| Caustantin mac Fergusa | |
|---|---|
| King of the Picts | |
| Reign | 789–820 |
| Predecessor | Conall |
| Successor | Óengus II |
| Died | 820 |
| House | Óengus |
| Father | Fergusa |
Causantín orConstantín mac Fergusa (English:"Constantine son of Fergus") (789–820) wasking of the Picts, in modernScotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted asConstantine I of Scotland; the title is now generally given toCausantín mac Cináeda. He is credited with having founded the church atDunkeld which later receivedrelics ofSt Columba fromIona.
It had been proposed that Causantín and his brotherÓengus were sons ofFergus mac Echdach, King ofDál Riata,[1] but this is no longer widely accepted. Instead, it is thought they were kin to the first kingÓengus mac Fergusa, perhaps grandsons or grandnephews. This family may have originated inCircin (presumed to correspond with the modernMearns) and had ties to theEóganachta ofMunster inIreland.[2]
Causantín's reign falls in a period whenIrish annals have relatively few notices of events in Scotland, possibly due to the failing of the annals believed to have been kept in Scotland atIona andApplecross.[3] Perhaps for that reason, there are only two reports which mention him. Other entries make it clear that theVikings were active in Ireland and on the western coasts of Scotland at this time, which may also account for the lack of records. Iona was a target, and it may be that Abbot Noah ofKingarth, on theIsle of Bute, was killed by raiders.[4]
The first report, in 789, is the record of a battle in Pictland between Causantín andConall mac Taidg, in which Causantín was victorious. Conall later reappears inKintyre, where was killed in 807.[5] It is not known whether Causantín was king before defeating Conall. The king lists give varying lengths for his reign, from 35 to 45 years, and are not to be relied upon without independent confirmation.[6] The second report is that of Causantín's death in 820.[7]
TheDupplin Cross was long assumed to commemorateCináed mac Ailpín's final victory over the Picts, as indeed, wasSueno's Stone. Recent analysis has revealed a small part of an inscription on the Cross, in which Causantín is named. Accordingly, it is supposed that this monument was commissioned by him, or as a memorial to him. He appears there asCustantin filius Fircus[sa], alatinisation derived from theOld Irish version of his name rather than the presumedPictish formCastantin filius Uurguist found in thePoppleton manuscript and similar Pictish king lists.
It has been proposed that theSt Andrews Sarcophagus was made for Causantín, but this is a minority view, as is the suggestion that the relics ofSt Columba, perhaps including theMonymusk Reliquary, may have been translated fromIona toDunkeld during Causantín's reign.[8] The idea that Columba's relics may have come to Dunkeld in the time of Causantín, rather than thirty years later in the time of Cináed mac Ailpín is based on an entry in theChronicon Scotorum for 818.[9]
That Causantín established Dunkeld is stated by later chroniclers such asJohn of Fordun who are following some variants of the Pictish king lists or other materials now lost.Andrew of Wyntoun dates the foundation to 815, although he states that this was after the deaths ofCharlemagne andPope Leo III, which would date it to 816 or later.[10] It is suggested that Causantín is commemorated by theMartyrology of Tallaght, a product of one of the principalcéli démonasteries of the day. As a patron of the céli dé, and perhaps a collaborator of AbbotDiarmait of Iona, it is thought that Causantín may have been a church reformer, in line with céli dé ideals.[11] Caustantín appears also to have been a patron of theNorthumbrian monasteries, as he is commemorated, along with his nephewEogán, in theLiber Vitae Dunelmensis, which contains a list of those for whom prayers were said, dating from around 840.[12]
Causantín was succeeded by his brother Óengus. His sonDrest was later king. Causantín's sonDomnall is believed to have been king of Dál Riata from around 811 until 835. Causantín's reputation among the kings who followed him may, perhaps, be demonstrated by the use of his name for three kings in the century and a half following his death when it is not attested as a kingly name in Scotland prior to his reign.
While Causantín'a parentage is not known with certainty, it is believed that he had two siblings: A brother Óengus, who succeeded him as King of the Picts, and a sister who is said to be his heir and was the mother ofAlpín mac Echdach, founder of the Alpín dynasty, from which centuries of Scottish rulers descended.
Causantín is believed to have fathered at least 2 sons:
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | King of the Picts 789–820 | Succeeded by |
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