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Theorigins of the Kingdom of Alba pertain to the origins of theKingdom of Alba, or theGaelic Kingdom ofScotland, either as a mythological event or a historical process, during theEarly Middle Ages.
The origins of the Scots have been the subject of numerous speculations over the centuries, including some extravagant ones, like the one made byWalter Bower, abbot ofInchcolm Abbey, in hisScotichronicon, in which he argued that the Scots were descended from anEgyptianpharaoh via the legendary princess Scota, who arrived in Scotland after traveling to Iberia and Ireland.[1] The traditional origin legends in Scotland were influenced by theHistoria Regum Britanniae, theLebor Gabála Érenn and theHistoria Brittonum. Ultimately, such conceptualizations can be derived fromVirgil'sAeneid and theBible.
In theLife of St Cathróe of Metz, thehagiographer recounts the mythological origin of the saint's people, the Gaels. The hagiographer recounts that they landed in the vicinity ofCruachan Feli - called theMountain of Ireland. He recounts that the Gaels conquered Ireland after a series of battles with thePicts (herePictanes). They followed up their conquest of Ireland by invading Britain, conquering Iona before conquering the cities ofRigmonath (=Cennrigmonaid; i.e.St Andrews) andBellathor (=Cinnbelathoir; an unidentified Scoto-Pictishpalace). Afterwards, their commander - a Spartan calledNel (=Niall) - named the land and people after his Egyptian wifeScota. The tale is astonishingly important, because it dates to about 980, an extremely early date, and has Scottish sources. Indeed, the saint himself is Scottish, born into the nobility. According to theLife, he was educated inArmagh, before returning toScotland and entering the service of KingConstantine II (Causantín mac Áeda). Constantine gave Cathróe conduct to the court of KingDyfnwal ofStrathclyde, and from there made his way to Viking England, and finally, the continent.[1]
Medieval Scottishgenealogies trace the origin of the Scots toFergus Mór mac Eirc, the legendary founder ofDál Riata. TheSenchus fer n-Alban also contains the myth of Fergus. This is an older document, perhaps dating to the seventh century, that has been heavily interpolated with later material, probably including the mythological parts. Appended to theMíniugud Senchasa Fher nAlba in many manuscripts is theGenelaig Albanensium, a list of genealogies relating to Gaelic rulers of Scotland going up to at least Constantine III (995–7) (it goes later in some of the manuscripts). It is likely that this material was inserted into theMíniugud in the early eleventh century.[2]
In theDuan Albanach, this tradition is re-enforced. It is known to have been written in the reign of KingMalcolm III (Máel Coluim mac Donnchada) (one line reads "Maelcoluim is now the king"). It recounts the earliest histories of the Picts, and then celebrates the conquest of the Picts by theGaedhil. It calls the Scottish Gaels thechildren of Conaire and the traces the descent of the Scottish kings from Fergus mac Eirc. It does not trace their descent any further, because in the manuscript theDuan Albanach follows from a companion piece, theDuan Eireannach (i.e.Irish Poem), which had already recounted the history of the Gaels fromScythia via Egypt to Ireland.[3]
These mythical traditions are incorporated into theDeclaration of Arbroath, and in that document origins from Ireland are omitted for the first time. They were believed in the early modern period and beyond, and even KingJames VI traced his origin to Fergus, saying, in his own words, that he was a "Monarch sprunge of Ferguse race".[4]
TheGoth versusGael model was developed in the context of a vast cultural and linguistic chasm which existed inScotland in the early modern era, and was invented in the context of theAnglo-Scottish Union and theJacobite risings in the eighteenth century. The model originates ultimately in the laterMiddle Ages, when theGermanic-speaking subjects of the Scottish king began to think of themselves as Scots, and began the ethnic and cultural disassociation of Scottish and Gaelic, previously two identical concepts, by calling their own brand of EnglishScottis and renamingScottis asErse. Also important was the impact of theReformation and theUnion.Scots imported English prejudices about the Irish Gaels, and in turn adapted them for the Scottish Gaels.[5]
The Goth versus Gael debate centred on which part of Scotland's past is the more important, the Germanic or the Celtic.Germanicists, orGothicists as they are sometimes called, attempted to disassociate Gaels and Gaelic from the Scottish past. One extreme example wasJohn Pinkerton, who believed passionately that the people and language oflowland Scotland derived from aGothicdialect spoken by the Picts. John Pinkerton even invented ancient tales to give substance to this fictional ancient people. The main thrust of the Germanicist model was destroyed in the nineteenth century whenWilliam Forbes Skene and others brought medieval Scotland into the frame of serious, recognisably modern scholarship. Nevertheless, this model has had a lot of impact on popular understandings of medievalScottish history. It explains, for instance, why some popular historians believe that English became the language ofLowland Scotland in the reign of Malcolm III, owing to the influence of his wife, theAnglo-HungarianSaint Margaret, when in fact no such thing happened for another few centuries.[6][dubious –discuss]
That Pictland had Gaelic kings is not in question. One of the earliest, if not the earliest, wasNechtan mac Derile, the son of a Gaelic lord namedDargart and the Pictish princessDerile.[7] Pictish kings, moreover, were probably Gaelic-speaking poets. There exists a Gaelic elegy to the Pictish king, Bridei, Bili's son. The poem is attributed to his contemporary,Adomnán ofIona, but this is tenuous. It is however probably contemporary, dating to the late 7th or early eighth century. Another poem, attributed toRiagail of Bangor, celebrates the same ruler's victory over theNorthumbrians, at theBattle of Dun Nechtain on 20 May 685.[8]
In the early eighth century, the great King of the Picts wasÓengus mac Fergusa, conqueror of Dalriada. It is possible, as has been pointed out by some linguists and historians, that Óengus and Fergus are just Gaelic versions of native Pictish names, namely,Onuist andUrguist, the names recorded in one strand of the Pictish king lists.[9] However, these names are rare in the largerP-Celtic world, and largely out of place in the context of previous Pictish kings. Furthermore, an inscription relating to Causantín son of Fergus reads:
CV[…]NTIN/FILIUSFIRCU/S. |
This inscription is from theDupplin Cross, and was found in the heart of southern Pictland, nearForteviot. It dates from the late 8th or early ninth century. If the name in question really were the PictishUrguist, then it is odd that a contemporary Pictish description gave the Gaelic form, form beginning with the unmistakablyGoidelicF.[11] It is thus likely that several of the later Pictish Kings spoke Gaelic as their first language.
TheSt Andrews historian Alex Woolf has recently put forward a case for relocating the Kingdom of Fortriu north of theMounth (theGrampians). Previously, it had been located in the vicinity of Strathearn; but as Woolf pointed out, this is based on one passage saying that theMen of Fortriu fought a battle in Strathearn. This is an unconvincing reason, because there are two Strathearns -one in the south, andone in the north - and, moreover, every battle has to be fought outside the territory of one of the combatants. By contrast, a northernrecension of theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle makes it clear that Fortriu was north of theMounth, in the area visited byColumba. The case has to be accepted, and there can be little doubt that the core of Fortriu lay to the north of the Grampian Mountains - in Moray, Ross and perhaps Mar and Buchan too.[12]
Relocating Fortriu north of theMounth increases the importance of the Vikings. After all, the Viking impact on the north was greater than in the south, and in the north, the Vikings actually conquered and made permanent territorial gains.
There remains the possibility thatAlba is simply aGaelic translation of the Pictish name for Pictland. Both theWelsh and theIrish use archaic words forBriton to describe the Picts. It is very likely therefore that the Picts did so themselves; or if they did not originally, they came to do so. In which case the Pictish for Pictland would have been either the same as their word for Britain, or an obsolete term. Alba was exactly this kind of word inOld Irish. It is therefore plausible thatAlba is simply a Gaelic translation. The name change is first registered at the very beginning of the tenth century,[13] not long beforeConstantine II is alleged to have Scotticised the "Pictish" Church,[14] and at the height of Viking raids. Later records, especially theChronicle of the Kings of Alba and other documents in thePoppleton Manuscript, tell us that the Picts were simply conquered and annihilated by kingKenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín). This is the traditional explanation, and the one repeated by many historians. The only thing which is certain is that before 900, theCruithentuath (Gaelic for Pictland), and perhaps Fortriu, became Gaelic-speaking Alba.