Dargart mac Finguine (died 685) was a member of the

Cenél Comgaill Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The ''Annals of Ulster'' report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' in 537. Comgall No ...

kindred, after which

Cowal Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

is named. The only event directly connected with him in the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over t ...

, based on a chronicle then being kept on

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

, is his death. Dargart is believed to have been the father of two

kings of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the lengths of ...

, Bridei mac Der-Ilei and

Nechtan mac Der-Ilei Nechtan mac Der-Ilei or Nechtan mac Dargarto (Old Irish ''Nechtan mac Der-Ilei'' or ''Nechtan mac Dargarto'') (before 686–732) was king of the Picts 706–724 and 728–729. He succeeded his brother Bridei in 706. He is associated with significa ...

Background

Dargart is a very uncommon name, and it is presumed that the few references to someone of that name in the record all refer to the same person. That a member of the Cenél Comgaill should be noticed at all by the Iona chronicle, which focussed its attention on the

Cenél nGabráin The Cenél nGabráin was a kingroup, presumed to descend from Gabrán mac Domangairt, which dominated the kingship of Dál Riata until the late 7th century and continued to provide kings thereafter. Kings of Alba and of Scotland traced their desce ...

of Kintyre, is most unusual. Excepting those descendants of

Comgall mac Domangairt Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The '' Annals of Ulster'' report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the ''Annals of Tigernach'' in 537. Comgall N ...

who are included in traditional lists of

Kings of Dál Riata Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

, only Dargart, and his father Finguine Fota are mentioned by the chroniclers, in both cases on the occasion of their deaths. Dargart's father's ancestry is recorded in one surviving

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

, the ''Genelaig Albanensium'', appended to a version of the ''

Senchus fer n-Alban The ''Senchus fer n-Alban'' (''The History of the men of Scotland'') is an Old Irish medieval text believed to have been compiled in the 10th century. It provides genealogies for kings of Dál Riata and a census of the kingdoms which comprised Dá ...

''. This makes him a great-grandson of Comgall, although a generation may have been omitted, and records another son of his, Ferchar by name. The report of Dargart's death—by violence, the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word ''iugulatio'' is used—appears in the '' Annals of Tigernach'' and the ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

'' in the year of the

battle of Nechtansmere The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere (Scottish Gaelic: ''Blàr Dhùn Neachdain'', Old Irish: ''Dún Nechtain'', Old Welsh: ''Gueith Linn Garan'', Modern Welsh: ''Gwaith Llyn Garan'', Old English: ''Nechtansmere'') was fought betw ...

, that is 685, and has later been duplicated by the ''Annals of Ulster'' under the year 692.

Descendants

Dargart appears to have married a woman named

Der-Ilei Der-Ilei (born late 7th century) is believed to have been a daughter, or less probably a sister, of Bridei map Beli, king of the Picts (died 693). There are no explicit mentions of Der-Ilei in the Irish annals or other sources, and her existence ...

, perhaps a daughter, or less probably a sister, of King Bridei son of Beli. They had at least two sons, the Pictish kings Bridei, who died '' c''. 706, and Nechtan, who died in 732. Congal mac Dargarto, who died in 712, was very likely this Dargart's son, although whether with Der-Ilei is less certain. It is also uncertain whether Ciniod, or Cináed, mac Der-Ilei, killed in 713 was Dargart's son.''Annals of Ulster'', AU 706.2, AU 712.4 & AU 713.4; ''Annals of Tigernach'', AT 706.2, AT 713.5 & AT 732.7; Clancy, "Philosopher King", pp. 135–137 & genealogy B.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dargart Mac Finguine Pictish people 685 deaths 7th-century Scottish people Year of birth unknown