In search of Adomnán’s 'stagnum Lochdae'
In which I propose a location in northern Pictland for a body of water that Adomnán, in his Life of St Columba, called stagnum Lochdae, or Loch Lochdae.
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Kincurdy, Cuthilcurdy, Hill o’ Hirdie: Evidence of a Scots cult of St Curetán?
This post is more or less the transcript of a talk I gave this afternoon at the Scottish Place-Name Society Autumn conference, which took place on Zoom. Many thanks to Simon Taylor, Bill Patterson, Sofia Evemalm-Graham, Morag Redford and all of the other speakers for such an interesting day of
The early church in Urquhart, the Aird and Strathglass
This blog is more or less a transcript of a talk I gave last weekend at the Highland Archaeology Festival in Inverness. It was a great conference and it was wonderful to meet so many people in person! Thanks very much to Grace from Highland Historic Environment Record for inviting
Three (or four) upcoming talks
Details of upcoming talks I'm giving about my PhD research into the early church in the Moray Firthlands, Scotland.
Rabbit Holes of Early Medieval Scotland has a new home
Hello! This is just a quick post to let you know that I've moved my blog, Rabbit Holes of Early Medieval Scotland, from Substack to Ghost. If you were an email subscriber to my blog on Substack, you don't need to do anything. You'll
Rossia, Rigmonath, Bellethor: Early Gaelic settlements in Pictland?
In which I investigate three intriguing places named in the tenth-century Life of St Cathroe.
Fathenechten: deciphering a medieval Nairnshire place-name
In which I try to figure out what a place-name mentioned in 1150 actually meant
An overlooked Pictish monastery in the Life of St Columba?
In which I propose that the place-name ‘caput regionis’ referred to Kinneddar in Moray
The meaning of ‘carden’ in Pictish place-names
In which I suggest a link between ‘carden’ names and early medieval hunting grounds
Bonus Hogmanay post: Where was King Bridei's fort?
In which I analyse Adomnán's Life of St Columba for overlooked clues to the location of the stronghold of Bridei mac Mailcon, King of Picts.
An eighth-century royal circuit in Moray and Easter Ross?
In which I examine the possible significance of 'David' sculpture in the Moray Firthlands
Cantray and Kilravock: The early medieval place-names of Strathnairn
In which I consider what these names might tell us about early medieval settlement along a stretch of the River Nairn
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Uncovering Ros and Moreb: A talk for NOSAS
In which I present the findings of my MA research in a 60-minute talk
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Auldearn: A place-name mystery revisited
In which I take a new look at this puzzling place-name, and come to an unexpected conclusion.
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The pierced Anglo-Saxon coins of Moray: A clue to early lordship?
In which I investigate whether a series of ninth-century coin finds can tell us anything about the distribution of power centres in early medieval Moray
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I'm giving an online talk on the 16th Feb
Come and hear me talk about the landscape context of Sueno's Stone
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An early Christian burial ground at Knockando?
In which I go in search of the lost early medieval ecclesiastical site of ‘Pulvrenan’
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Wood or church? Deciphering the place-name 'Kilbuiack'
In which I try to figure out if a now-lost Moray place-name is relevant to my research.
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Sicut rivulus descendit in Massat: A lost Pictish cultic site?
In which I ponder the significance of a lost river confluence mentioned in a twelfth-century charter of Kinloss Abbey
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'Tubernafein': A folkloric, literary or historical place-name?
In which I investigate how a lost well in Moray might have got its intriguing name.
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Where are Scotland’s early medieval water mills?
In which I try to find any evidence at all for water-mills in northern Scotland prior to 1150
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An early mention of Sueno’s Stone in the Historia Regum Britanniae?
In which I examine Alex Woolf’s idea that Sueno’s Stone makes a cameo appearance in Geoffrey of Monmouth’s twelfth-century History of the Kings of Britain.
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Does Sueno’s Stone record the battle of Sigurd the Powerful and Máel Brigte ‘Tooth’?
In which I examine W.F. Skene’s suggestion that Sueno’s Stone records a legendary ninth-century battle.
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Did ‘vikings’ conquer Moray in the 9th century?
Or was it a twelfth-century geographical misunderstanding?