Óengus I

Óengus son of Fergus ( xpi, *Onuist map Vurguist; sga, Óengus mac Fergusso, "Angus son of Fergus"), was king of the Picts, of possible Gaelic origin, from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a variety of sources. The unprecedented territorial gains he made from coast to coast, and the legacy he left, mean Óengus can be considered the first king of what would become Scotland.

Wresting power from his rivals, Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s.

The most powerful ruler in Scotland over more than two decades, kings from Óengus's family dominated Pictland for a century, until defeat at the hands of Vikings in 839 began a new period of instability, ending with the coming to power of a Gaelic line, that of Cináed mac Ailpín.

Sources and background

Surviving Pictish sources for the period are few, limited to king lists, the original of which was prepared in the early 720s, and a number of accounts relating to the foundation of St Andrews, then called Cennrígmonaid. Beyond Pictland, the principal sources are the Irish annals, of which the ''Annals of Ulster'' and the ''Annals of Tigernach'' are the most reliable. These include materials from an annal kept at the monastery of Iona in Scotland. Óengus and the Picts appear occasionally in Welsh sources, such as the ''Annales Cambriae'', and more frequently in Northumbrian sources, of which the Continuation of Bede's chronicle and the ''Historia Regum Anglorum'' attributed to Symeon of Durham are the most important.

The Picts were one of four political groups in north Britain in the early 8th century. Pictland ran from the River Forth northwards, including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. Prior to the Viking Age, the main power in Pictland appears to have been the kingdom of Fortriu. Known high-status sites in Fortriu include Burghead and Craig Phádraig by Inverness. Pictland appears to have had only one bishop with his seat at Rosemarkie.

From the Forth south to the River Humber lay the kingdom of Northumbria. Once the dominant force in Britain, it remained a powerful kingdom, but the end of the old dynasty of kings with the death of Osric in 729 led to conflict between rival families for the throne. The growing power of the Mercian kingdom to the south added to the problems faced by Northumbrian kings. For most of Óengus's reign Northumbria was ruled by King Eadberht Eating.

To the south-west of Pictland were the Gaels of Dál Riata where the kingship was disputed between the Cenél Loairn of northern Argyll and the Cenél nGabráin of Kintyre. In 723 Selbach mac Ferchair abdicated as head of the Cenél Loairn and king of Dál Riata in favour of his son Dúngal, who was driven out as king of Dál Riata by Eochaid mac Echdach of the Cenél nGabráin in 726. Dúngal and Eochaid were still in conflict as late as 731, when Dúngal burnt Tarbert.

The history of the fourth group, the Britons of Alt Clut, later the kingdom of Strathclyde, leaves little trace in the record. King Teudebur map Beli had ruled from Dumbarton Rock since 722, and continued to do so until his death in 752 when his son Dumnagual succeeded him.

Rise to power

An early medieval Irish genealogy tract claims Óengus to be a descendant of Cairpre Cruithnecháin or " Cairbre the little Pict", of the Eóganachta of Munster. The branch of the kindred from which it is claimed he came, known in the annals as the Éoganachta of Mag Gergind, are generally accepted as having been located in modern Angus and the Mearns. Óengus—also called Unust, Unuist or Onuist in Pictish and Old Gaelic, was the son of Fergusso (alternatively Forgosso), in modern English, Fergus.

Óengus thus appears to have been a native of the Mearns, possibly born into an established Verturian kindred there. It is relatively nearby, at the hill of Moncrieffe, near Perth, that he first appears in the records, defeating his rival, Alpin (or Pictish Elphin), in battle. That the Irish annals envision his kin as 'Éoganachta' suggests he was the descendant of an obscure 'Vuen' (or Wen), the Pictish British cognate of Gaelic Éogan.

Much of Óengus' early life is unknown; he was middle-aged by the time he entered into history. His close kin included at least two sons, Bridei (died 736) and Talorgan (died 782), and two brothers, Talorgan (died 750) and Bridei (died 763).

King Nechtan son of Der-Ilei abdicated to enter a monastery in 724 and was imprisoned by his successor Drest in 726. In 728 and 729, four kings competed for power in Pictland: Drest; Nechtan; Alpín, of whom little is known; and Óengus, who was a partisan of Nechtan, and perhaps his acknowledged heir.

Four battles large enough to be recorded in Ireland were fought in 728 and 729. Alpín was defeated twice by Óengus, after which Nechtan was restored to power. In 729 a battle between supporters of Óengus and Nechtan's enemies was fought at Monith Carno (traditionally Cairn o' Mount, near Fettercairn) where the supporters of Óengus were victorious. Nechtan was restored to the kingship, probably until his death in 732. On 12 August 729 Óengus defeated and killed Drest in battle at Druimm Derg Blathuug, a place which has not been identified.

Piercing of Dal Riata

In the 730s, Óengus fought against Dál Riata whose traditional overlords and protectors in Ireland, the Cenél Conaill, were much weakened at this time. A fleet from Dál Riata fought for Flaithbertach mac Loingsig, chief of the Cenél Conaill, in his war with Áed Allán of the Cenél nEógan, and suffered heavy losses in 733. Dál Riata was ruled by Eochaid mac Echdach, possibly of the Cenél nGabráin who died in 733, and the king lists are unclear as to who, if anyone, succeeded him as overking. The Cenél Loairn of north Argyll were ruled by Dúngal mac Selbaig whom Eochaid had deposed as overking of Dál Riata in 726.

Fighting between the Picts, led by Óengus's son Bridei, and the Dál Riata, led by Talorgan mac Congussa, is recorded in 731. In 733, Dúngal mac Selbaig "profaned he sanctuaryof Tory Island