t we have. According to one of
the Pictish chronicles, it was at Fothuir-tabaicht that Drust (Filius
Ferat), the last King of the Picts, was killed.[4] It was here--"in
palacio suo de Fothuir-tabaicht"--where Kenneth MacAlpin, the first of
the Scotic dynasty (formed by the union of the lines of the Picts and the
Dalriadic Scots), died in 860. It was here, in Fothuir-tabaicht, where
Donald I., Kenneth's brother and successor, established with his council
the mode of succession to the throne, confirming "the rights and laws of
the kingdom of Aodh, son of Eocha."

According to Skene, Forteviot continued to be a royal residence until the
reign of Donald II., the son of Constantine, when the capital was
transferred to Scone. But it would appear that the ancient "palace" at
Forteviot was subsequently restored by Malcolm Canmore, and that his
successors at least occasionally came to live in it. Malcolm the Maiden
(1153-1165) is found to have granted at Fetherteviot a charter conveying
certain lands--the names of Ada, the King's mother, and of William, his
brother, appearing as witnesses. And even so late as 1306, during the
English invasion, there is mention of a letter, dated from Forteviot by
Edward, Prince of Wales.

The traditional site of the "palace," which would, no doubt, correspond
also with the site of the early church dedicated to S. Andrew, as before
mentioned, is still pointed out a little to the west of the village, and
is known as the Halyhill or Holyhill. Whether this first church was
built of stone is not known. But that there was a stone church at
Forteviot at an early date is made comparatively certain by the
discovery, in 1830 or thereby, of a large semi-circular and arched stone
lying in the bed of the River May, and directly under the Halyhill. How
long this most interesting arch had been hid away no one can tell; but it
was a fortunate "spate" that washed it bare and exposed it to the light
of day. It is now in the Antiquarian Museum in Edinburgh, where the
writer recently made an inspection of it. An excellent engraving of it
is contained in J. Romilly Allen's _Christian Symbolism in Great Britain
and Ireland_, and with the kind permission of that gentleman it is here
reproduced.[5]

The arch is 4 feet in span and 21 inches high. Carved in relief in the
centre of the stone is a cross, on one side of which is an animal--very
probably intended for the Agnus Dei; while, on the same side, a lit