Alpín was

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 ...

from 726–728, together with Drest VII. 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 give Alpín and Drest a five-year joint rule. In 724,

Nechtan mac Der-Ilei Naiton son of Der-Ilei (; died 732), also called Naiton son of Dargart (), was king of the Picts between 706–724 and between 728–729. He succeeded his brother Bridei IV in 706. He is associated with significant religious reforms in Pictlan ...

is reported in the

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (Abbreviation, abbr. AT, ) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin language, Latin and Old Irish, Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come f ...

to have abdicated in favour of Drest, entering a monastery. Alpín, who is associated with Drest in the

king lists, is not mentioned at this time. In 726, the Annals of Tigernach report that "Drest was cast from the kingdom of the Picts and Alpín reigned in his stead". In 728–729, a war in Pictland involving Alpín, Drest, Nechtan and Óengus is reported in various sources. Alpín appears to have been the initial opponent of Nechtan and Óengus. He was first defeated by Óengus at Monaidh Craeb, for which Moncreiffe Island near

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

has been suggested, where his son was killed. A second defeat led to Alpín's flight and Nechtan being restored as king. Drest was killed the following year, but Alpín's fate is not known. Whether this Alpín has any connection to the "Elffin son of Crup" who the

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, 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 Luin� ...

say was besieged in 742, by whom is not said, is not known. Likewise, whether there is any connection between this Alpín and the

Alpín mac Echdach Alpín mac Echdach was a supposed king of Dál Riata, an ancient kingdom that included parts of Ireland and Scotland. Alpín was included in a pedigree chart created in the 10th century to connect the kings of Alba (Scotland) to legendary Dál R ...

who may have ruled in

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaels, Gaelic Monarchy, kingdom that encompassed the Inner Hebrides, western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North ...

in the 730s is also unknown. Anderson notes that the capture of "Elén son of Corp and of Conamail son of Cano" is recorded by the ''

circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...

673. This Conamail was probably the Conamail son of Cano killed in 705. If the report of 742 refers to this Alpín, then his father's name was Crup. Some versions of the Pictish Chronicle king lists include a king named Alpín son of Feret or Feredach, but this appears to be the later king, Alpín II, Alpín son of Uuroid. The small number of sources which refer to a king named Alpín son of Óengus, again probably refer to Alpín II.''Early Sources'', p. cxxxv note 7 and p. cxxvii note 1.

References

Sources

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections, Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) () is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork (city), Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of three Queen's Universit ...

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 Lives of Saints. Most are translated into English or translations are in progress.
Annals of Clonmacnoise
a

7th-century deaths Pictish monarchs 8th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown {{Scotland-royal-stub