Taran son of Ainftech was a

King of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle 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 ...

from 693 until 697, according to the Pictish king-lists. His name is the same as that of the Gaulish thunder-god,

Taranis In Celtic mythology, Taranis (Proto-Celtic: *''Toranos'', earlier ''*Tonaros''; Latin: Taranus, earlier Tanarus) is the god of thunder, who was worshipped primarily in Gaul, Hispania, Britain, and Ireland, but also in the Rhineland and Danube r ...

. His father is just a name, which occurs in various forms, e.g., ''Entifidich'' in the ''

Poppleton manuscript {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 The Poppleton manuscript is the name given to the fourteenth-century codex probably compiled by Robert of Poppleton, a Carmelite friar who was the Prior of Hulne, near Alnwick. The manuscript contains numerous work ...

'', ''Enfidaig'', ''Amfredech'', ''Anfudeg'', and as ''Amfodech'' in the French king-list embedded in the ''

Scalacronica The ''Scalacronica'' (1066–1363) is a chronicle written in Anglo-Norman French by Sir Thomas Grey of Heaton near Norham in Northumberland. It was started whilst he was imprisoned by the Scots in Edinburgh Castle, after being captured in an a ...

.'' The list in National Library of Scotland MS, Advocates' 34.7.3, seems to say that Taran was the brother of King Nechtan m. Der-Ilei, which could mean that Taran's mother was the Pictish princess

Der-Ilei Der-Ilei (born late 7th century) is believed to have been a daughter, or less probably a sister, of Bridei map Beli, king of the Picts (died 693). There are no explicit mentions of Der-Ilei in the Irish annals or other sources, and her existence ...

. However, the latter list is problematic and places the reign of King Bridei m. Der-Ilei, Nechtan's brother, after Nechtan; on the other hand, the list is one of those that is aware that Bridei was the son of Dargart, indicating access to material not available to some of the other lists. Some of the king-lists say he reigned for fourteen years; however, the ''Poppleton'' and ''

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 Scot ...

'' lists, along with the ''Scalacronica'' list, give four years only, so the ''x'' may be a mistake. He was almost certainly succeeded by Bruide, the son of Dargart and Der-Ilei, although in what circumstances, it is hard to say. Entries from the Irish annals, which

Alan Orr Anderson Alan Orr Anderson (1879–1958) was a Scottish historian and compiler. The son of Rev. John Anderson and Ann Masson, he was born in 1879. He was educated at Royal High School, Edinburgh, and the University of Edinburgh. In 1908, after five ...

suggested may be related to this Taran, are a report in the '' Annals of Ulster'' reporting "the killing of Ainfthech and Nia Néill and the sons of Boendo", where Ainfthech may be Taran's father, and then Taran's deposition in 696, and finally the report in the ''Annals of Ulster'' that "Tarachin went to Ireland" in 698.the ''Annals of Tigernach'' used the ''Tarachin'' form in reporting Taran's deposition.

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References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ainftech, Taran Mac 7th-century births 697 deaths Pictish monarchs 7th-century Scottish monarchs