In the last two blog posts (The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth and Kenneth MacAlpin Part II ) I looked at the story of Kenneth MacAlpin, the man who is often described as the first king of the Scots. The earlier sources call him king of the Picts, but he is linked strongly to the twilight of that people and/or their joining with the Dál Riadan Scots in the formation of the new kingdom covering much of what is now Scotland.
In this post I thought I would do something a little bit different.
Many of the tales surrounding Kenneth come from centuries after he lived, but in this post I thought it would be interesting to look at a more modern interpretation of his story – as told by the prolific Scottish writer Nigel Tranter in his novel “Kenneth”.
Part of this reason for my own blog is to research the sources for the history covering northern Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and the north Atlantic from the end of the 7th century and the centuries following, and to have some fun plotting out a potentially wider and more interlinked story of what might have been happening and the characters involved. I am therefore interested in how these characters have been treated in historical fiction, particularly those who were at times historians, and at others, novelists – such as Tranter.
The first – and obvious – thing to do then is to issue a SPOILER ALERT! If you have not read “Kenneth” (published in 1990 and running to 356 pages) then please note that what I am about to write will give the plot away – although to be fair, Tranter makes it clear from the outset where the story is heading. What I am particularly interested in is how he has used the sources I looked at over those last two articles to build a story and interpretation of what might have happened. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that what he has written is a piece of fiction and therefore at times he adds drama for which there is no evidence, but that is within the gift of the novelist (and, frankly, makes for a more enjoyable and readable book).
One of my favourite aspects of the book is that at times it reads like an early medieval travelogue, with detailed descriptions of the landscape and places of Scotland. For example:
“Reaching the sea, or at least the Sound of Lorn at the fortress of Dunstaffnage, they turned south now, by the Oban and a succession of sea-lochs, with the mountains pressing close, until they came at last to something very different, a sudden widening to what amounted almost to a plain, rare indeed on that seaboard, the flood-plain of the River Add, a four-mile-wide spread of level land where the stream reached the sea, part waterlogged admittedly but with much tillable soil and good pasture for beasts, cattle-dotted. But it was not all level, this Moine Mhor, or Great Moor as it was called, for rising out of its centre was an extraordinarily abrupt conical hill, ringed at its rocky summit with three circles of earth and stone ramparts, but these containing no building – Dunadd, the Dalriadan capital hill.”
However, elsewhere the novel is a high-paced adventure. It begins with the prelude to a battle as we are introduced to Kenneth MacAlpin gazing down at the enemy – the Northumbrian Angles and West Saxons, led by the West Saxon Athelstan, son of King Athelwulf. Kenneth’s actions are instrumental in helping to defeat Athelstan, who dies in the battle, although gratitude for the victory is really due to the appearance of St. Andrew’s cross in the otherwise cloudless sky which spurs on the army Kenneth is fighting for.
We are about to witness the legendary battle of Athelstaneford in which Onuist II – aided in some accounts by a King Achaius of the Scots – defeats the Anglo-Saxons, and possibly (if indeed the battle ever happened) in the year 832. I covered this legend in Onuist II and the Flag of Scotland and in The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth, I looked at the possibility that Achaius was Kenneth McAlpin’s grandfather, Eochaid.
On that point we find Kenneth engaging with the three kings he is supporting and Tranter names them as
- Angus mac Fergus (Onuist II), who is the “High King of all Alba”,
- Alpin mac Eochaidh, “King of Galloway” – and Kenneth’s father,
- Eochaidh the Poisonous – “King of the Scots of Dalriada” – Kenneth’s grandfather
Tranter adds his own colour to each of these characters, for example his grandfather is “Eochaidh the Poisonous, King of the Scots of Dalriada… a warrior, a devious plotter, one of the most cultured men in Christendom and with a waspish tongue – which was where his nickname of the Poisonous came from, his speech not any proclivity for poisoning.”
Kenneth’s father meanwhile is cold towards him, and will later be presented as rather disinterested in Kenneths grand dream, which we first hear of after the battle victory:
“Might it not be a first step to a greater unity? A uniting of Alba and Dalriada – one kingdom? That now, would be something. He had thought of it, vaguely, often. One kingdom north of the Scotwater and the Clyde. One day, perhaps, even Strathclyde also.”
Tranter uses the name Alba for Pictavia, although this is not quite right – the first king of Alba was some decades in the future, and later in the book he notes that the word Pict was the Roman version of the true name of Onuist’s people – the “Albannach”.
Following the appearance of the white cross in the sky, one of the main themes of the book becomes Angus’s desire to make St Andrew the patron saint of Alba[1] and this includes sending Kenneth away to gather as much information about (and relics of) the Saint as possible so that he can found a monastery in Fife[2]. Kenneth meanwhile begins to wonder whether Andrew can become the patron of both kingdoms – of the Picts and Dál Riada.
Kenneth’s mission is to form a “Celtic alliance” of Dál Riada, Alba, Strathclyde, Man, Cumbria (and the Welsh and Irish if possible) against the Norse and, to a lesser extent, the Anglo-Saxons. Raids on Iona are described and, seeking vengeance, Kenneth sails with a small band to the islands off the west coast of Scotland and defeats the attackers – thus earning himself the name “Norse-Slayer.”
Columba’s relics are another religious feature of the novel. Angus demands that they are brought to Forteviot (the capital of Alba) and Kenneth is involved in this too, although, at the behest of his grandfather, Columba’s “portable stone altar-cum-font, on which the kings had been seated on their enthronement” is hidden away on the west coast, to the annoyance of the High King.
Tranter allows space to give us some of the history while using the opportunity to bring in (or invent) characters who will add further sub-plots to the novel:
“Alba was divided into seven sub-kingdoms, from Ross in the far north to Fife in the south, with Moray, much the largest, its former seat of the high kings at Inverness, Buchan, Mar, Angus and Fortrenn in between. These lesser kings were called the ri, and they appointed the High King, or Ard Righ, usually of the Moray line but not necessarily so, the most able in statecraft and war being the standard of choice, not primogeniture, with matrilinear succession still important. Angus and Finchem had four sons, Ewan, Nechtan, Finguine and Bran, with one daughter, Eithne, the firstborn and about Kenneth’s own age. The Princes Ewan and Nechtan were away with their father, and the other two were but boys in their early teens.”
Tranter has picked up the name of Angus’s wife, Finchem, from the St Andrews Foundation Legend version B (from the middle of the 12th century)[3] which tells us however that Angus and Finchem went to a place called Moneclat and “there Queen Finechem gave birth to a daughter to King Hungus, who was called Mouren. The body of that virgin Mouren was buried at Kylrimont, no one having been buried there before.[4]” So that is neither the name of the daughter as per Tranter nor, as we shall see, did she die a virgin – unless of course this a different daughter[5].
Kenneth and Eithne soon develop a mutual attraction even if they are cousins: Kenneth’s grandmother (called here Ergusia) had been (her father) King Angus’s older sister. (See also Kenneth MacAlpin Part II where I noted that Skene’s suggestion that Kenneth’s mother was Pictish, and one which can be found in almost any reference these days, seems to derive from the same tradition as the 15th century Boece which suggests that Achaius, the father of Alpin and grandfather of Kenneth, married the sister of the two Pictish kings Constantine and Onuist II as part of a peace treaty between the two peoples.)
Kenneth is soon discussing his grand vison with Eithne. When she asks him if the two kingdoms should unite in one, he replies:
“Often I have thought so, yes. We share so much, as well as the land. And face the same dangers. We would be stronger, united. But . . . there is the danger, for Dalriada, that it would be swallowed up in Alba. Lost, in the greater realm. There are ten Albannach for every Scot. It would be difficult for us to keep our identity. And it is worth keeping. The Scots.”
Again the foundations for the denouement are being laid.
Meanwhile Kenneth continues with his attempt in building up a great alliance. He finds Angus moderately interested and other regional leaders with varying degrees of warmth towards the idea. He fights a successful sea-battle against the north, aided by his brother Donald and things seem to be going well.
However when he returns to Forteviot he finds Eithne there, but with a stranger whose arm is around her. This turns out to be Aed mac Boanta, the mormaor (or ri) of Moray. In The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth I went with the scenario that Aed was a king of Dál Riada after 835, although one who was still required to take his lead from the Picts and that he was in fact succeeded by Eochaid in that kingdom.
Tranter takes a different view. He tells us that Aed and Eithne are to be wed. Kenneth’s rival had “the unusual distinction of using his royal mother’s name, Boanta, after his own, his father unfortunately having been a nobody.” However all three were related: Boanta was another sister (with Ergusia) of Angus and Constantine. Eithne was the daughter of Aungus, Kenneth was the grandson of Ergusia (through his father Alpin and grandfather Eochaidh), while Aed was the son of Boanta.
The princess is unhappy about the impending marriage – she declares her love for Kenneth – but it’s a matter of politics and there is nothing they can do about it. However at least Aed does seem to be supportive of Kenneth’s plan for pan-Celtic military support, as is Eithne’s brother Ewan.
We then hear that Iona is attacked again and the abbot Blathnac among those martyred. The annals actually date this to the year 825, so Tranter is using some artistic licence with the timeline. Kenneth leads a fleet to Ireland where they rout some of the Norse and he tries to persuade Godfrey mac Fergus, King of Oriel, to join the coalition. Again the familial links between characters are emphasised. Before Godfrey arrives, his wife Queen Cathira attempts to seduce Kenneth – but unsuccessfully. However she does manage to persuade her husband to promise support to Kenneth. As reported in my last blog, this episode comes from the Annals of the Four Masters, where Gofraidh mac Fęrghusa, sends troops in 835 to Dál Riada to help Kenneth. Tranter does not mention the possible Norse links of the king of Oriel that I described in the previous blog.
Eochaidh dies and his son Alpin is all set to be the new King of Dál Riada. However Aed arrives just before the ceremony and lets everyone know that he is to be the Dál Riadan King, as ordered by Angus. Ewan and Eithne confirm apologetically that this is indeed the case. The reason given is that:
“Angus was not actually claiming Alban overlordship of Dalriada… But he had been King of Dalriada before becoming High King of Alba, as had his brother Constantine before him. … It was essential that the two realms should remain in close relationship – Kenneth, a believer in unity, would support that? – and considered it best to have one of his own family on the lesser throne.”
Tranter then seems to be taking the view that the Pictish kings (or the High Kings of Alba) were actually somehow Dál Riadan first. In any case, Kenneth reluctantly decides not to protest too much – at least Eithne will now be his Queen, so he might see her a bit more often? Alpin, the loser in all this, seems “least concerned, almost relieved.”
After fighting with the Angles and the Norse (the book has a lot of battle-scene detail), the next major episode is the death of Angus, dated by the Annals to 834, and the accession of Drust (son of Constantine) with a certain Talorcan as his deputy. In Vikings v Picts, Scots, Irish and Anglo-Saxons I wrote how the annalistic record states these to have been co-rulers, but with no other information about Drust. By the way, I am not disagreeing or criticising Tranter for his choices in building his narrative; I am simply interested in his version. There are some places where Tranter’s history is shakier (he states for example that the Outer Hebrides had been Norse territory for “almost two centuries” – i.e. from around 640 or so), but since his time of writing we have had more than three decades of research and interpretation to benefit from.
Kenneth continues to seek Celtic unity and he meets the Abbess of St Bees who despite the day job, clearly fancies him. He then learns that both Drust and Talorcan have been killed in a Norse attack “allegedly from Iceland” (almost certainly too early for that) and that his friend and Eithne’s brother, Ewan, is now High King. Ewan and Aed are busy repelling the invaders and Kenneth sets out to help. His help isn’t required and instead he and Eithne prepare for her brother’s coronation.
Godfrey then turns up again, a refugee, having been ousted by Thorgesr who has come “from Norway itself” with an enormous fleet. (My own narrative, as set out in these blogs, has not got to this character yet, but will soon).
Then comes the news that Aed and Ewan have been killed in battle against the Norse armies. This is reported in the Annals for the year 839[6]. Alpin finally gets his Dál Riadan throne and Kenneth and Eithne finally get to marry. They are now king and queen of Galloway. Meanwhile among the Picts, Feredith mac Bargoit, Mormaor of Mar is narrowly chosen king (by 4 votes to 3) over the younger Brude mac Fochel [7] . However Tranter says that there is now a state of “almost civil war” amongst the Albannach and it is only when Kenneth and Eithne intervene and persuade both to accept an agreement whereby Brude is named as Feredith’s successor, that peace is restored.
Kenneth then helps out in Ireland. Thorgesr is captured and ritually drowned.
Perhaps inevitably, Brude’s accession is speeded up with the slaying of Feredith (in 842) and this leads to turmoil and revolt against Brude, which in turn leads to Pictish incursions into Dál Riada. Along with some infighting in the islands, this leaves Kennth’s dreams of Celtic unity in tatters, as amply illustrated by the ambush and killing of his father Alpin by Albannach forces. Kenneth is now the king of Dál Riada (an event whose date I reported as 843 in The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth.)
Brude then dies in battle while fighting Drostan, Mormaor of Angus, and the latter becomes king[8]. The Norse attacks continue in north-east Scotland and Drosten seems to think these are helpful as they keep his rivals occupied, but Kenneth knows otherwise. Kenneth once again helps defeat the invaders.
Then Drostan is assassinated (848?) at Forteviot, Alba is again in turmoil and Eithne suggests that Kenneth becomes High King. After some debate in both kingdoms (interspersed by Kenneth defeating the Norse), this is indeed what happens.
There is none of the drama or tales surrounding his accession as outlined in my last blog post: no attack on the Picts to seek vengeance for the death of his father, or theft of “one hunting dog”; no dressing up in a fish-scale coat and pretending to be an angel; no massacre at a feast in Scone.
Tranter’s version is a more peaceful and romantic one. With his wife (and children now) he unites the two kingdoms, bringing the Columban altar (the Stone of Destiny!) out of hiding and over to Perthshire.
There is one issue still to be resolved – what to call this new united kingdom?
“It is part of my acceptance of this high throne that I give this realm a name,” he says. “I name it Scotia, the land of the Scots. Scotland, I say. Hear you – Scotland!”
The novel ends with the adoption of the St. Andrew’s cross as the flag of Scotland[9] – the Saltire – bringing that thread neatly to a conclusion too.
Final Note
As is said before, I find it fascinating how Tranter has used the many (and conflicting) sources to try and weave his own tapestry of stories about Kenneth into a coherent narrative – as he did with many other novels. Ultimately it is one version – you don’t have to agree with it, but you can certainly admire the brilliance of what he has done, and how he has done it.
If you haven’t read “Kenneth”, again apologies for the spoilers (I did warn you!), but even then I have only scratched the surface of the plot and absolutely would still recommend it to you, should you be lucky enough to come across a copy.
[1] I will continue to use Tranter’s name in this blog for what was really Pictland at this stage in history
[2] See The St. Andrews Sarcophagus and the Origins of Onuist I for further discussion as to whether St Andrews was founded by Onuist (Angus) I or Onuist (Angus) II
[3] Chronicles of the Picts, chronicles of the Scots, and other early memorials of Scottish history : Skene, W. F. (William Forbes) page 185
[4] “perrexerunt Moneclatu, qui nunc dicitur Monichi, et ibi Regina Finechem Regi Hungo filiam enixa est, quae Mouren vocata est. Corpus illius virginis Mouren apud Kylrimont sepulta est, nullo ante hoc ibidem sepulto”
[5] The same Foundation Legend tells us that three of Angus’s sons are called Howona (Ewan?), Nechtan, and Phinguineghert which does fit Tranter’s version
[6] See Vikings v Picts, Scots, Irish and Anglo-Saxons
[7] Uurad and Bred in The Last Pictish Kings: Part 1 – Uurad and Bred
[8] He is referenced as Drust in The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth
[9] See also Onuist II and the Flag of Scotland
The Northern Tapestry 
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