Calm waters, Tain

Calm waters, Tain

ID: QZP40_CARD_1174 DESCRIPTION: A view of Tain from the River Tain. Inscribed on the card is the caption: 'With Hearty Greetings and all Good Wishes for the coming year.' Located on the southern shores of the Dornoch Firth, Tain claims to be Scotland's oldest royal burgh. The origin of the name 'Tain' is uncertain but the town's Gaelic name 'Baile Dhubhthaich' indicates its links with Duthus or Duthac, an early medieval saint who was born there. By the late Middle Ages St Duthac's shrine was an important place of pilgrimage, its most famous visitor being King James IV, and Tain became a well-known ecclesiastical centre. It also acted as a sanctuary, for the Girth of Tain, an area of twelve square miles around the shrine, was under the protection of the church. In 1306 Robert the Bruce sent his family to Tain for safety, but William, Earl of Ross, ignored the sanctuary and handed them over to the English. According to tradition, Tain was granted its first trading privileges by Malcolm Canmore in 1066. Its privileges were later confirmed by James VI in 1587 and extended by Charles II in 1675. Tain's burgh status meant that its merchants were exempt from paying certain types of taxes and Tain flourished as a market town for the whole surrounding area. Today, Tain remains a thriving town with a population of around 4000. Among its buildings of interest are Tain Tolbooth and St Duthus Collegiate Church, which now forms part of the 'Tain Through Time' visitor centre. PLACENAME: Tain OLD COUNTY/PARISH: ROSS: Tain SOURCE: Highland Libraries COLLECTION: Highland Libraries' Postcard Collection Asset ID: 33097 KEYWORDS: