Áed of Scotland
Encyclopedia
Áed mac Cináeda was a son of Cináed mac Ailpín ("Kenneth MacAlpin"). He became king of the Picts
in 877 when he succeeded his brother Constantín mac Cináeda. He was nicknamed Áed of the White Flowers, the Wing-footed or the white-foot .
The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
says of Áed: "Edus [Áed] held the same [i.e. the kingdom] for one year. The shortness of his reign has bequeathed nothing memorable to history. He was slain in the civitas of Nrurim." Nrurim is unidentified.
The Annals of Ulster
say that in 878: "Áed mac Cináeda, king of the Picts, was killed by his associates." Tradition, reported by George Chalmers
in his Caledonia (1807), and by the New Statistical Account
(1834–1845), has it that the early-historic mound of the Cunninghillock by Inverurie
is the burial place of Áed. This is based on reading Nrurim as Inruriu.
A longer account is interpolated in Andrew of Wyntoun
's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland. This says that Áed reigned one year and was killed by his successor Giric in Strathallan
and other king lists have the same report.
It is uncertain which, if any, of the Prophecy of Berchán
s kings should be taken to be Áed. William Forbes Skene
presumed that the following verses referred to Áed:
Áed's son, Constantín mac Áeda, became king in 900. The idea that Domnall II of Strathclyde
was a son of Áed, based on a confusing entry in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, is contested.
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 877 when he succeeded his brother Constantín mac Cináeda. He was nicknamed Áed of the White Flowers, the Wing-footed or the white-foot .
The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
Chronicle of the Kings of Alba
The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, or Scottish Chronicle, is a short written chronicle of the Kings of Alba, covering the period from the time of Kenneth MacAlpin until the reign of Kenneth II . W.F...
says of Áed: "Edus [Áed] held the same [i.e. the kingdom] for one year. The shortness of his reign has bequeathed nothing memorable to history. He was slain in the civitas of Nrurim." Nrurim is unidentified.
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...
say that in 878: "Áed mac Cináeda, king of the Picts, was killed by his associates." Tradition, reported by George Chalmers
George Chalmers
George Chalmers was a Scottish antiquarian and political writer.-Biography:Chalmers was born at Fochabers, Moray, in 1742. His father, James Chalmers, was a grandson of George Chalmers of Pittensear, a small estate in the parish of Lhanbryde, now St Andrews-Lhanbryde, in Moray, owned by the family...
in his Caledonia (1807), and by the New Statistical Account
Statistical Accounts of Scotland
The Statistical Accounts of Scotland are three series of documentary publications covering life in Scotland in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries....
(1834–1845), has it that the early-historic mound of the Cunninghillock by Inverurie
Inverurie
Inverurie is a Royal Burgh and town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north west of Aberdeen on the A96 road and is served by Inverurie railway station on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line...
is the burial place of Áed. This is based on reading Nrurim as Inruriu.
A longer account is interpolated in 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...
's Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland. This says that Áed reigned one year and was killed by his successor Giric in Strathallan
Strathallan
Strathallan is the strath of the Allan Water in Scotland. The strath stretches north and north-east from Stirling through Bridge of Allan, Dunblane and Blackford to Auchterarder in Perth and Kinross...
and other king lists have the same report.
It is uncertain which, if any, of the Prophecy of Berchán
Prophecy of Berchán
The Prophecy of Berchán, is a relatively large historical poem written in the Middle Irish language. The text is preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, as MS 679 , with a few early modern copies...
s kings should be taken to be Áed. 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....
presumed that the following verses referred to Áed:
129. Another king will take [sovereignty]; small is the profit that he does not divide. Alas for Scotland thenceforward. His name will be the Furious.
130. He will be but a short time over Scotland. The will be no [word uncertain] unplundered. Alas for Scotland, through the youth; alas for their books, alas for their bequests.
131. He will be nine years in the kingdom. I shall tell you—it will be a tale of truth—he dies without bell, with communion, at evening, in a fatal pass.
Áed's son, Constantín mac Áeda, became king in 900. The idea that Domnall II of Strathclyde
Domnall II of Strathclyde
Dyfnwal II was ruler of the Kingdom of Strathclyde for some period in the early tenth century.He is sometimes called Domnall mac Áeda , because of a passage in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba...
was a son of Áed, based on a confusing entry in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, is contested.
External links
- The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba (CKA)
- Friends of Grampian Stones - history of Inverurie
- Second Statistical Account [vol. XII (County of Aberdeen), p. 681]