampii, or the Grampians, in breadth." Even though we make some reduction as to all this, and regard as somewhat legendary what Fordun tells us--viz., that Gilbert divided all his huge territory into three equal parts, giving two to the Church, and keeping only one to himself, still there cannot be a doubt but that he was one of the most liberal and extensive church-endowers on record. It was by him that the Bishopric of Dunblane was founded; it was by him that the Abbey of Canons-regular, at Inchaffray, was richly endowed through his attaching to it the t.i.thes of many of the neighbouring parishes. The foundation charter of the Abbey, dated 1200 A.D., in the thirty-fifth year of the reign of William, records the giving and making over to the Abbey of the Church of S. Kattan, at Aberuthven; the Church of S.

Ethirnin, at Madderty; the Church of S. Patrick, at Strageath; the Church of S. Mockhessoc, at Auchterarder; and the Church of S. Bean, at Kynkell.

It will be seen that Dunning is not in this list. But it appears along with some other parishes in a second charter granted by the same Gilbert in 1217, which charter confirmed the grant of previously gifted parishes, and adds "the Church of S. Serf at Monzievaird, S. Bean at Foulis, S.

Bridget at Kilbryde, the Holy Trinity at Gask, Tullichettel at Comrie, and S. Serf at Dunnyne."

It is highly probable that between 1200 and 1219--say, about 1210--the Church of S. Serf at Dunning was built. And that we have a considerable portion of the original building still remaining is rendered almost certain from what is known of the style of architecture of the period referred to--viz., the Norman in transition--the Norman entering on a First Pointed. The grey Tower, with its quaintly-mullioned windows and saddle-back roof; the wall adjoining the Tower on the north, and containing a fine Norman doorway and an interesting line of corbels; the handsome arch rising from ma.s.sive pillars, and showing beautifully scolloped mouldings, all afford corroborative proof of the date above a.s.signed.[13]

If Dunning Church was built about the time we have mentioned, it would, no doubt, be about the same time when the lands around it were erected into a parish. We have one or two very early references. In a charter of date 1247, Malise, Earl of Strathearn, granted 20 merks annually "de Thanagio de Dunnyne et Pitcairn." In 1283 we find that there was made to the Church of S. Serf a grant of "20 merks from our ferme[14] at Dunin, to be paid half-yeirlie, at the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of S.

Martin; and 10 merks of silver from our holding of Pitcairn, to be paid in the same manner." And in 1358 there is ratified a grant, previously made, of "42 merks yearly from the Thanage of Dunnyne"; also "the t.i.the of all the rents, cane, corn, cheese, flesh, fish, fowl, and game, and of all the food used in the Earl's Court, and 20 merks from our ferme at Dunnyne."

It may interest lovers of archaeological studies to know that when the Church of S. Serf at Dunning--originated and endowed as above described--was being re-floored some thirty-five years ago, there was dug up, from among earth and bones in the nave, a good specimen of a Celtic cross, which is now erected in a fitting place underneath the Tower. Mr A. Hutchison, F.S.A., Scot., Dundee (a reliable authority), has examined it, and has p.r.o.nounced it "of the true Celtic type." He adds the opinion that "the fact that no mention is made in contemporary doc.u.ments of an earlier church (_i.e._, earlier than 1210) does not prove that such a church did not exist.... It is a fair inference from the existence of this early cross that an earlier ecclesiastical settlement existed at Dunning, and that the present church superseded a pre-Norman, or Celtic Church, in all probability on the same site."

At the risk of its being regarded as an unpardonably wide digression, reference may here be made, not to another cross, but to a monumental stone of another kind and of a much later date (although no date is inscribed upon it.) It is what is known as the "Ebenezer" stone of the parish. Though at one time lying flat and covered with crop-bearing soil, it now stands erect, and on what is believed to have been its first site. It is placed on a field on the farm of Easter Gatherleys, and about three-quarters of a mile west of the farm-house. Its origin is said to have been this:--The farmer of Gatherleys of the time--who was also "laird" of the place--had for long been in doubt and spiritual darkness--to all appearance hopelessly perplexed. Sitting down, here, one day, he found comfort, peace, and light. Showing a most laudable example, he not selfishly received the blessing, but most gratefully acknowledged it, raising on the spot his "Ebenezer" of indebtedness to Him from whom our blessings flow. On the surface of the stone facing the east are inscribed in English the words of Is. l., 10; while on that facing the west we have the following:--

EBENEZER ======== Hic EX TENEBRIS LUX LUXIT ERGO PATER, FILIUS, ET SPIRITUS SANCTUS MEUS DEUS, ET NOMEN HUJUS LOCI LUX[15]