House of %C3%93engus
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The House of Óengus is a proposed dynasty that may have ruled as Kings of the Picts and possibly of all of northern
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, for approximately a century from the 730s to the 830s AD. Their first ruler of Pictland was the great
Óengus I of the Picts In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...
, who may be the figure carved into the St Andrews Sarcophagus pictured on the right.


Origins and identity

Early (but not contemporary) Irish genealogies make Óengus a member of the
Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, an ...
of Munster, as a descendant of Coirpre Cruithnechán or "Cairbre the little Pict", a legendary emanation or double of
Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc (flourished mid 5th century) was the ancestor of the Eóganacht Locha Léin branch of the Eoganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster. This branch was also called the Ui Caipre Luachra, named after him and became the rulers ...
, son of
Conall Corc Corc mac Luigthig (340-379),Genealogy of the House of Mac-Carthy formerly Sovereign of the Two Momonies or Southern Ireland, P. Louis Lainé, pg. 26, https://celt.ucc.ie/published/F830000-001.html also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc ...
, and ancestor of the
Eóganacht Locha Léin __NOTOC__ Eóganacht Locha Léin or Uí Cairpre Luachra were a branch of the ruling Eóganachta of Munster. Their territory was in Iarmuman or West Munster. Luachair (Lúachra) is the old name of a large district on the borders of Co Cork, Kerry a ...
, rulers of the kingdom of
Iarmuman Iarmhumhain (older spellings: Iarmuman, Iarmumu or Iarluachair) was a Kingdom in the early Christian period of Ireland in west Munster. Its ruling dynasty was related to the main ruling dynasty of Munster known as the Eóganachta. Its ruling branc ...
. An early cycle of tales have Conall Corc traveling to Pictland early in his career, and there taking the daughter of the Pictish king as his first wife, hence Coirpre's epithet. The branch of the kindred, called in the annals the Eoghanachta Magh Geirginn, from which he came were said to be located in an area known as Circinn, usually associated with modern
Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...
and the Mearns. The genealogy appears in the
Rawlinson B 502 Oxford, Bodleian Library, Rawlinson B 502 is a medieval Irish manuscript which presently resides in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. It ranks as one of the three major surviving Irish manuscripts to have been produced in pre-Norman Ireland, the tw ...
manuscript, ¶1083: This states the king of Pictland with whom Conall Corc stayed to have been Feradach Find Fechtnach, and his daughter, Conall's first wife and Coirpre's mother, to have been
Mongfind Mongfind (or Mongfhionn in modern Irish)—meaning "fair hair" or "white hair"—is a figure from Irish legend. She is said to have been the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldes ...
. After discussing Corc's progeny in Munster, the future Eóganachta of history, the passage concludes with: This states that from Coirpre Cruithnechán come a sept of the Eóganachta in Alba called the Eóganacht Maige Gerginn, to whom belongs Óengus I. Notably lacking are over two centuries of generations in Scotland. Conall Corc is said to have flourished in the early 5th century. Óengus I belongs to the 8th.


Criticism

This pedigree has been dismissed as inspired by the tales of Conall Corc.
Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. ...
puts this in the context of the (wider)
Gaelicisation 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 ...
of Pictland in the 9th century, and notes how later Scottish dynasties such as the Lennoxes and the
House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...
also found Corc to be a "usefully respectable" Gaelic ancestor. In an exhaustive criticism of the legends, David Sproule finds that the Picts are probably a literary addition, and that the Pictish king Feredach is probably inspired by
Fidach Crimthann Mór, son of Fidach , also written Crimthand Mór, was a semi-mythological king of Munster and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain and Gaul, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind. It is possible tha ...
, father of
Crimthann mac Fidaig Crimthann Mór, son of Fidach , also written Crimthand Mór, was a semi-mythological king of Munster and High King of Ireland of the 4th century. He gained territory in Britain and Gaul, but died poisoned by his sister Mongfind. It is possible ...
, who precedes Corc on the throne of Munster but is more widely known as "King of Ireland and Alba". As
Mongfind Mongfind (or Mongfhionn in modern Irish)—meaning "fair hair" or "white hair"—is a figure from Irish legend. She is said to have been the wife, of apparent Munster origins, of the legendary High King Eochaid Mugmedón and mother of his eldes ...
is the sister of Crimthann in most Irish legends, it follows that she would be Corc's wife. Sproule also notes that a journey to Alba is common in Irish legend, and further that Feradach Finnfechtnach is the name of an earlier Irish
King of Tara The term Kingship of Tara () was a title of authority in ancient Ireland - the title is closely associated with the archaeological complex at the Hill of Tara. The position was considered to be of eminent authority in medieval Irish literature ...
who has convenient associations with Alba of his own.Sproule 1985 Feredach can also be found as the name of several figures belonging both to the Picts and
Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...
, for example the father of Ciniod I of the Picts.


Monarchs

*
Óengus I of the Picts In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...
, d. 761 *
Bridei V of the Picts Bridei V ( Gaelic: ''Bruide mac Fergusa'') was king of Fortriu from 761 until 763. He was the brother of Óengus. His death is recorded by the '' Annals of Ulster'' and the ''Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (abbr. AT, ga, ...
* Talorgan II of the Picts, d. 782 * Drest VIII of the Picts * Constantín mac Fergusa, d. 820 * Óengus II of the Picts, d. 834 * Drest IX of the Picts, d. 836 or 837 *
Eóganan mac Óengusa Uuen (Wen) or Eogán mac Óengusa in Gaelic (commonly referred to by the hypocoristic ''Eóganán'') was king of the Picts between AD 837–839. Life Uuen was a son of Onuist II on ofUurguist rguist(in Gaelic: Óengus II mac Fergusa, died 834) ...
, d. 839 Another member of this family may have been Domnall mac Caustantín, a possible king of Dál Riata.


Notes


References

*
Francis John Byrne Francis John Byrne (1934 – 30 December 2017) was an Irish historian. Born in Shanghai where his father, a Dundalk man, captained a ship on the Yellow River, Byrne was evacuated with his mother to Australia on the outbreak of World War II. ...
, ''Irish Kings and High-Kings''.
Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
. 2nd revised edition, 2001. *
Katherine Forsyth Katherine S. Forsyth is a Scottish historian who specializes in the history and culture of Celtic-speaking peoples during the 1st millennium AD, in particular the Picts. She is currently a professor iCeltic and Gaelicat the University of Glasgo ...
, "Evidence of a lost Pictish source in the ''Historia Regum Anglorum''" in Simon Taylor (ed.) ''Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland, 500–1297: essays in honour of Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday.'' Dublin:
Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably t ...
, 2000. *
Kuno Meyer Kuno Meyer (20 December 1858 – 11 October 1919) was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I in the United States was a source of controversy. His brother ...
(ed.)
"The Laud Genealogies and Tribal Histories"
in ''
Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie The ''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie'' is an academic journal of Celtic studies, which was established in 1897 by the German scholars Kuno Meyer and Ludwig Christian Stern.Busse, Peter E. "''Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie''." In ''Ce ...
8'' (1912): 291–338. * Michael A. O'Brien (ed.) with intro. by John V. Kelleher, ''Corpus genealogiarum Hiberniae''. DIAS. 1976. / partial digital edition:
Donnchadh Ó Corráin Donnchadh Ó Corráin (28 February 1942 – 25 October 2017) was an Irish historian and Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at University College Cork. He earned his BA in history and Irish from that institution, graduating in 1964. He was ...
(ed.)
Genealogies from Rawlinson B 502
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 ...

Corpus of Electronic Texts
1997. * David Sproule,
Origins of the Éoganachta
, in ''
Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or Ol ...
35'' (1984) 31–37. * David Sproule,
Politics and pure narrative in the stories about Corc of Cashel
, in ''
Ériu In Irish mythology, Ériu (; modern ga, Éire ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland. The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic (Old Norse or Ol ...
36'' (1985): 11–28. {{DEFAULTSORT:House of Oengus Scottish royal houses Pictish monarchs Oengus 8th century in Scotland 9th century in Scotland