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Picts, Britons and Anglo-Saxons: The Supremacy of Onuist, Part II
By the year 741, the land north of the Forth-Clyde line, including that of the Dal Riadan Scots, was under the authority of Onuist, King of the Picts. To the south lay the territories of the two other powers of the time: the Northumbrian English and the Strathclyde Britons. This post will take a brief Continue reading
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Picts and Gaels: The Supremacy of Onuist, Part I
In 723, finally successful after years of striving to become overking of Dal Riada, Selbach had been the latest ruler to enter a clerical life. We last mentioned him in the post Nechtan mac Derilei: King Naiton of the Picts just as he handed over power to his son Dungal, before moving on to events Continue reading
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“Tearful and Miserable”: The End of the War
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 Continue reading
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Did King Naiton jump into the monastery, or was he pushed?
The Pictish Civil War Part III The last post ended with the abdication of Naiton, King of the Picts in 724 and with the question: did he jump or was he pushed? To answer that we need to look at his successor (or successors). First we are introduced to someone known as Drust (or Drest) Continue reading
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Nechtan mac Derilei: King Naiton of the Picts
The Pictish Civil War Part II As set out in last post on here, the figure generally known as Nechtan became in 706 the second of Derilei’s sons to sit on the Pictish throne. Unlike his brother, Bridei, he is described in the sources as king of Picts (not Fortriu)[1]. The name Nechtan is the Continue reading
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Derilei, Mother of Kings
The Pictish Civil War Part I As with the European royal families in more recent times, the ruling classes on the island of Britain in the period before the formation of Scotland and England were often linked by birth. The Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria had risen to prominence in the 7th century and many of Continue reading
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Dun Nechtain, 685 – Part 2: Cuthbert in Carlisle
In the previous post about the Battle of Dun Nechtain, I noted how, according to Bede at least, Cuthbert very much opposed King Ecgfrith’s belligerent advance into Pictland – however far north into the territory that was. This follow-up post deals with a couple of related and rather eerie tales about Cuthbert and the demise Continue reading
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Dun Nechtain, 685
The narrative of history occasionally tells of battles whose outcome can justifiably claim to have determined the future. One such battle took place on 20 May 685 somewhere in what is now Scotland, between the Northumbrian English, led by their king Ecgfrith (Ecgfrið), and the Picts, led by Bridei, son of Beli. It is usually Continue reading
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The St. Andrews Sarcophagus and the Origins of Onuist I
A trip to St. Andrews is not complete for those who are interested in early medieval history without a trip to see a magnificent Pictish monument which is on display in the Cathedral museum. The monument, known as the St Andrews Sarcophagus, was discovered in 1833 and reassembled in 1922. Initially covered by some sort Continue reading
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Journeys in Pictland 1: Three Stones
A short “family and friends” trip to Perthshire provided the opportunity to visit three Pictish Stones last weekend. All of these were Class II monuments – i.e. 8th or 9th century where Pictish symbols are accompanied by Christian designs. 1: Around one and half miles south of Pitlochry centre, and on the other side of Continue reading
The Northern Tapestry
Exploring the sagas and stories that link medieval Iceland, Scandinavia and the northern British Isles
Ortelius Map reproduced with permission from Vintage Maps
The Northern Tapestry 