The creation of a single monarchy seems to be linked to the creation of Alba from the regions of Dal Riata and Pictland. The first king in the sources that we have to be called ‘king of Alba’ was Domnall in the Annals of Ulster for the year 899. This new political identity, if only in the mind of the author, did grow and eventially developed into what we now recognise as modern Scotland.
The Picts were first mentioned by a native Briton in a fifth century letter condeming them for purchasing slaves. By the seventh century, they seem to have acquired a political identity. Concerning Dal Riata for around this time, Crawford states that ‘at least by the eighth century, and probably much earlier, the ruling nobility of Argyll comprised of three or four related kindreds, who alternated succession to the overking of the whole region called Dal Riata’. These two political units can with relative certainty be placed in the early middle ages existing side by side with individual political autonomy.
The historical narrative for how the separate kingdoms of Dal Riata and Pictland changed into Alba is that Cinaed mac Alpin, king of Dal Riata conquered Pictland and took it over in a significant battle , killing many kings and establishing single monarchy. This is generally not accepted as the true portrayl of what happened at this time. As the sources for this version of events are writing in the future, it is seen as part of re-writing of history in an attempt for conemporary kings to validate there rights to kingship. It is clear that prior to Cinaed there were rulers of both rulers of both kingdoms. For example, Constantin son of Fergus began his reign of Dal Riata in 789, then in 811 he became king of Pictland, finally dying in 820. He was not alone, his brother Oengus II was king of both the Pictisha and Dal Riata kingship, as was Oengus’ son. Thus, the significance of Cinaed ruling both kingdoms in the context of the time was not not that great. The real significance of Cinaed, semms to be that ‘he founded a new dynasty at a most critical period in the evolution of the Scottish nation’. Cinnaed’s descendants ruled the kingship of Alba from 889 to 1034, this is why Cinaed was regarded as more important than other united rulers of the two kingdoms. It is apparent that for future generations being a descendant of Cinaed was an essential aspect regarded lgitimacy for kingship.
Many modern historians see instead of Cinaed, Constantin mac Cinaeda as the primary figure in the history of the creation of Alba because he ‘steered his people out of the Viking Age and by skilfully manipulating those treacherous allies he ensured the that the heartlands of modern Scotland were never conquered of colonised by the Northmen’. Paradoxically, what he was defending may have never come in to being without without the Viking raids.
‘The main contribution of the Norse was destructive’. Despite the validity in this claim, they were perhaps constructive in their contribution to the creation of political unity under a single monarchy of Alba. Dauvit Broun makes makes the point that ‘ Sacndianavian pressure could be highly destabilising’ but goes on to state that ‘where existing political structures were disrupted, however, opportunity beckoned for the creation of new ones’. In this work he gives the examples of Máel Ruanid’s profit from the devstation of Munster in the 850’s, Baldwin II of Francia’s proffiting from the devastation between the Scheldt and the Somme in the 880’s and 890’s, and finally the advancement of Richard Count Auntun to the position of Duke of Burgundia. The same opportunity opened itself up for rulers in Scotland. Wheter it was before, during or afteer Cinaed’s reign theath the most crucial time of Viking influence is a matter of debate, but it seems that the Pictish disaster 839 was significant. The Annals of Ulster report a battle between ‘gentiles and the ‘men of Fortriu’, in which the political leaders appear to have been killed. This could have created the required power vacuum for Cinaed to take control and set up a successful monarchy. Scandinavian influence may have not just been indirect in helping to create Cinaed’s position, because there is evidence for political links. ‘The Four Masters’ informs us that a certain Gothfrith Fergusson went to Scotland to strengthen the Dal Riata at the request of Cinaed Mac Alpin. It is not possible to verify this source but it does not seem improbable that there links alredy existed with the Scandinavains, as they certainly did later. For the establishment of the single monarchy, the kingdom of Alba had to defend itself against the Vikings that may have directly and indirectly helped to create it in the first place. Constantín mac Aeda in the battle of Strathern decisevly defeated the Vikings decisevly 904.
Davuit Broun makes the observation that ‘perhaps the Pictish language as well as Pictish identity should be regarded as one of it’s greatest casualties’. The qulifying word ‘perhaps’ is crucial to this statement, without it would seem to be an overestimation of the Viking influence based on the evidence we presently have and a neclection of the other factors that led to the creation of a single monarchy. But that the Vikings acted as a catalyst appears highly probable.
Christianity offers a devise of cultural unity that could have helped lead to the creation of a single monarchy. Perhaps the most important aspects of the nature of Christianity is that appears to not be rigedly confined by political boundaries in this area at this during the early middle ages. This is the clearly illustrated by the abbot of Iona, Adomnán, in his establishment of the ‘Law of the Innocents’ in 697. this illustrates the Christian unity throughout Scotland and Ireland, as it was signed by fourty churchmen and fifty kings. Christianity seems at most times during this period to have offered a united Pictland and Dal Riata in a way that was later reflected politically.
The Picts did have their own religious institutions before Alba was created, but as Bede wrote ‘All Pictish monasteries had for a long time looked to Iona as their head’(III, 3). Cinaed’s reign seems to have been crucial in the linking Christian influnce ti the creation of a single monarchy. When Ciinaed moved east the monks of Iona migrated to Kells. In the Scottish chronicle it is stated that ‘he brought relics of St. Columba to a church he had built’. This was most probably Dunkeld. By reversing Nation’s action of 717 of expelling the monks of Iona, Cinaed was in a position to use the power of the church for his own and his descendants rights to power and legitimacy. But it was not a new concept of Christianity because as Herbert states, ‘Columban monasteries established among the Picts since the seventh century, constituted an in situ support system for the advancement of Gaelic kingship as well as Gaelic culture’. Crawford also states that ‘there was clearly an intention to make Dunkeld the new Iona in the heart ot the new Gaelic-Pictish kingdom, and a spirited and dynamic powerhouse for the incoming Gaels’. Both of these quotes whether or not the historical narritivve is entirely accutrate illustrate the potential role of Christianity in its ability to unite a newly developing kingdom, through church power. It seems that Cinaed and his descendants were later linked strongly to St. Columba, and this would have helped to promote their Gaelic heritage, which as suggested earlier was an important facet in the promotion of their right to kingship. In the life of St. Columba, Adomnan refers to the ideologies of Soloman in the Old Testament to illustrate how Church and King could work in mutually benefiting way. The act of Cinaed centralising the churrch would have offered support for the dynasty and offers a reason for the successful establishment of a single monarchy in this period.
For reasons as to why the kingdoms of Dal Riata and Pictland fused to form a single monarchy, Pictish continuity, Gaelicization and cultural unity seem contradictory of one another. To argue for one of these theories would seem to deny the others, and this has been the way many historians have approached the subject. This paper will attempt to show that all three concepts are compatible. But it is clear that cultural unity appears to be the overridng reason behind the establishment of a new monarchy.
The significance for the establishment of a single kingship, if Pictish continuity could be shown to exist would be that it could have offered a model for how the politcal and social workings of Alba worked and have led to an element of continuity. The first question that this Pictish continuity raises is ‘what was Pictish culture?’ Being that it is so hard to answer this question makes tracing continuity particularly hard. Apart from the lack of evidence, one of the reasons for this inability to define Pictish culture is what will later be discussed under the heading of cultural unity, but even so there is one recognisable Pictish continuity and there may have been others, but due to the nature of the evidence are invisable to the modern historians.
The one example of what appears to be Pictish continity appears to be in relation to the title of ‘mormaer’. It first appears in the annals of Ulster for the year 917. Anderson suggests that ‘it seems to have entered Gaelic from the Celtic language of the Picts , and since medieval mormaerdoms are restricted to the formally Pictish part of Scotland it is reaonable to conclude that the office itself was originally Pictish’. Anderson and other historians state that this continuity would only have been of the institution, not for the people in the position of the title of mormaer post Cinaed. There is no evidence to account for this conclusion and if these existing mormaers had pledged loyalty to Cinaed, it is possible that they could have kept there positions. Like a lot of interpretaion it comes down to what you concider to be the nature of the conquest.
Litho’s point that ‘distinction between Picts and Scot in modern historical terms is essentially linguisic, and otherwise largely of our making’ is an exremely pertinant point. Although like an argument arguing the other side it is hard to prove, but it is a useful concept with which he attempts to fit the evidence around. If this statement was in fact true it would make Gaelicization an anchronism apart from in the case of language.
After Cinaed the concept of Gaelicization of the kingdom is argued by the sources and many early tweteeth century historians have seen this as linked to the destruction of the Picts. If it could be adequately proved that there was conciderable Gaelicization then it would seem to offer a very persuasive reason for the development of a single monarchy. Contrary to an argument for Gaelicization, is the fact that is not possible to distinguish Dal Riata and Pictland archaeologically. If it was then it would be possible to identify an influx in Gaelic culture. The invisability of the separte kingdoms archaeologically suggests that there wasn’t Gaelicization culturally and the political evidence is more inconclusive. What is clear however is as stated earlier for the existance of the ideology of Gaelicization. Whether this existed the time Cinead it is hard to discern, but what is clear is that after his reign form of ideological Gaelic concept exised linked to the a potential kings claim to kingship.
‘By the late eighhth century Pictish rulers not only had royal fatehers from Dal Riata but they ruled the kingdoms of the Scots simultaneously. This pre-Cinaed cross fertilisation is one of the crucial issues in understanding the creation of Alba. The fact that these areas were united under one ruler as early as the eighth century means that there were links between the two areas that would help account for the unification of the two kingdoms. These links though may have been deeper than political, for as already stated arcaeology is unable to distinguish between the material cultures of Dal Riata and Picts. If the cultures were particulary similar then any merging or conquest of kingships (either by, before or after Cinaed) would be much easier due to the continuity for the king and the members of the aristocracy.
Along the lines of the concept of an arcaeologically united culture, Litho has made some useful interpretations of the distribution of board games. There is united taste for board games in the Ireland, Dal Riata and Pictland, most notably Ballinderry-Buckquoy boards. This is explained by Lith as showing a ‘common cutural heritage’. Litho probably goes too far in his conclusion, but it does certainly show an aspect of common cutural heritage.
Another non literary based interpretation of cultutaral unity is made by Crawford when she states that ‘Pictish figurative sculpture, with its classicising tendancies and the artistic kaleidoscope the book of Kells, hinting at two centuries of cross-influence among the peoples of Scotland’. It is a subjective interpretation and does not offer a conclusive conclusion as to the quantity of cultural unity, however it is another small incite into exactly what the nature of kingdoms of Ireland, Dal Riata and Pictland were like during this period.
It was shown earlier that it appears that there was an element of cultural unity across the kingdom in terms of Christianity. If therre were also political and cultural links this might account for the successful merging of the two kingdoms of Dal Riata and Pictland. Of course, the one area that was certainly not united was language and it was Pictish that was the loser. Anderson sees the reason for this being that ‘by the 840’s there must have been many Picts, especially nearest to royal rank, who, whether they opposed Kenneth or supported him, were familiar With Dalrindian ways and the Irish language’. It may be wrong to focus specificlly on Cinaed, but links probably existed between the two kingdoms and Gaelic appears to have been the language of choice. By focussing on one language the unification of the new kingdom would have had more chance of success. The collapse of the Pictish language would have been a long term phemonen and illustrates that there were among certain people a unity that could have heped to create the kingdom.