Dál Riada was the original kingdom of the Scots. The ruling dynasty was divided into opposing "septs" with the throne - it was recommended - being inherited via a system "tannistry" whereby the members of Sept A would elect a king who would be followed upon his death by a member of Sept B choosing the next king. So the theory went...in practise it was murderous violence with old kings killed and babies smothered. Shakespeare in MacBeth gave a poetic insight when he said; "There's daggers in men's smiles: the near in blood, the nearer bloody."
The Septs had each their own geographic power bases or "sub-kingdoms" with in Dál Riada. The most important ones and the ones which feature in this mod are: Cenél nGabráin; Cenél nÓengusa and Cenél Loairn. It is into these divisions that most of the Dál Riadan realm is divided at the start of the game.
Main Settlements of Dál Riada
Dùn Add (Modern name: Dunadd)
Dùn Add in Earra-Ghàidheal (Argyll) was the capital of Cenél nGabráin and the ancient king-seat of the kingdom of Dál Riada. It is now a rocky hill that rises out of the barren flatness of Crinan Moss, the raised bog floodplain of the meandering River Add. It was one of the most important places in 'Scotland' between c.400 to 900AD. It has been suggested that Dùn Add may have been the "head of the region" described in Adomnan's Life of Columbus, where the saint met sailors who hailed from distant Gaul. One of the most interesting features about the site are the series of carvings on the exposed rock on the lower summit plateaux. These include a faded image of a boar, a shallow round depression in which water collects, and a small-carved footprint. The footprint was used during pre-Christian 'enthroning' ceremonies where the prospective king placed his foot in the impression and was symbolically "married" to the earth. According to local legend the Celtic hero Ossian left the footprint, when he strode across the hilltops from Rhudil to Dùn Add.
The site must have been well fortified during its occupation. Archaeology reveals four ring walls consisting of terraces reinforced with dry stone walling which would have been surmounted with timber palisades. The first terrace is guarded by a narrow cleft between the rocks, which would have been easy to guard when reinforced with timber. It is likely that terraced forts such as Dunadd, were separated into levels according to social rank and status, with the chief or lord living on the top level in the enclosed Citadel. King Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) relocated his capital from Dùn Add to Scone in 845 after he became the king of both Picts and Scots.
Dùn Add
Dùn Ollaigh (Modern name: Dunollie Castle)
This site was the capital of the Cenél Loairn (also known as the "Kingdom of Lorne"). It is now a ruinous old hill-fort just outside modern Oban. The castle is still the official seat of Colonel Alexander James MacDougall of MacDougall and Dunollie, the 29th Chief of Dunollie whose direct ancestors the "Lords of the Isles" fought for their independence against Robert the Bruce (and ultimately lost). However, they survive to this day as does something tangible of the lost Kingdom of Lorne.
Dùn Ollaigh
Porth an Eileann (Modern name: Finlaggan)
The erstwhile capital of the islands and centre of the Cenél nÓengusa was on the isle of Islay. The ruined port of Porth an Eileann is all that is left of the place which eventually became the medieval capital of the Kingdom of the Hebrides.
Port an Eileann
Eoa (modern name: Iona)
According to legend this island was settled by Saint Columba and his monks in 563AD. However, prior to this the island was populated with a trading community, sometimes going by the name Innis nan Druinich or "Isle of the Druids".
Iona Abbey