Dunnichen
| Dunnichen | |||
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| Coordinates | 56 ° 38 ′ N , 2 ° 48 ′ W | ||
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| administration | |||
| Post town | FORFAR | ||
| ZIP code section | DD8 | ||
| prefix | 01307 | ||
| Part of the country | Scotland | ||
| Council area | Angus | ||
| British Parliament | Angus | ||
| Scottish Parliament | Angus South | ||
Dunnichen ( Scottish Gaelic : Dùn Neachdain ) is a small town in Scotland, in the traditional county of Forfarshire , now the Council Area Angus . The place is between Forfar and Letham . Nearby are Dunnichen Hill and Dunnichen Mere ( Nechtansmere , Scottish Gaelic Dhùn Neachdain , Old Irish Dún Nechtain ), where the Battle of Dunnichen Mere is said to have taken place.
Mythology and history
In 1810, the antiquarian George Chalmers believed he could locate the site of the battle of Dunnichen Mere (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Dhùn Neachdain ) on May 20, 685 here. Here the Picts fought under their King Bridei Mac Bili against a Northumbrian army under King Ecgfrith , who fell in the course of the battle. After this localization had been accepted for many years, it has been questioned recently.
James Headrick wrote down a local legend in 1845 that the battle between King Arthur and his son Mordred was fought at Dunnichen .
- A confused tradition prevails of a great battle having been fought on the East Mains of Dunnichen, between Lothus, King of the Picts, or his son Mordred, and Arthur King of the Britons, in which that hero of romance was slain.
- (A tangled widespread tradition [tells] of a great battle in east Dunnichen between Lothus, King of the Picts, or his son Modred, and Arthur, King of the British, in which this hero of Romanticism was slain.)
In the early 19th century, the Dunnichen Stone , a Pictorial stone that is now kept in the Meffan Institute in Forfar, was excavated on the alleged battlefield . A replica has been placed in the park in front of Dunnichen Parish Church.
In 1985, on the 1300th anniversary of the Battle of Dunnichen Mere, a festival was held, which met with great enthusiasm from the population and developed into an annual event. The place of the festival with up to 2,500 visitors was the summit of Dunnichen Hill. New Age festivals that lasted for weeks were soon taking place there. Because of the nuisance from the crowd of onlookers, the nocturnal noise and the killing of livestock by stray dogs of the guests, there were police operations and bans, which were dealt with in 1994 and 1996 even in the House of Lords and the House of Commons .
Dunnichen Hill, seen from Letham, in the foreground the Girdlestane , a cup-and-ring stone
replica
Blàr-Dhùn-Neachdain monument
Web links
- Dunnichen Festival 1985 to 1991 in the commemorative publication The 1320th Dunnichen Gathering (2005)
- Photo gallery of Dunnichen
- Goolgle-Map Dunnichen
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Headrick: New Statistical Account of Scotland in Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland Vol. 2, pp. 187-201.