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Birth of Scotland - 8th
to 13thC
In the 6th century the Scots,
Celts from Ireland, began to occupy the land to the west. In 843 the Scots
king Kenneth obtained the Pictish throne. In 860 Kenneth died in battle in
Strathearn and a cairn on a mountain above Crieff marks the event. Beautifully
carved stone slabs from this period can be found throughout Strathearn.
With the decline of the Picts,
Fortrenn became the Celtic Earldom of Strathearn.
By 1034 the lands to the south
also became part of a united Scotland under Duncan I. In 1040 Macbeth replaced
Duncan as king. In spite of Shakespeare's later bad press, Macbeth was actually
the good guy - well, good as medieval warlords go! He ruled from 1040-57
and even managed a vacation in Rome. The remains of Macbeth's hill top castle
lies 25 kms east of Strathearn.
The town of Auchterarder is
thought to have originated from the late 11thC when it was a hunting base
for King Malcolm Canmore (1052-93).
On the site of present day
Muthill, a house of the "servants of God" is mentioned in the 9thC.
Muthill Church dates from the 12thC
and was probably one of two cathedrals in the diocese. St Serf's Church in
Dunning (restored in the 19thC) has a tower which date from the same
period.
Crieff, derived from
craobh, the Gaelic for "among the trees", began to be seen in documents
dating from the 12thC and was granted its Charter in 1218. In 1200 Inchaffray
Abbey was founded. In 1227 Alexander II granted the canons of Inchaffray
rights over the town of Auchterarder. Comrie, meaning "confluence" is first
documented in 1268 when a person from Comry acted as witness to a grant from
Malise, Earl of Strathearn, to Inchaffray.
In turn the Celtic Earldom
of Strathearn passed directly to the monarch as old Celtic ways were replaced
by the feudal system and laws of Norman influences.
Muthill Church |
