Áed mac Cináeda (Oxford Bodleian Library MS Rawlinson B 489, folio 26r)

The list of kings 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 ...

is based on 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. 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 their reigns. A large portion of the lists, not reproduced here, belongs with the Caledonian or

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by C ...

. The latter parts of the lists can largely be reconciled with other sources.

Pictish kings

Pictish kings ruled in northern and eastern

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 ...

. In 843 tradition records the replacement of the Pictish kingdom by 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 ...

, although 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 ...

continue to use ''Picts'' and ''Fortriu'' for half a century after 843. The king lists are thought to have been compiled in the early 8th century, probably by 724, placing them in the reigns of the sons of Der-Ilei, Bridei and Nechtan.Woolf, "Pictish matriliny reconsidered", p. 153. Irish annals (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, ...

Annals of Innisfallen Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

) refer to some kings as ''king of

Fortriu Fortriu ( la, Verturiones; sga, *Foirtrinn; ang, Wærteras; xpi, *Uerteru) was a Pictish kingdom that existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but is ...

'' or ''king of

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...

''. The kings listed are thought to represent overkings of the Picts, at least from the time of Bridei son of Maelchon onwards. In addition to these overkings, many less powerful subject kings existed, of whom only a very few are known from the historical record. Mythical kings of the Picts are listed in the ''

Lebor Bretnach ''Lebor Bretnach'', formerly spelled ''Leabhar Breathnach'' and sometimes known as the Irish Nennius, is an 11th-century historical work in Gaelic, largely consisting of a translation of the ''Historia Brittonum''. It may have originated in Scotl ...

s account of the origins of the Cruithne. The list begins with Cruithne son of Cing, who is reported to be "father of the Picts". The account of the ''Pictish Chronicle'' then splits into four lists of names: * The first is a list of the sons of Cruithne. * The second is a list of early kings with no distinguishing information other than dates. * The third is another list of early kings with neither stories nor dates, all of whom have two names that begin with "Brude". It is possible that "Brude" is an ancient title for "king" from another source, which was misinterpreted as a name by the compiler (cf. Skene p.cv). * The fourth is a list of later kings. The first of these to be attested in an independent source is

Galam Cennalath Galam Cennalath (died 580) was a king of the Picts from 550 to 555. The ''Pictish Chronicle'' king lists have him reign for between two and four years, with one year being jointly with Bridei son of Maelchon according to some versions. Some varia ...

. The dates given here are drawn from early sources, unless specifically noted otherwise. The relationships between kings are less than certain and rely on modern readings of the sources.

Names

Orthography is problematic. Cinioch, Ciniod and Cináed all represent ancestors of the modern Anglicised name Kenneth. Pictish "uu", sometimes printed as "w", corresponds with Gaelic "f", so that Uuredach is the Gaelic Feredach and Uurguist the Gaelic Fergus, or perhaps Forgus. As the

Dupplin Cross The Dupplin Cross is a carved, monumental Pictish stone, which dates from around 800 AD. It was first recorded by Thomas Pennant in 1769, on a hillside in Strathearn, a little to the north of (and on the opposite bank of the River Earn from) Forte ...

inscription shows, the idea that Irish sources

Gaelicised Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Ire ...

Pictish names may not be entirely accurate.

Kings of the Picts

Colouring indicates groups of kings presumed to be related.

Early kings

Early historical kings

The first king who appears in multiple early sources is Bridei son of Maelchon, and kings from the later 6th century onwards may be considered historical as their deaths are generally reported in Irish sources.

Later historical kings

Kings of the Picts 839–848 (not successively)

The deaths of Eógan and Bran appear to have led to a large number of competitors for the throne of Pictland.

Kings of the Picts traditionally counted as King of Scots

Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin in English) defeated the rival kings, winning out by around 845–848. He is traditionally considered the first "King of Scots", or of "Picts and Scots", allegedly having conquered the Picts as a Gael, which is turning history back to front. As most modern scholars point out, he was actually 'King of Picts', and the terms 'King of Alba' and the even later 'King of Scots' were not used until several generations after him.

King of Alba

Notes

References

''For primary sources, see'' External links ''below'' * Adomnán, ''Life of St Columba'', tr. & ed. Richard Sharpe. Penguin, London, 1995. * Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286'', vol. 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. * Bannerman, John, ''Studies in the History of Dalriada.'' Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, 1974. * Bannerman, John. "The Scottish Takeover of Pictland and the relics of Columba" in Dauvit Broun and Thomas Owen Clancy (eds.) ''Spes Scotorum: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland.'' Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1999 * Broun, Dauvit, "Dunkeld and the origin of Scottish identity" in Broun & Clancy (1999). * Broun, Dauvit, "Pictish Kings 761–839: Integration with Dál Riata or Separate Development" in Sally M. Foster (ed.), ''The St Andrews Sarcophagus: A Pictish masterpiece and its international connections.'' Four Courts, Dublin, 1998. * Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Caustantín son of Fergus (Uurgust)" in M. Lynch (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History.'' Oxford & New York: Oxford UP, 2002. * Herbert, Máire, "''Ri Éirenn, Ri Alban'': kingship and identity in the ninth and tenth centuries" in Simon Taylor (ed.), ''Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland 500–1297.'' Four Courts, Dublin, 2000. * Skene, William F. ''Chronicles of the Picts, Chronicles of the Scots, and other Early Memorials of Scottish History''. Edinburgh: H.M. General Register House, 1867. * Smyth, Alfred P. ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000.'' Reprinted, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1998. * Woolf, Alex, "Pictish matriliny reconsidered" in ''The Innes Review'', Volume XLIV, Number 2 (Autumn 1998). ISSN 0020-157X * Woolf, Alex, "Ungus (Onuist), son of Uurgust" in M. Lynch (2002).

External links

* Norway book : "Jomsvikingslaget i oppklarende lys", informs the Pictish kings escaped to the coast of Norway, instead of being murdered at Scone
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
**The Corpus of Electronic Texts 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
''Annals of Clonmacnoise''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings Of The Picts Picts, Kings of Pictish monarchs Medieval documents of Scotland Medieval Scottish literature Lists of office-holders in Scotland