Gaelic Kingdoms

Kings of Dal Riada

Natives of the Ulster region of Ireland, the Dal Riada Scotti were coming under pressure from the powerful Ui Neill Clan (from whose ranks were drawn the High Kings of Ireland). From the latter end of the fifth century these Scotti moved as a people to settle on the West Coast of Pictland. They founded a capital at Dunadd.

c.485? - 500

Reuda

c.500? - 501

Fergus mac Erc

501 - 507

Domangrat mac Fergus

507 - 537

Comgall mac Domangrat

537 - 558

Gabrán mac ?Domangrat

558 - 574

Conall mac Comgall

573

The Dal Riadans are defeated in battle against the powerful King Brudei of the Northern Picts.

574 - 607

Aedan mac Gabrán

m Domlech, Pictish dau. of Maelgwyn Gwynedd.

c.582

Ynys Manau is taken by the Dal Riada Scotti, and ruled by a client king or lesser member of the ruling family.

584

Aedan's son, Gartnait, inherits the Northern Pictish throne.

607

Cineadh Cerr (Kenneth the Left Handed)

Ruled for three months.

608 - 620?

Echoid Find mac Aedan

620? - 623?

Kenneth mac Conall

623? - 629?

Ferchar? (Fergus) mac Cu?

629? - 642

Domnal Brecc mac Echoid

Known in Welsh as Dyfnwal Frych. Killed at Strathcarron.

Internecine wars between Cenéls Loairn & nGabráin.

642? - 678

Fergar (Fota/ Fearchar Fada) Longus?

Ruled all Dal Riada, from Clan Baedan (d.697).

664 - 680

Malduinus / Maelduin

Ruled jointly or just a section of Dal Riada?.

678

Eochal Lyus?

Negarth mac Coneval

Alrinch Ellac mac Fergar Longus

c.697 Amberkeletus (Ainbhceallach) mac Fearchar (d.724)?

--- mac Fergar Longus

Sealbhach mac Fearchar, killed Amberkeletus?

M. mac Alrinch?

--- mac M.

--- mac Eochal Lyus

Fergus mac ?

His son, Angus, rules the Pictish kingdom for a time.

700 - 719

Selbach mac ?Eogan

719 - 721

?

721 - 741

The kingdom temporarily collapses and three Cenéla dissolve into at least seven families.

732

Mordacus / Muredach

Possibly claimed the throne for a short time.

741 - 748

Divided kings defeated by Picts. Dal Riada is re-united over next few years.

748 - 778

Aed Finn mac Eochu

768

Aed Finn invades Pictland and re-establishes Dal Riadan independence.

758? - ?

Eochal Ueneuofus mac E*albi

Dunegal mac Selbach

Alpin mac Eochal

Died 834.

778 - 781

Fergus

King of Dal Riada & Pictland. Father of Constantine of Pictland.

781 - 792

Donald mac Constantine

(Donncorci.)

789? - 807

Conall mac Tadc / Taidg

Ex-Pictish king.

807 - 811

Conall mac Aedan

811 - 834

Dal Riata ruled by Picts through natural succession.

834 - ?

Talorcan

c.836 - 839

Eoganan / Uven mac Angus

Of Pictland.

? - 839

Aedmac Boanta

Brother(?) and therefore heir to the throne.

839

The line of descent of Pictish kings is broken when the Pictish army is destroyed and Eoganan is killed by Vikings. Pictland eventually merges with Dal Riada through intermarriage to become Scotland, although a few Picts still appear to rule the North for a time.

839 - 850

Kinet (Kenneth) I mac Alpin

First king of Alba (Scotland).

843

Kenneth rules from Scone (Fortriu, modern Forteviot), capital of the Southern Picts.

850

After killing the final Pictish ruler (an event known as McAlpin's Treason), Kenneth rules Pictland and unites most of the country, a feat which is extended to cover all Scotland by subsequent kings.

Kings of Scotland
AD 850 - 1603

The House of Alpin retained the Pictish custom of passing the crown down through matrilineal descent. In modern lists, Constantine I is used for the Pictish Constantine mac Fergus (789-820).

(Additional information on the links with Strathclyde by Mick Baker.)

House of Alpin

850 - 860

Kenneth I mac Alpin

860 - 863

Donald I mac Alpin

Brother.

863 - 877

Constantine II mac Kenneth

Son of Kenneth.

877 - 878

Aed mac Kenneth

Brother.

878 - 889

Giric I

Joint rulers.

878 - 889

Eochaid / Eochu

King of Strathclyde (878-889).

889 - 900

Donald II mac Constantine

King of Strathclyde (889-900). Killed by Danes.

900 - 942

Constantine (Constantinus) III mac Aed

Son of Aed.

934 - 937

The grand alliance including the Scots, Northumbrian Danes at York, Dublin Danes, and the Welsh of Gwynedd and Cumbria, mass their forces north of the Humber in a bold attempt to destroy Athelstan of Wessex. The plan fails, however, when the West Saxons and Mercians of the south destroy the alliance at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937.

942 - 954

Malcolm (Milcolumbus) I mac Donald

Son of Donald. Killed near Fetteresso.

954 - 962

Indulf mac Constantine

Son of Constantine. King of Strathclyde (943-954).

962 - 967

Duff (Dub`h) mac Malcolm

Son of Malcolm. King of Strathclyde (954-962).

967 - 971

Culen (Colin / Cuilean Finn) mac Indulf

Son of Indulf. 'White Colin'.

971 - 995

Kenneth II

Son of Malcolm I. Lost the Highlands to Olav (971-977).

995 - 997

Constantine IV the Bald

Son of Culen.

997 - 1005

Kenneth III

Son of Duff. killed in civil war near Loch Earn.

997 - 1005

Giric II

1005 - 1034

Malcolm II

Son of Kenneth II.

1018 - 1034

Malcolm is usually credited with being the ruler who finally subdues Strathclyde and appends it to the Scottish crown. The exact date is unknown.

House of Atholl

The reign of Duncan mac Crinan, grandson of Malcolm II, is littered with defeats and poor rule as the king is defeated by his own people and by the English. In a vain attempt to restore his prestige, Duncan engaged on a Royal Progress through the land of Moray, where MacBeth was sub-king. This proved to be a grave error of judgement as MacBeth and his men rose up and kill Duncan at Pitgaveny.

1034 - 1040

Duncan I

Inherited the crown of Strathclyde.

House of Alpin

MacBeth, at the head of the disgruntled men of Moray, rose up and defeated the discredited Duncan, killing him on 14 August 1040 at Bothngouane (now Pitgaveny) near Elgin. MacBeth was a good and strong king; a far cry from the evil villain portrayed in Shakespeare's work of fiction, reigning for a long seventeen years.

1040 - 1057

Macbeth / Mac Bethad mac Findláich

Grandson-in-law of Kenneth III. Killed by Malcolm III.

1046

Siward, earl of Northumbria and former father-in-law to Duncan, succeeds in momentarily expelling MacBeth from Lothian, and briefly installing Duncan's brother Maldred on the Scottish throne. MacBeth swiftly recovers his lost lands.

1054

Siward and Malcolm Ceann Mor set off on a campaign to defeat MacBeth. They do so at Dunsinnen, wresting Lothian and possibly Strathclyde from him, but they fail to depose him. Ceann Mor is set up as Malcolm III, at least of Cumbria (Strathclyde), a client king of the English.

1057

Malcolm Ceann Mor defeats and kills MacBeth at Lumphanon. Lulach, MacBeth's stepson, becomes king. He reigns for just seven months before being slain by Malcolm.

1057 - 1058

Lulach

Step-son of Macbeth. Reigned for seven months.

House of Atholl

1058 - 1093

Malcolm III Canmore / Ceann Mor

Son of Duncan I.

1093 - 1094

Donald III Bane

Son of Duncan I.

1094

Duncan II

Son of Malcolm III.

1094 - 1097

Donald III Bane

Second reign.

1098 - 1107

Edgar

Son of Malcolm III.

1107 - 1124

Alexander I

Son of Malcolm III. Son-in-law of Henry I of England.

1114

Alexander inaugurates the construction of Scone Abbey on the ancient site of the coronation of Scottish kings.

1124 - 1153

David I the Saint

Son of Malcolm III.

1133

A Norman invasion from England forces King Thorkell to flee Dublin and Ireland altogether for the safety of the Scottish Highlands.

1139

The title of earl of Northumberland falls vacant until Stephen of England is pressured into appointing a new earl by King David.

1153 - 1165

Malcolm IV the Maiden

Grandson of David I.

1165 - 1214

William I the Lion

Grandson of David I.

1214 - 1249

Alexander II

Son of William I.

1215 - 1217

The barons of Northumberland and York pay homage to Alexander during the First Barons' War of England.

1226

The Isle of Man passes from the overlordship of the Scandinavian crown to that of the Scottish crown.

1249 - 1286

Alexander III

Son of Alexander II by his second wife.

1265 - 1275

The Isle of Man is annexed by and falls under the control of Scotland. From this point the island is controlled directly from either Scotland or England, as the two nations vie for power.

1286 - 1290

Margaret Maid of Norway

Granddaughter of Alexander III. Dau. of Eric II of Norway.

1290 - 1292

First Interregnum. Ruled under English occupation.

House of Balliol

1292 - 1296

John Balliol

Fifth lineal descendant of David I (d.1315).

1295

On 5 July Scotland and France form an alliance, the origin of their 'Auld Alliance', against England.

1296 - 1306

Second Interregnum. Edward I of England rules Scotland. In 1302, in his attempts to suppress Scottish rebel William Wallace and claimant to the throne Robert the Bruce during the Scottish Wars of Independence, Edward I builds a fortress at Linlithgow. In 1305 William Wallace is captured and is subsequently hanged, drawn and quartered by the English at Smithfield, London.

House of Bruce

1306 - 1329

Robert I Bruce

Descendant of David I.

1314

Edward II's defeat at Bannockburn by the Scottish under Robert the Bruce sees the start of a period in which the certainty of Scottish independence from England become more and more established. The drawing up of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320 involves the Pope, John XXII, in negotiations.

The Battle of Bannockburn by William Hole, part of a mural in three sections, from the Scottish National Portrait Museum in Edinburgh showing Robert the Bruce in the foreground

1328

The Treaty of Northampton, in which England renounces its claim to Scotland, is signed.

1329 - 1371

David II

Son.

House of Balliol

1332

Edward Balliol

Son of John. Rival claimant in Aug-Dec, and 1333-1342.

House of Stewart

1371 - 1390

Robert II

Grandson of Robert I (Stewart = Steward of the Palace).

1390 - 1406

Robert III

Son.

1406 - 1437

James I

Son of Robert II. Murdered.

1411

Highland and Lowland Scots clash at 'Red Harlaw', one of the bloodiest battles in Scottish history.

1437 - 1460

James II

Son. Aged 7 at accession.

1437 - 1439

Joan Beaufort

Mother. Regent.

1460

James II, about to launch into a war against England, is killed by one of his own canon when it explodes instead of sending a salute to his arriving queen.

1460 - 1488

James III

Son of James II. Assassinated.

1488

Rebels defeat and depose James III at the Battle of Sauchieburn on 11 June, making his son, James, king.

1488 - 1513

James IV

Son. Adopted the thistle as the Stewart emblem.

1493

James takes the title 'Lord of the Isles', a minor kingship in its own right, during the anarchic period in the Highlands following the death of the last MacDonald lord of the Isles.

1513

James takes full advantage of the fact that Henry VIII is campaigning in France and his wife, Isabella, is governing England in his name. James invades England, but Isabella sends an army north. The two forces meet at Flodden and the Scots are annihilated, with around 10,000 casualties, including James himself.

1513 - 1542

James V

Son.

1542 - 1567

Mary (Queen of Scots)

Dau. of James V by 2nd wife. Executed: Fotheringay (1587).

1547

In the last battle between English and Scottish royal armies, the Scots are routed at Pinkie, Edinburgh on 10 September as the uncle and Royal Protector of Edward VI, Edward Seymour, attempts to impose Anglican reform north of the border and force the infant Mary, Queen of Scots to marry Edward. Mary is smuggled to France where she is betrothed to the young dauphin, Francis.

1559

Scone Abbey is sacked and burned by an angry mob at the height of the Reformation.

1567 - 1625

James VI

Son of Mary by her second husband.

1603

James VI becomes James I of England through a pre-agreed succession, and the two crowns are ruled jointly from England.

1640

The Scots defeat Charles I Stuart in the Second Bishops' War, and the king is forced to recall Parliament, which becomes known as the Long Parliament.

1649

One of the leaders of Parliament, Oliver Cromwell, supports the execution of the Stuart king in January 1649, and leads an army to crush the Scots in the following year.

1698

Scottish settlers make landfall in Panama, establishing the ill-fated 'Darien Venture' colony.

1707

The Union of the crowns of England and Scotland is enacted, establishing in fact a union which has existed since 1603. The joint kingdoms are governed from a single Parliament at Westminster in London.

2000

Devolution gives Scotland back a parliament of its own to handle its internal affairs.