The remains of St Duthac's Medieval chapel on a knoll in The Links outside Tain, Easter Ross, Scotland, UK, surrounded by the old burial ground.
The remains of St Duthac's Medieval chapel on a knoll in The Links outside Tain, Easter Ross, Scotland, UK, surrounded by the old burial ground. Patron saint of Tain, St Duthac (Duthus, Duthas) was born here around 1000 AD, raised in Tain & educated in Ireland where he became renowned as a great preacher & worker of miracles. His relics were brought back from Armagh in 1253 & placed in the chapel in the care of a hermit. The relics comprised his head in a silver reliquary, his breastbone in a golden one, & his bell, staff & shirt credited with healing powers. The shirt was believed to protect the wearer from injury, but Huw, Earl of Ross, was killed while wearing it at the Battle of Halidon Hill in 1333. After the chapel caught fire in fire in 1427 (or was destroyed by fire by McNeill of Creich in 1429) the relics were moved to a new church in the town. Tain was an important place of Medieval pilgrimage & sanctuary (immunity) with James IV making at least 18 pilgrimages between 1493 and 1513. In 1560, after the Reformation, the Provost Nicholas Ross gave the relics to his kinsman Alexander Ross of Balnagowan, but they were never seen again. The chapel, built of granite boulders; overlooks the Dornoch Firth.
Size: 3782px × 5023px
Location: St Duthac's Chapel, The Links, Chapel Road, Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, UK
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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