St Serf's Inch

St Serf's Inch

Location
St Serf's Inch St Serf's Inch shown within Perth and Kinross
OS grid reference	NO161003
Coordinates	56°11′N 3°21′W / 56.19°N 3.35°W / 56.19; -3.35
Physical geography
Island group	Loch Leven
Area	31 ha
Area rank	(Freshwater: 12)
Highest elevation	114 m asl
Administration
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Country	Scotland
Council area	Perth and Kinross
Demographics
Population	0
References

St Serf's Inch or St Serf's Island is an island in Loch Leven, in south-eastern Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It was the home of a Culdee and then an Augustinian monastic community, St Serf's Inch Priory.

There was a monastic community on the island which was old in the 12th century. The monastery produced a series of Gaelic language charters from the 11th and 12th centuries which were translated into Latin in the late 12th century. It is from these that we know Macbeth, the King of Scots and his consort Gruoch, made an endowment of land to the priory. One of these charters purports to go back to Brude filius Dergard, that is Bruide mac Dargarto, King of the Picts (d. 706). Other of these charters record grants from Máel Dúin, Bishop of St Andrews (d. 1055), his successor Túathal (d. c. 1060), his successor Fothad mac Maíl Míchéil, King Máel Coluim III (1058–1093) and his wife Margaret,Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld, and King Domnall Bán (1093-1097). Also among the collection of these translations is a record of a trial held c. 1128 and presided over by Causantín, Mormaer of Fife and magnum judex in Scotia, assisted by Dufgal filium Mocche and Meildoineneth filium Machedath; the trial pertained to the behaviour of one Robert "the Burgundian", the earliest recorded French settler north of the Forth, towards the monks of St Serf, and resulted in favour of the monks after Causantín bowed to the "superior knowledge" of the law held by "Dufgal".