Origins of the Picts & Scots

[Kscott]

I have been reading up on my scottish history, and I reached something rather intresting. Prior to the Roman occupation in southern Britian there really was no cultural reconition. You belonged to your tribe and beyond that there was no sense of nationality. The differences in language were there, but as any modern linguist will tell you, all peoples in Britian at the time were speaking very similiar languages. So in Scotland while in modern times we would divide them into Bretonic Celt and Pict, at the time, there was no such distinction.

Moving on with this in mind we will now move up to post-roman occupation of southern Britian. This occupation would do much to the tirbes of Britain. We would now have Roman-Britons in the lands under control of Rome, and outside Hadrian's wall we have an important development as well. The Britians that were near the Romans had heavy influence from them and the ones far away would remain unchanged. This is possibly where the origins of the Picts came, the untame Britons, altough this is a heavily debated topic.

Now, move ahead again to the arival of the Angles to Northumbria. As a reaction to the invaders from outisde the peoples of Briton becan to self-realize there ownselves. Noow we will see clear cut divisions, of Angle, Briton, and Pict. These culture groups would view themselves differently and as such they would develop differently and their cultures grow apart. Some speculate this is where real pictishness came in. Regardless, this is atleast when the picts actually viewed themselves as a seperate entity and that is important to note.

My notes on the Scotti is much less, but I have an intresting alternative view to present to you. Im sure most of you are aware that the Scotti were a tribe in North Ireland that migrated east towards Scotland. Atleast this was the original way things were viewed, but it is very possible this is true. An alternate theory claims that the neolithic peoples of western Scotland were simply more related to the peoples of east Ireland. At one point the two are only seperated by 12 miles of sea so this is very plausible. The Gaels of Scotland where once ruled by their relatives in Ireland, but eventually focus shifted and the new capital of the Scotti tribe would be in Scotland. For awhile the Scotti in Ireland would remain under their Scottish relatives, but as you know this would come to and end.

Anyways, just some intresting tidbits on the origins of the Picts and Scotti, I do hope you enjoyed yourselves.

[John Wayne]

Interesting essay Chorm, never knew the Romans had any actual influence on the celts that were on the other side of Hadrians Wall. Got any more interesting facts for us?

[therussian]

I think his whole point was that the Romans DIDN'T have influence on the Picts, at least not directly. By leaving them alone, and not "civilizing" them, the 'barbarian' Picts started to move away in culture from the 'civilized' Britons.

[Kscott]

Interesting essay Chorm, never knew the Romans had any actual influence on the celts that were on the other side of Hadrians Wall. Got any more interesting facts for us?

Well on topic, Pottery etc were very much valued by the Britons on the scottish side of the wall.

I got plenty more intresting facts kept around in my brain, but I got to keep em locked up till the time for unveiling is here

I think his whole point was that the Romans DIDN'T have influence on the Picts, at least not directly. By leaving them alone, and not "civilizing" them, the 'barbarian' Picts started to move away in culture from the 'civilized' Britons.

No, they did. In Scotland you had the Bretonic Celts and Picts. One possible explanation as I presented is that the Picts were simply the un civilized Britons as you said. However, both these groups were on the scottish side of the wall. Only those further away formed a cultural barrier of sorts. Keep in mind this is a theory. Others maintain the picts were not even celtic. Though language seems to disagree. Altough its entirely possible the peoples of Scotland simply adopted similiar languages.

[hellheaven1987]

I have heard that some Pict nobles were actually British nobles who ran away from Roman. By the way, Roman surely had influenced Picts and all "barbarians". Even the arch enemy of Rome, Germanic tribes, had been influenced by Rome.

[Kscott]

Well, you can assume things based on nothing or you can look at the facts. The facts are that there formed a cultural barrier and the picts remained very unaffected by the Roman presence to the south. This atleast can be accepted as fact.

[Last Roman]

then there is the theory that the Picts, ethnically at least, were not Celts, but remainders of the neolithic peoples of the island (which is theorized that these neolithics came from what is now northern Spain). I disagree, but it is an intresting theory.

[Kscott]

then there is the theory that the Picts, ethnically at least, were not Celts, but remainders of the neolithic peoples of the island (which is theorized that these neolithics came from what is now northern Spain). I disagree, but it is an intresting theory.

yes. I like the civilized Briton/ not civilized Briton theory myself. Seems more reasonable. Sure there were peoples prior to the Celts in Scotland, but I assume they would have done like everywhere else and intermixed, loosing out to the stronger Celtic culture.

[Last Roman]

Perhaps the Picts were an earlier "type" of Celt? IE La Tene culture instead of Hallstatt culture celts.

btw, welcome back Kscott

[Kscott]

Erm La Tene was after Hallstat. Some good info on the topic:
http://www.celticcorner.com/latene.html

And no, as far as im aware there simply isnt any evidence of that.

[caratacus]

Most people think that the term Celt refers to a distinctive racial grouping but there is little evidence that this was ever the case and Celtic culture would have probably have been embraced or forced upon quite a diverse range of peoples to a greater or lesser extent. The tribal divisions that characterized Pre-Roman Britain and most of Celtic Europe were likely to reinforce already localised and individual groupings of people. This would have left areas were the people retained enough of their own individual identity to be considered separate from the other Celtic tribes. It maybe that the Picts and the Ligurians in southern Gaul were such people.

Julius Ceasar commentated that the Silures of South Wales reminded him so much of the people in the Iberian Peninsula, in their small stature dark hair and olive skin (characteristics of many Welsh people today), that he surmised that they may have originated there. This theory could well have been correct given that there was extensive trade along the Atlantic coast in such things as copper, tin and pottery long before the Romans reached either Gaul or Iberia. Could the Picts have a similar origin, we just do'nt know!.

[Last Roman]

Erm La Tene was after Hallstat. Some good info on the topic:
http://www.celticcorner.com/latene.html

oops. that's what skimming a book will do to ya'.

[hellheaven1987]

Guys, why don't we just go to BBC website and click "Prehistoric Briton". I believe there are couple good articles about origin of ancient British. (anyway, I can summary for you. Most articles just point out that pre-Roman Britishs were a big furnace of difference races.)

[Kscott]

Guys, why don't we just go to BBC website and click "Prehistoric Briton". I believe there are couple good articles about origin of ancient British. (anyway, I can summary for you. Most articles just point out that pre-Roman Britishs were a big furnace of difference races.)

Yes, thats very generally accepted. But culturally they were Celtic and culture has always been more important than ethnicity, unless the value of ethnicity was very high in the culture, thus it comes to culture anyways.

[hellheaven1987]

Yes, thats very generally accepted. But culturally they were Celtic and culture has always been more important than ethnicity, unless the value of ethnicity was very high in the culture, thus it comes to culture anyways.

Ya, but it only occured after the native Britishs lived in the island after a long time, that's why historians wonder what the original culture of ancinet Britishs could be. (by the way, I still strongly suggest to visit BBC website.)

[Agraes]

Shame that Ranika isn't around, because he is THE specialist to this questions. I may ask his cousin to bring some light :wink:

Who were the people of Scotland?
There is clearly 4 origins.

Britons
2-3 Briton kingdoms will be merged into the later kingdom of Alba. Those kingdoms were from the area between the walls of Hadrien and Antonine. Their inhabitants were considered as Britons, even if not roman subjects they had clear roman influence. To the west was the kingdom of Alcluyd, or Strathclyde. To the southwest was the kingdom of Galwyddel, modernday Dumfries and Galloway; and to the east was the kingdom of Gododdin.

Alcluyd and Galwyddel had strong gaelic influences. In fact Galwyddel means in brythonic "Gaels", this area was heavily settled by Gaels. Galwyddel splitted from Alcluyd, and was gouverned from Ynis Manaw. Then it have been reconquered by Alcluyd, and sometimes been also under the control of North Rheged, the strong kingdom of Urien.

The capital of Alcluyd kingdom was known as Dun Breatann, modernday Dumbarton, and also as Alcluyd itself, meaning "Rock of the Clyde". After have been sacked by the Vikings, the capital move a little south to Glesgu, modernday Glasgow. Alcluyd, or Strathclyde, will only be merged with the kingdom of Alba in the XIth century.

Gododdin had probably strong links with southern picts. It originated from the tribe of the Votadini, and one of its leader, Cunedda, will move to the area of North Wales to found the kingdom of Gwynedd. Cunedda had some ancestors bearing roman titles. Gododdin main capitals were Din Eydin (Edinburgh) and Trapain Law.
Gododdin in the VIth century was the kingdom of Lot Luwddoc ('of the Host'), father of Gwalchmei (the Gawain of the Arthurian romances) and grandfather of St. Kentigern.

It appears that a prince from Alcluyd, Clyddno Eydin, took the power in Din Eydin. From here, his son Mynywddawg Mwynffawr will launch an expedition against the northumbrian angles of Catraeth, but of his 300 elite brythonic warriors only one will survive, his bard, Aneirin, who is believed to be the original autor of the poem 'Y Gododdin', telling this story.

Angles
In the VIIth century, the Northumbrian Angles sized Gododdin. Angles were coming from southern Danmark, and they settled in Deira and Bernicia. Northumbria became the major power in Britain until the Viking Invasion, but its highly probable that lot of northumbrian subjects were still Britons. The name itself has a part of brythonic origin: Northumbria=North Cumbria, Cumbria is one of the name the Britons gave to their land.

Gaels
After the roman withdrawal from Britain, lot of Gaels from various irish tribes and kingdoms did come to settle the west coast. For exemple, Dyfed was controlled by a Gaelic dynasty from Munster, even if those gaelic nobles were quickly brythonized. North Wales was under gaelic control until Cunedda and his sons came from Gododdin to expel gaelic settlers (probably only their warriors).
But the most famous gaelic kingdom of Britain was the kingdom of Dal Riada, situated in modernday Argyll ('land of the Gaels'). Dal Riadans come from a small band of coast in North West Ireland, and were more or less under the control of the strong dynasty of the Ui Neill.
People often believe the kingdom of Dal Riada was founded in the VIth century, but there is evidence of gaelic settlement in western scotland since the IId century at least.
The name 'Scotti' isn't right. It was the name Romans gave to the Irishmen, the meaning is simply 'pirats'. Scottish Dal Riadans will still recognise themselves as Gaels until the Middle Ages.

This kingdom of Dal Riada will be the basis of what will became the kingdom of Alba, Scotland, in the IX-X-XIth centuries.

Gaels were spoking a Q-Celtic language, Gaelic, very different from Brythonic. Ireland had been settled by various celtic waves, including Iberians who had a Halstatt celtic culture. That's why Gaels were really different from other Celts, they dressed in skirts and robes, not in trousers, and used hammers, darts and axes in battle.

Picts
I guess I should develop this a bit further.

Who were the Picts?
The name 'Pict' don't come into existence before the IIIrd century AD. Before this, inhabitants of Scotland were known as Caledonians and believed to be Celts. The real link between Picts and Caledonians is unknown.
Picts did spoke a celtic language, a P-Celtic one, like Brythonic, but different from this one. A small part of Pictish language have been recently reconstructed, and it looks nearer from Gallic language than from Brythonic.
There is also evidence that Scotland have also been inhabited by non-Celts. Those people are believed to be the constructers of the Brochs, stone fortress, when the Celts build oppida and Duns. Its even said that they were allied with the Romans. But without written sources, we can only conjecture that the Picts originate from those people and from the Caledonians, who were Latenian Celts.

There was two strong influences in Pictland. Southern Picts, from the kingdom of Fibb, were directly in contact with Britons and were brythonized, wearing trousers and maybe fighting barebreast. They have been christianised since the Vth century. Northern Picts were still pagans until the VIth century and their conversion by St. Columba, and had gaelic influences in their dress, wearing skirts and robes.

[Agraes]

I copy you the historic descriptions we made of the four following factions in ATW: Dal Riada, Picts, Gododdin and Alcluyd.
I shouldn't be credited for those quotes, it's Ranika great work

The Kingdom of Dal Riada

The Dal Riada, called Darini on Ptolemy's map of Ireland, were said to be a tribe of Scythians, or, later, even possibly Sarmatians. This would not be impossible; during the rule of Rome in Britain, the Irish record buying off Sarmatian auxilia and giving them land in Ireland, as well as the Fennihe, or Fennian tribes, obsession with horse archery. These tribes brought many Scythians and Sarmatians to Ireland, and they were given several colonies, as well as Irish wives.

Regardless of their origin, the Dal Riada were thoroughly Gaelic in culture. As early as 100 AD, they began to set up colonies in the land of Earraghaidheal, or Argyll; 'coast of Gaels'. This was in Pictland, but a relatively undeveloped place, and often overlooked. However, as pressure from the Ui Neill increased, the Dal Riada surrendered more of their lands in Ireland, and began mass-migrating to this new land. The center of their clan moved from Dun Ranma in Ireland, to Dunnad in Argyll. Technically, the Dal Riada were actually several clans and tribes, such as the Baetan, but this meant little; power was squarely in the hands of the Dal Riada.

When the Romans left Britain, the Ui Neill, Mumainha, and Laigini began an almost sporting competition for who could set up the most vassals and puppets in Britain. The Deisi of Mumainha conquered parts of Wales, and set up Dyfedd as a vassal, though they quickly lost interest in it, only occassionally asking the 'protector' of Dyfedd about the region's status. The Laigini invaded the isle of Mann; an important strategic position. While they did alright for themselves, they couldn't hold onto power very long, and their king withdrew. All the same, many hundreds of settlers moved to the island, giving it a fairly large Gaelic minority. The Ui Neill, though, avoided direct invasion. Instead, they forced the Dal Riada, at the time their rather unwilling vassals, into a number of wars with the Picts. Ultimately, this led to a refusal, and a brief war between the two. The Ui Neill pushed the Dal Riada completely out of Ireland, isolating them in Argyll, where the Picts subverted them as their vassals for a time.

However, this was not the end of the Dal Riada. The Ui Neill, penitent of their earlier actions, sent aide; weapons, silver, and soldiers, to help relieve the Dal Riada. Presumably, this was for two pragmatic reasons; the first being that a Gaelic enemy in Britain would be more agreeable than a foreign one, and the second being that such actions may return Dal Riada to the control of the Ui Neill. While the latter didn't occur, the first began to. With the Picts united, they would be a great threat; however, even united, they had to face numerous wars. The Dal Riada, through intermarriage, took advantage of the Pictish system of prigomeniture, as well as used their new military strength to keep themselves free. Gaels did not have heridetary lands or noble offices; all officials were elected, so one couldn't inherit anything through marriage. The same could not be said of Picts. Well-organized marriages, and the occassional well-timed assassination, brought increasingly more land under Gaelic control, culminating in a number of brief wars, and finally, the assassination of the last Pictish king, by Cinaed mac Alpin. The kingdom of Dal Riada was dissolved, and in its place, the Gaels had established the kingdom of Alba, later known as Scotland, which would further absorb the lands of Strathclyde and Lothian in the 11th century, and vying for temporary control of Cumbria from time-to-time, but mainly resolving what are even now its modern borders.

The Picts

The creation of the Picts is largely conjecture. It is simply unknown the full story of how the Picts came to be, though when and why does occur. When the Romans conquered and annexed portions of Britain, many British nobles took their armies, their families, and their loyal retainers, who did likewise, and fled north, into the isolated lands of Caledonia. Some settled in the south, but many went further, ultimately settling in the distant highlands, seemingly without much contestation from the local Caledonian tribes. The Irish record vague dealings with the early Picts, include helping them establish a confederated authority, but the validity of such claims is spotty; all the same, it did not stop such claims even as late as the renaissance. In any event, the Picti came about, and were divided into seven kingdoms that ruled much of what is now Scotland.

According to Pictish legend, there was once a king named Cruithne, son of Cing. Cruithne reigned for one hundred years, and had seven sons, who were named Fibb, Fidach, Fotla, Fortriu, Cat, Ce and Circind. When Cruithne died, his kingdom was split into seven regions, each one given to one of his sons. This is clearly affected by the Gaels; Cruithne is itself a Gaelic word for 'Picts', and is what they referred to both the pre-Gaelic inhabitants of Ireland and Scotland as. However, the seven kingdoms did exist, and were recognized as the seven ruling principalities of the Picts by both themselves and their nieghbors.

Of paramount importance in this series of events, though, are the kingdoms of Cat, or Caithness, and Fibb. These two kingdoms would take control over near all of Pictland, likely by way of a combination of the Picts' matrilineal succession and war. The Picts followed lines of succession through their mothers rather than fathers. Legendarily, this is because the kings of Pictland were given wives by the Irish king Niall, but demanded the Picts follow lines of succession through their mothers, to ensure they always had a king of Gaelic descent. The interrelation of all Pict kings meant they were all eligible to inherit rule of one another's kingdoms, and ultimately Fibb came to rule all of the lowlands of Pictland, and Cat controlled most of the highlands.

It is unknown when exactly the two fell under control of a single king, though it may have been as early as Argentocoxos, but he may have only been king of Fibb. However, Drust mhic Yrp ascended the throne in 413 AD, and was king of both north and south. After his heir Talorg died, his younger brother Nectan Morbet mhic Yrb Mawr (the great) came to power. Nectan was possibly the first Christian ruler of Pictland. This fact may have laid the groundwork for the coming split between north and south. Nectan supposedly had to put down a number of pagan revolts in the north. Both his heir, Drust Guorthinmoc, and then Galan Arilith had to deal with similar religious revolts.

To curb such revolts, when Galan Arilith died, Drust mhic Udrost and Drust mhic Gyrom ruled jointly, one in the north, and one in the south, as one was a pagan and the other a Christian, though which was which is unknown. However, it is known Drust mhic Gyrom ruled a united Pictland for 5 years, but when he died, the kingdom was split between Fibb and Cat, though the official split would not occur until Drust mac Manaith died, presumably of the yellow plague, in 552 AD.

The history of the south is actually far spottier than the history of the isolated north. The succession of kings is largely lost. It is known that Brudei mhic Maelgwyn briefly ruled the south in addition to his rule as king of the north, through the puppet king Galam Cennelath. A little under a century after Galam's death in 580 AD, Northumbrians under Oswiu invaded Fibb, and killed the king possibly named Talorn. Fibb was conquered but for the land of Fife. Brudei mac Billi, king of Cat, recovered the south for the Picts.

The north was then ruled by the pagan king Brudei mhic Maelgwyn, son of the king of Gwynedd. He met Saint Columba, who freely converted and served numerous individuals in Cat's kingdom, including two of his sons. In 573 AD, he personally led his army to victory over a Dal Riadan invasion, and eventually commanded a brief vassalage of the Dal Riada. His heirs prepared to take control of the lands of Fibb, now under Anglo-Saxon rule, and in 667, began a war with Northumbria. The king Drust mac Donnel was defeated in battle against Ecgfrith, and was deposed by a rival claimant, Brudei mac Billi, who killed Ecgfrith in battle. Brudei defeated a massive Anglo-Saxon army at Nechtansmere, where he slaughtered the mass, and personally killed Ecgfrith, and proceeded to enslave or slaughter Northumbrians who inhabitted the region. His heir Taran was weak, and was deposed by Brude of Derelei, who became king of a once more united Pictland in 697 AD.

King Brude of the noble house Derelei was a powerful king, exerting his might to demand vassalage of both Dal Riada and Strathclyde briefly, though this was rescinded on his death. Nechtan mac Derile succeeded him, and brought the local church into union with Rome. In 737, a war with Dal Riada began under King Angus. Angus recieved aide from the kingdom of Ulaid, the northern Ui Neill, who had lost a few territories in Ireland to the Dal Riada. Angus defeated them in both Caledonia and Ireland, giving the territories in Ireland to Ulaid, and rendering Dal Riada in Caledonia as a province of Pictland, with his brother Talorgan being installed as chief.

Talorgan and Angus attempted then to conquer Strathclyde in 750 AD, and further expand the holdings of Pictland. A good initial campaign ended suddenly when Talorgan was killed in battle, most gruesomely as he was severed in two by a champion from Strathclyde, but not before he killed King Tewdur of Strathclyde. The Britons maintained the field though, while the Pictish army was broken and fled into the north. Angus, in revenge for the death of his brother launched a new campaign six years later, with aide from Northumbria. Again, the campaign started well, nearly capturing Dunbarton, but in an unrecorded battle outside of Dunbarton, the Northumbrians and Picts were slaughtered, and Angus had to flee back to Pictland with only a small entourage.

Dal Riada escaped the grasp of Pictish rule in a revolt in 768 AD, funded by Ulaid, who were fearful of a Pictish invasion. In 839 AD, King Eoganan of Pictland died in battle with vikings. Inheritance of rule, in an amount of irony, left the king of Dal Riada, Cinaed mac Alpin, ruler of much of Pictland, though the north remained under Pictish rule, until 'Mac Alpin's Treason' in 848 AD. In 841 AD, the Dal Riadan war with the Picts was at an apex, and Cinaed earned the title of 'Raven Feeder' for slaughtering countless Picts in excellently orchestrated battles. Cinaed invited his cousin, Drest mac Fethal, king of the northern Picts, and the remaining Pictish nobles to his palace at Scone, to discuss peace in 848 AD. Cinaed was one of the nobles who had a legal claim to the throne of the Picts. Every other heir was isolated with him at his capitol at Scone, where, in unknown circumstances, they were all murdered. The last Pictish king was dead, and Cinaed mac Alpin became the king of most of what is now the northern two-thirds of Scotland, though much was under control of vikings in reality. Pictish rebellions occured sporadically, but no Pictish kingdom would ever rule again, and their culture would eventually be worn out of existence under the weight of Gaelic and Norse influences in the north.

The Kingdom of Gododdin

Gododdin, like Alcluyd, has an amount of fame because it never fully fell under Roman rule. It was originally ruled by the Votadini tribe, which fell on both the south and northern side of the Antonine Wall. The kingdom's original Caledonian name was likely closer to 'Goutodin', from which originated the Latinized name of the tribe; the Votadini. Goutodin soon after would become Gododdin, and refered to by some others as Lotottin, referring to 'King Lot's Folk', from which came 'Lothian'.

The post-Roman kingdom of Gododdin probably formed out of Coel Hen's kingdom of Northern Britain, taking most of the ancient Votadini territories, though it never maintained the southernmost reaches of this territory, with the south terminating around Berwick. Only once Coel Hen's kingdom had dissolved after his death are their any lists of kings. The portion of the kingdom that fell outside of Gododdin was the land of Manaw, or 'Manaw Goutodin', and from this came the new kingdom's first ruler, Cunedda Wledig; Cunedda was not called king though, only protector, as he was a vassal.

Cunedda was an enterprising and intelligent individual, uniting the majority of the Votadini under his rule. With the lands united, Cunedda installed his son, Typaun ap Cunedda, as 'protictoris', or 'protector', and went into the south, where he founded Gwynedd. However, even now, they were not indepedent, and these 'kings' were probably more akin to regional governors, being ruled from Ebruac, but by around 470 AD, Gododdin was effectively indepedent. King Lot Lwyddog, first true king of Gododdin, ruled his kingdom indepedently in 470 AD, from Traprain Law, and was descended from King Caratacus, the pre-Roman ruler of Britain, refered to in this period as Caradog, or High King Guiderius, who had ruled all of Britain south of Brigantia, and maybe had extracted vassalage from Brigantia as well.

Gododdin, for a brief period, exercised political clout, and eventually was united very briefly with Bernicia, under Morcant Bulc. Morcant became king after, however, Gwalchmai Gwalltafwyn, also potentially known as the legendary knight Gawain. Gwalchmai potentially was the king who established additional offices at the capitol Din Eidyn, and more at Traprain Law, giving the kingdom two capitols, to help it resist invasion, and likely installed Morcant as king of Bernicia, and pressured the nobles to elect him as the tanist; the elected heir of a Celtic society; in an attempt to unite the two kingdoms.

However, such unity was a temporary event, and Bernicia fell to the Angles, and open war occured between the two. This dragged on for many years, and was the consequence of the battle of Cathraeth where Mynyddawg Mwynfawr, the king of Gododdin and his 300 briton warriors died fighting the Bernicians, until finally, Din Eidyn fell to the Northumbrians, and Bernicia swiftly overran the kingdom.. It was ruled directly until 671, with massive Anglo-Saxon land settlements in the region, followed by the kingdom of Dunbar forming. This came about when Oswiu died, where Northumbria was suddenly weakened, and local pride created this sub-kingdom, ruled by Anglo-Saxon sub-kings, several of which were killed by Picts.

When Northumbria was overrun by the kingdom of York, the region may have briefly been fully indepedent again, but the northern border soon became part of Alba, and the remainder became part of York, then the early, pre-Norman kingdom of England. Around 980 AD, the territories steadily fell under Scottish rule, as mixed blood Gaelo-Saxons took control of the region. When England became ruled by Normans, any remaining Gaelo-Saxon nobles abandonned the new Norman king, William, and swore fealty to the king of the 'Scots', as they would soon be called due to the huge amount of Saxon subjects that it absorbed in this process.

The Kingdom of Alcluyd

The Damnonii of Caledonia were alternatively allies and enemies of Roman occupation. Their kingdom enters mention as early as 180 AD, when their chieftain Corvus, directly descended from the hero of Britain, Caratacus, and a distant nephew of Venetius of the Brigantes, begins a war with the Romans, upon his ascendancy to power. He had ruled as early as 148, and died in battle with the Romans. Around 240 to 250 AD, their chief Beinnei is recorded by the Irish as having died in battle against them at Muchramha, when Toirdellbach mac Eogh struck him in the neck with his axe.

There better relations with Rome occured in 305 AD. Constantius Chlorus organized a treaty with the Damnonii, officially recognizing their claim to the territory, in exchange for their cessation of attacks on Roman citizens in Britain. With the Antonine Wall in place, and Romans present in the area, they managed to elect two Romans as chieftains at different times, first Clemens, and then Quintillius, who struck deals with the governor of Britain, supplying them with soldiers. They were effectively a kingdom of Foederati, and Roman subjects by extension, but maintained their own army, as the Romans could not enforce any rules upon them once they had withdrawn to Hadrian's Wall. Magnus Maximus was formally recognized with the creation of the kingdom of 'Alcluith' or 'Alcuyd' in 382 AD, but was not referred to as a king.

The grandson of the Romano-British chieftain of the Damnonii, Quintillus, was Coroticus. Around 400 AD, he was recognized as the first true king of the region. Coroticus, to bolster his army, invited several Gaelic clans, fleeing the ever expanding power of the Ui Neill, to settle on their coast in exchange for service in his army, and invited several Pictish families to do the same in the north. The army of Alcluyd was well organized, and powerful. The Gaelic annals record the presence of a regular office that managed the hiring of mercenary companies, and regular pay and outfitting.

The line of kings has confusing dates until King Caw, or Kaw, was deposed by one of his own Gaelic generals, and in some sources his nephew or cousin, Domgal. Domgal's rule is known to have been from 501 to 508 AD, but he was then displaced by King Clinoch. Around 545 AD, Prince Elidyr, the heir to the throne of Alcluyd, married Eurgain, the eldest daughter of Maelgwyn of Gwynedd. Maelgwyn died in 549. Elidyr asked for an army from Cinbelin, king of Alcluyd. He demanded to be recognized as heir of Gwynedd, as the current king was illegitimate by prigomeniture. Cinbelin agreed to Elidyr's request, but when Elidyr landed in Gwynedd, he was soon after killed in battle.

Cinbelin was defeated in battle by his nephew, a Gaelic chief of Mann, Conall. Conall was champion of Tutagual, or Tudgaul, who was quickly installed as king of Alcluyd. He ruled until around 580 AD, when Rhiderch, as he was called in Alcluyd, came to power. In much of Britain, he was known as Rydderch Hael or Hen. He instated vassalage of Rheged and Elmet, and may have even been recognized as the king of the Britons for a period. He is followed by Neithon or Nechtan, the nephew of his champion Conall. Even if not the king of Britain, he still commanded vassalage of at least Rheged. When Rheged fell to Bernicia, the remains of the territory fell under official rule of Alcluyd, including Galwyddel.

Soon followed lengthy wars with the Gaels and Picts. In 642, King Owen meb Beli slew King Domnall of Dal Riada in battle. The Ui Neill launched raids in support of the Dal Riada along the coasts, and Alcluyd responded with similar raids. Gaels in Mann were empowered by further invasions and a series of Gaelic rulers, allowing Gaels to use the island as a base for invading Galwyddel, restoring it to the rule of the kings of Ynys Mannau.

The Pict invasions ravaged much of the north, and genuine bids for conquest of the kingdom came repeatedly, but most fiercely when King Angus took control of Pictland. His brother Talorcan invaded in 750 AD, but was defeated and killed, but not before gruesomely killing King Teudebur, or Tewdur, at the battle of Mocetauc. Angus launched a second invasion six years later, with an alliance with Northumbria. They nearly captured the capitol of Dumbarton, but an unknown event caused the Pictish and Northumbrian army to be annihilated, and drove them back.

Alcluyd was recorded among the Gaels as the 'nearly unconquerable kingdom'. Indeed, it was only 'nearly' unconquerable. When the Norse invaded, Alcluyd, now known as Alcluith formally, and Strathcluith by its Gaelic neighbors and Gaelic-speaking subjects, was utterly ravaged. Dumbarton was besieged. Olaf the White sailed up Frucluith, the 'Firth of Clyde', and Ivar the Boneless, considered 'wisest of all men' by the Norse besieged it from the east. Surrounded, the citadel fell after a four month siege, and the king executed. After some lengthy political debate, the Norse handed over the capitol and the kingdom to the brother-in-law of the king of Alba, Constantine I.

His brother, Rhun, was the first of the officially recognized 'Scotti' kings, as they were recognized by the Strathclyders. It was still a powerful kingdom, even with such devestation, and Rhun, and his heirs, aided to rebuild it substantially. Settlement deals with Anglo-Saxons saw much of the south adopting Saxon as the major language in certain regions. The kingdom was briefly ruled from Alba itself, and absorbed Galwyddel once more.

Invasion of Strathcluith were not over though. King Edmund of the Englisc launched a major invasion. He was repulsed, by Strathcluith was split into Strathcluith and Cumbria briefly. They were reunited under Owain the Bald. When Owain died, the kingdom of Strathcluith was then ruled by Malcolm the Second, king of Alba, who united the two crowns. For all of its violent past and near constant wars, from early wars with the Romans and Picts, to being near destroyed by the Norse and Saxons, Alcluyd's dissolution as a kingdom was forgivingly peaceful.

[Spiff]

Moved to the Musaeum and listed in the index

-Spiff