Eochaid IV, King of Argyll

Eochaid IV of Dalriada, also known as Eochaid the Venomous. Some sources state that he was the king "of Scotland", but it remains unclear what this meant, as Scotland did not exist in any modern day sense at that time. The title may well have been symbolic. Eochaid's wife is said to have been the sister and heiress of Constantine, King of the Picts.

Alpin II of Dalriada (Alpin mac Eochaid)

That the Scots' aim was to free Dalriada from Pictish domination and establish Scottish rule over the Picts is clearly evident by the actions of Kenneth MacAlpin's father, known as Alpin, who in 834 AD, as the Picts faced the new Viking threat in the north, rebelled against his Pictish King of Scots and Picts. This ruler of both Pictland (Caledonia) and Dalriada was Oengus II, and according to the Chronicles of Huntingdon, the subject of Alpin's rebellion.

The rebellion by his Scottish subjects in the south forced the Pictish king to forego his total preoccupation with the Vikings in the north; Oengus II split his land army in two and faced the Scottish rebel (and southern threat) on Easter day, 834 AD. The Picts suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of Alpin and the Scots and the Irish Annals record that Oengus, King of the Picts and Scots died that year. Overwhelmed with victory, Alpin marched north to attack the rear of the main Pictish army in the north. The Scots and Picts met in battle on August of that same year, and the Scots suffered a brutal defeat in which Alpin was captured and beheaded.

Five years later, the Picts still faced the northern threat of the nearly invincible Vikings. The Picts had suffered a disastrous defeat at the hands of the Vikings in 839 AD. The Norsemen had by that year conquered and settled Shetland, the Outer Hebrides and as far south as the mouth of the Clyde. Additionally, Caithness, Sutherland and even Dalriada were being attacked and harassed by the long boats. The brutalizing defeat at the hands of the Vikings in 839 not only killed most of the Pictish nobility, including the King of Picts and Scots Uven Mac Angus II, his brother Bran and "numberless others", but also opened Mac Alpin's claim to the vacant Pictish throne, via his mother, who was a Pictish princess.

Kenneth I MacAlpin, King of Scotland

Kenneth I the Hardy (ca. 810-858; Kenneth mac Alpin) succeeded his father, Alpin II, to the throne of Dalriada. He soon obtained the Pictish throne in 843 and became the first king to rule the Picts of Pictavia and the Scots of Dalriada. It is possible that intermarriage with the Picts helped secure Kenneth's throne. The joint kingdom was known as Alba from the Latin for white.

He gained the joint crown at a time when the Pictish kingdoms had been severely weakened by attacks from the Vikings and were in no condition to dispute his claim. His claim to the crown of Dalriada came from his father, who was a member of clan Gabhran, which had produced most Scottish kings, such as his ancestors King Eachaidh, King Alpin Mac Eachaidh, King Aed, and King Fergus. His Pictish mother was descended from the royal house of Fortrenn, and his great-grand uncle, Alpin Mac Eachaidh had actually reigned as King of Picts until deposed by Oengus I. It is thus that Kenneth Mac Alpin was one of several nobles with a claim to the crown of Picts and Scots.

The sources for facts of how Kenneth Mac Alpin, the avenging son of the slain Alpin, became King of Picts and Scots are few and suspect. Two such sources, The Prophecy of St. Berchan, and De Instructione Principus note that in 841 Mac Alpin attacked the remnants of the Pictish army and defeated them (he is lauded as "the raven feeder"). Mac Alpin then invites the Pictish king, Drust IX, and the remaining Pictish nobles to Scone to perhaps settle the issue of Dalriada's freedom or MacAlpin's claim to the Dalriadic crown. Faced with a recently victorious MacAlpin in the south and a devastated army in the north, Drust, as well as all claimants to the Pictish throne from the seven royal houses attend this meeting at Scone. Legend has it that the Scots came secretly armed to Scone, where Drust and the Pictish nobles were killed. This event has come to be known as MacAlpin's Treason.

Although their king and royal houses had been murdered and their armies wiped out in the north by the Vikings and decimated in the south by the Scots, the Picts nonetheless resist Scottish domination and as late as the 12th year of MacAlpin's reign the The Chronicle of Huntington tells us that Mac Alpin "fought successfully against the Picts seven times in one day" (perhaps wiping out the last remnants of an independent Pictish armed force).

By the year 843, he had created a semblance of unity among the warring societies of the Picts, Scots, Britons, and Anglos after he had defeated the Picts in battle. MacAlpin created his capital at Forteviot, also called Scone, in Pictish territory. He then moved his religious center to Dunkeld on the River Tay in present-day Perthshire, to where he transferred the remains of St. Columba from the Isle of Iona.

Kenneth is thought to have died of a tumor after reigning for sixteen years. He died at Forteviot in 858 and was buried on the Isle of Iona.

Constantine I (Causantín mac Cináeda)

Constantine became king of the Scots and the Picts in 863 when he succeeded his uncle Donald I. He was a waring king. During his reign he spent most of his days fighting off the Vikings or trying to expand his kingdom into the south. In 872 his assassination of 'Run' (Arthgal), King of Strathclyde, and his brother-in-law, meant that the southern regions of what is now Scotland, became a part of his own Alba.

864 saw the rampage of the Norsemen led by Olaf the White from Dublin. Swiftly defeated by Constantine, the Norsemen relaxed their threats on him until Thorsten the Red led them, but he too was defeated successfully by King Constantine. Although usually confident in battle, Constantine often resorted to tactics of bribes and payoff's to his rivals in order to keep the peace. In the end though, Constantine was finally revenged upon by the Norsemen, and a raiding party known as the 'Black Strangers' from Dublin made a base for themselves in Fife where they launched their attacks. It was during one of these attacks that Constantine met his match. He was killed in battle against the Vikings in 877 at the "Black Cave" (Inverdovat) in Forgan, Fifeshire. His successor was his brother Aed. He had a son, Donald who became King Donald II of Scotland following the joint reign of Kings Eochaid and Giric.

Donald II (Domnall mac Causantín)

Donald took the throne of Scotland in battle as an act of revenge. King Giric I of Scotland (who ruled jointly with Donald's predecessor Eochaid had murdered Donald's uncle, Aed, in 878. Upon Giric's death, Donald expelled Eochaid from the country, thereby taking rulership of Scotland for himself.

It was under the rule of King Donald II that the British kingdom of Strathclyde came under Scottish dominance to create the Kingdom of Alba, thus being recognized in the Annals of Ulster as "ri Alban" as oppsed to "rex Pixtorum," as his predecessors had been known. His reign coincided with renewed invasions by the Danes, who came less to plunder and more to occupy the lands bordering Scotland and the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. The Danish had conquered all of north Scotland through the leadership of 'Sigurd the Mighty'.

His death is very mysterious. By one account he was slain at Dunnottar while meeting a Danish invasion; by another he died of infirmity brought on by his campaigns against the highlanders, a natural death that is very uncommon in this period. He was buried on the Isle of Iona, the historic resting place of all Dalriadan and early Scottish kings. He was succeeded by his cousin Constantine II. His son, Malcolm, later became King Malcolm I of Scotland.

Malcolm I (Máel Coluim)

Malcolm signed a treaty in 945 with King Edmund I of England that gave Strathclyde and Cumberland to Scotland. In exchange he had to offer military support if England was attacked by either the Danes of Northumbria or the Norwegians of Ireland. The alliance between England and Scotland remained after the death of both kings. Malcolm was killed in 954 fighting against the Picts of Northern Scotland, who were still unhappy about the Scottish domination of the Pictish/Scottish kingdom. His successor was Indulf.

Kenneth II (Cinead)

Kenneth began his reign by ravaging the British kingdom, but he lost a large part of his force on the river Cornag. Soon afterwards he attacked Eadulf, earl of the northern half of Northumbria, and ravaged the whole of his territory. He fortified the fords of the Forth as a defence against the Britons and again invaded Northumbria, carrying off the earl's son. About this time he gave the city of Brechin to the church.

In 977 he is said to have slain Amlalph or Olaf, son of Indulph, king of Alban, perhaps a rival claimant to the throne. According to the English chroniclers, Kenneth paid homage to King Edgar for the cession of Lothian, but these statements are probably due to the controversy as to the position of Scotland.

The mormaers, or chiefs, of Kenneth were engaged throughout his reign in a contest with Sigurd the Norwegian, earl of Orkney, for the possession of Caithness and the northern district of Scotland as far south as the Spey. In this struggle the Scots attained no permanent success.

In 995 Kenneth, whose strength like that of the other kings of his branch of the house of Kenneth MacAlpin lay chiefly north of the Tay, was slain treacherously by his own subjects, according to the later chroniclers at Fettercairn in the Mearns through an intrigue of Finvela, daughter of the earl of Angus. He was buried at Iona.

Malcolm II

Malcolm became king by killing Kenneth III in the battle of Monzievaird. In 1006 he was defeated by Northumbrian forces at Durham, only to be avenged at the battle of Carham in 1018. Although this victory helped to confirm his hold on Lothian and establish the River Tweed as the border between Scotland and England, he was still subject to the overlordship of Cnut, to whom he submitted in 1031/2.

Malcolm's daughter Bethoc (Beatrix) was the mother of Duncan I "the Gracious", King of Strathclyde, His second daughter Donada was the mother of Macbeth, King of Scotland.

Mecbeth

Duncan I of Scotland, was actually, (as opposed to the more well known Shakespeare version), an impetuous and spoiled young man whose six years of kingship brought glory neither to Scotland nor to his family. Against wise advice, Duncan invaded Northumbria and attacked Durham. The poorly planned campaign was a total disaster for the Scots and Duncan was compelled to withdraw. News of his disasterous and humiliating defeat had preceeded his return to Scotland and in no time he was faced with a revolt among the lords, particularly from his cousin MacBeth, Mormaer (or lord) of Moray. In a skirmish at Bothgouanan, Duncan was slain by MacBeth. Duncan had come to the throne by a strange set of claims to succession. MacBeth had a much better claim, as far as strict descent was concerned: so had his wife, Grauch, who was his cousin. (not unusual in those days). Both MacBeth and his wife were descended from Kenneth MacAlpin, and the Moray party were keen to have MacBeth the new ruler of Scotland. Again, reality is much different from legend, and as you will see, MacBeth was not at all the same MacBeth portrayed in fiction. Of course I refer, again to Shakespeare's, excellent, but inaccurate version "MacBeth" with whom most of us are familiar. It is a beautiful work of art and fiction, but it is far from reality and worse, gives a "good" impression of Duncan, and bad version of MacBeth. Royality murdering each other was, almost like a game, in all medieval history, and was quite common and even encouraged among all countries.

Under MacBeth, north and south Scotland were united and a stable Scottish kingdom looked likely. MacBeth appears, contrary to popular belief, to have been a wise monarch who ruled Scotland successfully for seventeen properous years. Coming to power, (in a time, where differing peoples, who were trying to adjust to unity at the same time but didn't want to give up their own ways of life, which were not always compatibale with those of their neighbours), he organized troops of men to patrol the wilder countryside and enforce some kind of law and order. An example of how stable the kingdom was under MacBeth, was that he was able to make a pilgrimage to Rome in 1050, returned to find his kingdom quiet and went on to enjoy seven more years of successful rule.

Unfortunately, MacBeth (who had just united Scotland for 17 years) was killed in the year 1057. One of Duncan's sons, Malcolm, (known as Ceanmor or Canmore, meaning 'big head'), who was brought up in exile in England, raised an army (with English help), invaded Scotland and reached deep into Aberdeenshire. At the battle of Lumphanan, he defeated MacBeth, who was slain in battle, and after some further resistance, he became king of Scotland, calling himself Malcolm III -- with English help.

Lady Mecbeth

Lady MacBeth used her ambitions to make her husband a King. Malcolm II had stated before he died that his eldest daughter's bloodline would be the Kings of the West and South of Scotland while Jarl had the remainder of the Scottish Kingdom. MacBeth descended from the 2nd daughter of Malcolm II therefore not entitled to the thrown. Duncan was the only child from the eldest daughter Bethoc's line. Lady MacBeth put her intelligence to use.

All of this added to Lady MacBeth's obsession to win back what she felt was her birth right. The Law of Tanistry was supposed to be the law of the land. Lady MacBeth began to convince her husband that Duncan should die. She wanted Macbeth to inherit the joint kingdom with Jarl of Orkneys.

Lady soon found out that MacBeth would not take part in killing his cousin Duncan. He loved Duncan greatly and honored his thrown. MacBeth had invited Duncan for a holiday to his castle Glamis. While Duncan was sleeping, Lady MacBeth used a dagger and killed Duncan. Lady MacBeth realized the awful crime and sin she had committed while she was washing Duncan's blood from her hands.

This Pictish Princess had her rightful title and lands now. The cost of this was great. Lady MacBeth began to sleep walk. She was doing strange things like always washing her hands and body complaining she was not clean of the sin she had committed. This lasted for 4 years when finally she killed herself.

Lady MacBeth did have a conscience. She had committed a horrible crime and knew in her heart she was wrong. The only way for her to escape was to end her life. This was also her payment for taking another's life.