Glen Lyon is a glen in the Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...

 region of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for 34 miles from Loch Lyon

Loch Lyon

Loch Lyon is a freshwater loch in Glen Lyon, located in Perthshire, Scotland, which feeds the River Lyon, a tributary of the River Tay. The original natural loch was much expanded by a hydro-electric dam, part of the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Breadalbane scheme....

 in the west to the village of Fortingall

Fortingall

Fortingall is a small village in highland Perthshire, Scotland, in the glen of the River Lyon. Place-name Gaelic Fartairchill, 'church at the foot' . Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore.According to legend it was the birthplace of Pontius Pilate...

 in the east.

Quite densely inhabited from prehistoric times (as many archaeological sites attest), though its present population is of modest size, the glen has been home to many families, including MacGregors, Menzies, Stewarts, Macnaughtans, MacGibbons and the Campbells of Glen Lyon. One of this family, Robert Campbell of Glenlyon

Robert Campbell of Glenlyon

Robert Campbell, 5th Laird of Glenlyon , was a minor member of Scottish nobility and is best known as one of the commanding officers at the Massacre of Glencoe.-Life:...

 (1630-1696), led the detachment of government troops responsible for the infamous Glencoe Massacre, of the MacDonald

Macdonald

MacDonald, Macdonald, and McDonald are Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic name MacDhòmhnaill. It is a patronym where Mac means "son" and Dhòmhnaill means "of Dòmhnall". The personal name Dòmhnall is composed of the elements domno "world" and val "might", "rule"...

s of Glencoe

Glen Coe

Glen Coe is a glen in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the southern part of the Lochaber committee area of Highland Council, and was formerly part of the county of Argyll. It is often considered one of the most spectacular and beautiful places in Scotland, and is a part of the designated...

 in 1691. It is not, however, the home of Clan Lyon

Clan Lyon

Clan Lyon is a Scottish clan, but is not associated with the lands of Glen Lyon in Perthshire, Scotland.-Origin of the name:*Leon, Normandy, France....

.

James MacGregor, parish priest of Fortingall in the early 16th century

16th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred....

, compiled the Book of the Dean of Lismore

Book of the Dean of Lismore

The Book of the Dean of Lismore is a famous Scottish manuscript, compiled in eastern Perthshire in the first half of the 16th century. The chief compiler, after whom it is named, was James MacGregor , vicar of Fortingall and titular Dean of Lismore Cathedral, although there are other probable...

, the most important surviving collection of medieval Scottish Gaelic poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

. His Chronicle, covering local events in a mixture of Scots

Scots

Scots may refer to:*The Scottish people, the inhabitants of Scotland*Scots language *Scotch-Irish*Scottish English*Scots pine, a Scottish tree*Short for Pound Scots...

 and Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

, is also extant, and is an important historical source for the central Highlands.

Glen Lyon, also written Glenlyon, has often been described as one of the most beautiful glens in all of Scotland. It has been the home of (among others) early Christian monk

Monk

A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...

s (including Adomnán [locally Eonán] (d. 704

704

Year 704 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 704 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Asia :* Armenia: Abdallah ibn Abd al-Malik invades...

), Abbot of Iona

Iona

Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...

 and biographer of St Columba), warrior

Warrior

A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...

s, literary figures, explorers, castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

s (Meggernie Castle

Meggernie Castle

Meggernie Castle is a castle in the heart of Perth and Kinross, in central Scotland. It is located halfway up Glenlyon, where the river Lyon flows through on its way to join Loch Tay...

 [still inhabited] and Carnbaan [ruined]) and arguably the best cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. According to legend, it was also the birthplace of Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...

, son to a Roman envoy and a Menzies or McLaren lady, though no credence needs to be given to so dubious a tale.

Its history is described in Alexander Stewart's A Highland Parish (1928), and Duncan Campbell's The Lairds of Glenlyon (1886).