List of legendary kings of Scotland
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Renaissance humanist George Buchanan
gave a long list of Scottish Kings in his history of Scotland—published in Latin as Rerum Scoticarum Historia in 1582—most of whom are now considered by historians to be figures of legend, or completely misrepresented. The list went back around 1900 years from his time, and began with Fergus I. James VI of Scotland, who was Buchanan's pupil, adopted the story of Fergus I as his ancestor, and the antiquity of the line was emphasised by the House of Stuart
.
. In 1301 Baldred Bisset
was involved in a hearing at the Papal Curia, on the Scottish side of the debate on Edward I of England
's claims, and at least helped prepare material dealing with the mythological history that was being adduced as relevant, on both sides.
The question of the antiquity of the Scottish royal lineage, and even the details of the associated origin myth
, became particularly significant from 1542 when Mary, Queen of Scots came to the Scottish throne. Buchanan alluded to Mary's long ancestry in his Epithalamium written for her 1559 marriage to Francis II of France
. In the period before Mary's betrothal, a marriage to Prince Edward, the future Edward VI of England
, was much discussed. As part of that debate, the list of legendary kings of Britain became involved, in the form of the "Brutus myth", promoted by Edward Hall
over the doubts of Polydore Vergil
. Publicists on the English side of the argument, including John Elder
, James Henrisoun, and William Lamb, had cast doubt on the Scottish history.
When James VI entered Edinburgh in 1579 the pageantry included a public posting of the genealogy of the Scottish kings; and when his son Charles I visited in 1633, portraits of
107 kings were displayed, some of which (by George Jamesone) survive. Another series of 110 imagined portraits of the monarchs from the list was painted for Charles II
by Jacob de Wet II
, and hung in Holyrood Palace
. The de Wet portrait collection later became a noted sight for tourists, for example as written about by John Macky
, A Journey through Scotland.
as "infamous invectives.
The king-list of the Historia was therefore, in that work, only incidental to Buchanan's purpose in the book, whatever later uses it may have been put to. After the later scholarly work of Thomas Innes
, this list was given little credence in its initial parts. It was, however, the culmination of centuries of development of king-lists for the Kingdom of Scotland
. Much fictional material had been introduced into these lists by the humanist Hector Boece
, writing half a century before Buchanan. Peter Hume Brown
in his biography of Buchanan describes him as somewhat more sceptical than Boece in what he accepted as historical; but less so than John Mair
, writing earlier. Buchanan has been called inconsistent in his treatment of classical sources, since his rejection of the legend of Gathelus does not extend to the early Scottish kings, who are equally unsupported by classical authors.
Writers who perpetuated the Boece tradition, as put into form by Buchanan, included:
The antiquity of the line was attacked by William Lloyd, who argued that Scotland was not settled before the sixth century; George Mackenzie
published the 1685 Defence of the Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland against Lloyd, and a sequel the next year against Edward Stillingfleet
, who had given a sceptical account of Boece's history in Chapter V of his Origines Britannicae. The work of Innes, which in effect terminated the scholarly debate, was published in 1729, but the tradition continued.
Subsequently, John Pinkerton
and William Forbes Skene
contributed to the study of the king-lists. Reference works continued, however, to copy Buchanan's list, and the mythological history took many years to drop out of circulation, persisting in print as factual well into the nineteenth century (for example the fourth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
(1810), the Encyclopædia Perthensis
(1816), the London Encyclopedia (1829), and the individual kings in reference books by George Crabb
and John Platts
).
. The rediscovery of the works of Tacitus
prompted Boece to include this well-attested figure from the period of the Roman occupation of Britain.
The last legendary figure is more complex to discuss. The kings in the list from about the sixth century (in the Fifth Book of Buchanan) onwards may have some relationship to historical figures in the Kingdom of Dalriada, extending in present-day terms from western Scotland to part of Ireland. See list of Kings of Dál Riata. But the Kingdom of Scotland (i.e. Alba
) was not a historical reality until Kenneth MacAlpin created it in the year 843; and what was said about his predecessors in the list by Buchanan may have little historical foundation.
The list of Kings of the Picts includes other historical figures reigning in parallel with the Dalriada kings, in other areas of what is now Scotland. The critical Essay (1729) of Innes, while demolishing the king-list going back to Boece, substituted in part kings of the Picts, and is now regarded as questionable in its own way. Innes was a Jacobite
and concerned therefore to lay emphasis on legitimacy of descent and primogeniture
.
Attribution
George Buchanan
George Buchanan may refer to:*George Buchanan , Scottish humanist*Sir George Buchanan , Scottish soldier during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms*Sir George Buchanan , Chief Medical Officer...
gave a long list of Scottish Kings in his history of Scotland—published in Latin as Rerum Scoticarum Historia in 1582—most of whom are now considered by historians to be figures of legend, or completely misrepresented. The list went back around 1900 years from his time, and began with Fergus I. James VI of Scotland, who was Buchanan's pupil, adopted the story of Fergus I as his ancestor, and the antiquity of the line was emphasised by the House of Stuart
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
Dynastic importance
The genealogy of Scottish kings, going back to Fergus mac Ferchar (i.e. Fergus I) and beyond, was in place by the middle of the thirteenth century, when it was recited at the 1249 inauguration of Alexander III of ScotlandAlexander III of Scotland
Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...
. In 1301 Baldred Bisset
Baldred Bisset
Baldred Bisset was a medieval Scottish lawyer.During the Scottish Wars of Independence, he was responsible for the Scottish submissions to the papal curia of 1301...
was involved in a hearing at the Papal Curia, on the Scottish side of the debate on Edward I of England
Edward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
's claims, and at least helped prepare material dealing with the mythological history that was being adduced as relevant, on both sides.
Origin myth
An origin myth is a myth that purports to describe the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the cosmogonic myth, which describes the creation of the world...
, became particularly significant from 1542 when Mary, Queen of Scots came to the Scottish throne. Buchanan alluded to Mary's long ancestry in his Epithalamium written for her 1559 marriage to Francis II of France
Francis II of France
Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
. In the period before Mary's betrothal, a marriage to Prince Edward, the future Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
, was much discussed. As part of that debate, the list of legendary kings of Britain became involved, in the form of the "Brutus myth", promoted by Edward Hall
Edward Hall
Edward Hall , English chronicler and lawyer, was born about the end of the 15th century, being a son of John Hall of Northall, Shropshire....
over the doubts of Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil
Polydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document...
. Publicists on the English side of the argument, including John Elder
John Elder (writer)
-Life:Elder was a native of Caithness. He passed twelve years of his life at the universities of St. Andrews, Aberdeen, and Glasgow, and appears to have entered the ministry. He went to England soon after the death of James V of Scotland in 1542. At Mary's accession Elder turned Roman catholic, as...
, James Henrisoun, and William Lamb, had cast doubt on the Scottish history.
When James VI entered Edinburgh in 1579 the pageantry included a public posting of the genealogy of the Scottish kings; and when his son Charles I visited in 1633, portraits of
107 kings were displayed, some of which (by George Jamesone) survive. Another series of 110 imagined portraits of the monarchs from the list was painted for Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
by Jacob de Wet II
Jacob de Wet II
Jacob de Wet II , was a Dutch Golden Age painter.-Biography:According to the RKD he was one of five children of the painter Jacob Willemszoon de Wet. His father taught him to paint and he is first recorded in his father's notebook at age 16 when his father wrote that he sold one of his son's...
, and hung in Holyrood Palace
Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse, commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the monarch in Scotland. The palace stands at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle...
. The de Wet portrait collection later became a noted sight for tourists, for example as written about by John Macky
John Macky
John Macky was a Scottish spy. He was the first person to inform the British of James II's intended invasion of England in 1692 after he fled from France to England. He published an attack on James' exiled court in A View of the Court of St Germains from the Year 1690 to 1695 in 1696...
, A Journey through Scotland.
Historiography of Buchanan's list
While Rerum Scoticarum Historia was published only in the year of Buchanan's death, he had worked on it during much of his life. It was published with his De jure regni apud Scotos, first printed 1579. Of the two works, the Historia for Buchanan served as a source of precedents on dealing with bad kings (tyrants in the list inevitably come to a sorry end at the hands of the people, in line with Buchanan's monarchomach position), while the De jure is cast as a humanist dialogue between Buchanan himself and Thomas Maitland, and concentrates on classical examplars. Both works were dedicated to James VI. King James came to regard the chronicles of Buchanan and John KnoxJohn Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
as "infamous invectives.
The king-list of the Historia was therefore, in that work, only incidental to Buchanan's purpose in the book, whatever later uses it may have been put to. After the later scholarly work of Thomas Innes
Thomas Innes
Thomas Innes was a Scottish Roman Catholic priest and historian. He studied at the Scots College, , of which he became vice-principal...
, this list was given little credence in its initial parts. It was, however, the culmination of centuries of development of king-lists for the Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of Scotland
The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...
. Much fictional material had been introduced into these lists by the humanist Hector Boece
Hector Boece
Hector Boece , known in Latin as Hector Boecius or Boethius, was a Scottish philosopher and first Principal of King's College in Aberdeen, a predecessor of the University of Aberdeen.-Biography:He was born in Dundee where he attended school...
, writing half a century before Buchanan. Peter Hume Brown
Peter Hume Brown
Peter Hume Brown was a Scottish historian and professor who played an important part in establishing Scottish history as a significant academic discipline...
in his biography of Buchanan describes him as somewhat more sceptical than Boece in what he accepted as historical; but less so than John Mair
John Mair
John Mair was a Scottish philosopher, much admired in his day and an acknowledged influence on all the great thinkers of the time. He was a very renowned teacher and his works much collected and frequently republished across Europe...
, writing earlier. Buchanan has been called inconsistent in his treatment of classical sources, since his rejection of the legend of Gathelus does not extend to the early Scottish kings, who are equally unsupported by classical authors.
Writers who perpetuated the Boece tradition, as put into form by Buchanan, included:
- John Johnston, Inscriptiones Historicæ Regum Scotorum, continuata annorum serie a Fergusio I. ad Jacobum VI. (1602)
- Gilbert GrayGilbert Gray (educator)Gilbert Gray , was the second principal of Marischal College, Aberdeen.Gray was appointed to that post in 1598. He was a pupil of Robert Rollock, the first principal of the university of Edinburgh, whose virtues and learning he extolled in a curious Latin oration which he delivered in 1611,...
- David Hume of GodscroftDavid Hume of GodscroftDavid Hume was a Scottish historian and political theorist, poet and controversialist, a major intellectual figure in Jacobean Scotland. He also spent a decade as pastor of a Protestant congregation in France.-Life:...
- James UssherJames UssherJames Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56...
- Alexander Gardyne, Theatre of the Scotish Kings, published 1709 by James Watson
- James WallaceJames Wallace (botanist)-Life:He was the eldest son of James Wallace, a minister in Orkney. He qualified M.D., and took part in the Darien scheme. He passed some plants from what is now Panama to James Petiver, and Hans Sloane. He became Fellow of the Royal Society, and had some employment with the East India Company...
, The History of the Kingdom of Scotland from Fergus the First King to the Union (1724)
The antiquity of the line was attacked by William Lloyd, who argued that Scotland was not settled before the sixth century; George Mackenzie
George Mackenzie (lawyer)
Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Knt. , known as Bluidy Mackenzie, was a Scottish lawyer, Lord Advocate, and legal writer.- Origins :...
published the 1685 Defence of the Antiquity of the Royal Line of Scotland against Lloyd, and a sequel the next year against Edward Stillingfleet
Edward Stillingfleet
Edward Stillingfleet was a British theologian and scholar. Considered an outstanding preacher as well as a strong polemical writer defending Anglicanism, Stillingfleet was known as "the beauty of holiness" for his good looks in the pulpit, and was called by John Hough "the ablest man of his...
, who had given a sceptical account of Boece's history in Chapter V of his Origines Britannicae. The work of Innes, which in effect terminated the scholarly debate, was published in 1729, but the tradition continued.
- James Anderson, Royal Genealogies (1732). This book was based on a work of Johann Hübner, but with Anderson's additions. The king-list is Table 499, attributed to Boece and Buchanan.
- Francis Nichols, The British Compendium (1741)
- William GuthrieWilliam Guthrie (historian)William Guthrie was a Scottish writer and journalist, now remembered as a historian.-Life:The son of an Episcopalian clergyman, he was born at Brechin, Forfarshire, in 1708...
.
Subsequently, John Pinkerton
John Pinkerton
John Pinkerton was a Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist, historian, and early advocate of Germanic racial supremacy theory....
and 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....
contributed to the study of the king-lists. Reference works continued, however, to copy Buchanan's list, and the mythological history took many years to drop out of circulation, persisting in print as factual well into the nineteenth century (for example the fourth edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
(1810), the Encyclopædia Perthensis
Encyclopædia Perthensis
The Encyclopaedia Perthensis or "Universal Dictionary of KNOWLEDGE collected from every source and intended to supersede the use of all other English books of reference" was published in Perth, Scotland by C. Mitchel and Co. It has twenty-three 8vo volumes with plates and maps...
(1816), the London Encyclopedia (1829), and the individual kings in reference books by George Crabb
George Crabb (writer)
-Life:He was born 8 December 1778 at Palgrave, Suffolk. He was educated at a school at Diss and under a private tutor. He began as a medical student, but became assistant to a bookseller...
and John Platts
John Platts (Unitarian)
John Platts was an English Unitarian minister and author, a compiler of reference works.-Life:He was born at Boston, Lincolnshire. For seven or eight years he officiated as a Calvinist minister there; but later he became a Unitarian, and acted as a Unitarian minister at Boston from 1805 to 1817...
).
Legendary content
See list of Scottish monarchs for the view of contemporary historians of Scotland. The first historical figure in Buchanan's list is CaratacusCaratacus
Caratacus was a first century British chieftain of the Catuvellauni tribe, who led the British resistance to the Roman conquest....
. The rediscovery of the works of Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
prompted Boece to include this well-attested figure from the period of the Roman occupation of Britain.
The last legendary figure is more complex to discuss. The kings in the list from about the sixth century (in the Fifth Book of Buchanan) onwards may have some relationship to historical figures in the Kingdom of Dalriada, extending in present-day terms from western Scotland to part of Ireland. See list of Kings of Dál Riata. But the Kingdom of Scotland (i.e. Alba
Alba
Alba is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is cognate to Alba in Irish and Nalbin in Manx, the two other Goidelic Insular Celtic languages, as well as similar words in the Brythonic Insular Celtic languages of Cornish and Welsh also meaning Scotland.- Etymology :The term first appears in...
) was not a historical reality until Kenneth MacAlpin created it in the year 843; and what was said about his predecessors in the list by Buchanan may have little historical foundation.
The list of Kings of the Picts includes other historical figures reigning in parallel with the Dalriada kings, in other areas of what is now Scotland. The critical Essay (1729) of Innes, while demolishing the king-list going back to Boece, substituted in part kings of the Picts, and is now regarded as questionable in its own way. Innes was a Jacobite
Jacobitism
Jacobitism was the political movement in Britain dedicated to the restoration of the Stuart kings to the thrones of England, Scotland, later the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Kingdom of Ireland...
and concerned therefore to lay emphasis on legitimacy of descent and primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
.
Legendary kings (Buchanan), BC
| Numbering (Buchanan) | Name | Accession date (Buchanan) | Alternate names | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fergus I | 330 BC | The first king of Scotland, according to the fictitious chronology of Boece and Buchanan. He is said to have come to Scotland from Ireland about 330 BC 330 BC Year 330 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Crassus and Venno... to assist the Scots already settled in Scotland against the joint attack of the Picts and Britons. He is then said to have gone back to Ireland to quell disturbances, and to have been drowned in the passage off the rock or port which got the name of Carrick Fergus from him. According to John Fordoun, Andrew of Wyntoun Andrew of Wyntoun Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and later, a canon of St... , and most of the earlier genealogical lists of Scottish kings, the same account is given of the settlement of the Scots from Ireland by a King Fergus, son of Ferchard. According to other lists, Ferchard or Feardach, the father of Fergus, was the first and Fergus the second king. |
|
| 2 | Feritharis | 305 BC | Ferithais (Bellenden) | Brother of Fergus, and in Buchanan's view elected king. |
| 3 | Mainus | 290 BC | ||
| 4 | Dornadilla | 262 BC | Dorvidilla (Bellenden) | The identification of Dun Dornaigil Dun Dornaigil Dun Dornaigil is an Iron Age broch in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands. It is located at next to the Strathmore River, south of Ben Hope, immediately adjacent to the single track A836 road... as Dornadilla's castle is mentioned in Itinerarium septentrionale (1726) by Alexander Gordon Alexander Gordon (antiquary) Alexander Gordon was a Scottish antiquary and singer. His survey of Roman sites, the Itinerarium, was considered an essential reference by all Roman antiquaries of his time.-Early life and education:... . Dorvidilla, in Boece, was fond of hunting dogs, and made laws regulating hunting. |
| 5 | Nothatus | 232 BC | Nathak (Bellenden) | In legend, killed by Dovallus; a story adopted by Clan Macdowall Clan MacDowall Clan Macdowall is a Scottish clan. The clan claims to descend from the senior descendants in the male line of the princely house of Fergus, first of the ancient Lords of Galloway... for their ancestry. |
| 6 | Reutherus | Reuther (Boece), Rewthar (Bellenden) | Claimed as the eponym of Rutherglen Rutherglen Rutherglen is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. In 1975, it lost its own local council and administratively became a component of the City of Glasgow. In 1996 Rutherglen was reallocated to the South Lanarkshire council area.-History:... . |
|
| 7 | Reuthra | Rewtha (Bellenden) | ||
| 8 | Thereus | |||
| 9 | Josina | Josyne (Bellenden) | ||
| 10 | Finnanus | Fynnane (Bellenden) | ||
| 11 | Durstus | |||
| 12 | Evenus I | |||
| 13 | Gillus | |||
| 14 | Evenus II | |||
| 15 | Ederus | |||
| 16 | Evenus III | |||
| 17 | Metallanus | According to Boece, he received Roman ambassadors. |
Legendary kings (Buchanan), Caratacus to Eugenius I
| Numbering (Buchanan) | Name | Accession date (Buchanan) | Alternate names | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Caractacus | |||
| 19 | Corbredus I | |||
| 20 | Dardannus | |||
| 21 | Corbredus II Galdus | |||
| 22 | Luctacus | Lugthacus (Boece) | Boece says some of his crimes must go unmentioned (and then mentions them). | |
| 23 | Mogaldus | Mogallus (Boece) | ||
| 24 | Conarus | |||
| 25 | Ethodius | |||
| 26 | Satrael | Satrahel (Boece) | ||
| 27 | Donaldus I | Boece makes him the first Christian king. | ||
| 28 | Ethodius II | |||
| 29 | Athirco | Athircon, son of Echodius (James Ussher James Ussher James Ussher was Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–56... ) |
||
| 30 | Nathalocus | A usurper killed by a servant, a story which was the subject of an 1845 poem by James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell James Clerk Maxwell of Glenlair was a Scottish physicist and mathematician. His most prominent achievement was formulating classical electromagnetic theory. This united all previously unrelated observations, experiments and equations of electricity, magnetism and optics into a consistent theory... . |
||
| 31 | Findochus | Findocus (Boece) | ||
| 32 | Donaldus II | |||
| 33 | Donaldus III | |||
| 34 | Crathilinthus | Crathlinthus (Boece) | ||
| 35 | Fincormachus | |||
| 36 | Romachus | |||
| 37 | Angusianus | |||
| 38 | Fethelmachus | Fethelmacus (Boece) | ||
| 39 | Eugenius I | Evenus I |
Buchanan's Fifth Book, Fergus II to Kenneth II
| Numbering (Buchanan) | Name | Accession date (Buchanan) | Alternate names | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | Fergusius II | Fergus II, Fergus the Great | See Fergus Mór Fergus Mór Fergus Mór mac Eirc was a legendary king of Dál Riata. He was the son of Erc.While his historicity may be debatable, his posthumous importance as the founder of Scotland in the national myth of Medieval and Renaissance Scotland is not in doubt... . |
|
| 41 | Eugenius II | Evenus II | ||
| 42 | Dongardus | 452 | Domangart | See Domangart Réti. |
| 43 | Constantine I | 457 | Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document... (Anglica Historia, 1555) gives from here a succession close to Buchanan. |
|
| 44 | Congallus I | 479 | See Comgall mac Domangairt Comgall mac Domangairt Comgall mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the early 6th century. He was the son of Domangart Réti and grandson of Fergus Mór. The Annals of Ulster report his death in 538, 542 and 545, the Annals of Tigernach in 537.-Comgall:... . |
|
| 45 | Goranus | 501 | Gabhran Goranus, Conranus (Boece). | See Gabrán mac Domangairt Gabrán mac Domangairt Gabrán mac Domangairt was king of Dál Riata in the middle of the 6th century. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nGabraín.The historical evidence for Gabrán is limited to the notice of his death in the Irish annals... . |
| 46 | Eugenius III | 535 | ||
| 47 | Congallus II | 558 | Convallus (Boece). | See Conall mac Comgaill Conall mac Comgaill Conall mac Comgaill was king of Dál Riata from about 558 until 574.He was a son of Comgall mac Domangairt. It is said that he gave Iona to Saint Columba. The Duan Albanach says that he reigned "without dissension", but there is a report of an expedition by Conall and Colmán Bec mac Diarmato of the... . |
| 48 | Kinnatellus | 574 | Kynnatillus (Boece), Cumatillus, Amtillus. | |
| 49 | Aidanus | 575 | See Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin Áedán mac Gabráin was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until his death, perhaps on 17 April 609. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland... |
|
| 50 | Kennethus I | 605 | Kenneth I Keir (Boece) | |
| 51 | Eugenius IV | 606 | See Eochaid Buide Eochaid Buide Eochaid Buide was king of Dál Riata from around 608 until 629. "Buide" refers to the colour yellow, as in the colour of his hair.He was a younger son of Áedán mac Gabráin and became his father's chosen heir upon the death of his elder brothers... . |
|
| 52 | Fearchair I | 626 | Ferquart | |
| 53 | Donaldus IV | 638 | See Domnall Brecc Domnall Brecc Domnall Brecc was king of Dál Riata, in modern Scotland, from about 629 until 642... |
|
| 54 | Ferchardus II | 652 | Ferquhardus I (Boece), Fearchair Fada. | See Ferchar Fota Ferchar Fota Ferchar Fota was probably king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata. His father is named as Feredach mac Fergusa and he was said to be a descendant in the 6th generation of Loarn mac Eirc.... . |
| 55 | Maldvinus | 670 | Malduinus (Boece) | |
| 56 | Eugenius V | 690 | See Eochaid mac Domangairt Eochaid mac Domangairt Eochaid mac Domangairt was a king of Dál Riata in about 697. He was a member of the Cenél nGabráin, the son of Domangart mac Domnaill and father of Eochaid mac Echdach; Alpín mac Echdach may also be a son of this Eochaid.... . |
|
| 57 | Eugenius VI | 694 | ||
| 58 | Amberkelethus | 704 | Ambirkelethus (Boece), Ainbhealach, Ambercletus in Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil Polydore Vergil was an Italian historian, otherwise known as PV Castellensis. He is better known as the contemporary historian during the early Tudor dynasty. He was hired by King Henry VIII of England, who wanted to distance himself from his father Henry VII as much as possible, to document... . |
See Ainbcellach mac Ferchair Ainbcellach mac Ferchair Ainbcellach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn of Dál Riata, and perhaps of all Dál Riata, from 697 until 698, when he was deposed and exiled to Ireland.... . |
| 59 | Eugenius VII | 706 | Likely duplicates Eugenius VI. | |
| 60 | Mordacus | 723 | See Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig was king of the Cenél Loairn, and of Dál Riata , from about 733 until 736.He was the son of Ainbcellach mac Ferchair. His coming to power is reported in 733, and is not obviously associated with the death of Eochaid mac Echdach, king of Dál Riata, in the Irish annals... . |
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| 61 | Etfinus | 730 | Ethfinus (Boece) | |
| 62 | Eugene VIII | 761 | See Eógan mac Muiredaig Eógan mac Muiredaig Eógan mac Muiredaig is named in some Scots sources as a king of Dál Riata, probably in the 730s.Presumed to be the son of Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig, and thus a king of the Cenél Loairn, Eógan is not named in any surviving Irish annals, nor does he appear in the Duan Albanach, which passes from... . |
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| 63 | Fergus II | 764 | ||
| 64 | Solvathius | 767 | Selvach. | See Selbach mac Ferchair Selbach mac Ferchair Selbach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn and of Dál Riata. Selbach's existence is well-attested as he is mentioned repeatedly in Irish annals.-Life:Selbach mac Ferchair was a son of Ferchar Fota... and the legend of Sholto Douglas Sholto Douglas Sholto Douglas was the mythical Progenitor of Clan Douglas, a powerful and warlike family in Medieval Scotland.A Mythical battle took place: "in 767, between King Solvathius rightful king of Scotland and a pretender Donald Bane... . |
| 65 | Achaius | 788 | See Eochaid mac Áeda Find Eochaid mac Áeda Find Eochaid mac Áeda Find is a spurious King of Dál Riata found in some rare High Medieval king-lists and in older history books.Supposedly a son of Áed Find and successor to Áed's brother Fergus mac Echdach, Eochaid is now thought to represent a misplacing of the reign of Eochaid mac Echdach... |
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| 66 | Congallus III | 819 | Convallus II (Boece) | See Conall Crandomna Conall Crandomna Conall Crandomna was king of Dál Riata from about 650 until 660.The Senchus fer n-Alban makes him a son of Eochaid Buide and thus a member of the Cenél nGabráin. The Duan Albanach has him succeed Ferchar mac Connaid of the Cenél Comgaill, which had not yet separated from the Cenél nGabráin... but at a great chronological distance. |
| 67 | Dongallus | 824 | ||
| 68 | Alpinus | See Alpín mac Echdach Alpín mac Echdach Alpín mac Eochaid may refer to two persons. The first person is a presumed king of Dál Riata in the late 730s. The second is the father of Kenneth MacAlpin... . |
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| 69 | Kennethus II | See Kenneth MacAlpin. |
External links
- Boece, Scotorum Historia (1575 edition)
- Links to Buchanan's Latin
- 1831 English translation of Buchanan
- Metrical version of Boece, by William Stewart, edited by William Barclay TurnbullWilliam Barclay TurnbullWilliam Barclay David Donald Turnbull was a Scottish antiquary, born at Edinburgh. He studied law, and was admitted as an advocate at the Scottish bar 1832, but devoted much time to the study of the antiquities and older literature of Great Britain. In 1834, he founded the Abbotsford Club, which...
(1858) - Holinshed, A History of Scotland
- Chart
Attribution