Óengus I of the Picts
Encyclopedia
Óengus son of Fergus was king of the Picts from 732 until his death in 761. His reign can be reconstructed in some detail from a variety of sources.
Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s. During his reign, the neighbouring kingdom of Dál Riata
was subjugated and the kingdom of Strathclyde
was attacked with less success. The most powerful ruler in Scotland
for over two decades, he was involved in wars in Ireland
and England
. Kings from Óengus's family dominated Pictland until 839 when a disastrous defeat at the hands of Vikings began a new period of instability, which ended with the coming to power of Cináed mac Ailpín
.
, then called Cennrígmonaid. Beyond Pictland, the principal sources are the Irish annals
, of which the Annals of Ulster
and the Annals of Tigernach
are the most reliable. These include materials from an annal kept at the monastery of Iona
in Scotland. Óengus and the Picts appear occasionally in Welsh
sources, such as the Annales Cambriae
, and more frequently in Northumbria
n sources, of which the Continuation of Bede
's chronicle and the Historia Regum Anglorum attributed to Symeon of Durham
are the most important.
The Picts
were one of four political groups in north Britain
in the early 8th century. Pictland ran from the River Forth
northwards, including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. Prior to the Viking Age
, the main power in Pictland appears to have been the kingdom of Fortriu
. Known high-status sites in Fortriu include Burghead
and Craig Phádraig by Inverness
. Pictland appears to have had only one bishop with his seat at Rosemarkie
.
From the Forth south to the River Humber lay the kingdom of Northumbria
. Once the dominant force in Britain, it remained a powerful kingdom, but the end of the old dynasty of kings with the death of Osric
in 729 led to conflict between rival families for the throne. The growing power of the Mercia
n kingdom to the south added to the problems faced by Northumbrian kings. For most of Óengus's reign Northumbria was ruled by the capable King Eadberht Eating
.
To the south-west of Pictland were the Gaels
of Dál Riata
where the kingship was disputed between the Cenél Loairn of northern Argyll
and the Cenél nGabráin of Kintyre
. In 723 Selbach mac Ferchair
abdicated as head of the Cenél Loairn and king of Dál Riata in favour of his son Dúngal
, who was driven out as king of Dál Riata by Eochaid mac Echdach
of the Cenél nGabráin in 726. Dúngal and Eochaid were still in conflict as late as 731, when Dúngal burnt Tarbert
.
The history of the fourth group, the Britons of Alt Clut, later the kingdom of Strathclyde, leaves little trace in the record. King Teudebur map Beli
had ruled from Dumbarton Rock since 722, and continued to do so until his death in 752 when his son Dumnagual
succeeded him.
of Munster
, as a descendant of Coirpre Cruthnechán or "Cairbre the little Pict", a mythological emanation or double of Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc
, legendary son of Conall Corc
, and ancestor of the Eóganacht Locha Léin
, rulers of the kingdom of Iarmuman
. The branch of the kindred from which he came, known in the annals as the Eoghanachta Magh Geirginn, were said located in an area known as Circinn, usually associated with modern Angus
and the Mearns
. His early life is unknown; Óengus was middle-aged by the time he entered into history. His close kin included at least two sons, Bridei (died 736) and Talorgan
(died 782), and two brothers, Talorgan (died 750) and Bridei
(died 763).
King Nechtan son of Der-Ile
abdicated to enter a monastery in 724 and was imprisoned by his successor Drest
in 726. In 728 and 729, four kings competed for power in Pictland: Drest; Nechtan; Alpín
, of whom little is known; and lastly Óengus, who was a partisan of Nechtan, and perhaps his acknowledged heir.
Four battles large enough to be recorded in Ireland were fought in 728 and 729. Alpín was defeated twice by Óengus, after which Nechtan was restored to power. In 729 a battle between supporters of Óengus and Nechtan's enemies was fought at Monith Carno (traditionally Cairn o' Mount, near Fettercairn
) where the supporters of Óengus were victorious. Nechtan was restored to the kingship, probably until his death in 732. On 12 August 729 Óengus defeated and killed Drest in battle at Druimm Derg Blathuug, a place which has not been identified.
In the 730s, Óengus fought against Dál Riata
whose traditional overlords and protectors in Ireland, the Cenél Conaill
, were much weakened at this time. A fleet from Dál Riata fought for Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
, chief of the Cenél Conaill, in his war with Áed Allán
of the Cenél nEógan, and suffered heavy losses in 733. Dál Riata was ruled by Eochaid mac Echdach
of the Cenél nGabráin who died in 733, and the king lists are unclear as to who, if anyone, succeeded him as overking. The Cenél Loairn of north Argyll
were ruled by Dúngal mac Selbaig
whom Eochaid had deposed as overking of Dál Riata in the 720s.
Fighting between the Picts, led by Óengus's son Bridei, and the Dál Riata, led by Talorgan mac Congussa, is recorded in 731. In 733, Dúngal mac Selbaig "profaned [the sanctuary] of Tory Island
when he dragged Bridei out of it." Dúngal, previously deposed as overking of Dál Riata, was overthrown as king of the Cenél Loairn and replaced by his first cousin Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig
.
In 734 Talorgan mac Congussa was handed over to the Picts by his brother, and drowned by them. Talorgan son of Drostan was captured near Dún Ollaigh
. He appears to have been the King of Atholl
, and was drowned on Óengus's order in 739. Dúngal too was a target in this year. He was wounded, the unidentified fortress of Dún Leithfinn was destroyed, and he "fled into Ireland, to be out of the power of Óengus."
The annals report a second campaign by Óengus against the Dál Riata in 736. Dúngal, who had returned from Ireland, and his brother Feradach, were captured and bound in chains. The fortresses of Creic and Dunadd
were taken. Muiredach of the Cenél Loairn was no more successful, defeated with heavy loss by Óengus's brother Talorgan, perhaps by Loch Awe
. A final campaign in 741 saw the Dál Riata again defeated. This was recorded in the Annals of Ulster as Percutio Dál Riatai la h-Óengus m. Forggusso, the "smiting of Dál Riata by Óengus son of Fergus". With this Dál Riata disappears from the record for a generation.
It may be that Óengus was involved in wars in Ireland, perhaps fighting with Áed Allán, or against him as an ally of Cathal mac Finguine
. The evidence for such involvement is limited. There is the presence of Óengus's son Bridei at Tory Island
, on the north-west coast of Donegal
in 733, close to the lands of Áed Allán's enemy Flaithbertach mac Loingsig. Less certainly, the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
report the presence of a Pictish fleet from Fortriu
fighting for Flaithbertach in 733 rather than against him.
, King of Mercia
, took advantage of the absence of Eadberht of Northumbria
to ravage his lands, and perhaps burn York
. The reason for the war is unclear, but it has been suggested that it was related to the killing of Earnwine son of Eadwulf
on Eadberht's orders. Earnwine's father had been an exile in the north after his defeat in the civil war of 705–706, and it may be that Óengus, or Æthelbald, or both, had tried to place him on the Northumbrian throne..jpg)
Battles between the Picts and the Britons of Alt Clut, or Strathclyde
, are recorded in 744 and again in 750, when Kyle
was taken from Alt Clut by Eadberht of Northumbria. The 750 battle between the Britons and the Picts is reported at a place named Mocetauc (perhaps Mugdock, near Milngavie
) in which Talorgan the brother of Óengus was killed. Following the defeat in 750, the Annals of Ulster record "the ebbing of the sovereignty of Óengus". This is thought to refer to the coming to power of Áed Find
, son of Eochaid mac Echdach, in all or part of Dál Riata, and his rejection of Óengus's overlordship.
Unlike the straightforward narrative of the attacks on Dál Riata, a number of interpretations have been offered of the relations between Óengus, Eadberht and Æthelbald in the period from 740 to 750. One suggestion is that Óengus and Æthelbald were allied against Eadberht, or even that they exercised a joint rulership of Britain, or bretwalda
ship, Óengus collecting tribute north of the River Humber and Æthelbald south of the Humber. This rests largely on a confused passage in Symeon of Durham's Historia Regum Anglorum, and it has more recently been suggested that the interpretation offered by Frank Stenton
—that it is based on a textual error and that Óengus and Æthelbald were not associated in any sort of joint overlordship—is the correct one.
In 756, Óengus is found campaigning alongside Eadberht of Northumbria. The campaign is reported as follows:
That Ouania is Govan
is now reasonably certain, but the location of Newanbirig is less so. Although there are very many Newburghs, it is Newburgh-on-Tyne near Hexham
that has been the preferred location. An alternative interpretation of the events of 756 has been advanced: it identifies Newanbirig with Newborough
by Lichfield
in the kingdom of Mercia. A defeat here for Eadberht and Óengus by Æthelbald's Mercians would correspond with the claim in the Saint Andrews foundation legends that a king named Óengus son of Fergus founded the church there as a thanksgiving to Saint Andrew
for saving him after a defeat in Mercia.
The story of the foundation of St Andrews
, originally Cennrígmonaid, is not contemporary and may contain many inventions. The Irish annals report the death of "Tuathalán, abbot of Cinrigh Móna", in 747, making it certain that St Andrews had been founded before that date, probably by Óengus or by Nechtan son of Der-Ilei. It is generally presumed that the St Andrews Sarcophagus
was executed at the command of Óengus. Later generations may have conflated this king Óengus with the 9th century king of the same name
. The choice of David
as a model is, as Alex Woolf
notes, an appropriate one: David too was an usurper.
The cult of Saint Andrew
may have come to Pictland from Northumbria, as had the cult of Saint Peter
which had been favoured by Nechtan, and in particular from the monastery
at Hexham
which was dedicated to Saint Andrew. This apparent connection with the Northumbrian church may have left a written record. Óengus, like his successors and possible kinsmen Caustantín
and Eógan
, is recorded prominently in the Liber Vitae Ecclesiae Dunelmensis, a list of some 3000 benefactors for whom prayers were said in religious institutions connected with Durham
.
king lists have it that he was succeeded by his brother Bridei
. His son Talorgan
was later king, and is the first son of a Pictish king known to have become king.
The following 9th century Irish praise poem from the Book of Leinster
is associated with Óengus:
An assessment of Óengus is problematic, not least because annalistic sources provide very little information on Scotland in the succeeding generations. His apparent Irish links add to the long list of arguments which challenge the idea that the "Gaelicisation" of eastern Scotland began in the time of Cináed mac Ailpín; indeed there are good reasons for believing that process began before Óengus's reign. Many of the Pictish kings until the death of Eógan mac Óengusa
in 839 belong to the family of Óengus, in particular the 9th century sons of Fergus, Caustantín
and Óengus
.
The amount of information which has survived about Óengus compared with other Pictish kings, the nature and geographical range of his activities and the length of his reign combine to make King Óengus one of the most significant rulers of the insular Dark Ages.
Óengus became the chief king in Pictland following a period of civil war in the late 720s. During his reign, the neighbouring kingdom of Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
was subjugated and the kingdom of Strathclyde
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
was attacked with less success. The most powerful ruler in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
for over two decades, he was involved in wars in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Kings from Óengus's family dominated Pictland until 839 when a disastrous defeat at the hands of Vikings began a new period of instability, which ended with the coming to power of Cináed mac Ailpín
Kenneth I of Scotland
Cináed mac Ailpín , commonly Anglicised as Kenneth MacAlpin and known in most modern regnal lists as Kenneth I was king of the Picts and, according to national myth, first king of Scots, earning him the posthumous nickname of An Ferbasach, "The Conqueror"...
.
Sources and background
Surviving Pictish sources for the period are few, limited to king lists, the original of which was prepared in the early 720s, and a number of accounts relating to the foundation of St AndrewsSt Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, then called Cennrígmonaid. Beyond Pictland, the principal sources are the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
, of which the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
and the Annals of Tigernach
Annals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
are the most reliable. These include materials from an annal kept at the monastery of Iona
Iona
Iona is a small island in the Inner Hebrides off the western coast of Scotland. It was a centre of Irish monasticism for four centuries and is today renowned for its tranquility and natural beauty. It is a popular tourist destination and a place for retreats...
in Scotland. Óengus and the Picts appear occasionally in Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
sources, such as the Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...
, and more frequently in Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
n sources, of which the Continuation of Bede
Bede
Bede , also referred to as Saint Bede or the Venerable Bede , was a monk at the Northumbrian monastery of Saint Peter at Monkwearmouth, today part of Sunderland, England, and of its companion monastery, Saint Paul's, in modern Jarrow , both in the Kingdom of Northumbria...
's chronicle and the Historia Regum Anglorum attributed to Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham
Symeon of Durham was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. When William of Saint-Calais returned from his Norman exile in 1091, Symeon was probably in his company...
are the most important.
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
were one of four political groups in north Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in the early 8th century. Pictland ran from the River Forth
River Forth
The River Forth , long, is the major river draining the eastern part of the central belt of Scotland.The Forth rises in Loch Ard in the Trossachs, a mountainous area some west of Stirling...
northwards, including Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. Prior to the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
, the main power in Pictland appears to have been the kingdom of Fortriu
Fortriu
Fortriu or the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general...
. Known high-status sites in Fortriu include Burghead
Burghead
Burghead is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about 8 miles north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a Peninsula which projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, meaning that most of the town has sea on 3 sides. The present town was built between 1805 and 1809, destroying in the...
and Craig Phádraig by Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
. Pictland appears to have had only one bishop with his seat at Rosemarkie
Rosemarkie
Rosemarkie is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in northern Scotland.-Geography:Rosemarkie lies a quarter of a mile east of the town of Fortrose...
.
From the Forth south to the River Humber lay the kingdom of Northumbria
Northumbria
Northumbria was a medieval kingdom of the Angles, in what is now Northern England and South-East Scotland, becoming subsequently an earldom in a united Anglo-Saxon kingdom of England. The name reflects the approximate southern limit to the kingdom's territory, the Humber Estuary.Northumbria was...
. Once the dominant force in Britain, it remained a powerful kingdom, but the end of the old dynasty of kings with the death of Osric
Osric of Northumbria
Osric was king of Northumbria from the death of Coenred in 718 until his death on the 9th of May, 729. Symeon of Durham calls him a son of Aldfrith of Northumbria, which would make him a brother, or perhaps a half-brother, of Osred...
in 729 led to conflict between rival families for the throne. The growing power of the Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
n kingdom to the south added to the problems faced by Northumbrian kings. For most of Óengus's reign Northumbria was ruled by the capable King Eadberht Eating
Eadberht of Northumbria
Eadberht was king of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother of Ecgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-century Northumbria and may represent a period of economic prosperity. He faced internal opposition from rival dynasties...
.
To the south-west of Pictland were the Gaels
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
of Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
where the kingship was disputed between the Cenél Loairn of northern Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
and the Cenél nGabráin of Kintyre
Kintyre
Kintyre is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The region stretches approximately 30 miles , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south, to East Loch Tarbert in the north...
. In 723 Selbach mac Ferchair
Selbach mac Ferchair
Selbach mac Ferchair was king of the Cenél Loairn and of Dál Riata. Selbach's existence is well-attested as he is mentioned repeatedly in Irish annals.-Life:Selbach mac Ferchair was a son of Ferchar Fota...
abdicated as head of the Cenél Loairn and king of Dál Riata in favour of his son Dúngal
Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig was king of Dál Riata. His reign can best be placed in the years 723 to 726, beginning with the abdication of his father, Selbach mac Ferchair, who entered a monastery, and ending with rise of Eochaid mac Echdach of the Cenél nGabráin...
, who was driven out as king of Dál Riata by Eochaid mac Echdach
Eochaid mac Echdach
Eochaid mac Eochaid was king of Dál Riata from 726 until 733. He was a son of Eochaid mac Domangairt.Eochaid came to power as king of Dál Riata in 726, presumably deposing Dúngal mac Selbaig. Selbach may have tried to restore his son to power, and fought against Eochaid's supporters at Irros...
of the Cenél nGabráin in 726. Dúngal and Eochaid were still in conflict as late as 731, when Dúngal burnt Tarbert
Tarbert, Argyll and Bute
Tarbert is a village in Scotland. It is built around East Loch Tarbert, an inlet of Loch Fyne, and extends over the isthmus which links the peninsula of Kintyre to Knapdale and West Loch Tarbert...
.
The history of the fourth group, the Britons of Alt Clut, later the kingdom of Strathclyde, leaves little trace in the record. King Teudebur map Beli
Teudebur of Alt Clut
Teudebur of Alt Clut was the ruler of Alt Clut , in the early-to-mid eighth century . According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli II, his probable predecessor as king. Such information is confirmed by both the Irish and Welsh annals...
had ruled from Dumbarton Rock since 722, and continued to do so until his death in 752 when his son Dumnagual
Dumnagual III of Alt Clut
Dumnagual III was the ruler of Alt Clut, later known as Strathclyde , for some time in the mid-eighth century . According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Teudebur, one of his predecessors as king...
succeeded him.
Rise to power
Irish genealogies make Óengus a member of the EóganachtaEóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
of Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
, as a descendant of Coirpre Cruthnechán or "Cairbre the little Pict", a mythological emanation or double of Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc
Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc
Coirpre Luachra mac Cuirc was the ancestor of the Eóganacht Locha Léin branch of the Eoganachta, the ruling dynasty of Munster. This branch was also called the Ui Caipre Luachra, named after him and became the rulers of Iarmuman...
, legendary son of Conall Corc
Conall Corc
Corc mac Luigthig, also called Conall Corc, Corc of Cashel, and Corc mac Láire, is the hero of Irish language tales which form part of the origin legend of the Eóganachta, a group of kindreds which traced their descent from Conall Corc and took their name from his ancestor Éogan Mór. The early...
, and ancestor of the Eóganacht Locha Léin
Eóganacht Locha Léin
Eóganacht Locha Léin or Ui Caipre Luachra were a branch of the ruling Eoganachta of Munster. Their territory was in Iarmuman or West Munster. Luachair is the old name of a large district on the borders of Co Cork, Kerry and Limerick...
, rulers of the kingdom of Iarmuman
Iarmuman
Iarmhumhain was a Kingdom in the early Christian period of Ireland in west Munster. Its ruling dynasty was related to the main ruling dynasty of Munster known as the Eóganachta. Its ruling branch was called the Eóganacht Locha Léin or Ui Chairpri Lúachra. Their center was around Killarney, County...
. The branch of the kindred from which he came, known in the annals as the Eoghanachta Magh Geirginn, were said located in an area known as Circinn, usually associated with modern Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
and the Mearns
Mearns
Mearns can refer to*Mearns Academy* Mearns, Alberta* Mearns Castle*Mearns Castle High School* Mearns FM* Mearns Primary School* Kincardineshire, the County of Kincardine, The Mearns in Scotland* Newton Mearnsin biology:...
. His early life is unknown; Óengus was middle-aged by the time he entered into history. His close kin included at least two sons, Bridei (died 736) and Talorgan
Talorgan II of the Picts
Talorgan was a king of the Picts. The Annals of Ulster report the death of Dub Tholargg king of the Picts on this side of the Mounth in 782. He is presumed to have been the son of Óengus mac Fergusa. He was succeeded by his son Drest.-External links:**...
(died 782), and two brothers, Talorgan (died 750) and Bridei
Bridei V of the Picts
Bridei V was king of Fortriu from 761 until 763. He was the brother of Óengus. His death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach.-See also:*House of Óengus...
(died 763).
King Nechtan son of Der-Ile
Nechtan IV of the Picts
Nechtan mac Der-Ilei or Nechtan mac Dargarto was king of the Picts in the early 8th century. He succeeded his brother Bridei in 706. He is associated with significant religious reforms in Pictland. He abdicated in 724 in favour of his nephew and became a monk...
abdicated to enter a monastery in 724 and was imprisoned by his successor Drest
Drest VII of the Picts
Drest was king of the Picts from 724 until 726 or 729. He succeeded Nechtan mac Der-Ilei when the latter abdicated and entered a monastery in 724....
in 726. In 728 and 729, four kings competed for power in Pictland: Drest; Nechtan; Alpín
Alpín I of the Picts
Alpín was king of the Picts in the 720s, together with Drest. The Pictish Chronicle king lists give Alpín and Drest a five year joint rule. Alpín is a Pictish form of the Old English Ælfwine and may, perhaps, indicate a tie to Bernician exiles in Pictland, such as Eanfrith, father of Talorgan mac...
, of whom little is known; and lastly Óengus, who was a partisan of Nechtan, and perhaps his acknowledged heir.
Four battles large enough to be recorded in Ireland were fought in 728 and 729. Alpín was defeated twice by Óengus, after which Nechtan was restored to power. In 729 a battle between supporters of Óengus and Nechtan's enemies was fought at Monith Carno (traditionally Cairn o' Mount, near Fettercairn
Fettercairn
Fettercairn is a small village in northeast Scotland. It is located northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell...
) where the supporters of Óengus were victorious. Nechtan was restored to the kingship, probably until his death in 732. On 12 August 729 Óengus defeated and killed Drest in battle at Druimm Derg Blathuug, a place which has not been identified.
Percutio Dal Riatai
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
whose traditional overlords and protectors in Ireland, the Cenél Conaill
Cenél Conaill
The Cenél Conaill is the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history. They were also known in Scotland as the Kindred of Saint Columba....
, were much weakened at this time. A fleet from Dál Riata fought for Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig
Flaithbertach mac Loingsig was a High King of Ireland. He was a member of the Cenél Conaill, a branch of the northern Uí Néill. He was the son of Loingsech mac Óengusso , a previous high king...
, chief of the Cenél Conaill, in his war with Áed Allán
Áed Allán
Áed Allán was an 8th century Irish king of Ailech and High King of Ireland. Áed Allán was the son of Fergal mac Máele Dúin and a member of the Cenél nEógain, a branch of the Northern Uí Néill....
of the Cenél nEógan, and suffered heavy losses in 733. Dál Riata was ruled by Eochaid mac Echdach
Eochaid mac Echdach
Eochaid mac Eochaid was king of Dál Riata from 726 until 733. He was a son of Eochaid mac Domangairt.Eochaid came to power as king of Dál Riata in 726, presumably deposing Dúngal mac Selbaig. Selbach may have tried to restore his son to power, and fought against Eochaid's supporters at Irros...
of the Cenél nGabráin who died in 733, and the king lists are unclear as to who, if anyone, succeeded him as overking. The Cenél Loairn of north Argyll
Argyll
Argyll , archaically Argyle , is a region of western Scotland corresponding with most of the part of ancient Dál Riata that was located on the island of Great Britain, and in a historical context can be used to mean the entire western coast between the Mull of Kintyre and Cape Wrath...
were ruled by Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig
Dúngal mac Selbaig was king of Dál Riata. His reign can best be placed in the years 723 to 726, beginning with the abdication of his father, Selbach mac Ferchair, who entered a monastery, and ending with rise of Eochaid mac Echdach of the Cenél nGabráin...
whom Eochaid had deposed as overking of Dál Riata in the 720s.
Fighting between the Picts, led by Óengus's son Bridei, and the Dál Riata, led by Talorgan mac Congussa, is recorded in 731. In 733, Dúngal mac Selbaig "profaned [the sanctuary] of Tory Island
Tory Island
Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...
when he dragged Bridei out of it." Dúngal, previously deposed as overking of Dál Riata, was overthrown as king of the Cenél Loairn and replaced by his first cousin Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig
Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig
Muiredach mac Ainbcellaig was king of the Cenél Loairn, and of Dál Riata , from about 733 until 736.He was the son of Ainbcellach mac Ferchair. His coming to power is reported in 733, and is not obviously associated with the death of Eochaid mac Echdach, king of Dál Riata, in the Irish annals...
.
In 734 Talorgan mac Congussa was handed over to the Picts by his brother, and drowned by them. Talorgan son of Drostan was captured near Dún Ollaigh
Dunollie Castle
Dunollie Castle is a small ruin located on a hill north of the town of Oban, on the west coast Scotland. It commands a view of the town, harbour and, outlying isles. The ruin is accessible by a short, steep path. There is no entrance fee, there is a small layby at the foot of the hill...
. He appears to have been the King of Atholl
Atholl
Atholl or Athole is a large historical division in the Scottish Highlands. Today it forms the northern part of Perth and Kinross, Scotland bordering Marr, Badenoch, Breadalbane, Strathearn, Perth and Lochaber....
, and was drowned on Óengus's order in 739. Dúngal too was a target in this year. He was wounded, the unidentified fortress of Dún Leithfinn was destroyed, and he "fled into Ireland, to be out of the power of Óengus."
The annals report a second campaign by Óengus against the Dál Riata in 736. Dúngal, who had returned from Ireland, and his brother Feradach, were captured and bound in chains. The fortresses of Creic and Dunadd
Dunadd
Dunadd, , is an Iron Age and later hillfort near Kilmartin in Argyll and Bute, Scotland and believed to be the capital of the ancient kingdom of Dál Riata.-Description:...
were taken. Muiredach of the Cenél Loairn was no more successful, defeated with heavy loss by Óengus's brother Talorgan, perhaps by Loch Awe
Loch Awe
Loch Awe is a large body of water in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It has also given its name to a village on its banks, variously known as Loch Awe, or Lochawe. There are islands within the loch such as Innis Chonnell and Inishail.- The loch :It is the third largest freshwater loch in Scotland with...
. A final campaign in 741 saw the Dál Riata again defeated. This was recorded in the Annals of Ulster as Percutio Dál Riatai la h-Óengus m. Forggusso, the "smiting of Dál Riata by Óengus son of Fergus". With this Dál Riata disappears from the record for a generation.
It may be that Óengus was involved in wars in Ireland, perhaps fighting with Áed Allán, or against him as an ally of Cathal mac Finguine
Cathal mac Finguine
Cathal mac Finguine was an Irish King of Munster or Cashel, and effectively High King of Ireland as well. He belonged to the Eóganacht Glendamnach sept of the dominant Eóganachta kin-group whose members dominated Munster from the 7th century to the 10th...
. The evidence for such involvement is limited. There is the presence of Óengus's son Bridei at Tory Island
Tory Island
Toraigh is an inhabited island 14.5 km off the northwest coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also known in Irish as Oileán Thoraigh, Oileán Thoraí or Oileán Thúr Rí.-Language:The main spoken language on the island is Irish, but English is also understood...
, on the north-west coast of Donegal
Donegal
Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....
in 733, close to the lands of Áed Allán's enemy Flaithbertach mac Loingsig. Less certainly, the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
Fragmentary Annals of Ireland
The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland are a Middle Irish combination of chronicle from various Irish annals and narrative history. They were compiled in the kingdom of Osraige, probably in the lifetime of Donnchad mac Gilla Pátraic , king of Osraige and of king of Leinster.The Fragmentary Annals were...
report the presence of a Pictish fleet from Fortriu
Fortriu
Fortriu or the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general...
fighting for Flaithbertach in 733 rather than against him.
Alt Clut, Northumbria, and Mercia
In 740, a war between the Picts and the Northumbrians is reported, during which ÆthelbaldEthelbald of Mercia
Æthelbald was the King of Mercia, in what is now the English Midlands, from 716 until 757. During his long reign, Mercia became the dominant kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons, and recovered the position of pre-eminence it had enjoyed during the seventh century under the strong Mercian kings Penda and...
, King of Mercia
Mercia
Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. It was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries in the region now known as the English Midlands...
, took advantage of the absence of Eadberht of Northumbria
Eadberht of Northumbria
Eadberht was king of Northumbria from 737 or 738 to 758. He was the brother of Ecgbert, Archbishop of York. His reign is seen as a return to the imperial ambitions of seventh-century Northumbria and may represent a period of economic prosperity. He faced internal opposition from rival dynasties...
to ravage his lands, and perhaps burn York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The reason for the war is unclear, but it has been suggested that it was related to the killing of Earnwine son of Eadwulf
Eadwulf of Northumbria
Eadwulf was king of Northumbria from death of Aldfrith in December 704 until February or March of 705, when Aldfrith's son Osred was restored to the throne.Osred was a child when his father died, and it is assumed that Eadwulf usurped the throne...
on Eadberht's orders. Earnwine's father had been an exile in the north after his defeat in the civil war of 705–706, and it may be that Óengus, or Æthelbald, or both, had tried to place him on the Northumbrian throne.
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
, are recorded in 744 and again in 750, when Kyle
Kyle, Ayrshire
Kyle is a former comital district of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire...
was taken from Alt Clut by Eadberht of Northumbria. The 750 battle between the Britons and the Picts is reported at a place named Mocetauc (perhaps Mugdock, near Milngavie
Milngavie
Milngavie , is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden....
) in which Talorgan the brother of Óengus was killed. Following the defeat in 750, the Annals of Ulster record "the ebbing of the sovereignty of Óengus". This is thought to refer to the coming to power of Áed Find
Áed Find
Áed Find or Áed mac Echdach was king of Dál Riata . Áed was the son of Eochaid mac Echdach, a descendant of Domnall Brecc in the main line of Cenél nGabráin kings....
, son of Eochaid mac Echdach, in all or part of Dál Riata, and his rejection of Óengus's overlordship.
Unlike the straightforward narrative of the attacks on Dál Riata, a number of interpretations have been offered of the relations between Óengus, Eadberht and Æthelbald in the period from 740 to 750. One suggestion is that Óengus and Æthelbald were allied against Eadberht, or even that they exercised a joint rulership of Britain, or bretwalda
Bretwalda
Bretwalda is an Old English word, the first record of which comes from the late 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. It is given to some of the rulers of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 5th century onwards who had achieved overlordship of some or all of the other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms...
ship, Óengus collecting tribute north of the River Humber and Æthelbald south of the Humber. This rests largely on a confused passage in Symeon of Durham's Historia Regum Anglorum, and it has more recently been suggested that the interpretation offered by Frank Stenton
Frank Stenton
Sir Frank Merry Stenton was a 20th century historian of Anglo-Saxon England, and president of the Royal Historical Society . He was the author of Anglo-Saxon England, a volume of the Oxford History of England, first published in 1943 and widely considered a classic history of the period...
—that it is based on a textual error and that Óengus and Æthelbald were not associated in any sort of joint overlordship—is the correct one.
In 756, Óengus is found campaigning alongside Eadberht of Northumbria. The campaign is reported as follows:
In the year of the Lord's incarnation 756, king Eadberht in the eighteenth year of his reign, and Unust, king of Picts led armies to the town of Dumbarton. And hence the Britons accepted terms there, on the first day of the month of August. But on the tenth day of the same month perished almost the whole army which he led from Ouania to Niwanbirig.
That Ouania is Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
is now reasonably certain, but the location of Newanbirig is less so. Although there are very many Newburghs, it is Newburgh-on-Tyne near Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
that has been the preferred location. An alternative interpretation of the events of 756 has been advanced: it identifies Newanbirig with Newborough
Newborough, Staffordshire
Newborough is a village and civil parish in East Staffordshire.Newborough has a pub, a school and a church.- External links :****...
by Lichfield
Lichfield
Lichfield is a cathedral city, civil parish and district in Staffordshire, England. One of eight civil parishes with city status in England, Lichfield is situated roughly north of Birmingham...
in the kingdom of Mercia. A defeat here for Eadberht and Óengus by Æthelbald's Mercians would correspond with the claim in the Saint Andrews foundation legends that a king named Óengus son of Fergus founded the church there as a thanksgiving to Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
for saving him after a defeat in Mercia.
The cult of Saint Andrew
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
, originally Cennrígmonaid, is not contemporary and may contain many inventions. The Irish annals report the death of "Tuathalán, abbot of Cinrigh Móna", in 747, making it certain that St Andrews had been founded before that date, probably by Óengus or by Nechtan son of Der-Ilei. It is generally presumed that the St Andrews Sarcophagus
St Andrews Sarcophagus
The Saint Andrews Sarcophagus is a Pictish monument dating from the second half of the 8th century. The sarcophagus was recovered beginning in 1833 during excavations by St Andrew's Cathedral, but it was not until 1922 that the surviving components were reunited...
was executed at the command of Óengus. Later generations may have conflated this king Óengus with the 9th century king of the same name
Óengus II of the Picts
Óengus mac Fergusa was king of the Picts , in modern Scotland, from about 820 until 834. Tradition associates him with the cult of Saint Andrew and the Flag of Scotland....
. The choice of David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
as a model is, as Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf
Alex Woolf is a medieval historian based at the University of St Andrews. He specialises in the history of the British Isles and Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, especially in relation to the peoples of Wales and Scotland. He is author of volume two in the New Edinburgh History of Scotland,...
notes, an appropriate one: David too was an usurper.
The cult of Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew , called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos, or the First-called, is a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name "Andrew" , like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews from the 3rd or 2nd century BC. No Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him...
may have come to Pictland from Northumbria, as had the cult of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
which had been favoured by Nechtan, and in particular from the monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
which was dedicated to Saint Andrew. This apparent connection with the Northumbrian church may have left a written record. Óengus, like his successors and possible kinsmen Caustantín
Caustantín of the Picts
Causantín or Constantín mac Fergusa was king of the Picts , in modern Scotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted as Constantine I of Scotland; the title is now generally given to Causantín mac Cináeda...
and Eógan
Uen of the Picts
Uuen [Wen] or Eogán in Gaelic was king of the Picts, or of Fortriu , in what is now Scotland....
, is recorded prominently in the Liber Vitae Ecclesiae Dunelmensis, a list of some 3000 benefactors for whom prayers were said in religious institutions connected with Durham
Durham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
.
Death and legacy
Óengus died in 761, "aged probably more than seventy, ... the dominating figure in the politics of Northern Britain". His death is reported in the usual brief style by the annalists, except for the continuator of Bede in Northumbria, possibly relying upon a Dál Riata source, who wrote:Óengus, king of the Picts, died. From the beginning of his reign right to the end he perpetrated bloody crimes, like a tyrannical slaughterer.The Pictish Chronicle
Pictish Chronicle
The Pictish Chronicle is a name often given by historians to a list of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland...
king lists have it that he was succeeded by his brother Bridei
Bridei V of the Picts
Bridei V was king of Fortriu from 761 until 763. He was the brother of Óengus. His death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach.-See also:*House of Óengus...
. His son Talorgan
Talorgan II of the Picts
Talorgan was a king of the Picts. The Annals of Ulster report the death of Dub Tholargg king of the Picts on this side of the Mounth in 782. He is presumed to have been the son of Óengus mac Fergusa. He was succeeded by his son Drest.-External links:**...
was later king, and is the first son of a Pictish king known to have become king.
The following 9th century Irish praise poem from the Book of Leinster
Book of Leinster
The Book of Leinster , is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled ca. 1160 and now kept in Trinity College, Dublin, under the shelfmark MS H 2.18...
is associated with Óengus:
Good the day when Óengus took Alba,
hilly Alba with its strong chiefs;
he brought battle to palisaded towns,
with feet, with hands, with broad shields.
An assessment of Óengus is problematic, not least because annalistic sources provide very little information on Scotland in the succeeding generations. His apparent Irish links add to the long list of arguments which challenge the idea that the "Gaelicisation" of eastern Scotland began in the time of Cináed mac Ailpín; indeed there are good reasons for believing that process began before Óengus's reign. Many of the Pictish kings until the death of Eógan mac Óengusa
Uen of the Picts
Uuen [Wen] or Eogán in Gaelic was king of the Picts, or of Fortriu , in what is now Scotland....
in 839 belong to the family of Óengus, in particular the 9th century sons of Fergus, Caustantín
Caustantín of the Picts
Causantín or Constantín mac Fergusa was king of the Picts , in modern Scotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted as Constantine I of Scotland; the title is now generally given to Causantín mac Cináeda...
and Óengus
Óengus II of the Picts
Óengus mac Fergusa was king of the Picts , in modern Scotland, from about 820 until 834. Tradition associates him with the cult of Saint Andrew and the Flag of Scotland....
.
The amount of information which has survived about Óengus compared with other Pictish kings, the nature and geographical range of his activities and the length of his reign combine to make King Óengus one of the most significant rulers of the insular Dark Ages.