PICTISH ARTS SOCIETY LECTURE SYLLABUS 2024–25 

Lectures are held on Fridays at 7.30pm (UK time), on Zoom

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Friday 18 April 2025

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Dr Emma Holmes Mackinnon

Sound Propositions: Musical evidence and the wider context of Aberlemno III

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Aberlemno III is a fascinating monument, rich in musical evidence. Commentators have noticed striking similarities with the Hilton of Cadboll cross slab, with which it may share a sculptor, as well as stylistic features reminiscent of the Vespasian Psalter. This discussion will focus on the musical representations on the slab, particularly the two trumpeters. By doing so, we will consider the many interpretations proposed for the scene in which they appear, but also explore wider archaeological, iconographic and even wider insular textual evidence that may help us to interpret the significance of the two figures, locating them in their local and Insular context.

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About the speaker

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Following undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the RSAMD and University of Glasgow, Emma is a recent PhD graduate of The University of Edinburgh's Department of Celtic and Scottish Studies. At Edinburgh, she was a Wolfson Scholar supervised by Anja Gunderloch and Rob Dunbar (University of Edinburgh) and Thomas Clancy (University of Glasgow).  Her research focused on lip-vibrated instruments and examined the archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence for instrumental music-making in early medieval Gaelic societies from a symbolic as well as performance-practice perspective.   

Emma undertook her PhD whilst juggling parallel careers in music and education. She is now based in Harris, in the Outer Hebrides, where she continues to work on research activities alongside a full-time role in educational research and policy.