history
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Forteviot, Palace of Kings
Although there is little evidence of it today, the tiny village of Forteviot with its population of around 200 was once the centre of the Pictish and newly-emerging Scottish kingdoms in the 9th century. Around 15 miles south-west of Perth, and situated in the Strathearn valley, close to the River Earn, we first heard of Continue reading
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Vikings in Black and White
At the end of my last post I noted that in the mid-800s, as well as fighting the Irish, we now had Vikings attacking Vikings and that the narrative was in danger of becoming even more confusing. Fortunately the annalists seem to have come up with a way of distinguishing the established vikings from the Continue reading
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Turges – a Norse leader in Ireland
A name which appears in the Irish Annals between 839 and 845 is Turges (or Turgeis, Tuirgheis or Turgesius), a Norse chieftain fighting in Ireland. This post will look at this character – and what he represented – but first it might be helpful to remind ourselves of what was happening in Ireland at that Continue reading
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Arrival of the Norwegians: Early Kings and The Family of Ketil Flatnose
In this post I want to turn once again towards Scandinavia. In the early 9th century the land now called Norway was not united. Instead there existed a number of kingdoms such as Vestfold, Rogaland, Romsdal and Sogn. Just as we have seen Kenneth MacAlpin being linked with the uniting of different realms into a Continue reading
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Kenneth MacAlpin Part III – a modern interpretation
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 Continue reading
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The Last Pictish Kings: Part 2 – Kenneth, Brude, Drust… and Kenneth
In the last post we saw how, after the catastrophic defeat by the Norse in 839 which impacted both the Picts and the Dál Riadan Scots, Uurad ruled in Pictland for three years, and was based in Perthshire. His son, Bred, then ruled for one year. For those who followed, the truth becomes murkier, not Continue reading
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Who were the Picts? – Views from abroad
As there are no original Pictish literary sources surviving[1] – or at least, none which have yet been discovered – the portrayal of the Pictish people which has been passed down the centuries comes from others. This inevitably means that any such portrait will have an element of bias. Stories of the Picts were sometimes Continue reading
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Vikings v Picts, Scots, Irish and Anglo-Saxons
In the year 839 the Annals of Ulster tell us about an important battle in which the Vikings defeated the Picts: “Bellum re genntib for firu Fortrenn in quo ceciderunt Euganan m. Oengusa ⁊ Bran m. Oengussa ⁊ Ęd m. Boanta ⁊ alii pene innumerabiles ceciderunt.”[1] (The heathens won a battle against the men of Continue reading
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Onuist II and the Flag of Scotland
While this blog tries as best as it can, using historical references and other evidence to make sense of what was happening in the period that it covers, from time to time we will come across stories that are more legend or myth than fact. This post will be one of those as it relates Continue reading
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The Roaring ’20s (the 820s)
This post will look at the 3rd decade of the 9th century – the 820s – and will attempt to summarise what was happening in Northern Britain, Ireland and Scandinavia during those years while introducing some of the characters who will play a leading role in events to come. In my post Constantin, son of Continue reading
The Northern Tapestry 