Talarican (Tarkin) was a Scottish Bishop of Sodor (a diocese including the western islands of Scotland) of the eighth century.

Biography

He was probably of purely

Pictish Pictish is the extinct language, extinct Brittonic language spoken by the Picts, the people of eastern and northern Scotland from Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages. Virtually no direct attestations of Pictish remain, short of a limited num ...

origin, though the ''

Aberdeen Breviary The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' ( la, Breviarium Aberdonense) is a 16th-century Scotland, Scottish Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, Catholic breviary. It was the first full-length book to be printed in Edinburgh, and in Scotland. Origin The creation o ...

'' (1509) says he was born in Ireland. The legend in the ''Breviary'' states that he was raised to the episcopate by Pope Gregory; and Adam King's ''Kalendar'' (1558) styles him "bischop and confess. in Scotland under King

Solvathius The Scottish Renaissance humanist George Buchanan gave a long list of Scottish Kings in his history of Scotland—published in Latin as ''Rerum Scoticarum Historia'' in 1582—most of whom are now considered by historians to be figures of legend, ...

". The

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, following the chronology of the Dalriadic kings as adopted by Pinkerton and

Skene Skene may refer to: * Skene, Aberdeenshire, a community in North East Scotland, United Kingdom * Skene, Mississippi, an unincorporated community in Mississippi, United States * Skene, Sweden, a village now part of Kinna, Sweden * Skene (automobi ...

, place the reign of Selvach from 706 to 726; and, as Gregory II was pope from 715 to 731, conclude that Talarican became bishop about 720, a few years after the Columban monks of

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

had been induced by St. Egbert to conform to the

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. He is said to have offered

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

every day, to have been noted for his zeal and his mortified life, and to have converted many pagans in the northern coasts of Scotland through his preaching and example. According to Dempster, he died in the island of Lismore.

Veneration

Talarican is considered a Catholic and Eastern Orthodox saint, and many churches subsequently founded in the Dioceses of

Moray Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Between 1975 ...

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

, and

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were dedicated in his honour. His name is perpetuated in the district of

Kiltarlity Kiltarlity ( gd, Cill Targhlain) is a small village in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is west of Inverness and south of Beauly, on the south bank of the Bruiach Burn. It has a population of under 1,000 people, and a local primary sch ...

(

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), the church and cemetery of Ceilltarraglan (

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

), and wells still known as "St. Tarkin's" at Fordyce, Kilsyth, and elsewhere. His feast day is Oct. 30.

References

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talarican 8th-century Scottish bishops 8th-century Christian saints