Saint Nathalan (or Nachlan), (died 678) is a saint in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, who was active in the district now known as

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

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 the ...

Life

Nathalan was born in the village of

Tullich Tullich (, gd, An Tulach) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is known as the birthplace of St. Nathalan and also as the site of some noted Pictish stones. The church is the site of a ruined church, built in around 1400. It has been su ...

, for which he was eventually appointed as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. The earliest church in Tullich was founded by Saint Nathalan in the 7th century."Tullich Church", Deeside Walks
/ref> He also built churches at Bothelim and Colle. He was a nobleman who possessed a large estate, which he cultivated; he distributed his harvest generously to the poor.
/ref> Nathalan is reputed to have built the first small chapel on the windswept clifftop at

Cowie Cowie may refer to: People *Cowie (surname) Places *Cowie, Aberdeenshire, an historic fishing village located at the north side of Stonehaven, Scotland **Cowie Castle, a ruined castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland ** Chapel of St. Mary and St. Natha ...

sometime during the 7th century.

Legend

According to legend one very rainy summer the great saint, in a moment's weakness, cursed the rain which was hindering the harvest. In penitence for his great sin in cursing God's creation, Nathalan padlocked his right arm to his right leg, tossed the key into the River Dee and set off to walk to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to seek forgiveness. Upon reaching Rome he sat down to supper. However, when he cut open the fish laid before him he found the very key that he had thrown into the Dee many months previously. A pool in the river nearby is still known as "the key pool" for this reason.

Legacy

St Nathalan

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church,

Ballater Ballater (, gd, Bealadair) is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of , Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water, once said to cure ...

is named for him. One of the stained glass windows in the baptistery of the Church of St. James the Great in Stonehaven honours St Nathalan. Ballater's Masonic Lodge, founded in May 1815, is named "The Lodge of St Nathalan of Tullich-in-Mar" and is number 259 on the roll of the

Grand Lodge of Scotland The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge. Histor ...

St. Nathalan is one of the saints depicted in the Millennium Murals at

St. Mary's Cathedral, Aberdeen The Cathedral Church of St Mary of the Assumption, usually known as St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is the home of the see of the Bishop of Aberdeen, who is the ordinary of ...

References

Sources

* Watt, Archibald, ''Highways and Byways around

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

'',

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

Heritage Society (1985)

Life

Legend

Legacy

References

Sources

See also