Editing Constantine II of Scotland (section)

== Pictland from Constantín mac Fergusa to Constantine I ==
{{main|Origins of the Kingdom of Alba}}
[[Image:Early Alpinid kings.svg|280px|thumb|Recorded relationships within the early [[House of Alpin]]]]

The dominant kingdom in eastern Scotland before the [[Viking Age]] was the northern [[List of kings of the Picts|Pictish kingdom]] of [[Fortriu]] on the shores of the [[Moray Firth]]. By the 9th century, the [[Gaels]] of [[Dál Riata]] (Dalriada) were subject to the kings of Fortriu of the family of [[Causantín mac Fergusa]] (Constantine son of Fergus). Constantín's family dominated Fortriu after 789 and perhaps, if Constantín was a kinsman of [[Óengus 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 the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'' in which King [[Eóganan mac Óengusa|Uen]] of Fortriu and his brother Bran, Constantín's nephews, together with the [[king of Dál Riata]], [[Áed mac Boanta]], "and others almost innumerable" were killed.<ref>''Annals of Ulster'', s.a. 838.</ref> These deaths led to a period of instability lasting a decade as several families attempted to establish their dominance in Pictland. By around 848 [[Kenneth MacAlpin]] had emerged as the winner.<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 57–67, 93–98; Smyth, ''Warlords and Holy Men'', pp. 180–185; Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', pp. 8–10; Bannerman, "Scottish takeover"; Foster, ''Picts, Gaels and Scots'', pp. 107–108.</ref>

Later [[national myth]] made Kenneth MacAlpin the creator of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]], the founding of which was dated from 843, the year in which he was said to have destroyed the [[Picts]] and inaugurated a new era. The historical record for 9th century Scotland is meagre, but the Irish annals and the 10th century ''Chronicle 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 brother [[Donald I]] (Domnall mac Ailpín) and sons [[Causantín mac Cináeda|Constantine I]] (Constantín mac Cináeda) and [[Áed mac Cináeda|Áed]] (Áed mac Cináeda).<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 93–117, 320–322; Broun, "Dunkeld"; Duncan, ''Kingship of the Scots'', pp. 13–14; Herbert, "''Ri Éirenn, Ri Alban''"; Dumville, "Chronicle of the Kings of Alba", p. 76.</ref>

The kingdom ruled by Kenneth's descendants — older works used the name [[House of Alpin]] to describe them but descent from Kenneth was the defining factor, Irish sources referring to ''Clann Cináeda meic Ailpín'' ("the Clan of Kenneth MacAlpin")<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 220–221, 256–257; Broun, ''Irish Identity'', pp. 173–174</ref> — lay to the south of the previously dominant kingdom of Fortriu, centred in the lands around the [[River Tay]]. The extent of Kenneth's nameless kingdom is uncertain, but it certainly extended from the [[Firth of Forth]] in the south to the [[Mounth]] 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 of [[Kincardineshire|Mearns]], [[Forfarshire]], [[Forfar]], [[Perthshire|Perth]], [[Fife]], and [[Kinross-shire|Kinross]]. Among the chief ecclesiastical centres named in the records are [[Dunkeld]], probably the seat of the bishop of the kingdom, and ''Cell Rígmonaid'' (modern [[St Andrews]]).<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 98–101; Driscoll, ''Alba'' pp. 33–51; Foster, ''Picts, Gaels and Scots'', pp. 8 fig. 1, 39 fig. 24, 110–111.</ref>

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.<ref>Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 106–116; Swanton, ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'', pp. 72–75, s.a. 875. For Constantine as the last Pictish king, the original count being 66 kings, see Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp. 124–126; Broun, ''Irish Identity'', pp. 168–169; Anderson, ''Kings and Kingship'', pp. 78–79.</ref>