Gartnait son of Girom was a king of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

from 531 to 537. The ''

Pictish Chronicle The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland. Version A The ...

'' king lists have him ruling for six or seven years between

Drest IV Drest son of Girom was a king of the Picts from 522 to 531. The '' Pictish Chronicle'' king lists associate him with Drest III. Various reigns, separately and jointly, are assigned to the two Drests, varying from one to fifteen years. After the j ...

and

Cailtram Cailtram son of Girom was a king of the Picts from 537 to 538. The ''Pictish Chronicle The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was record ...

. Cailtram is said to have been Gartnait's brother and three sons of Girom are successively listed as king, although Drest son of Girom is not explicitly stated to have been a brother of Gartnait and Cailtram. Historian Damian Bullen has suggested that Gartnait is the historical figure behind the myth of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

and that he had his residence in Rhynie in

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

.Bullen, Damian (2021
"King Arthur, King of Picts (529-536)"
/ref> He identifies his mother Girom as Gigurnus, Gygurn or

Igraine In the Matter of Britain, Igraine () is the mother of King Arthur. Igraine is also known in Latin as Igerna, in Welsh as Eigr (Middle Welsh Eigyr), in French as Ygraine (Old French Ygerne or Igerne), in ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' as Ygrayne—often ...

while his father Uudrost as

Uther Pendragon Uther Pendragon (Brittonic) (; cy, Ythyr Ben Dragwn, Uthyr Pendragon, Uthyr Bendragon), also known as King Uther, was a legendary King of the Britons in sub-Roman Britain (c. 6th century). Uther was also the father of King Arthur. A few m ...

, and king Cailtram who ruled after him as

Sir Kay In Arthurian legend, Sir Kay ( cy, Cai, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; la, Caius; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. ...

of legends.

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.

External links

Pictish Chronicle
537 deaths Pictish monarchs 6th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown Historical figures as candidates of King Arthur {{Scotland-royal-stub