September 2020 Picture of the Month

Alasdair MacLeod, the 7th chief of the Clan MacLeod of Dunvegan and Harris and son of William Dubh who was killed in battle in 1480, decided to build a church at Rodel on the southern coast of Harris – both as a religious ‘good work’ and as a statement of the clan’s power on the island. More usually known as Alasdair Crotach of Dunvegan – 'crotach' is Gaelic for 'hunchback' and refers to his disfigurement from a severe wound suffered in battle. He also planned the church as his final resting place and the tomb he commissioned is rightly celebrated as the finest relic of medieval sculpture anywhere in the Hebrides. The carved panels in the tomb illustrate religious motifs as well as aspects of the clan chief's life. This is one of the illustrations which will feature in an article on the tomb which will appear shortly in Scottish Islands Explorer magazine.