Indulf's son Colin, and, though
at first successful, defeating Colin at the Battle of Duncrub (A.D. 965),
in which the Mormaor[9] of Atholl and the Abbot of Dunkeld, partizans
apparently of the defeated prince, were numbered amongst the slain, he
was subsequently less fortunate, and was driven by his rival from the
throne, losing his life on a later occasion at Forres ... where his body
is said to have been hidden under the bridge of Kinloss, tradition adding
that the sun refused to shine until the dishonoured remains of the
murdered monarch received the burial of a king."[10] Part of the ground
which is believed to have been the site of the Battle of Duncrub now
forms the village tennis-ground and the village bowling-green, and yearly
are witnessed on it fightings still--though of a very different kind.
The traditional spot where the Abbot (by name Doncha) was slain is marked
by the "Standing-Stone," on "the acres," a little to the east of the
tennis-ground, while a similar "standing-stone," on the farm of "The
Knowes," is said to mark the place where the Mormaor met his doom.

The spelling of the name Dunning, at various times, and in various
records and charters, is rather interesting--_Donyng, Dunnyne, Dunyne,
Dinnin, Dunin_, or (as _e.g._, in the inscription on the Communion cups
presently in use, of date 1702) _Duning_. The word is generally thought
to be derived from the Gaelic term dun (already referred to), which means
a hill, or a hill with a fort.[11]

On first appearing on the page of tolerably trustworthy history, Dunning
formed part of the Stewartry or Earldom of Strathearn, which dates back
to a remote period. Among the ancient Earls of Strathearn there were
some very notable figures. Particularly so was Malise, the Earl of
Strathearn, who figured prominently in the Battle of the Standard. But,
more particularly notable still, was his grandson, Gilbert, who held the
Earldom in the reign of David I. Like his King--proverbially known as
the "sair sanct for the crown"--Gilbert was most lordly in gifts to the
Church, which was then fast rising into power. Dr Wilson[12] quotes an
old writer to the effect that, at this time, the Earldom of Strathearn
included "the haill lands lying betwixt the Cross of MacDuff, at
Newburgh, and the west end of Balquhidder, in length, and the Ochil Hills
and the hills called Montes Grampii, or the Grampians, in breadth." Even
though we make some reduction as to all this