The Pictish Civil War Part IV

At the start of the year 728, the leader with the most authority in the Pictish nation(s) appears to have been Elpin. As we saw at the end of the last post, the previous King Naiton had retired to a religious life in 724 and the kingship passed to Drust, possibly a relative, and Elpin. I suggested that Naiton’s retirement was possibly enforced on him – or at least encouraged – by the two new kings and I would also propose that Naiton’s simmering resentment, and support for him from elsewhere, led to nervousness and suspicion on the part of Drust. Drust’s son (possibly called Simul) had been taken captive a year after Naiton’s retirement by forces unknown and in 726 Drust had decided to remove Naiton from his monastery and place him under house arrest. That action was soon followed by a weakening of Drust’s power, leaving Elpin largely in charge – although Drust did not disappear, and Naiton’s captivity did not end.

Assuming then that Naiton was being supported by others, I also posed the questions: who were they, and were they genuinely interested in returning Naiton to the throne for his sake or did they have other motives?

The final character to enter the stage is of course Onuist map Uurguist and we have met him before. In that earlier post I set out the supposed origins of Onuist and noted that he has been linked with the Irish royal dynasty known as the Eóganachta. The source quoted specifically notes the Eóganachtan Maige Gerginn and this is probably the same as the Pictish kingdom of Circinn which is usually thought have been in the modern-day area of Kincardineshire (the Mearns) down towards Angus. Whatever his origins, we are introduced to him in the Annals as fighting a battle against Elpin at Mónidchroibh (modern-day Moncrieffe, near Perth) in 728. Onuist was the victor, killing many of his foe, including Elpin’s son. According to the Annals of Tigernach, this was enough for Onuist to take the royal power, but a second battle quickly followed at “Castellum Credi” and Elpin was again defeated. The Annals say that the outcome of this was the reinstatement of Naiton to the throne while Elpin was routed, losing all of his territories. Incidentally both the Annals of Ulster and Tigernach describe the second battle as tearful (lacrimabile[1]) or miserable (truagh[2]). Some have suggested this shows a bias in the chroniclers towards Elpin, but it may just have been a resigned sigh, perhaps coming from the same original source, caused by the waste of civil war.

The location of Castellum Credi remains unknown, although Fraser has suggested[3] that it may have been the hill of confidence at Scone which is also just outside Perth.

So what is going on here? Is there some agreement in place whereby Onuist has agreed to fight to restore Naiton and therefore we can take the Annals at face value? Presumably then Onuist had a price – perhaps to be the named successor? This seems like the simplest explanation, but for a long time it was thought that Onuist and Naiton were themselves opponents, either right from the start or perhaps due to a developing rivalry. This view stemmed largely from the interpretation of a third battle which took place in the following year.

The location was this time at a place known as Mount Carno (Monith Carno) – location unknown, although Fraser has again proposed a site, suggesting that it was much further north, near to Loch Lochy in the Great Glen[4]. The sources state that this battle took place between the “hostem” of Naiton and the army of Onuist and that the “exactatores” of Naiton fell.  Some of those who were on the losing side are named (we’ll come back to that) and the “familia” of Onuist triumphed:

“Bellum Monith Carno iuxta Stagnum Loogdę inter hostem Nectain ⁊ exercitum Oengusa ⁊ exactatores Nectain ceciderunt; hoc est: Biceot m. Moneit ⁊ filius eius, Finguine m. Drostain, Feroth m. Finnguine ⁊ quidam multi, ⁊ familia Oengussa triumphauit.” (Annals of Ulster, 729.2)

(The battle of Mount Carno next to Loch Loogde between the hostem of Naiton and the army of Onuist and the exactatores fell, that is: Biceot son of Monet and his son; Finguine son of Drotan, Feroth son of Finguinne; and many more. The supporters of Onuist were triumphant.)

Many historians have taken the word “hostem” to mean “host” and therefore accepted the meaning that the conflict was between Naiton and Onuist. The word exactatores was also taken to mean something like “tax-collectors” or “tribute gatherers” leading to an interpretation that Onuist was perhaps disputing Naiton’s right to this privilege.

However it is far more likely that “hostem” is the more usual word for enemy (giving us the English word “hostile”) and the exactatores should be translated as something like opponents or oppressors. Therefore the battle was not the result of a showdown between the newly reinstated old king and the new challenger; it should in fact be regarded as a challenge to Naiton by his opponents. Onuist, continuing to back Naiton and the agreement the two of them seem to have made, sent in his troops/supporters (familia) to see off this challenge. The battle was noted outside Pictland, being one of the rare Pictish events reported in the Annales Cambriae (the Annals of Wales)[5].  

The oppressors who are named in the Irish sources include Finnguine son of Drostan and also Finnguine’s son, Feroth. This father/grandfather is the same Drostan who was also the father (with Derilei) of Talorc, the man who had been imprisoned by Naiton in 713. Again, this is evidence of rivalry among the Pictish leading families – which will continue for a good decade still.

The enemy of Naiton is not named, but it is almost certainly Drust (previously co-king with Elpin) or someone close to him – perhaps from the Atholl contingent mentioned in the previous post. This is supported by the account of the final battle of the war, at a place called Druim Derg Blathug. Again the location is uncertain. There is a Druim Dearg hill (postcode PH11 8PN) around 10 miles north of Blairgowrie which would seem to fit, although the first two words “druimm dearg” may be a description (“red back/ridge”) of the third word (which itself may be related to the word for flower).

The combatants in this battle were Drust and Onuist. Interestingly Drust is described in the Annals of Ulster as “rex Pictorum” – king of the Picts[6], while in the Annals of Tigernach it is Onuist who is given this title[7]. This battle needed to take place to decide the issue. In that it succeeded. Drust was killed and this left Naiton, supported by Onuist to reign without further challenge

Naiton died three years later in 732. His reign had brought some important changes to his people, recognised by the fact that he is one of the kings for whom we have a comparatively reasonable amount of source material. Onuist began his sole rule at that point. This would last three decades and during that time Onuist would become the most powerful leader north of Hadrian’s Wall, leaving a legacy that would more than match Naiton’s.

We know very little about those three years preceding Naiton’s death although we start to see movements towards that hegemony by Onuist and his family, with incursions into Dal Riadan territory. With the Civil War over, the Pictish leadership was able to turn its attention beyond its borders.

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[1] Annals of Ulster 728.4

[2] Annals of Tigernach 728.5

[3] From Caledonia to Pictland, p288

[4] From Caledonia to Pictland, p291

[5] Annales Cambriae a287. “Bellum mortis carno” (“the battle of Mount Carno”, although the middle word should read “montis”).

[6] Annals of Ulster 729.3: “Bellum Dromo Dergg Blathuug in regionibus Pictorum inter Oengus ⁊ Drust regem Pictorum, ⁊ cecidit Drust.” (The battle of Druim Derg Blathug in the land of the Picts between Onuist and Drust, king of the Picts, and Drust fell).

[7] Annals of Tigernach 729.4: “Cath Droma Deirg Blathuug eter Piccardaib .i. Drust ⁊ Aengus rí na Piccardach, ⁊ ro marbad Drust … in dara la deg do mis Aughuist.” (The battle of Druim Derg Blathug between the Picts – that is Drust and Onuist, king of the Picts on the 12^th of August and Drust died).