Keills Chapel is a small chapel located in the west

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

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 ...

, near the village of

Tayvallich Tayvallich (pronounced ; gd, Taigh a' Bhealaich ) is a small village in the Knapdale area of Argyll and Bute, in Scotland. The village name has its origins in Gaelic, and means the "house of the pass". The village is built around a sheltered harbo ...

Knapdale Knapdale ( gd, Cnapadal, IPA: �kraʰpət̪əɫ̪ forms a rural district of Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands, adjoining Kintyre to the south, and divided from the rest of Argyll to the north by the Crinan Canal. It includes two parishes, ...

. The chapel dates from the 11th century and is in the care of

Historic Scotland Historic Scotland ( gd, Alba Aosmhor) was an executive agency of the Scottish Office and later the Scottish Government from 1991 to 2015, responsible for safeguarding Scotland's built heritage, and promoting its understanding and enjoyment. ...

as is

Kilmory Knap Chapel Kilmory Knap Chapel is a 13th-century Christian chapel, located at the tiny hamlet of Kilmory, Knapdale, Kilmory, in Knapdale, Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. Kilmory Knap Chapel is on Ellary Estate, next to Loch Sween, on the ...

on the opposite shore of

Loch Sween ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spellin ...

. It is open at all reasonable times and there is no entrance charge.

Keills Chapel

The name originates from the word , meaning ''chapel''. The re-roofed structure contains an important collection of early stone sculpture, including six early

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

cross-slabs, around forty late medieval grave slabs recovered from the chapel or churchyard, and a

Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...

which previously stood outside the chapel where a modern blank replacement now stands. The original has been moved inside the chapel to protect it from the elements.

Keills Cross

The complete and well-preserved late 8th-early 9th century cross is carved from local grey-green

epidiorite Amphibolite () is a metamorphic rock that contains amphibole, especially hornblende and actinolite, as well as plagioclase feldspar, but with little or no quartz. It is typically dark-colored and dense, with a weakly foliated or schistose (fla ...

. It is only decorated on one face, the sides and back being dressed smooth without further decoration. Its proportions are unusual, with very short side-arms broader than the shaft and upper limb. The latter shows the

archangel Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...

St. Michael standing over a serpent (a symbol of triumph over the devil). The lower limb shows

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

on the Judgement Seat. He is holding a book, possibly

the Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, symbolising mercy, in his left hand, and a flail in his right, symbolising judgement. There is a circular design at the crossing, with three round objects in the centre, which may symbolise the

Holy Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

. Around this are four animals representing the four evangelists.

Images

File:Kiells-Chapel,-Graveyard---By-HypeNapungra.jpg, A view from the graveyard File:InsideKiellsChapel-ByHypeNapungra.jpg, Inside Keills Chapel File:CrossInsideKeillsChapel-ByHypeNapungra.jpg, Keills Chapel Cross File:Carved gravestones at Keills Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 407514.jpg, Grave slabs in Keills Chapel

References

External links

{{coord, 55, 57, 42.79, N, 5, 42, 7.47, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Churches in Argyll and Bute Historic Scotland properties in Argyll and Bute Knapdale