Sunday, April 24, 2011

Alpin of Kintyre

Red-headed man. Illustration of Celtic Art from The Book of Kells (9th Century)

Alpin of Kintyre, aka Alpin mac Echdach, Alpin mac Eochaid, sub-king of Galloway (Kintyre) and father of Kenneth Mac Alpin, first King of Scots

Son of:

Achaias, Eocha or Eochaid IV "The Poisonous" King of Dalriada (741 - 834)

Fergusia, aka "Urgusia," daughter of Angus II, King of Dalriada (r. 821 - 833)

Born: Year Unknown

Married: Year Unknown

Person Unknown

Died: 20 July 834 at Galloway, Scotland, while fighting Picts

The following note from Burke's Peerage may be of interest:

"The official genealogy of the Kings of Dalriada, declaimed by the royal Sennachie at the Scottish Coronation, traces their succession from Fergus Mor MacErc (circa 496), a scion of the Royal House of the Kings of Ireland, down to the above mentioned.

"The Royal House of Scotland arose from the union in 843 of the Kingdom of the Scots, Dalriada with Caledonia, the kingdom of the Picts, which latter comprised the northern and eastern parts of the country. The Kings of the Picts, Ard Righ Albann, according to their chroniclers, derived from Cruithne, King of the Picts (from whose seven younger sons the original Seven Earls or provincial Kings of Caledonia were deduced) through seventy kings (of whom the 49th, Brude MacMaelcon, 565, and Nectan MacDerili, 596-617, were converted to Christianity), to the 71st, Constantine MacAngus, whose successor, Angus II (821-833) had a son Eoghain MacAngus (73rd) and a daughter, Fergusia, married to Eocha, of the Royal House of Dalriada, and had Alpin, who claimed the Pictish throne on Eoghain's death in 839, and was father of Kenneth MacAlpin, of whom presently as 74th Ard Righ Albann."