Saint Fillan was a sixth-century Scottish monk active in Fife. His feast day is 20 June.[1]
Fillan of Pittenweem is not to be confused with the later Fillan of Munster, who settled at Strath Fillan.[1][2] Fillan of Pittenweem worked in Aberdour, (where the parish church bears his name), as well as in Forgan. On the top of Dunfillan near Comrie was a rocky seat where, according to tradition, Fillan sat and gave his blessing to the country 'round. Up until the eighteenth century, there was a belief that sitting there could be beneficial for rheumatism of the back. A stone basin at the bottom the hill, was known as "Fillan's Spring", whose water was said to cure sore eyes.[1]
According to historian and antiquary William Forbes Skene, the village of St Fillans, on the eastern end of Loch Earn, takes its name from him.[1]
Fillan of Pittenweem died at the disert of Tyrie near Kinghorn[2]
- ^ a b c d Mackinlay, James Murray. Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs, W. Hodge & Company, 1893, p. 81 et seq
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Scott, Archibald Black. The Pictish Nation, Its People & Its Church, T. N. Foulis, 1918, p. 355, n.†
