 Abt 810 - 858 (~ 48 years)
-
| Name |
Kenneth I of Scotland MacAlpin [1] |
| Suffix |
King of Scotland |
| Birth |
Abt 810 |
Island of Iona  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Acceded |
839 |
| Name |
Kenneth (Cináed) mac Ailpín |
| Death |
13 Feb 858 |
Forteviot, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Notes |
- Acceded: 839
Burke calls him Kenneth II. Kings of Picts & Alba. King of Galloway.
See Europäisch Stammtafeln Band II tafel 67.
«b»http://www.hull.ac.uk/php/cssbct/cgi-bin/gedlkup.php/n=royal?royal02261«/b»
«b»http://www.rpi.edu/~holmes/Hobbies/Genealogy/ps05/ps05_451.htm«/b»
The name Dalrieda for the Scottish kingdom based in Argyllshire (and for its parent kingdom in northern Ireland) fell into disuse from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin. {Encycl. Brit., 1956 Ed., 6:994; 20:146:} "Dalraida [sic] threw off Pictish control and in 843, when the Norsemen were attacking Pictland, Kenneth MacAlpin, king of the Scots, established a claim by the Celtic law of tanistry to the Pictish throne." Kenneth reigned 844-859. Cf. H. Pirie-Gordon, "Succession of the Kingdom of Strathclyde," `The Armorial', Vols. 1-2. Kenneth is regarded as the first king of Scotland. He united the Pictist kingdom with his own base in Galloway, and in later years expanded into Lothian (southern Scotland, then part of Saxon Northumbria). He also had a daughter who married Run of Strathclyde, a king of Scots (they had Eocha, king of Scots).
At an assembly at Scone, he invited his rival, the Pictish King
Drostan and all of his nobles to a banquet and after wining and dining
them very well, he had the bolts holding the floorboards up beneath the
benches they were sitting on withdrawn. The benches and their occupants
fell through, and in the confusion, the Scots fell upon the Picts and
slaughtered them. Kenneth then declared himself the King of the Scots and
the Picts. He was also King of Galloway.
«b»http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_I_of_Scotland
Cináed mac Ailpín«/b» («u»Modern Gaelic «/u»: «i»Coinneach mac Ailpein«/i»)«u»[1]«/u», commonly «u»Anglicised «/u» as «b»Kenneth MacAlpin«/b» and known in most modern regnal lists as «b»Kenneth I«/b» («u»810 «/u» \endash 13 February 858) was «u»king of the Picts «/u» and, according to «u»national myth «/u», first «u»king of Scots «/u», earning him the posthumous nickname of «b»An Ferbasach«/b», "The Conqueror".«u»[2]«/u» Kenneth's undisputed legacy was to produce a dynasty of rulers who claimed descent from him and was the founder of the dynasty which ruled Scotland for much of the medieval period.
«b»King of Scots?
«/b»Main article: «u»Origins of the Kingdom of Alba «/u»
The Kenneth of myth, conqueror of the «u»Picts«/u» and founder of the «u»Kingdom of Alba «/u», was born in the centuries after the real Kenneth died. In the reign of «u»Kenneth II «/u» (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim), when the «u»Chronicle of the Kings of Alba «/u» was compiled, the annalist wrote:
" So Kinadius son of Alpinus, first of the Scots, ruled this Pictland prosperously for 16 years. Pictland was named after the Picts, whom, as we have said, Kinadius destroyed. ... Two years before he came to Pictland, he had received the kingdom of «u»Dál Riata «/u». "
In the 15th century «u»Andrew of Wyntoun «/u»'s «i»Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland«/i», a history in verse, added little to the account in the Chronicle:
" Quhen Alpyne this kyng was dede, He left a
sowne wes cal'd Kyned,
Dowchty man he wes and stout, All the
Peychtis he put out.
Gret bataylis than dyd he, To pwt in freedom
his cuntre! "
When «u»humanist «/u» scholar «u»George Buchanan «/u» wrote his history «i»Rerum Scoticarum Historia«/i» in the 1570s, a great deal of lurid detail had been added to the story. Buchanan included an account of how Kenneth's father had been murdered by the Picts, and a detailed, and entirely unsupported, account of how Kenneth avenged him and conquered the Picts. Buchanan was not as credulous as many, and he did not include the tale of «u»MacAlpin's Treason «/u», a story from «u»Giraldus Cambrensis «/u», who reused a tale of «u»Saxon «/u» treachery at a feast in «u»Geoffrey of Monmouth«/u»'s inventive «u»Historia Regum Britanniae «/u».
Later 19th century historians such as «u»William Forbes Skene «/u» brought new standards of accuracy to early Scottish history, while Celticists such as «u»Whitley Stokes «/u» and «u»Kuno Meyer «/u» cast a critical eye over Welsh and Irish sources. As a result, much of the misleading and vivid detail was removed from the scholarly series of events, even if it remained in the popular accounts. Rather than a conquest of the Picts, instead the idea of Pictish «u»matrilineal «/u» succession, mentioned by «u»Bede «/u» and apparently the only way to make sense of the «u»list of Kings of the Picts «/u» found in the «u»Pictish Chronicle «/u», advanced the idea that Kenneth was a «u»Gael «/u», and a king of «u»Dál Riata «/u», who had inherited the throne of Pictland through a Pictish mother. Other Gaels, such as «u»Caustantín «/u» and «u»Óengus «/u», the sons of Fergus, were identified among the Pictish king lists, as were «u»Angles «/u» such as Talorcen son of «u»Eanfrith «/u», and «u»Britons «/u» such as «u»Bridei «/u» son of Beli.«u»[3]
«/u»
Modern historians would reject parts of the Kenneth produced by Skene and subsequent historians, while accepting others. Medievalist «u»Alex Woolf «/u», interviewed by «u»The Scotsman «/u» in 2004, is quoted as saying:
" The myth of Kenneth conquering the Picts - it's about 1210, 1220 that that's first talked about. There's actually no hint at all that he was a Scot. ... If you look at contemporary sources there are four other Pictish kings after him. So he's the fifth last of the Pictish kings rather than the first Scottish king."[«u»«i»dead link «/u»«/i»]«u»[4]«/u» "
Many other historians could be quoted in terms similar to Woolf.«u»[5]
«/u»
A feasible synopsis of the emerging consensus, may be put forward, namely, that the kingships of Gaels and Picts underwent a process of gradual fusion«u»[6]«/u», starting with Kenneth, and rounded off in the reign of «u»Constantine II «/u». The Pictish institution of kingship provided the basis for merger with the Gaelic Alpin dynasty. The meeting of King Constantine and Bishop «u»Cellach «/u» at the «i»Hill of Belief«/i» near the (formerly Pictish) royal city of Scone in 906 cemented the rights and duties of Picts on an equal basis with those of Gaels («i»pariter cum Scottis«/i»). Hence the change in styling from «i»King of the Picts«/i» to «i»King of Alba«/i». The legacy of Gaelic as the first national language of Scotland does not obscure the foundational process in the establishment of the Scottish kingdom of Alba.
«b»Background
«/b»Kenneth's origins are uncertain, as are his ties, if any, to previous kings of the Picts or Dál Riata. Among the genealogies contained in the «u»Middle Irish «/u» Rawlinson B.502 manuscript, dating from around 1130, is the supposed descent of «u»Malcolm II of Scotland «/u». Medieval genealogies are unreliable sources, but some historians accept Kenneth's descent from the Cenél nGabrain of Dál Riata. The manuscript provides the following ancestry for Kenneth:
... «b»Cináed mac Ailpín«/b» son of «u»Eochaid «/u» son of «u»Áed Find «/u» son of «u»Domangart «/u» son of «u»Domnall Brecc «/u» son of «u»Eochaid Buide «/u» son of «u»Áedán «/u» son of «u»Gabrán «/u» son of «u»Domangart «/u» son of «u»Fergus Mór «/u» ...«u»[7]
«/u»
Leaving aside the shadowy kings before Áedán son of Gabrán, the genealogy is certainly flawed insofar as Áed Find, who died c. 778, could not reasonably be the son of Domangart, who was killed c. 673. The conventional account would insert two generations between Áed Find and Domangart: «u»Eochaid mac Echdach «/u», father of Áed Find, who died c. 733, and his father «u»Eochaid«/u».
Although later traditions provided details of his reign and death, Kenneth's father «u»Alpin «/u» is not listed as among the kings in the «u»Duan Albanach «/u», which provides the following sequence of kings leading up to Kenneth:
«i»Naoi m-bliadhna Cusaintin chain, «/i» The nine years of Causantín the fair;, «i»
a naoi Aongusa ar Albain, «/i» The nine of Aongus over Alba; «i»
cethre bliadhna Aodha áin, «/i» The four years of Aodh the noble;
«i»is a tri déug Eoghanáin. «/i» And the thirteen of Eoghanán. «i»
Tríocha bliadhain Cionaoith chruaidh, «/i» The thirty years of Cionaoth the hardy,
It is supposed that these kings are the «u»Constantine son of Fergus «/u» and his brother «u»Óengus II «/u» (Angus II), who have already been mentioned, Óengus's son «u»Uen «/u» (Eóganán), as well as the obscure «u»Áed mac Boanta «/u», but this sequence is considered doubtful if the list is intended to represent kings of Dál Riata, as it should if Kenneth were king there.«u»[8]
«/u»
The idea that Kenneth was a Gael is not entirely rejected, but modern historiography distinguishes between Kenneth as a Gael by culture, and perhaps in ancestry, and Kenneth as a king of Gaelic Dál Riata. Kenneth could well have been the first sort of Gael. Kings of the Picts before him, from «u»Bridei «/u» son of Der-Ilei, his brother «u»Nechtan «/u» as well as «u»Óengus I «/u» (Angus I) son of Fergus and his presumed descendants were all at least partly Gaelicised.«u»[9]«/u» The idea that the Gaelic names of Pictish kings in «u»Irish annals «/u» represented translations of Pictish ones was challenged by the discovery of the inscription «i»Custantin filius Fircus(sa)«/i», the «u»latinised «/u» name of the Pictish king Caustantín son of Fergus, on the «u»Dupplin Cross «/u».«u»[10]
«/u»
Other evidence, such as that furnished by place-names, suggests the spread of Gaelic culture through western Pictland in the centuries before Kenneth. For example, «u»Atholl «/u», a name used in the «u»Annals of Ulster «/u» for the year 739, has been thought to be "New «u»Ireland «/u»", and «u»Argyll «/u» derives from «i»Oir-Ghàidheal«/i», the land of the "eastern Gaels"
.
«b»Reign
«/b»Compared with the many questions on his origins, Kenneth's ascent to power and subsequent reign can be dealt with simply. Kenneth's rise can be placed in the context of the recent end of the previous dynasty, which had dominated «u»Fortriu «/u» for two or four generations. This followed the death of king Uen son of Óengus of Fortriu, his brother Bran, Áed mac Boanta "and others almost innumerable" in battle against the «u»Vikings «/u» in 839. The resulting succession crisis seems, if the Pictish Chronicle king-lists have any validity, to have resulted in at least four would-be kings warring for supreme power.
Kenneth's reign is dated from 843, but it was probably not until 848 that he defeated the last of his rivals for power. The Pictish Chronicle claims that he was king in Dál Riata for two years before becoming Pictish king in 843, but this is not generally accepted. In 849, Kenneth had relics of «u»Columba «/u», which may have included the «u»Monymusk Reliquary «/u», transferred from «u»Iona «/u» to «u»Dunkeld «/u». Other that these bare facts, the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba reports that he invaded «u»«i»Saxonia «/u»«/i» six times, captured «u»Melrose «/u» and burnt «u»Dunbar«/u», and also that Vikings laid waste to Pictland, reaching far into the interior.«u»[11]«/u» The «u»Annals of the Four Masters «/u», not generally a good source on Scottish matters, do make mention of Kenneth, although what should be made of the report is unclear:
«u»Gofraid mac Fergusa «/u», chief of «u»Airgíalla «/u», went to Alba, to strengthen the Dal Riata, at the request of Kenneth MacAlpin.«u»[12]
«/u»
The reign of Kenneth also saw an increased degree of Norse settlement in the outlying areas of modern Scotland. Shetland,the Orkneys, Caithness, Sutherland, the Western Isles and the Isle of Man, and part of Ross were settled; the links between Kenneth's kingdom and Ireland were weakened, those with southern England and the continent almost broken. In the face of this, Kenneth and his successors were forced to consolidate their position in their kingdom, and the union between the Picts and the Gaels, already progressing for several centuries, began to strengthen. By the time of Donald II, the kings would be called kings neither of the Gaels or the Scots but of «i»Alba«/i».«u»[13]
«/u»
Kenneth died from a tumour on 13 February 858 at the palace of «i»Cinnbelachoir«/i», perhaps near «u»Scone «/u». The annals report the death as that of the "king of the Picts", not the "king of Alba". The title "king of Alba" is not used until the time of Kenneth's grandsons, «u»Donald II «/u» (Domnall mac Causantín) and «u»Constantine II «/u» (Constantín mac Áeda). The «u»Fragmentary Annals of Ireland «/u» quote a verse lamenting Kenneth's death:
Because Cináed with many troops lives no longer
there is weeping in every house;
there is no king of his worth under heaven
as far as the borders of Rome.«u»[14]
«/u»
Kenneth left at least two sons, «u»Constantine «/u» and «u»Áed «/u», who were later kings, and at least two daughters. One daughter married «u»Run «/u», king of «u»Strathclyde «/u», «u»Eochaid «/u» being the result of this marriage. Kenneth's daughter «u»Máel Muire «/u» married two important Irish kings of the «u»Uí Néill «/u». Her first husband was «u»Aed Finliath «/u» of the «u»Cenél nEógain «/u». «u»Niall Glúndub «/u», ancestor of the «u»O'Neill «/u», was the son of this marriage. Her second husband was «u»Flann Sinna «/u» of Clann Cholmáin. As the wife and mother of kings, when Máel Muire died in 913, her death was reported by the Annals of Ulster, an unusual thing for the misogynistic chronicles of the age.
«b»Notes
«u»1. ^«/u»«/b» «i»Cináed mac Ailpín«/i» is the Mediaeval Gaelic form. A more accurate rendering in modern Gaelic would be «i»Cionaodh mac Ailpein«/i», since Coinneach is historically a separate name. However, in the modern language, both names have converged.
«u»«b»2, ^«/u»«/b» Skene, «i»Chronicles«/i», p. 83.
«u»«b»3. ^«/u»«/b» That the Pictish succession was matrilineal is doubted. Bede in the «i»Ecclesiastical History«/i», I, i, writes: "when any question should arise, they should choose a king from the female royal race, rather than the male: which custom, as is well known, has been observed among the Picts to this day." Bridei and Nechtan, the sons of Der-Ilei, were the Pictish kings in Bede's time, and are presumed to have claimed the throne through maternal descent. Maternal descent, "when any question should arise" brought several kings of Alba and the Scots to the throne, including «u»John Balliol «/u», «u»Robert Bruce «/u» and «u»Robert II «/u», the first of the Stewart kings.
«u»«b»4. ^«/u»«/b» Johnston, Ian. «u»"First king of the Scots? Actually he was a Pict" <http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1149902004>«/u».«u»«i»The Scotsman «/u»«/i», October 2, 2004.
«u»«b»5.^«/u»«/b» For example, Foster, «i»Picts, Gaels and Scots«/i», pp. 107\endash 108; Broun, "Kenneth mac Alpin"; Forsyth, "Scotland to 1100", pp. 28\endash 32; Duncan, «i»Kingship of the Scots«/i», pp. 8\endash 10. Woolf was selected to write the relevant volume of the new Edinburgh History of Scotland, to replace that written by Duncan in 1975.
«u»«b»6. ^«/u»«/b» After Herbert, «i»Rí Éirenn, Rí Alban, kingship and identity in the ninth and«/i» tenth centuries, p. 71.
«u»«b»7. ^«/u»«/b» Rawlinson B.502 ¶1696 Genelach Ríg n-Alban.
«u»«b»8. ^«/u»«/b» See Broun, «i»Pictish Kings«/i», for a discussion of this question.
«u»«b»9. ^«/u»«/b» For the descendants of the first Óengus son of Fergus, again see Broun, «i»Pictish Kings«/i».
«u»«b»10 ^«/u»«/b» Foster, «i»Picts, Gaels and Scots«/i», pp.95\endash 96; Fergus would appear as Uurgu(i)st in a Pictish form.
«u»«b»11 ^«/u»«/b» Regarding Dál Riata, see Broun, "Kenneth mac Alpin"; Foster, «i»Picts, Gaels and Scots«/i», pp. 111\endash 112.
«u»«b»12 ^«/u»«/b» Annals of the Four Master, for the year 835 (probably c. 839). The history of Dál Riata in this period is simply not known, or even if there was any sort of Dál Riata to have a history. Ó Corráin's "Vikings in Ireland and Scotland", available as etext, and Woolf, "Kingdom of the Isles", may be helpful.
«u»«b»13 ^«/u»«/b» Lynch, Michael, «i»A New History of Scotland«/i»
«u»«b»14 ^«/u»«/b» Fragmentary Annals, FA 285.
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| Person ID |
I5249 |
Glenn Cook Family |
| Last Modified |
19 Jun 2013 |
| Family |
|
| Children |
| | 1. Constantine II of Alba, King of Scotland, b. 836, Scotland d. 877, Inverdorat, the Black Cove, Angus (Age 41 years) |
| | 2. Aedh (Ethus) Swift-Foot of Scotland, King of Scotland d. 878, Strathallan |
| | 3. Eochaid MacAlpin d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 4. Máel Muire ingen Cináeda Daughter of Scotland d. Yes, date unknown |
| | 5. Daughter of Scotland d. Yes, date unknown |
|
| Family ID |
F1644 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Last Modified |
19 Jun 2013 |
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| Sources |
- [S36] Brian Tompsett, Dept of Computer Science, University of Hull, England(B.C.Tompsett@dcs.hull.ac.uk), Directory of Royal Genealogical Data, (This work is Copyright b 1994-2002 Brian C Tompsett).
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