Gowrie () is a region in central Scotland and one of the original

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

of the

Kingdom of Alba The Kingdom of Alba (; ) was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the First War of Scotti ...

. It covered the eastern part of what became

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. It was located to the immediate east of

Atholl Atholl or Athole () is a district in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, bordering (in clockwise order, from north-east) Marr, Gowrie, Perth, Strathearn, Breadalbane, Lochaber, and Badenoch. Historically it was a Pictish kingdom, becoming ...

, and originally included the area around

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

(and the ancient Scottish royal sites of

Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

), though that was later detached as ''Perthia''. Its chief settlement is the city of

. Today it is most often associated with the

Carse of Gowrie The Carse of Gowrie is a stretch of low-lying country in the southern part of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It stretches for about along the north shore of the Firth of Tay between Perth and Dundee. The area offers high-quality agricultu ...

, the part of Gowrie south of the

Sidlaw Hills The Sidlaws are a range of hills in the counties of Perthshire and Angus, Scotland, Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles (45 km) from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, Scotland, Perth, northeast to Forfar. A continuation of the Ochils, ...

running east of Perth to

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

Etymology

It is usually written as ''Goverin'' or ''Gouerin'' in the Latin of the Middle Ages. The Old Gaelic terms ''Circinn'' and ''Mag Gerghinn'' (and variants), may be related; but Circinn is often identified with the Mearns because

Fordoun Fordoun () (Pronounced "For-Dun") is a parish and village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Fothirdun (possibly "the lower place"), as it was historically known, was an important area in the Howe of the Mearns. Fordoun and Auchenblae, together wit ...

, Mearns, was said to have been in this area.

Alex Woolf Alex Woolf (born 12 July 1963) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of Britain and Ireland and to a lesser extent Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, with a particular emphasis on interaction and comp ...

and

William J. Watson William John Watson (17 February 1865 – 9 March 1948) was a Scottish toponymist and was the first scholar to place the study of Scottish place names on a firm linguistic basis. Life Watson was a native Gaelic-speaker, born in Milntown of N ...

both implied that the name derived from the Cenél nGabraín. The modern Gaelic for the province is ''Gobharaidh''; unless it is derived from Gerghinn or Circinn, the earlier Gaelic form is not recorded in Gaelic orthography.

Geography

Gowrie contains some of the best farmland in the whole of Scotland, a key to explaining its importance in Scottish history. The

, the southern part of the region, has traditionally been called the "Garden of Scotland". Coupar, the location of

Coupar Angus Abbey Coupar Angus Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near Coupar Angus, in central Scotland, on the boundary between Angus and Gowrie. It was founded on the old royal manor of Coupar in 1161 to 1162 with the patronage of Máel Coluim IV ("Malcolm ...

, lay at the borders of

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

with Gowrie, originally on the Gowrie side. Blairgowrie, "Plain of Gowrie", was recorded as "Blair in Gowrie" in 1604, and presumably the ''Blair'' ("plain") element has ''-gowrie'' attached to it to distinguish it from ''Blair'' in

, i.e.

Blair Atholl Blair Atholl (from the Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Athall'', originally ''Blàr Ath Fhodla'') is a village in Perthshire, Scotland, built about the confluence of the Rivers Tilt and Garry in one of the few areas of flat land in the midst of the G ...

. Abernethy, where the cross of MacDuff marked the boundary of the kindred, was probably the boundary between Fothriff and Gowrie. The following is a list of modern settlements and places of interest in the province: *

Abernyte Abernyte is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland. Geography The village lies roughly northwest of the former Inchture railway station, and around west of Dundee. Buildings The village has a heritage organisation, the Abernyte He ...

Alyth Alyth () () is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. In 2022 the town had an estimated population of 3,046. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal char ...

* Balhousie * Ballindean *

Bankfoot Bankfoot is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately north of Perth and south of Dunkeld. Bankfoot had a population of 1,136 in 2001. In the 2011 Census the population of Bankfoot was 1,110 people with there being a slightly h ...

Benvie Benvie, is a hamlet and former parish and feudal barony in Angus, Scotland. The hamlet is situated on the Invergowrie Burn, northwest of Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest ...

* Blair or Blairgowrie * Cambusmichael *

Cargill Cargill, Incorporated is an American multinational food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865 by William Wallace Cargill, it is the largest privately held c ...

Clunie Clunie is a small settlement in Perthshire, Scotland, west of Blairgowrie. It lies on the western shore of the Loch of Clunie. History Near the village on a small hill are the foundations of an early defensive settlement. The fortificati ...

* Coupar Angus *

Collace Collace () is a parish in Perthshire, Scotland, northeast of Perth, in Strathmore. The parish boundary includes the neighbouring villages of Kinrossie and Saucher. The traditional industries of the area are farming, quarrying (sandstone) ...

* Craigdallie * Dunbarney (also Pottie) * Dunsinane * Errol *

Forteviot Forteviot () (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Perth and Kinross on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160. The present village ...

* Fowlis * Inchtuthill *

Inchture Inchture () is a village in Scotland between Dundee and Perth on the northern side of the Firth of Tay. It is approximately from Dundee city centre and from Perth. The village is bypassed by on the A90 trunk road and benefits from a flyover ...

* Inchyra * Inveralmond *

Kilspindie Kilspindie is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is situated on the Kilspindie burn, approximately northwest of Errol, west of Dundee centre and east of Perth. The village has an area of of which are arable land and are woodlan ...

* Kinclaven *

Kinfauns Kinfauns was a large 1950s deluxe bungalow in Esher in the English county of Surrey, on the Claremont Estate. From 1964 to 1970, it was the home of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles. It was where many of the demo recordings for t ...

* Kinnaird *

Kinnoull Kinnoull is a parish in Perth, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately half a mile northeast of Perth city centre. Beginning at the level of the River Tay, which separates the parish from Perth, Kinnoull's terrain continues to rise as it cont ...

* Kirkmichael *

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 138 ...

(also Forgan or Forgrund) *

Luncarty Luncarty (; pronounced ''Lung''-cur-tay ) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, approximately north of Perth. It lies between the A9 to the west, and the River Tay to the east. Etymology The name ''Luncarty'', recorded in 1250 as ''Lump ...

Meikleour Meikleour ( ) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies near the confluence of the River Tay, Tay and the River Isla, Perthshire, Isla in the valley of Strathmore, Angus, Strathmore, north of Perth, Scotland, Perth and south of Bl ...

* Methven *

Pitmiddle Pitmiddle was a village in the Gowrie region of Perthshire, Scotland. It is now deserted, the last resident having left in 1938, with little evidence of its previous habitation. Its history dates back to the 12th century, and it is now a schedule ...

(now deserted) *

Rait Rait (; ) is a small village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies northwest of Errol, in the Gowrie area west of Dundee, on a minor road crossing the Sidlaw Hills through the Glen of Rait. The village is mainly residential with stone cotta ...

Redgorton Redgorton is a settlement in Gowrie, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies a few miles from the River Tay and the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, across the latter from Luncarty. It lies close to the Inveralmond Industrial Estate. Etymology T ...

Rhynd Rhynd () is a hamlet in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is located southeast of Perth, on the south side of the River Tay. The parish church was built in 1842, and replaced an earlier church at Easter Rhynd, southeast, where the churchyard ca ...

* Rossie (also Rossinclerach) * Ruthven *

* St Madoes (or Cairnie) *

Strathardle The River Ardle () is a tributary of the River Ericht. It runs for through Strathardle in Perthshire, Scotland. It is a salmon and trout river. Course The river is formed by the confluence of the Brerachan Water and the Allt Fearnach at Straloch ...

Forteviot, physically on the Earn, was included in the St Andrews deanery of Gowrie not in Strathearn (diocese of Dunblane). It is unclear if Gowrie was thought to include places such as

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

or the province of Stormont; it is likely that Gowrie's boundaries may have conceptually fluctuated according to various political changes over time.

History

The Scottish royal coronation site was located in this province, at

. Containing sites such as Scone and Forteviot, and perhaps originally Abernethy, it was clearly the core province of the early

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...

. In the 12th century, when detailed records begin, the king possessed four royal manors in the province; these manors were Scone, Strathardle, Longforgan, and Coupar. Those four royal manors were held by the crown in addition to the rest of the province, which the king held as

mormaer In early medieval Scotland, a mormaer was the Gaelic name for a regional or provincial ruler, theoretically second only to the King of Scots, and the senior of a '' Toísech'' (chieftain). Mormaers were equivalent to English earls or Continenta ...

("earl"). In either the reign of

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

was founded in the province, located at

. It also had a sheriff, called the "Sheriff of Gowrie" or "Sheriff of Scone", from the 1130s until at least 1228. It is not clear if this sheriff was originally distinct from the "Sheriff of Perth", as Perth and Scone were often thought of as the same location, being only two miles apart; if they were originally distinct, they were not so by the following century. There are ''judices'', "Brehons", of the province of Gowrie recorded from the 12th century into the 14th century. These men were the specialist lawmen for the province, who preserved legal knowledge relevant to the provincial community, and it is likely that every province of Scotland had lawmen designated for such purposes. Ecclesiastically, Gowrie was largely controlled by the

Bishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews. The name St Andrews is not the town or ...

; a Dean of Gowrie existed under the said bishop. Half a dozen or so of the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

es in Gowrie were under the control of the bishops of Dunblane and Dunkeld; this meant that Deans of Gowrie also existed for these two dioceses, though no Dean of Gowrie was recorded for the

diocese of Dunblane The Diocese of Dunblane or Diocese of Strathearn was one of the thirteen historical dioceses of Scotland, before the abolition of episcopacy in the Scottish Church in 1689. Roughly, it embraced the territories covered by the old earldoms of St ...

. Gowrie was recreated as an

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

for William Ruthven, Lord Ruthven in 1581.

John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie (c. 1577 – 5 August 1600), was a Scottish nobleman who died in mysterious circumstances, referred to as the "Gowrie Conspiracy", in which he and/or his brother Alexander were attempting to kill or kidnap King ...

, the second son of William Ruthven, was involved in the famous

Gowrie Conspiracy The Gowrie conspiracy was a series of events unfolding in Scotland on 5 August 1600. Although the facts of the actual attack and deaths of the Ruthvens are known, the circumstances by which that sequence of events came about remain a mystery. Ruthv ...

of 1600, which led to the forfeiture of the earldom.Juhala, "Ruthven, John". The title of Earl of Gowrie was resurrected in 1945 for a descendant of the 2nd Earl. The area covered by the sheriff of Perth – the sheriffdom – included Atholl, Breadalbane, and

Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (), also the Earn Valley, is the strath of the River Earn, which flows from Loch Earn to meet the River Tay in the east of Scotland. The area covers the stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in ...

, as well as Gowrie. In the mid 19th century, local government reforms replaced the ancient provinces by new Counties (''shires''), aligned to sheriffdom boundaries; hence, Gowrie became part of the new

Notes

References

Barrow, G. W. S. Geoffrey Wallis Steuart Barrow (28 November 1924 – 14 December 2013) was a Scottish historian and academic. The son of Charles Embleton Barrow and Marjorie née Stuart, Geoffrey Barrow was born on 28 November 1924, at Headingley near Leeds. ...

(ed.), ''The Acts of Malcolm IV'', (Regesta Regum Scottorum, Volume I, Edinburgh, 1960) * Barrow, G.W.S., "The ''Judex''", in G. W. S. Barrow (ed.) ''The Kingdom of the Scots'', (Edinburgh, 2003), pp. 57–67 * Duncan, A. A. M., ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence'', (Edinburgh, 2002) * Duncan, A. A. M., ''Scotland: The Making of the Kingdom'', (Edinburgh, 1975) * Grant, Alexander, "Thanes and Thanages, from the eleventh to the Fourteenth Centuries" in A. Grant & K. Stringer (eds.), ''Medieval Scotland: Crown, Lordship and Community, Essays Presented to G.W.S. Barrow'', (Edinburgh, 1993), pp. 39–81 * Juhala, Amy L., "Ruthven, John, third earl of Gowrie (1577/8–1600)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 11 Nov 2007
* MacGregor, Lindsay J., &

Oram, Richard Professor Richard D. Oram F.S.A. (Scot.) is a Scottish historian. He is a professor of medieval and environmental history at the University of Stirling. He is also the director of the Centre for Environmental History and Policy at the University ...

, ''Atholl and Gowrie: North Perthshire, A Historical Guide'', (Edinburgh, 2000) * * Reid, N. H., &

, ''The Sheriffs of Scotland: An Interim List to C.1306'', (St. Andrews, 2002) * Ross, David, ''Scottish Place-Names'', (Edinburgh, 2001) * Watson, W.J., ''The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland'', (Edinburgh, 1926) reprinted, with an Introduction, full Watson bibliography and corrigenda by Simon Taylor (Edinburgh, 2004) * Woolf, Alex, ''From Pictland to Alba, 789–1070'', (Edinburgh, 2007) {{coord, 56.44, -3.23, display=inline,title History of Perth and Kinross Geography of Perth and Kinross Provinces of Scotland