The history of Tullibody is thought to date as far back as the 9th century.
Around 841, Kenneth MacAlpine ascended to the throne of Dal Riada, and there was a small village that played a part in his unifying of Scotland.
Kenneth felt a great deal of animosity towards the Picts who had put his father Alpin mac Echdach, king of Dal Riada, to death, and placed his head on the gate of their capital.
In his mind, they had committed a heinous crime, so determined to avenge his father’s death, and with the support of nobles, he proceeded to raise an army to fight against his sworn enemy.
The Pictish king was Druskein, and he knew that Kenneth would seek revenge, so he began preparations, building up his own army.
He summoned every Pict capable of bearing arms, and it’s said he even enrolled the assistance of some English auxiliaries.
They gathered at a place called the Maiden Castle, a fortified structure, in the Lothians, which was in the possession of the Pictish king, then marched his men in a westerly direction.
Supplies were ordered at Camelon, and the army made its way towards Stirling ‘where he crossed the Forth, intending to encamp on its northern bank.’
Meanwhile Kenneth and his army approached Stirling and roughly five miles to its east, he received word on the position and strength of Druskein’s men.
He assembled his nobles and troops ‘on the rising crofts to the east of the River Devon.’
It was here he, the noblemen, and the troops took a solemn oath that they would ‘not lay down their arms until either they or their adversaries fell.’
They remained there overnight, and the next morning at daybreak, Kenneth and his forces headed towards Stirling.
It was a rout.
Within a few hours, the Picts had been slaughtered in their hundreds.
Kenneth and his troops returned to where they had camped the night before.
As a mark of gratitude towards the bravery and loyalty of his men, and the victory over his mortal enemy, he had a stone erected where the Royal Standard was raised.
The pillar was anointed, and vows were taken.
It stood there for centuries until it was removed just shy of 1000 years later but was still known as the ‘stanin’ stane’ in the 19th century.
Slightly to the east of the field where Kenneth’s encampment had been, he founded a village by the name of Tirly-bothy, signifying ‘the oath of the croft.’
The spelling of Tullibody had changed several times over the centuries since.
Kenneth I united Scotland and became king in 834.
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