The
Mormaer or
Earl of Atholl was the title of the holder of a medieval
comital lordship straddling the
highland province of Atholl (
Ath Fodhla), now in northern
Perthshire. Atholl is a special
Mormaerdom, because a King of Atholl is reported from the Pictish period. The only other two Pictish kingdoms to be known from contemporary sources are
Fortriu and
Circinn. Indeed, the early 13th century document known to modern scholars as the
de Situ Albanie repeats the claim that Atholl was an ancient Pictish kingdom. In the 11th century, the famous
Crínán of Dunkeld may have performed the role of Mormaer.