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 Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The area covers the stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in

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 shares a name with a modern ward used for elections to Perth and Kinross Council. Strathearn was also the name of an ancient

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

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 ...

, under the authority of a mormaer and then an Earl. More recently, the name has since been used in a number of titles used by the British royal family.

History

The historic province of Strathearn was bounded on the north by Atholl, north west by Breadalbane, south west by Menteith, south east by

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

, and on the east by '' Perthia''. The earliest attested mormaer of Strathearn is Mael Ísu I, who is recorded fighting alongside David I at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. Unlike some provinces where the holder of the office of mormaer rotated between kin-groups, the mormaership of Strathearn was dominated by a single family, with a Mael Ísu in every generation until the death of Mael Ísu V in the mid 14th century.

Battle of Strathearn

In 904, during the reign of Constantine II of Scotland, sons of Bárid mac Ímair sent a Danish army to attack Strathearn, and were ultimately defeated, the

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 ...

wasn't attacked by

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

for the next 50 years.

Modern administrative history

Strathearn became a stewartry under the authority of the

Earls of Perth Earl of Perth is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1605 for James Drummond, 4th Lord Drummond. The Clan Drummond, Drummond family claim descent from Maurice, son of George, son of Andrew I of Hungary, George, a younger son of ...

and part of

for administrative purposes, until the abolition of

heritable jurisdictions Heritable jurisdictions were, in the law of Scotland, grants of jurisdiction made to a man and his heirs. They were a common accompaniment to feudal tenures and conferred power on great families. Both before and after Act of Union 1707, the Union ...

in 1748. It continued to be recognised as one of the ancient divisions of the county, without administrative or judicial function. The Strathearn ward of Perth and Kinross Council was created in 2007.

Geography

Settlements

Bridge of Earn from Moncreiffe Hill - geograph

The primary settlements of Strathearn are: * Lochearnhead * St Fillans * Comrie * Crieff * Muthill * Auchterarder * Dunning * Forteviot * Forgandenny * Bridge of Earn * Abernethy

Royal title

Following the demise of the ancient Earls of Strathearn, with the title in its later creation being forfeited by Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, the Strathearn title was resurrected for use for a number of Royal dukedoms, awarded to members of the British royal family. The name appeared in the titles of the Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Duke of Connaught and Strathearn. More recently, Prince William, now

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

and Duke of Rothesay, was created Earl of Strathearn, as a subsidiary title to Duke of Cambridge, on 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding to Catherine Middleton.

Other uses

* "Strathearn" / "Strathern" is also a surname in the United States and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, predominantly in the Bellaghy area of County Londonderry.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Historic map showing Strathearn in the Shire of PerthHistoric map showing Strathearn in ScotlandHistoric map showing Strathearn in ScotlandHistoric map showing Strathearn in Scotland
{{Coord, 56, 19, 57, N, 3, 40, 57, W, type:river_region:GB, display=title Valleys of Perth and Kinross Provinces of Scotland