Around 1230, Duncan MacDougall, Lord of Argyll, established the Ardchattan Priory, the second of three Valliscaulian monasteries ever founded in Scotland. MacDougall established his priory shortly after King Alexander II established another near Elgin. Thus, MacDougall’s priory was likely a means to show loyalty to the king, as well as a way to ease his own path to heaven. The life of the monks who lived at Ardchattan Priory would have been an austere one of silence, focused solely on prayer and contemplation. The monks did no physical labor and lived…
