List of kings of Strathclyde

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The list of the kings of Strathclyde concerns the kings of Alt Clut, later Strathclyde, a Brythonic kingdom in what is now western Scotland.

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The kingdom was ruled from Dumbarton Rock, Alt Clut, the Brythonic name of the rock, until around 870 when the rock was captured and sacked by Norse-Gaels from the kingdom of Dublin after a four-month siege. Thereafter the centre of the kingdom moved to Govan, previously a religious centre. The kingdom is also known as Cumbria after 870, and indeed may have ruled parts of the modern English region of Cumbria in the 10th and 11th centuries. In the 11th century the kingdom of Alba conquered Strathclyde. It remained a distinctive area, with different laws, using the Cumbric language alongside Gaelic, until the 12th century.

Kings of Alt Clut

Various authorities have suggested a king-list as follows:

The sources for this king-list are problematic. The earliest source is Adomnán's Life of Saint Columba , which refers to Roderc son of Tothail as reigning in the Rock of Clyde—almost certainly Dumbarton Rock. It is known that Roderc (or Riderc) was a contemporary of Columba, but the date of his death, dependent on the 12th-century Life of Kentigern and an entry in the Annales Cambriae an.CLX+9 Conthigirni obitus...., is unreliable.

The next earliest source is the so-called Iona Chronicle, compiled c. 650–750, deduced from Scottish entries in the Chronicle of Ireland which were later copied into the Annals of Tigernach (AT) and the Annals of Ulster (AU). This preserves information for kings of Alclut from the mid-7th to the mid-8th century, beginning with Gure(i)t regis Alo Cluathe (AU), Domnall mac Auin (AT, AU) Bili mac Elphine (AT, AU) and Taudar mac Bile (AT), were all noted as 'kings of Alclut'. In addition to this, we have a poem preserved in the 10th-century Life of Adomnán which refers to Brude, king of the Picts, as being the son of Bile, king of Alclut.

From this later period too (9th and 10th centuries) are several Welsh sources, particularly the genealogies in Harley 3859, which have been too readily accepted at face value. Whatever else they tell us, they do not confirm that someone who was the father of a king was also a king: thus, none of the individuals listed in them can be said to be 'king of Alclut' without corroboration. Furthermore, it is not clear what the sources for these genealogies were, and to what extent they are independent and factual, or how much they relied on much the same evidence we have today; and, if they lacked information, whether they supplied it.

The Annales Cambriae note s.a. CCX+6 (c. 760) Dunnagual filius Teudubr, who may be the son of Taudar mac Bile of the Annals of Tigernach. The Annales Cambriae does not specify his status, but he may plausibly have been king at Alclut. The following three individuals in the Harleian genealogy, Eugein, Riderch and Dumnagual, are unattested elsewhere. These are repetitions of three of the most famous names in the canon, and it must be suspected that they were supplied to fill a gap in the genealogical record. The insertion of Rotri between Dumnagual and Teudubr is a modern error based on a misinterpretation of Annales Cambriae: s.a. CCX (754) Rotri, rex Brittonum, moritur. This Rhodri is almost certainly Rhodri Molwynog ("bald and grey") m. Idwal Iwrch, a prince of Gwynedd.

It was perhaps believed by the 8th century that Saint Patrick's Coroticus was king at Alclut (the headings added later at Armagh to the chapters of Muirchu's Life of the late 7th century give Coroticus the title Rex Aloo), but there is no witness for this in Patrick's own writings. Cinuit and Dumnagual hen are ancestor figures, the former bearing a truncated form of the sept name Kynwydyon (pre-form *Cunetiones), and are totemistic figures in the genealogy. The name Clinoch is improbable and may be a scribal error for Cliuoc, or Gliuoc.

The most famous figure in the list after Roderc is Eugein map Beli, who is no doubt intended to be Ohan (AT) or Hoan (AU) a king of the Britons who slew Domnall Brecc in an ambush in Strathcarron in 642. This battle is the subject of an awdl in the Y Gododdin collection, but in the poem the victor is not named, only said to be a grandson of Neithon (according to an emended reading of the surviving versions of the text). The poem describes this surprise attack as being launched from a fort above Strathcarron, and it seems likely that Dumyat is intended, a hillfort associated with the Maeatae, who had been attacked a generation earlier by Domnall Brecc's formidable grandfather, Áedán mac Gabráin. It seems likely, therefore, that Ohan/Hoan was a king of the Stirlingshire Britons, and that his action avenged the earlier attack by Áedán. There is no reason to associate Ohan with Alclut, but the genealogist probably felt there was no harm in inserting such a prestigious character, and his grandfather, into the genealogy, particularly if there was a substantial gap to fill between Roderc and Guret, and he may possibly have been the father of Domnall (although the name Ohan/Hoan/Auin/Eugein is very common). It may well be that Ohan's action led to a decline in the power of the Cenél nGabráin and subsequent reoccupation of Dunbartonshire by the British under Gureit. (see now Fraser 2008)

The final puzzle is the identity of Eugein's father Beli. It is to be suspected that this individual is a ghost provoked by the poem in the Life of Adomnán. It is likely that, if there is any truth in the poem, Brude's father was Bili mac Elphine who died in 722, and that his son predeceased him in 693. There is in fact no need to posit another Beli, except to fill another gap in the generations. To take a thoroughly sceptical view of the available evidence, this suggests possibly five distinct dynasties. The first is of the later 6th century, represented by Roderc; the second of the mid-7th century, represented by Guret; the third of the late 7th century, represented by Domnall mac Auin; the fourth of the mid-8th century, represented by the descendants of Elfin; the fifth of the late 9th century, represented by Arthgal and his son, whose kingdom was probably not centred on Alclut.

King of Strathclyde / Cumbria

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Dyfnwal Hen or Dumnagual Hen was a ruler of the Brittonic kingdom of Alt Clut, later known as Strathclyde, probably sometime in the early 6th century. His biography is vague, but he was regarded as an important ancestor figure for several kingly lines in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain. As an ancestor figure, he compares to Coel Hen, another obscure figure credited with founding a number of northern dynasties.

Tutagual is thought to have been a ruler of the kingdom of Alt Clut, later known as Strathclyde, a Brittonic kingdom in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain. He probably ruled sometime in the mid-6th century.

Neithon son of Guipno was a 7th-century ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Guipno map Dumnagual Hen. Alfred Smyth suggests he is the same man as King Nechtan the Great of the Picts, and perhaps the Nechtan son of Canu the Annals of Ulster record as having died in 621. The Senchus fer n-Alban indicate that Gartnait, the son of Áedán mac Gabráin, King of Dál Riata, sired a son named Cano, but unless the Harleian genealogies are to be ignored, this would make Gartnait and Dumnagual Hen the same persons, as the respective fathers of Gartnait and Guipno. However, it is possible that either as an Alt Clut Briton ascending the throne of Pictland, or as a Pict ascending the throne of Alt Clut, his genealogy might have been altered, and it is notable that in the Pictish king-lists he is called "Nechtan, nepos Uerb", suggesting that it was a descent from Uerb that mattered in Pictland, and not his unimportant father Guipno/Canu. Alan Orr Anderson pointed out that Uerb is probably the Pictish form of Ferb, a female name. Alan MacQuarrie suggests that Neithon was indeed the Pictish king Nechtan, but does not take any stance on the Guipno/Canu problem.

Beli I was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, some time in the 7th century. Very little is known of him, but his family appears to have been very well connected in northern Britain.

Eugein or Ywain was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, sometime in the mid-7th century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli I, presumably his predecessor as king, and the father of Elfin, who ruled sometime later. The Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach record another probable son, Dumnagual, who ruled Alt Clut and died in 694. Eugein was probably the brother or half brother of Bridei III of the Picts, the victor at the Battle of Dun Nechtain.

Guret was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, during the mid-7th century. He is known only from an obituary note in the Annals of Ulster, which records Mors Gureit regis Alo Cluathe under the year 658. He is absent from the Harleian genealogies, which record the names of many other kings of Alt Clut. Historian Alan MacQuarrie suggests that he may have been an otherwise unrecorded brother, or perhaps son, of Eugein I of Alt Clut.

Elfin was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, sometime in the later 7th century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Eugein I, one of his predecessors as king, and the father of Beli II, who ruled some time later. Very little is certainly known of him, though he may be identifiable with other figures attested in the Irish annals, and circumstantial evidence may link him to a number of important events during this time.

Dumnagual II was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, for some time in the late seventh century. He is known only from his death notice in the Irish annals. The Annals of Ulster, under the year 694, has Domnall m. Auin, rex Alo Cluathe, moritur. Dumnagual is the Old Welsh equivalent of Domnall, and Aun is certainly Eugein, probably to be identified with King Eugein I of Alt Clut.

Teudebur of Alt Clut was the ruler of Alt Clut, in the early-to-mid eighth century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli II, his probable predecessor as king. Such information is confirmed by both the Irish and Welsh annals. We know from the Harleian genealogy that he was the father of Dumnagual III, one of his successors. His reign coincided with that of the illustrious Pictish king Óengus mac Fergusa. The Annales Cambriae reports that in 750, the Britons defeated a Pictish army at Mocetauc (Mygedawc), in which, according to the Annals of Tigernach, Óengus' brother Talorgen was killed. Mygedawc is often identified with modern Mugdock, on the boundary between Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire, but this identity is by no means certain. The Annals of Tigernach, which styles him Taudar mac Bile, rí Alo Cluaide, put his death at 752, and for this reason, we can be certain Teudebur was the British king responsible for the British victory.

Rotri was a ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, for a few years in the mid-8th century. He is known only from the Annales Cambriae, which records his death in the entry for 754. He does not appear in the Welsh genealogies or the Irish annals, which record many other kings of Alt Clut. Historian Alan MacQuarrie suggests he may have usurped the throne following the death of the previous king Teudebur in 752, and then been killed shortly after by Teudebur's son Dumnagual.

Dumnagual III was a king of Strathclyde in the mid-eighth century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Teudebur, one of his predecessors.

Eugein II may have been ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, for some time in the late-8th century. He is known only from the Harleian genealogies, which indicate that he was the son of King Dumnagual III of Alt Clut; there is no direct evidence that he ruled as king himself. Dumnagual is presumed to be the monarch who submitted to the joint army of Kings Óengus I of the Picts and Eadberht of Northumbria in 756; after this event, Alt Clut seems to have remained under foreign power and the royal line is known exclusively through the Harleian genealogies for more than a century. If Eugein was king, he may have been in power during the "burning of Ail Cluaithe" recorded in the Annals of Ulster as having occurred in 780. According to Harleian, he was the father of Riderch II.

Dumnagual IV was a 9th-century British figure thought to have been a ruler of Alt Clut, the kingdom later known as Strathclyde. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of his predecessor Riderch II, the grandson of Eugein II, and the great-grandson of King Dumnagual III of Alt Clut. He is known only from this source, and there is no direct evidence he was king of Alt Clut, although he is usually regarded as such by scholars. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba reports the burning of Dunblane by the Britons in the year 849, and it is possible that Dumnagual was the British ruler responsible for the act, though it is equally possible that his son Artgal was responsible.

References

  1. "Kings of Alt Clut and Strathclyde". The History Files. Retrieved 18 May 2014.

Further reading