Conall mac Taidg
Encyclopedia
Conall mac Taidg (Conall son of Tadc) was a king in Scotland
. Very little is recorded of Conall and that unclear. He is mentioned twice by the Irish annals
, the most reliable source for the history of northern Britain
in the years around 800. He also appears in later king lists.
survives only in later manuscripts. Of these, the Annals of Ulster
contain two reports of Conall. The first, dated to 789, records "a battle between the Picts
, in which Conall son of Tadc was defeated and escaped; and Constantín was victor". Constantín here is Caustantín mac Fergusa (d. 820), king of Fortriu
. The second, in 807, reports "the killing of Conall son of Tadc, by Conall son of Aedacán in Cenn Tíre". Cenn Tíre is the Old Irish language
form of Kintyre
and Conall son of Aedacán is usually called Conall mac Áedáin
.
(Flann of Monasterboice
) (d. 1056) in the eleventh century and provides another list of kings. Two manuscripts of Flann's work state that there were "sixteen kings in Scotland" between the death of Áed Allán
(d. 743) and the death of Áed Findliath (d. 789). These sixteen begin with Dúngal mac Selbaig
and end with Kenneth MacAlpin. Two kings named Conall, "Conall Coem, and another Conall, his brother", are said to have reigned between Domnall mac Caustantín
and his father, Caustantín mac Fergusa, the same king of Fortriu who had defeated Conall in 789. The Duan Albanach
, dated on internal evidence to rather later in the eleventh century, follows this by having Domnall followed by two Conalls and then Caustantín. It is generally assumed that the Duan and Flann aim to report the succession of kings in Dál Riata
.
Conall is not included in any surviving genealogical material, but this is typical for the period. The Poppleton Manuscript
Pictish king list includes a king named Canaul son of Tarla'a, son of Tang in some versions but simply omitted from others. This Canaul has generally been identified with Conall. The lists assign a reign of five years to this king who precedes Caustantín mac Fergusa.
, a subject where the consensus may have changed twice in the last few decades having previously been stable since the time of William Forbes Skene
. Skene made Conall a king of the Picts, later reinterpretations made him first a king of the Picts, then, following his expulsion by Caustantín, a king in Dál Riata. Recent reinterpretations make him a king in Argyll throughout, but not necessarily the chief king.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Very little is recorded of Conall and that unclear. He is mentioned twice by the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
, the most reliable source for the history of northern Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in the years around 800. He also appears in later king lists.
Annals
The Chronicle of IrelandChronicle of Ireland
The Chronicle of Ireland is the modern name for a hypothesized collection of ecclesiastical annals recording events in Ireland from 432 to 911 AD....
survives only in later manuscripts. Of these, the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
contain two reports of Conall. The first, dated to 789, records "a battle between the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
, in which Conall son of Tadc was defeated and escaped; and Constantín was victor". Constantín here is Caustantín mac Fergusa (d. 820), king of Fortriu
Fortriu
Fortriu or the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general...
. The second, in 807, reports "the killing of Conall son of Tadc, by Conall son of Aedacán in Cenn Tíre". Cenn Tíre is the Old Irish language
Old Irish language
Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish....
form of Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
and Conall son of Aedacán is usually called Conall mac Áedáin
Conall mac Áedáin
Conall mac Áedáin was a king in Scotland in the years around 800. It is thought that he was a king, or sub-king, in Dál Riata.He is mentioned once in the Annals of Ulster, for 807, when he defeated and killed Conall mac Taidg in Kintyre....
.
King lists
Later evidence is provided by king lists and by Irish historical writings. The earliest of these may have been compiled during the ninth century, but none survives a manuscript of that date. A list of synchronisms, that is a series of known, datable events used to align Irish lists of kings to Scottish ones, was attributed Irish writer called Flann MainistrechFlann Mainistrech
Flann Mainistrech was an Irish poet and historian.Flann was the son Echthigern mac Óengusso, who had been lector at the monastery of Monasterboice , in Irish Mainistir Buite, whence Flann's byname, meaning "of Monasterboice"...
(Flann of Monasterboice
Monasterboice
The historic ruins of Monasterboice are of an early Christian settlement in County Louth in Ireland, north of Drogheda. It was founded in the late 5th century by Saint Buithe who died around 521, and was an important centre of religion and learning until the founding of nearby Mellifont Abbey in...
) (d. 1056) in the eleventh century and provides another list of kings. Two manuscripts of Flann's work state that there were "sixteen kings in Scotland" between the death of Áed Allán
Áed Allán
Áed Allán was an 8th century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill....
(d. 743) and the death of Áed Findliath (d. 789). These sixteen begin with Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig was king of Dál Riata. His reign can best be placed in the years 723 to 726, beginning with the abdication of his father, Selbach mac Ferchair, who entered a monastery, and ending with rise of Eochaid mac Echdach of the Cenél nGabráin...
and end with Kenneth MacAlpin. Two kings named Conall, "Conall Coem, and another Conall, his brother", are said to have reigned between Domnall mac Caustantín
Domnall mac Caustantín
Domnall mac Caustantín is thought to have been king of Dál Riata in the early ninth century.Domnall's existence is uncertain, and is based on attempts to reconcile eleventh century works such as the poem Duan Albanach and the Synchronisms of Flann Mainistrech with the evidence of the Irish...
and his father, Caustantín mac Fergusa, the same king of Fortriu who had defeated Conall in 789. The Duan Albanach
Duan Albanach
The Duan Albanach is a Middle Gaelic poem found with the Lebor Bretnach, a Gaelic version of the Historia Brittonum of Nennius, with extensive additional material ....
, dated on internal evidence to rather later in the eleventh century, follows this by having Domnall followed by two Conalls and then Caustantín. It is generally assumed that the Duan and Flann aim to report the succession of kings in Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
.
Conall is not included in any surviving genealogical material, but this is typical for the period. The Poppleton Manuscript
Poppleton manuscript
The Poppleton Manuscript is the name given to the fourteenth century codex likely compiled by Robert of Poppleton, a Carmelite friar who was the Prior of Hulne, near Alnwick. The manuscript contains numerous works, such as a map of the world , and works by Orosius, Geoffrey of Monmouth and Gerald...
Pictish king list includes a king named Canaul son of Tarla'a, son of Tang in some versions but simply omitted from others. This Canaul has generally been identified with Conall. The lists assign a reign of five years to this king who precedes Caustantín mac Fergusa.
King of Picts or Dál Riata?
Interpretations of the shadowy Conall mac Taidg are determined largely by the shifting views of historians with regard to Caustantín mac Fergusa and the later origins of the Kingdom of AlbaOrigins of the Kingdom of Alba
The Origins of the Kingdom of Alba pertains to the origins of the Kingdom of Alba, or the Gaelic Kingdom of Scotland, either as a mythological event or a historical process, during the Early Middle Ages.-Medieval version:...
, a subject where the consensus may have changed twice in the last few decades having previously been stable since the time of William Forbes Skene
William Forbes Skene
William Forbes Skene , Scottish historian and antiquary, was the second son of Sir Walter Scott's friend, James Skene , of Rubislaw, near Aberdeen....
. Skene made Conall a king of the Picts, later reinterpretations made him first a king of the Picts, then, following his expulsion by Caustantín, a king in Dál Riata. Recent reinterpretations make him a king in Argyll throughout, but not necessarily the chief king.