Dunkeld Cathedral is a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

place of worship which stands on the north bank of the

River Tay The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates i ...

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 1260 and completed in 1501. It stands on the site of the former Culdee Monastery of Dunkeld, stones from which can be seen as an irregular reddish streak in the eastern gable. It is not formally a 'cathedral', as the Church of Scotland nowadays has neither cathedrals nor bishops, but it is one of a number of similar former cathedrals which has continued to carry the name.

History

Because of the long construction period, the cathedral shows mixed

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

and Norman elements are intermingled throughout the structure. Although partly in ruins, the cathedral is in regular use today and is open to the public. Relics of

Saint Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...

, including his bones, were said to have been kept at Dunkeld until the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, at which time they were removed to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Some believe there are still undiscovered Columban relics buried within the cathedral grounds. The original monastery at Dunkeld dated from the sixth or early seventh century, founded after an expedition of Saint Columba to the Land of

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

. It was at first a simple collection of wattle huts. During the ninth century

Causantín mac Fergusa Causantín or Constantín mac Fergusa ( en, "Constantine son of Fergus") (before 775–820) was king of the Picts (or of Fortriu), in modern Scotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted as Constantine I of ...

constructed a more substantial cathedral of reddish sandstone and declared Dunkeld to hold the Primacy (centre) of the faith in Alba. For reasons not completely understood, the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

bell believed to have been used at the monastery is not preserved in the cathedral. Instead, it was used in the Little Dunkeld Church, the parish church of the district of Minor or Lesser Dunkeld. Possibly this was because the later canons regarded Culdeeism as

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important relig ...

and refused relics or saints of that discipline. In the 17th century, the Bishopric of Dunkeld became an appendage of the Crown and subsequently descended to the

Earls of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the r ...

. Dunkeld Cathedral is today a

Crown property The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...

, through

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) ( gd, Àrainneachd Eachdraidheil Alba) is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the mer ...

, and a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and ...

. In 1689 the

Battle of Dunkeld The Battle of Dunkeld ( gd, Blàr Dhùn Chaillinn) was fought between Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland and a regiment of covenanters supporting William of Orange, King of Scotland, in the streets around Dunk ...

was fought around the cathedral between the Jacobite

Highland clans A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...

loyal to

James II and VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was depo ...

– deposed in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

the previous year – and a government force supporting

William III and II William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

, with the latter winning the day.

Parish

Dunkeld Cathedral is still used as the town's

parish church, with services every Sunday (although the congregation uses the smaller "Little Dunkeld" Church during winter months.) The current minister (since 2001) is the Reverend R. Fraser Penny. The small Chapter House Museum offers a collection of relics from monastic and

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times, and local history exhibits.

Burials

Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan, Alasdair Mór mac an Rígh, and called the Wolf of Badenoch (1343 – c. 20 July 1405), was the third surviving son of King Robert II of Scotland and youngest by his first wife, Elizabeth Mure of Rowallan. He ...

, known as "''the Wolf of Badenoch''", was buried in the cathedral following his death in 1405, where his tomb, surmounted by his armoured

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

, can still be seen. Other noteworthy burials include: * John Scotus, (1183–1203) *

Geoffrey de Liberatione Galfredus, Galfred or Geoffrey de Liberatione was Bishop of Dunkeld and Bishop-postulate of St Andrews. He was a clerk to King Alexander II of Scotland as early as 1219, as well as being a canon of Dunkeld and precentor of Glasgow. He was elec ...

, Bishop of Dunkeld (1236/7–1249) *

Richard de Inverkeithing Richard de Inverkeithing was a 13th-century cleric from Scotland, probably from Inverkeithing in Fife. He was a Chamberlain of King Alexander II of Scotland and Bishop of Dunkeld. He was King Alexander's chamberlain in the last year of that kin ...

, a chamberlain of King Alexander II of Scotland and Bishop of Dunkeld (1250/2–1272) * William Sinclair, Bishop of Dunkeld (1309–1337) *

Michael de Monymusk Michael de Monymusk († 1376) was a 14th-century bishop of Dunkeld. He held a licentiate in Canon law. He had been dean of the bishopric of Dunblane, dean of the bishopric of Aberdeen, and then dean of the bishopric of Glasgow. While dean of ...

, Bishop of Dunkeld (1370–1376) * The 1st Earl of Atholl (c. 1440–1512) *

Robert Cockburn Robert Cockburn (died 1526) was a 16th-century Scottish diplomat and cleric. Robert Cockburn was the third son of William Cockburn of Skirling and Cessford, and Marion, daughter of Lord Crichton of Sanquhar. Cockburn was a university grad ...

, Bishop of Dunkeld (1524–1526) *

Charles Edward Stuart, Count Roehenstart Charles Edward Augustus Maximilian Stuart, Baron Korff, Count Roehenstart ( – 28 October 1854) was the natural son of Prince Ferdinand of Rohan (1738–1813), Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cambrai, by Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany, hersel ...

(1784–1854)

Gallery

File:Dunkeld Cathedral Interior 2, Dunkeld, UK - Diliff.jpg, The cathedral's interior seen from the altar File:Dunkeld Cathedral Interior 1, Dunkeld, UK - Diliff.jpg, The cathedral's interior looking towards the altar File:Dunkeld Cathedral - the east window - geograph.org.uk - 1138997.jpg, East window Dunkeld Cathedral Exterior, Dunkeld, UK - Diliff.jpg, The ruins of the nave File:The Nave at Dunkeld Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 1586200.jpg, Nave interior File:Arches in the nave, Dunkeld Cathedral - geograph.org.uk - 1353277.jpg, Arches in the nave Image:The Tower Dunkeld Cathedral.jpg, The Tower of Dunkeld Cathedral File:Dunkeld Cathedral Precincts - geograph.org.uk - 971357.jpg, View from the tower Cathedral grounds - geograph.org.uk - 1362688.jpg, Cathedral grounds

References

External links

Dunkeld Cathedral1894 Floor PlanEngraving of Dunkeld Cathedral in 1693
by

John Slezer John Abraham Slezer (before 1650 – 1717) was a Dutch-born military engineer and artist. Life He was born in Holland and began a military career in service to the House of Orange. He arrived in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1669, and was app ...