| Constantine II | |
|---|---|
| King of Alba (Scotland) | |
| Reign | April 900 – 943 |
| Predecessor | Donald II |
| Successor | Malcolm I |
| Born | no later than 879 |
| Died | 952 (aged 73–74) St Andrews, Scotland |
| Burial | |
| Issue | Indulf, King of Alba Cellach one or more daughters |
| House | Alpin |
| Father | Áed, King of the Picts |
Causantín mac Áeda (Modern Gaelic:Còiseam mac Aoidh,anglicisedConstantine II; born no later than 879; died 952) was an earlyKing of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic nameAlba. TheKingdom of Alba, a name which first appears in Constantine's lifetime, was situated in what is nowNorthern Scotland.
The core of the kingdom was formed by the lands around theRiver Tay. Its southern limit was theRiver Forth, northwards it extended towards theMoray Firth and perhaps toCaithness, while its western limits are uncertain. Constantine's grandfatherKenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín, died 858) was the first of the family recorded as a king, but asking of the Picts. This change of title, from king of the Picts toking of Alba, is part of a broader transformation ofPictland and theorigins of the Kingdom of Alba are traced to Constantine's lifetime.
His reign, like those of his predecessors, was dominated by the actions of Norse rulers in theBritish Isles, particularly theUí Ímair ('Grandsons/Descendants of Ímar', orIvar the Boneless). During Constantine's reign, the rulers of the southern kingdoms ofWessex andMercia, later theKingdom of England, extended their authority northwards into the disputed kingdoms ofNorthumbria. At first, the southern rulers allied with him against the Vikings, but in 934, Æthelstan, unprovoked, invaded Scotland both by sea and land with a huge host that included fourWelsh kings. He ravaged southern Alba, but there is no record of any battles. He had withdrawn by September. Three years later, in 937, probably in retaliation for the invasion of Alba, King Constantine allied withOlaf Guthfrithson,King of Dublin, andOwain ap Dyfnwal,King of Strathclyde, but they were defeated at thebattle of Brunanburh. In 943, Constantine abdicated the throne and retired to theCéli Dé (Culdee)monastery of St Andrews where he died in 952. He was succeeded by his predecessor's sonMalcolm I (Máel Coluim mac Domnaill).
Constantine's reign of 43 years, exceeded in Scotland only by that of KingWilliam the Lion before theUnion of the Crowns in 1603, is believed to have played a defining part in theGaelicisation ofPictland, in which his patronage of the Irish Céli Dé monastic reformers was a significant factor. During his reign, the words "Scots" and "Scotland" (Old English:Scottas, Scotland) were first used to mean part of what is nowScotland. The earliest evidence for the ecclesiastical and administrative institutions which would last until theDavidian Revolution also appears at this time.
Compared to neighbouringIreland andAnglo-Saxon England, few records of 9th and 10th century events in Scotland survive. The main local source from the period is theChronicle of the Kings of Alba, a list of kings from Kenneth MacAlpin (died 858) toKenneth II (Cináed mac Maíl Coluim, died 995). The list survives in thePoppleton manuscript, a 13th-century compilation. Originally simply a list of kings with reign lengths, the other details contained in the Poppleton manuscript version were added in the 10th and 12th centuries.[1] In addition to this, later king lists survive.[2] The earliestgenealogical records of the descendants ofKenneth MacAlpin may date from the end of the 10th century, but their value lies more in their context, and the information they provide about the interests of those for whom they were compiled, than in the unreliable claims they contain.[3]
For narrative history, the principal sources are theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle and theIrish annals. The evidence fromcharters created in theKingdom of England provides occasional insight into events in Scotland.[4] WhileScandinaviansagas describe events in 10th century Britain, their value as sources of historical narrative, rather than documents of social history, is disputed.[5] Mainland European sources rarely concern themselves with affairs in any part of theBritish Isles, and even less commonly with events in Scotland, but the life of SaintCathróe of Metz, a work ofhagiography written inGermany at the end of the 10th century, provides plausible details of the saint's early life in north Britain.[6]
While the sources for north-eastern Britain, the lands of thekingdom of Northumbria and theformer Pictland, are limited and late, those for the areas on theIrish Sea and Atlantic coasts — the modern regions of north-west England and all of northern and western Scotland — are non-existent, andarchaeology andtoponymy are of primary importance.[7]
The dominant kingdom in eastern Scotland before theViking Age was the northernPictish kingdom ofFortriu on the shores of theMoray Firth. By the 9th century, theGaels ofDál Riata (Dalriada) were subject to the kings of Fortriu of the family ofCausantín mac Fergusa (Constantine son of Fergus). Constantín's family dominated Fortriu after 789 and perhaps, if Constantín was a kinsman ofÓengus I of the Picts (Óengus son of Fergus), from around 730. The dominance of Fortriu came to an end in 839 with a defeat by Viking armies reported by theAnnals of Ulster in which KingUen of Fortriu and his brother Bran, Constantín's nephews, together with theking of Dál Riata,Áed mac Boanta, "and others almost innumerable" were killed.[8] These deaths led to a period of instability lasting a decade as several families attempted to establish their dominance in Pictland. By around 848Kenneth MacAlpin had emerged as the winner.[9]
Laternational myth made Kenneth MacAlpin the creator of theKingdom of Scotland, the founding of which was dated from 843, the year in which he was said to have destroyed thePicts and inaugurated a new era. The historical record for 9th century Scotland is meagre, but the Irish annals and the 10th centuryChronicle of the Kings of Alba agree that Kenneth was a Pictish king, and call him "king of the Picts" at his death. The same style is used of Kenneth's brotherDonald I (Domnall mac Ailpín) and sonsConstantine I (Constantín mac Cináeda) andÁed (Áed mac Cináeda).[10]
The kingdom ruled by Kenneth's descendants — older works used the nameHouse of Alpin to describe them but descent from Kenneth was the defining factor, Irish sources referring toClann Cináeda meic Ailpín ("the Clan of Kenneth MacAlpin")[11] — lay to the south of the previously dominant kingdom of Fortriu, centred in the lands around theRiver Tay. The extent of Kenneth's nameless kingdom is uncertain, but it certainly extended from theFirth of Forth in the south to theMounth in the north. Whether it extended beyond the mountainous spine of north Britain —Druim Alban — is unclear. The core of the kingdom was similar to the old counties ofMearns,Forfarshire,Forfar,Perth,Fife, andKinross. Among the chief ecclesiastical centres named in the records areDunkeld, probably the seat of the bishop of the kingdom, andCell Rígmonaid (modernSt Andrews).[12]
Kenneth's son Constantine died in 876, probably killed fighting against a Viking army that had come north from Northumbria in 874. According to the king lists, he was counted as the 70th and last king of the Picts in later times.[13]
In 899Alfred the Great, king ofWessex, died leaving his sonEdward the Elder as ruler of England south of theRiver Thames and his daughterÆthelflæd and son-in-lawÆthelred ruling the western, English part ofMercia. The situation in theDanish kingdoms of eastern England is less clear. KingEohric was probably ruling inEast Anglia, but no dates can reliably be assigned to the successors ofGuthfrith of York inNorthumbria. It is known that Guthfrith was succeeded bySiefredus andCnut, although whether these men ruled jointly or one after the other is uncertain. Northumbria may have been divided by this time between the Viking kings in York and the local rulers, perhaps represented byEadulf, based atBamburgh who controlled the lands from theRiver Tyne orRiver Tees to theForth in the north.[14]
InIreland,Flann Sinna, married to Constantine's auntMáel Muire, was dominant. The years around 900 represented a period of weakness among the Vikings andNorse–Gaels ofDublin. They are reported to have been divided between two rival leaders. In 894 one group left Dublin, perhaps settling on the Irish Sea coast of Britain between theRiver Mersey and theFirth of Clyde. The remaining Dubliners were expelled in 902 by Flann Sinna's son-in-lawCerball mac Muirecáin, and soon afterwards appeared in western and northern Britain.[15]
To the southwest of Constantine's lands lay theKingdom of Strathclyde. This extended north intoThe Lennox, east to the River Forth, and south into theSouthern Uplands. In 900 it was probably ruled by KingDyfnwal.[16]
The situation of theGaelic kingdoms ofDál Riata in western Scotland is uncertain. No kings are known by name afterÁed mac Boanta. TheFrankishAnnales Bertiniani may record the conquest of theInner Hebrides, the seaward part of Dál Riata, by Northmen in 849.[17] In addition to these, the arrival of new groups of Vikings from northern and western Europe was still commonplace. Whether there were Viking or Norse-Gael kingdoms in theWestern Isles or theNorthern Isles at this time is debated.[18]
Áed, Constantine's father, succeeded Constantine's uncle and namesakeConstantine I in 876 but was killed in 878. Áed's short reign is glossed as being of no importance by most king lists. Although the date of his birth is nowhere recorded, Constantine II cannot have been born any later than the year after his father's death,i.e., 879. His name may suggest that he was born a few years earlier, during the reign of his uncle Constantine I.[19]
After Áed's death, there is a two-decade gap until the death ofDonald II (Domnall mac Constantín) in 900 during which nothing is reported in the Irish annals.[20] The entry for the reign between Áed and Donald II is corrupt in theChronicle of the Kings of Alba, and in this case, theChronicle is at variance with every other king list.[21] According to theChronicle, Áed was followed byEochaid, a grandson of Kenneth MacAlpin, who is somehow connected withGiric, but all other lists say that Giric ruled after Áed and make great claims for him.[22] Giric is not known to have been a kinsman of Kenneth's, although it has been suggested that he was related to him by marriage. The major changes in Pictland which began at about this time have been associated byAlex Woolf andArchie Duncan with Giric's reign.[23]
Woolf suggests that Constantine and his younger brother Donald may have passed Giric's reign in exile in Ireland where their aunt Máel Muire was wife of two successiveHigh Kings of Ireland,Áed Findliath andFlann Sinna.[24] Giric died in 889. If he had been in exile, Constantine may have returned to Pictland where his cousin Donald II became king. Donald's reputation is suggested by theepithetdasachtach, a word used of violent madmen and mad bulls, attached to him in the 11th-century writings ofFlann Mainistrech, echoed by his description inThe Prophecy of Berchán as "the rough one who will think relics and psalms of little worth".[25] Wars with the Viking kings in Britain and Ireland continued during Donald's reign and he was probably killed fighting yet more Vikings atDunnottar in theMearns in 900. Constantine succeeded him as king.[26]
The earliest event recorded in theChronicle of the Kings of Alba in Constantine's reign is an attack by Vikings and the plundering ofDunkeld "and all Albania" in his third year. This is the first use of the word Albania, theLatin form of theOld IrishAlba, in theChronicle which until then describes the lands ruled by the descendants of Cináed as Pictavia.[28]
These Norsemen could have been some of those who were driven out ofDublin in 902 or were the same group who had defeated Domnall in 900. TheChronicle states that the Northmen were killed inSrath Erenn, which is confirmed by theAnnals of Ulster which records the death ofÍmar grandson of Ímar and many others at the hands of the men of Fortriu in 904. This Ímar was the first of theUí Ímair, the grandsons of Ímar, to be reported; three more grandsons of Ímar appear later in Constantín's reign. TheFragmentary Annals of Ireland contain an account of the battle, and this attributes the defeat of the Norsemen to the intercession of SaintColumba following fasting and prayer. An entry in theChronicon Scotorum under the year 904 may possibly contain a corrupted reference to this battle.[29]
The next event reported by theChronicle of the Kings of Alba is dated to 906. This records that:
King Constantine and BishopCellach met at theHill of Belief near the royal city ofScone and pledged themselves that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the laws of churches and gospels, should be keptpariter cum Scottis.[30]
The meaning of this entry, and its significance, have been the subject of debate.
The phrasepariter cum Scottis in theLatin text of theChronicle has been translated in several ways.William Forbes Skene andAlan Orr Anderson proposed that it should be read as "in conformity with the customs of the Gaels", relating it to the claims in the king lists that Giric liberated the church from secular oppression and adopted Irish customs.[32] It has been read as "together with the Gaels", suggesting either public participation or the presence of Gaels from the western coasts as well as the people of the east coast.[33] Finally, it is suggested that it was the ceremony that followed "the custom of the Gaels" and not the agreements.[34]
The idea that this gathering agreed to uphold Irish laws governing the church has suggested that it was an important step in thegaelicisation of the lands east of Druim Alban.[35] Others have proposed that the ceremony in some way endorsed Constantine's kingship, prefiguring later royal inaugurations at Scone.[36] Alternatively, if Bishop Cellach was appointed by Giric, it may be that the gathering was intended to heal a rift between king and church.[37]
Following the events at Scone, there is little of substance reported for a decade. A story in theFragmentary Annals of Ireland, perhaps referring to events sometime after 911, claims thatÆthelflæd, who ruled inMercia, allied with theIrish and northern rulers against the Norsemen on the Irish sea coasts ofNorthumbria. TheAnnals of Ulster record the defeat of an Irish fleet from the kingdom ofUlaid by Vikings "on the coast of England" at about this time.[38]
In this period theChronicle of the Kings of Alba reports the death ofCormac mac Cuilennáin,king of Munster, in the eighth year of Constantine's reign.[39] This is followed by an undated entry which was formerly read as "In his time Domnall [i.e. Dyfnwal], king of the [Strathclyde] Britons died, and Domnall son of Áed was elected". This was thought to record the election of a brother of Constantine named Domnall to the kingship of the Britons of Strathclyde and was seen as early evidence of the domination of Strathclyde by the kings of Alba. The entry in question is now read as "... Dyfnwal ... and Domnall son Áedking of Ailech died", thisDomnall being a son ofÁed Findliath who died on 21 March 915.[40] Finally, the deaths ofFlann Sinna andNiall Glúndub are recorded.[41]
There are more reports of Viking fleets in theIrish Sea from 914 onwards. By 916 fleets underSihtric Cáech andRagnall, said to be grandsons of Ímar (that is, they belonged to the sameUí Ímair kindred as the Ímar who was killed in 904), were very active inIreland. Sihtric inflicted a heavy defeat on the armies ofLeinster and retook Dublin in 917.[42] The following year Ragnall appears to have returned across the Irish Sea intent on establishing himself as king atYork.[43] The only precisely dated event in the summer of 918 is the death of Æthelflæd of Mercia on 12 June 918 atTamworth, Staffordshire. Æthelflæd had been negotiating with the Northumbrians to obtain their submission, but her death put an end to this and her successor, her brotherEdward the Elder, was occupied with securing control ofMercia.[44]
The northern part ofNorthumbria, and perhaps the whole kingdom, had probably been ruled byEaldred son ofEadulf since 913.[45] Faced with Ragnall's invasion, Ealdred came north seeking assistance from Constantine. The two advanced south to face Ragnall, and this led to a battle somewhere on the banks of theRiver Tyne, probably atCorbridge whereDere Street crosses the river. TheBattle of Corbridge appears to have been indecisive; theChronicle of the Kings of Alba is alone in giving Constantine the victory.[46]
The report of the battle in theAnnals of Ulster says that none of the kings ormormaers among the men of Alba were killed. This is the first surviving use of the word mormaer; other than the knowledge that Constantine's kingdom had its own bishop or bishops and royal villas, this is the only hint to the institutions of the kingdom.[47]
After Corbridge, Ragnall enjoyed only a short respite. In the south, Alfred's son Edward had rapidly secured control of Mercia and had aburh constructed atBakewell in thePeak District from which his armies could easily strike north. An army fromDublin led by Ragnall's kinsman Sihtric struck at north-western Mercia in 919, but in 920 or 921 Edward met with Ragnall and other kings. TheAnglo-Saxon Chronicle states that these kings "chose Edward as father and lord". Among the other kings present were Constantine, Ealdred son of Eadwulf, and the king of Strathclyde,Owain ap Dyfnwal. Here, again, a new term appears in the record, theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle for the first time using the wordscottas, from which Scots derives, to describe the inhabitants of Constantine's kingdom in its report of these events.[48]
Edward died in 924. His realms appear to have been divided with the West Saxons recognisingÆlfweard while the Mercians choseÆthelstan who had been raised at Æthelflæd's court. Ælfweard died within weeks of his father and Æthelstan was inaugurated as king of all of Edward's lands in 925.[49]
By 926 Sihtric had evidently acknowledgedÆthelstan as overlord, adoptingChristianity and marrying a sister of Æthelstan atTamworth. Within the year he appears to have forsaken his new faith and repudiated his wife, but before Æthelstan could respond, Sihtric died suddenly in 927. His kinsman, perhaps brother,Gofraid, who had remained as his deputy inDublin, came fromIreland to take power inYork but failed. Æthelstan moved quickly, seizing much ofNorthumbria. In less than a decade, thekingdom of the English had become by far the greatest power in Britain and Ireland, perhaps stretching as far north as theFirth of Forth.[50]
John of Worcester's chronicle suggests that Æthelstan faced opposition from Constantine,Owain, and the Welsh kings.William of Malmesbury writes that Gofraid, together with Sihtric's young sonOlaf Cuaran fled north and received refuge from Constantine, which led to war with Æthelstan. A meeting atEamont Bridge on 12 July 927 was sealed by an agreement that Constantine, Owain,Hywel Dda, and Ealdred would "renounce all idolatry": that is, they would not ally with the Viking kings. William states that Æthelstan stood godfather to a son of Constantine, probablyIndulf (Ildulb mac Constantín), during the conference.[51]
Æthelstan followed up his advances in the north by securing the recognition of the Welsh kings.[52] For the next seven years, the record of events in the north is blank. Æthelstan's court was attended by the Welsh kings, but not by Constantine or Owain. This absence of record means that Æthelstan's reasons for marching north against Constantine in 934 are unclear.[53]
Æthelstan's invasion is reported in brief by theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle, and later chroniclers such asJohn of Worcester,William of Malmesbury,Henry of Huntingdon andSymeon of Durham add detail to that bald account. Æthelstan's army began gathering atWinchester by 28 May 934 and travelled north toNottingham by 7 June. He was accompanied by many leaders, including theWelsh kingsHywel Dda,Idwal Foel andMorgan ab Owain. From Mercia, the army continued toChester-le-Street, before resuming the march accompanied by a fleet of ships. Owain was defeated and Symeon states that the army went as far north asDunnottar andFortriu, while the fleet is said to have raidedCaithness, by which a much larger area, includingSutherland, is probably intended. It is unlikely that Constantine's personal authority extended so far north, so the attacks were probably directed at his allies, comprising simple looting expeditions.[54]
TheAnnals of Clonmacnoise state that "the Scottish men compelled [Æthelstan] to return without any great victory", while Henry of Huntingdon claims that the English faced no opposition. A negotiated settlement might have ended matters: according to John of Worcester, a son of Constantine was given as a hostage to Æthelstan and Constantine himself accompanied the English king on his return south. He witnessed a charter with Æthelstan atBuckingham on 13 September 934 in which he is described assubregulus,i.e., a king acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship, the only place there is any record of such a description.[55] However, there is no record of Constantine having ever submitted to Æthelstan's overlordship or that he considered himself such. The following year, Constantine was again in England at Æthelstan's court, this time atCirencester where he appears as a witness, as the first of several kings, followed by Owain and Hywel Dda, who subscribed to the diploma.[56] At Christmas of 935, Owain was once more at Æthelstan's court along with the Welsh kings, but Constantine was not. His return to England less than two years later would be in very different circumstances.[57]
Following his departure from Æthelstan's court after 935, there is no further report of Constantine until 937. In that year, together with Owain andOlaf Guthfrithson ofDublin, Constantine invaded England. The resultingbattle of Brunanburh —Dún Brunde — is reported in theAnnals of Ulster as follows:
a great battle, lamentable and terrible was cruelly fought... in which fell uncounted thousands of the Northmen. ... And on the other side, a multitude of Saxons fell; but Æthelstan, the king of the Saxons, obtained a great victory.[58]
The battle was remembered in England a generation later as "the Great Battle". When reporting the battle, theAnglo-Saxon Chronicle abandons its usual terse style in favour of a heroic poem vaunting the great victory. In this, the "hoary" Constantine, by now around 60 years of age, is said to have lost a son in the battle, a claim which theChronicle of the Kings of Alba confirms. TheAnnals of Clonmacnoise give his name as Cellach. For all its fame, the site of the battle is uncertain and several sites have been advanced, withBromborough on theWirral the most favoured location.[59] However, in a recently published hypothesis, the valley of theBourn Brook, Cambridgeshire, three miles south-west ofCambridge, has been proposed as the location of the battle. The encounter between the armies is suggested to have taken place close to the brook, on the open fields ofHaslingfield,Harlton andLittle Eversden.[60]
Brunanburh, for all that it had been a famous and bloody battle, settled nothing. On 27 October 939 Æthelstan, the "pillar of the dignity of the western world" in the words of theAnnals of Ulster, died atMalmesbury. He was succeeded by his brotherEdmund, then aged 18. Æthelstan's realm, seemingly made safe by the victory of Brunanburh, collapsed in little more than a year from his death when Amlaíb returned from Ireland and seized Northumbria and the Mercian Danelaw. Edmund spent the remainder of Constantín's reign rebuilding his kingdom.[61]
For Constantine's last years as king, there is only the meagre record of theChronicle of the Kings of Alba. The death of Æthelstan is reported, as are two others. The first of these, in 938, is that ofDubacan,mormaer of Angus or son of the mormaer. Unlike the report of 918, on this occasion, the title mormaer is attached to a geographical area, but it is unknown whether the Angus of 938 was in any way similar to the later mormaerdom or earldom.[62] The second death entered with that of Æthelstan, is that of Eochaid mac Ailpín, who might, from his name, have been a kinsman of Constantín.[63]
By the early 940s, Constantine was an old man in his late sixties or seventies. Thekingdom of Alba was too new to be said to have a customary rule of succession, but Pictish and Irish precedents favoured an adult successor descended fromKenneth MacAlpin. Constantine's surviving sonIndulf, probably baptised in 927, would have been too young to be a serious candidate for the kingship in the early 940s, and the obvious heir was Constantine's nephew,Malcolm I. As Malcolm was born no later than 901, by the 940s he was no longer a young man and may have been impatient. Willingly or not — the 11th centuryThe Prophecy of Berchán, a verse history in the form of a supposed prophecy, states that it was not a voluntary decision — Constantine abdicated in 943 and entered a monastery, leaving the kingdom to Malcolm.[64]
Although his retirement might have been involuntary, theLife ofCathróe of Metz andThe Prophecy of Berchán portray Constantine as a devout king. The monastery to which Constantine retired, and where he is said to have beenabbot, was probably that ofSt Andrews. This had been refounded in his reign and given to the reformingCéli Dé (Culdee) movement. The Céli Dé were subsequently to be entrusted with many monasteries throughout the kingdom of Alba until replaced in the 12th century by new orders imported fromFrance.[65]
Seven years later theChronicle of the Kings of Alba says:
[Malcolm I] plundered the English as far as theriver Tees, and he seized a multitude of people and many herds of cattle: and the Scots called this the raid of Albidosorum, that is, Nainndisi. But others say that Constantine made this raid, asking of the king, Malcolm I, that the kingship should be given to him for a week's time so that he could visit the English. In fact, it was Malcolm I who made the raid, but Constantine incited him, as I have said.[66]
Woolf suggests that the association of Constantine with the raid is a late addition, one derived from a now-lost saga or poem.[67]
Constantine's death in 952 is recorded by the Irish annals, who enter it among ecclesiastics. His son Indulf would become king on Malcolm's death. The last of Constantine's certain descendants to be king in Alba was a great-grandson,Constantine III (Constantín mac Cuiléin). Another son had died at Brunanburh and according to John of Worcester,Amlaíb mac Gofraid was married to a daughter of Constantine. It is possible that Constantine had other children, but like the name of his wife, or wives, this has not been recorded.[68]
The form of kingdom which appeared in Constantine's reign continued in much the same way until theDavidian Revolution in the 12th century. As with his ecclesiastical reforms, his political legacy was the creation of a new form of Scottish kingship that lasted for two centuries after his death.[69]
The name of Constantine's wife is not known, however, they are known to have had at least 3 children:
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link){{citation}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help){{citation}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Constantine II of Scotland Born:×879 Died: 952 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Alba 900–943 | Succeeded by |
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