Editing Kingdom of Strathclyde (section)

===The Viking Age===
[[File:Strathclyde-940-AD.png|250px|thumb|Kingdom of Strathclyde at its largest extent, circa 940.]]
An army, led by the Viking chiefs known in Irish as [[Amlaíb Conung]] and Ímar, laid [[Siege of Dumbarton|siege]] in 870 to Alt Clut, a siege which lasted some four months and led to the destruction of the citadel and the taking of a very large number of captives. The siege and capture are reported by Welsh and Irish sources, and the Annals of Ulster say that in 871, after overwintering on the Clyde:

{{cquote|Amlaíb and Ímar returned to Áth Cliath ([[Dublin]]) from [[Alba]] with two hundred ships, bringing away with them in captivity to Ireland a great prey of Angles and Britons and Picts.}}

King [[Arthgal ap Dyfnwal]], called "king of the Britons of Strathclyde", was killed in Dublin in 872 at the instigation of [[Causantín mac Cináeda]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Edmonds |first=F |year=2015 |title=The Expansion of the Kingdom of Strathclyde |url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/246370 |journal=[[Early Medieval Europe (journal)|Early Medieval Europe]] |volume=23 |issue=1  |doi=10.1111/emed.12087 |eissn=1468-0254 |ref=E4|page=60 |s2cid=162103346 }}</ref> He was followed by his son [[Run of Alt Clut]], who was married to Causantín's sister. [[Eochaid of Scotland|Eochaid]], the result of this marriage, may have been king of Strathclyde, or of the [[kingdom of Alba]].

From this time forward, and perhaps from much earlier, the kingdom of Strathclyde was subject to periodic domination by the kings of Alba. However, the earlier idea, that the heirs to the Scots throne ruled Strathclyde, or Cumbria as an [[appanage]], has relatively little support, and the degree of Scots control should not be overstated. This period probably saw a degree of Norse, or Norse-Gael settlement in Strathclyde. A number of place-names, in particular a cluster on the coast facing [[the Cumbraes]], and monuments such as the [[hogback (sculpture)|hogback]] graves at Govan, are some of the remains of these newcomers.

In the late ninth century the Vikings almost conquered England, apart from the southern kingdom of [[Wessex]], but in the 910s the West Saxon king [[Edward the Elder]] and his sister [[Æthelflæd]], Lady of the Mercians, recovered England south of the [[Humber]]. According to the ''[[Fragmentary Annals of Ireland]]'', Æthelflæd formed an alliance with Strathclyde and Scotland against the Vikings, and in the view of the historian Tim Clarkson Strathclyde seems to have made substantial territorial gains at this time, some at the expense of the [[Norwegians|Norse]] Vikings. The ''[[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]]'' states that in 920 the kings of Britain, including the king of Strathclyde (who is not named), submitted to Edward. However, historians are sceptical of the claim as Edward's power was confined to southern Britain, and they think it was probably a peace settlement which did not involve submission. The names of Strathclyde's rulers in this period are uncertain, but [[Dyfnwal, King of Strathclyde|Dyfnwal]] is thought to have been king in the early tenth century, and he was probably succeeded by his son [[Owain ap Dyfnwal (fl. 934)|Owain]] before 920.{{sfnm|1a1=Clarkson|1y=2014|1pp=59–62|2a1=Davidson|2y=2001|2pp=200-09}}

In 927 Edward's son [[Æthelstan]] conquered Viking-ruled [[Northumbria]], and thus became the first king of England. At [[Eamont Bridge]] on 27 July several kings accepted his overlordship, including [[Constantine II of Scotland|Constantine]] of Scotland. Sources differ on whether the meeting was attended by Owain of Strathclyde or [[Owain ap Hywel (Glywysing)|Owain ap Hywel]] of Gwent, but it could have been both. In 934 Æthelstan invaded Scotland and laid waste to the country. Owain was an ally of the Scottish king and it is likely that Strathclyde was also ravaged. Owain attested Æthelstan's charters as sub-king in 931 and 935 (charters [[Peter Sawyer (historian)|S]] 413, 434 and 1792), but in 937 he joined Constantine and the Vikings in invading England. The result was an overwhelming victory for the English at the [[Battle of Brunanburh]].{{sfnm|1a1=Clarkson|1y=2014|1pp=76–77, 80–84|2a1=Keynes|2y=2002|2loc=Table XXXVI}}

Following the battle of Brunanburh, Owain's son [[Dyfnwal ab Owain]] became king of Strathclyde. It is likely that whereas Scotland allied with England, Strathclyde held to its alliance with the Vikings. In 945, Æthelstan's half-brother [[Edmund I|Edmund]], who had succeeded to the English throne in 939, ravaged Strathclyde. According to the thirteenth-century chronicler [[Roger of Wendover]], Edmund had two sons of Dyfnwal blinded, perhaps to deprive their father of throneworthy heirs. Edmund then gave the kingdom to King [[Malcolm I of Scotland]] in return for a pledge to defend it on land and on sea, but Dyfnwal soon recovered his kingdom. He died on pilgrimage to Rome in 975.{{sfnm|1a1=Stenton|1y=1971|1p=359|2a1=Clarkson|2y=2014|2pp=109, 125}}