Ancient Alba

There’s a reference to a battle in Pictland at a place called Luith Feirnn in the Irish annals for the year 664AD. This is around 20 years before the famous battle of Dunnichen, where the Picts defeated the Northumbrian Saxons. The Picts were led by Bridei Mac Beli, a prince of Strathclyde who claimed the Pictish high kingship. The battle of Luith Feirnn took place in Fortrenn, which was another name for Pictland. The entry in the Irish annals simply states; “The battle of Luith Feirnn, i.e. in Fortrenn.” This battle is interesting as it’s the first time Fortrenn is mentioned in the Irish annals. Fortrenn was also the name of a Pictish province, which gave its name to the whole of Pictland. The location of Fortrenn is unknown. The traditional idea is that Fortrenn was located in Strathearn and Menteith in southern Pictland. However, historians have recently suggested that Fortrenn was located in Moray in northern Pictland. The location of Luith Feirnn is also unknown. Feirnn is th...

One of the proposed locations for the battle of Mons Graupius is a place called Duncrub in Strathearn. This is one of the most southern locations. Duncrub is close to a small town called Dunning, just to the north of the Ochil hills. Strathearn is a valley which runs from Loch Earn to the west all the way to the Firth of Tay to the east. The main reason why some historians believe Duncrub is the location is the name. The word ‘crub’ is Gaelic for a ridge. The name Graupius is supposedly derived from ‘crub’. Duncrub means the ‘fort of the ridge’ and Mons Graupius means the ‘hill of the ridge’. However, there are other places in Scotland with the word crub. For example, there’s a Cruban Beg and   Cruban Mor in the highlands, to the north of Atholl, which means the ‘little ridge’ and the ‘big ridge’. The name Grampians is also derived from Graupius. There’s a Roman marching camp at Dunning of around 115 acres, which may date to the campaigns of Agricola around 80AD. However, the mar...