Ildulb mac Causantín,
anglicised as Indulf or Indulph, nicknamed An Ionsaighthigh, "the Aggressor" (died 962) was
king of Alba
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
from 954 to 962. He was the son of
Constantine II;
his mother may have been a daughter of Earl
Eadulf I of Bernicia Eadwulf or Eadulf (died 913) was ruler of Bamburgh in the early tenth century. A genealogy in the twelfth-century text ''De Northumbria post Britannos'' recording the ancestry of Waltheof Earl of Northampton (and, briefly, Northumbria), makes Eadw ...
, who was an exile in Scotland.
John of Fordun
John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ce ...
and others supposed that Indulf had been
king of Strathclyde
The list of the kings of Strathclyde concerns the kings of Alt Clut, later Strathclyde, a Brythonic kingdom in what is now western Scotland.
The kingdom was ruled from Dumbarton Rock, ''Alt Clut'', the Brythonic name of the rock, until around ...
in the reign of his predecessor, based on their understanding that the
kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to as ...
had become a part of the
kingdom of Alba
The Kingdom of Alba ( la, Scotia; sga, Alba) was the Kingdom of Scotland between the deaths of Donald II in 900 and of Alexander III in 1286. The latter's death led indirectly to an invasion of Scotland by Edward I of England in 1296 and the ...
in the 940s. This, however, is no longer accepted.
The
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac ...
says: "In his time ''oppidum Eden''", usually identified as
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, "was evacuated, and abandoned to the Scots until the present day." This has been read as indicating that
Lothian, or some large part of it, fell to Indulf at this time. However, the conquest of Lothian is likely to have been a process rather than a single event, and the frontier between the lands of the kings of Alba and
Bernicia
Bernicia ( ang, Bernice, Bryneich, Beornice; la, Bernicia) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.
The Anglian territory of Bernicia was ap ...
may have lain south and east of Edinburgh many years before Indulf's reign.
Indulf's death is reported by the
Chronicon Scotorum
''Chronicon Scotorum'', also known as ''Chronicum Scotorum'', is a medieval Irish chronicle.
Overview
According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the ' Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric tim ...
in 962, the
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'', or ''Scottish Chronicle'', is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín) (d. 858) until the reign of Kenneth II (Cináed mac ...
adding that he was killed fighting
Vikings
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...
near
Cullen, at the
Battle of Bauds
Battle of Bauds was a battle fought in 962 in an area known as the Bauds, south of Findochty and west of Cullen near Portknockie, Scotland between Scotland, under King Indulf, and Norse pirates. The Vikings had been raiding and burning throug ...
. The
Prophecy of Berchán
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or pre ...
, however, claims that he died "in the house of the same holy apostle, where his father
ied, that is at the
céli dé monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
of
St Andrews.
He was buried on
Iona.
[''Early Sources'', pp. 468–471; Duncan, p. 20 follows the Chronicle.]
Indulf was succeeded by
Dub (Dub mac Maíl Coluim), son of his predecessor.
His sons
Cuilén
Cuilén (also ''Culén, Cuilean'', anglicized Colin; died 971) was an early King of Alba (Scotland).
He was a son of Illulb mac Custantín, King of Alba, after whom he is known by the patronymic mac Illuilb (also ''mac Iduilb'', ''mac Ilduilb' ...
and
Amlaíb were later kings.
Eochaid, a third son, was killed with Cuilén by the men of
Strathclyde
Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the River Clyde") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government et ...
in 971.
Notes
References
*
Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History AD 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.
* Duncan, A.A.M., ''The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence.'' Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002.
* Smyth, Alfred P. ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000.'' Reprinted, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1998.
* Walker, Ian W., ''Lords of Alba: The Making of Scotland.'' Sutton, Stroud, 2006.
External links
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Textsat
University College Cork
University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork.
The university was founded in 1845 as one ...
includes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'', ''the Four Masters'' and ''Innisfallen'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'', the ''Lebor Bretnach'' (which includes the ''Duan Albanach''), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
(CKA) The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indulf Of Scotland
962 deaths
Monarchs killed in action
Scottish pre-union military personnel killed in action
House of Alpin
Burials in Iona
Year of birth unknown
10th-century Scottish monarchs
Gaels