14 Jun 2024, Friday

Prioritized Daily Task

Patrick Hobbs' 42nd Birthday

9:00 am - Inverness, Scotland, Loch Ness, Scottish highlands, and other sites

6;30 pm - Depart Invergordon, Scotland

Note: Kenneth MacAlpin or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), and King of the Picts (843–858) of likely Gaelic origin. He inherited the throne of Dál Riada. Kenneth MacAlpin is believed to have been born around 810 on the island of Iona, which is in the western part of modern-day Scotland. After Alpín mac Echdach, founder of the Alpínid dynasty his son, Kenneth, succeeded him as the King of Dál Riada. His coronation took place in 840 or 841. One of the main sources on the life of Kenneth is the 10th century Chronicle of the Kings of Alba which describes the reigns of Scottish kings from Kenneth I to Kenneth II (r. 971–995.

Kenneth I conquered the kingdom of the Picts in 843–850 and began a campaign to seize all of Scotland and assimilate the Picts, for which he was posthumously nicknamed An Ferbasach ("The Conqueror").[1] He fought the Britons of the Kingdom of Strathclyde and the invading Vikings from Scandinavia. Forteviot became the capital of his kingdom and Kenneth relocated relics, including the Stone of Scone from an abandoned abbey on Iona to his new domain.

Kenneth I is traditionally considered the founder of Scotland, which was then known as Alba, although like his immediate successors, he bore the title of King of the Picts. One chronicle calls Kenneth the first Scottish lawgiver but there is no information about the laws he passed.

In the first half of the 9th century, the geopolitical situation in Dál Riada deteriorated. Almost the entire territory of the kingdom was mountainous and was filled with uneasy terrain. Kenneth's realm lay between the powerful Kingdom of Strathclyde in the south and the Druim Alban mountain ridge in the east. It was difficult to pass through the provinces of Dál Riada, most of the land was infertile, and the kingdom had lost its western territories in the Hebrides to the Vikings, who had settled in the area and were raiding the borders of Dál Riada. These conditions may have forced Kenneth to attack the Picts.[6]

After the death of Eóganan mac Óengusa in 839, Uurad, and then Bridei VI succeeded him as the King of the Picts. According to List One,[c] Uurad's reign lasted three years, while Brude VI reigned for a year. According to List Two, Uurad reigned for two years, while Bridei VI's reign lasted a month. The reigns of Uurad's three sons were also present in List Two. Based on these accounts, the Pictish kingdom fell in 849 or 850. Many sources dating to the following periods state that the historical kingdom of the Picts and the Scots unified in 850. List Two states that the last Pictish King was killed in Forteviot or Scone. This is probably a reference to MacAlpin's treason, a medieval legend first recorded in the 12th century by Giraldus Cambrensis. According to the legend, a Pictish nobleman is invited by the Scots to a meeting or a feast in Scone and is treacherously killed there. At the same time, List One gives the year 843 as the date when Kenneth received the title of King of the Picts.[3][6]

Sources do not detail Kenneth's conquest of Pictavia.[d] No chronicle mentions either Kenneth's continuing his father's campaign against the Picts or his supposed claim to the Pictish crown. Modern-day historians suggest Kenneth was a descendant of Pictish kings through his mother or had ties with them through his wife. Kenneth's grandmother (Alpin's mother), was also said to have been a Pictish princess, the sister of Constantine I and Óengus II. It is likely the death of Eógananhe, Chronicle of Huntingdon gives the following interpretation of the events that took place after Eóganan's death:

Kynadius [Kenneth] succeeded his father Alpin in his kingdom, and that in the seventh year of his reign [the year 839], while the Danish pirates, having occupied the Pictish shores, had crushed the Picts, who were defending themselves, with a great slaughter, Kynadius, passing into their remaining territories, turned his arms against them, and having slain many, compelled them to take flight, and was the first king of the Scots who acquired the monarchy of the whole of Alban, and ruled in it over the Scots.[16]

It is likely Kenneth killed the Pictish leaders and destroyed their armies during his conquest of Pictavia, after which he devastated the whole country. The Annals of the Four Masters record a single battle during Kenneth's campaign, which according to Isabel Henderson, proves the Picts did not show any significant resistance to Kenneth's forces, however, more evidence will have to be presented.[6]

King of Alba

According to historical tradition, a new kingdom was formed after Kenneth annexed the kingdom of the Picts. This kingdom's Gaelic name was Alba, which was later replaced with Scotia and Scotland. The rulers of the kingdom initially held the title of King of Alba. Kenneth is listed in the royal lists dating to later periods as the first King of Scotland; modern historians, however, believe the final unification of the kingdom took place half a century later and that Kenneth's main political achievement should be considered the creation of a new dynasty. This dynasty sought to dominate all of Scotland, under which the Scots assimilated the Picts, resulting in the quick disappearance of the Picts' language and institutions.[3][9][17]

After the conquest of Pictavia, the Scots from Dál Riada began to migrate en masse to the territories populated by the Picts. The list of Pictish kings concludes in 850 and the list of kings of Dál Riada also ends around the same time, meaning the title ceased to exist. Kenneth I and his administration moved to Pictavia; it is possible the Scots moved to the region before the war and that such settlements played a major role in the selection of Scone as the kingdom's capital. Kenneth moved relics from an abandoned abbey on Iona, where Viking raids made life untenable, to Dunkeld, which was the centre of the Church of Scotland, in 848 or 849, according to The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba. The coronation stone was also moved from the island to Scone, for which it is referred to as the Stone of Scone. According to archaeological excavations, Forteviot was probably originally a royal residence but the place is not mentioned in the chronicles after the death of Donald I. The mass migration of Scots to the east most likely led to the assimilation of the Picts. Although the Irish annals, which date to the late 9th century, mention the title King of the Picts, the Picts may not have remained independent. The Pictish civil system and clerical laws were completely replaced with the Scottish legal system, and it is likely similar changes occurred in other spheres of the Pictish society. The Picts did not revolt against this assimilation process.[3][6][7][18]

The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba describes the events that occurred during Kenneth's reign without specifying their dates. He invaded Lothian in the Kingdom of Northumbria six times, and captured the towns of Melrose and Dunbar, and razed them. The Celtic Britons from the Kingdom of Strathclyde attacked Kenneth's kingdom and burnt Dunblane. Furthermore, Viking invaders raided Pictavia, ravaging the territories "from Clunie to Dunkeld".[3][19]

Kenneth strengthened his power by arranging royal marriages with neighbouring states, marrying his daughters to the kings of Strathclyde and Ireland.[3][19] According to the Chronicle of Melrose, Kenneth was one of the first Scottish lawgivers but his laws have not survived to the 21st century.[20]

Death and succession

According to the Annals of Ulster, Kenneth died in 858. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba states he died in February in Forteviot due to a tumour. Historians suggest this date might be 13 February. Kenneth was buried in Iona Abbey. Succession in the kingdom was carried out in the form of tanistry so Kenneth's successor was his brother Donald I rather than his eldest son. After the death of Donald I, the sons of Kenneth, Causantín mac Cináeda and Áed mac Cináeda, inherited the crown. The Alpínid dynasty, which ruled Scotland until the beginning of the 11th century, was formed during this period.[3][21][22]

(Tanistry - an early Irish law of succession by which the heir or successor of a chief or king is appointed during the lifetime of the reigning chief, is not necessarily his oldest son, is generally the worthiest and wisest of the male relatives of the chief, and is elected by the people from among the eligible candidates but because of resultant bloody wars and feuds between families declared illegal by a decision of the Anglo-Irish judges in the first year of James I.)

Contemporaneous Irish annals give Kenneth and his immediate successors the title King of the Picts, but do not call him the King of Fortriu, a title that was only given to four Pictish kings who reigned in the 7th to 9th centuries. It is possible the use of the title of King of the Picts was in reference to Kenneth and his immediate successors' claim to all of Pictavia, though there is very little evidence of the extent of their domain.[3]

Family

The name of Kenneth's wife is unknown. There is a hypothesis she may have been a Pictish princess. Kenneth's children were:

Causantín mac Cináeda (r. 862–877), King of Alba;

Áed of the White Flowers (r. 877–878), King of Alba;

Unknown daughter. She married Rhun ab Arthgal (r. 872–878), the King of Strathclyde, and had a son, Eochaid (r. 878–889), who may have ruled as King of Strathclyde and/or King of the Picts;

Máel Muire ingen Cináeda. She married Áed Findliath (r. 862–879), the High King of Ireland.

There is also a theory the wife of Amlaíb Conung (r. 853–871), the King of Dublin, was a daughter of Kenneth.[7]

Note: Scotts is a derogatory name given by the Romans to the people who spoke the Galic language. The correct proper name should be Dalriada, the people of Dal Riada

Dalriada: The Land of the First Scots

The first Irish in Scotland settled on the western coasts around the year 350 after raiding there (the word Scoti means raider, a term coined by the Romans), although it would be at least another century before settlement really began in earnest, with the arrival of King Fergus Mor in 500 AD. Communication was certainly established between the Irish tribes and the Picts of Northern Scotland by the year 367, as both launched assaults on Roman Britain in that year.

Debbie and I we up at 6 am. We had pray, studied scriptures, and got ready for the day. We ate breakfast on the ship with the family and then met at the point designated by the tour company to meet our guide and catch our tour bus we would be traveling on for eight hours today. Our first stop was Inverness (meaning beside the Ness). I took a picture of the castle above the Ness from the bus. I did not get off with the group but stayed on the tour bus and rested. Our second stop was at the Culloden Battlefield. I was interested and got off the bus and walked part of the battleground. We did not tour the museum but saw the marsh and makers relating to the battle and clan markers. It appears the Maclean, Stewart of Appin, Mackintosh, MacDonald, and Fraser, as well as the Atholl Highlanders. the largest clan involved in the revolt to install James Francis Edward Stewart as King James of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

The Jacobites fought to restore the exiled James VIII as king and were led by Prince Charles Edward Stuart, King James's son; George II's government army was led by the Duke of Cumberland, George's son.

Both the Prince and Duke were 25 years old and were distant cousins. It appears the Prince picked the Culloden Moor (marsh) location of the battlefield but it was not a good move because the Soctts attack on foot, accustomed to running headlong down a hill into the opposing army. They were not professional warriors but mostly farmers while the British army, about 8,000, outnumbered the Jacobite forces of about 5,400. Life for the Highlander Scotts was very difficult after the rebellion.

Our third stop was at Cawdor Castle, The Castle is the ancestral home of the Campbells of Cawdor and dates from the late 14th century, The castle is still the home of one of the daughters. The castle and gardens and gardens are maintained. The TV and modern phones are kept out of sight but no effort was made to show eh new kitchen which was built over the 300-year-old kitchen it replaced.

On our next stop Loch Ness, it was pouring down rain. It stopped raining and we were able to get pictures of Loch Ness. Loch is the Gaelic word for lake, and there are over 31,000 lochs in Scotland. The fresh water in Loch Ness stays at a constant 5-6 degrees Celsius or 41-42.8 degrees Fahrenheit. It never freezes but stays cold year-round. It is the largest lake by volume, . - it contains more water (7,452 million cubic meters) than all English and Welsh lakes together. Its deepest point is 230 meters (126 fathoms; 755 feet), making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. Loch Ness is 23 miles long, deeper than the North Sea, and holds more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. The lake or loch is fed from the north by the Ness River. It is in fact so deep, that Loch Ness never freezes over, even in the harshest of Scottish Winters, as the water cooled from the air will sink and be replaced by warmer water below it. The water is black or dark due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil.

Our last stop on the tour was at Robertsons Farm or The Larder, Tomich Farm Shop, Beauly, IV4 7AS. We took pictures of two long-haired Highland Cattle,

The tour bus driver got us back to the pier at about 5:15 pm. At 6;30 pm the ship set sail and departed Invergordon, Scotland. We all had dinner on the ship at 7:45 pm.