ABSTRACT
The Atholl area of Perthshire was, without doubt, a focal point for the clarsach. It may, indeed, have been the main centre of harping activity in Scotland over a long period of time. Perthshire itself had immense significance throughout early Scottish history. The meeting and inter-mingling of Pictish and Dalriadic or Scotto-Gaelic cultures can be traced there from the 8th century onwards, while later it was the crossroads between Lowland Scot and Highland Gael. At Scone was the Stone of Destiny on which the Scottish kings were crowned, and the nearby town of Perth was, for a time, effectively the capital of the Dalriadic Scots. The Tay valley has continued to mark the southern limit of the Highlands. Over the centuries Perthshire has in many ways been regarded as the heart of Scotland.
