Dal Riata
Published on Friday, August 17th 2007
Satellite image of northern Britain and Ireland showing the approximate area of Dal Riata (shaded). The mountainous spine which separates the east and west coasts of Scotland can be seen.
Dal Riata (also Dalriada or Dalriata) was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western seaboard of Scotland with some territory on the northern coasts of Ireland. In the late 6th and early 7th century it encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Bute and Lochaber in Scotland and also County Antrim in Ireland.
In Argyll it consisted initially of three kindreds: Cenel Loairn (kindred of Loarn) in north and mid-Argyll, Cenel nOengusa (kindred of Oengus) based on Islay and Cenel nGabrain (kindred of Gabran) based in Kintyre. By the end of the 7th century a fourth kindred, Cenel Comgaill (kindred of Comgall) had emerged, based in eastern Argyll. The Lorn and Cowal districts of Argyll take their names from Cenel Loairn and Cenel Comgaill respectively.
Dal Riata is commonly viewed as having been an Irish Gaelic colony in Scotland, although some archaeologists have recently argued against this. The inhabitants of Dal Riata are often referred to as Scots, from the Latin scotti for the inhabitants of Ireland, and later came to mean Gaelic-speakers, whether Scottish, Irish or other. They are referred to here as Gaels, an unambiguous term, or as Dal Riatans.
The kingdom reached its height under Áedan mac Gabrain (r. 574-608), but its expansion was checked at the Battle of Degsastan in 603 by Æthelfrith of Northumbria. Serious defeats in Ireland and Scotland in the time of Domnall Brecc (d. 642) ended Dal Riata’s Golden Age, and the kingdom became a client of Northumbria, then subject to the Picts. There is disagreement over the fate of the kingdom from the late eighth century onwards. Some scholars have seen no revival of Dal Riata after the long period of foreign domination (after 637 to around 750 or 760), while others have seen a revival of Dal Riata under Áed Find (736-778), and later Kenneth MacAlpin (Cinaed mac Ailpin, who is claimed in some sources to have taken the kingship there in c.840 following the disastrous defeat of the Pictish army by the Danes): some even claim that the kingship of Fortriu was usurped by the Dal Riata several generations before MacAlpin (800-858). The kingdom disappeared in the Viking Age.
People, land and sea
The modern human landscape of Dal Riata differs a great deal from that of the first millennium. Most people today live in settlements far larger than anything known in early times, while some areas, such as Kilmartin and many of the islands, such as Islay and Tiree may well have had as many inhabitants as they do today. Many of the small settlements have now disappeared, so that the countryside is far emptier than was formerly the case, and many areas which were formerly farmed are now abandoned. Even the physical landscape is not entirely as it was: sea-levels have changed, and the combination of erosion and silting will have considerably altered the shape of the coast in some places, while the natural accumulation of peat and man-made changes from peat-cutting has altered inland landscapes.
As was normal at the time, subsistence farming was the occupation of most people. Oats and barley were the main cereal crops. Pastoralism was especially important, and transhumance was the practice in many places. Some areas, most notably Islay, were especially fertile, and good grazing would have been available all year round, just as it was in Ireland. Tiree was famed in later times for its oats and barley, while smaller, uninhabited islands were used to keep sheep. The area, until lately, was notable for its inshore fisheries, and for plentiful shellfish, therefore seafood is likely to have been an important part of the diet.
The Senchus fer n-Alban lists three main kin groups in Dal Riata in Scotland, with a fourth being added later:
- The Cenel nGabrain, in Kintyre, supposedly the descendants of Gabran mac Domangairt.
- The Cenel nÓengusa, in Islay and Jura, supposedly the descendants of Óengus Mor mac Eirc.
- The Cenel Loairn, in Lorne, perhaps also Mull and Ardnamurchan, supposedly the descendants of Loarn mac Eirc.
- The Cenel Comgaill, in Cowal and Bute, a later addition, supposedly the descendants of Comgall mac Domangairt.
The Senchus does not list any kindreds in Ireland. Among the Cenel Loairn it lists the Airgialla, although whether this should be understood as being Irish settlers or simply another tribe to whom the label was applied is unclear. The meaning of Airgialla ‘hostage givers’ adds to the uncertainty, although it must be observed that only one grouping in Ireland was apparenly given this name and it is therefore very rare, perhaps supporting the Ui Macc Uais hypothesis. There is no reason to suppose that this is a complete or accurate list.
Dunadd Hill, Scotland upon which the Dal Riata hill fort stood
Among the royal centres in Dal Riata, Dunadd appears to have been the most important. It has been partly excavated, and in addition to fortifications, weapons, quernstones and many moulds for the manufacture of jewellery were found. Other high-status material included glassware and wine amphorae from Gaul, and in larger quantities than found elsewhere in Britain and Ireland. Lesser centres included Dun Ollaigh, seat of the Cenel Loairn kings, and Dunaverty, at the southern end of Kintyre, in the lands of the Cenel nGabrain. The main royal centre in Ireland appears to have been at Dunseverick (Dun Sebuirge).
The difficulty of overland travel and the many islands made Dal Riata an archipelago, with travel by sea by far the easiest means of moving any distance. As well as long distance trade, local trade must also have been significant. Currachs were probably the most common seagoing craft, and on inland waters dugouts and coracles were used. Large timber ships, called long ships, perhaps similar to the Viking ships of the same name, are attested to in a variety of sources.
Religion and art
The 8th century St Martin’s Cross on Iona
There are no direct records of pre-Christian Dal Riata. The records come to us through the chroniclers of Iona and Irish monasteries. Adomnan’s Life of St Columba implies a Christian Dal Riata. Whether this is true cannot be known. The figure of Columba looms large in any history of Christianity in Dal Riata. Adomnan’s Life, however useful as a record, was not intended to serve as history, but as hagiography. We are fortunate that the writing of saints' lives in Adomnan’s day had not reached the stylised formulas of the High Middle Ages, so that the Life contains a great deal of historically valuable information. It is also a vital linguistic source showing the distribution of Gaelic and P-Celtic placenames in northern Scotland by the end of the 7th century and interestingly notes Columba’s need for a translator when conversing with an individual on Skye, evidence of a non-Gaelic language which is also backed up by a sprinkling of P-Celtic placenames on the remote mainland opposite the island (W.F.H. Nicolaisen ‘Scottish Placenames’).
Columba’s founding Iona within the bounds of Dal Riata ensured that the kingdom would be of great importance in the spread of Christianity in northern Britain, not only to Pictland, but also to Northumbria, via Lindisfarne, to Mercia, and beyond. Although the monastery of Iona belonged to the Cenel Conaill of the Northern Ui Neill, and not to Dal Riata, it had close ties to the Cenel nGabrain, ties which may make the annals less than entirely impartial.
If Iona was the greatest religious centre in Dal Riata, it was far from unique. Lismore, in the territory of the Cenel Loairn, was sufficiently important for the death of its abbots to be recorded with some frequency. Applecross, probably in Pictish territory for most of the period, and Kingarth on Bute are also known to have been monastic sites, and many smaller sites, such as on Eigg and Tiree, are known from the annals. In Ireland, Armoy was the main ecclesiastical centre in early times, associated with Saint Patrick and with Saint Olcan, said to have been first bishop at Armoy. An important early centre, Armoy later declined, overshadowed by the monasteries at Movilla (Newtownards) and Bangor.
Madonna and child, folio 7 v of the Book of Kells.
As well as their primary spiritual importance, the political significance of religious centres cannot be dismissed. The prestige of being associated with the saintly founder was of no small importance. Monasteries represented a source of wealth as well as prestige. Additionally, the learning and literacy found in monasteries served as useful tools for ambitious kings.
The Book of Kells may have been produced at Iona, although not by Columba as legend has it. Whether it was, or not, this type of illuminated manuscript would have been produced in Dal Riatan monasteries.
For other arts, a number of sculptures remain to give an impression of Dal Riatan work. The St. Martin’s Cross on Iona is the best-preserved cross of its type, probably inspired by Northumbrian free-standing crosses, such as the Ruthwell Cross, although a similar cross exists in Ireland (Ahenny, County Tipperary). The Kildalton Cross on Islay is similar. A sculpted slab at Ardchattan appears to show strong Pictish influences, while the Dupplin Cross, it has been argued, shows that influences also moved in the opposite direction. Fine Hiberno-Saxon metalwork is believed to have been created at Dunadd.
In addition to the monastic sites, a considerable number of churches are attested, not only from archaeological evidence, but also from the evidence of place-names. The element “kil”, from Gaelic cill, can be shown in many cases to be associated with early churches, such as at Kilmartin by Dunadd.
History
Origins
Footprint used in king-making ceremonies, Dunadd
The Duan Albanach tells that the three sons of Erc— Fergus Mor, Loarn and Óengus— conquered Alba (Scotland) around 500 AD. Bede offers a different, and probably older, account wherein Dal Riata was settled by a certain Reuda, which is more internally consistent, given that Old Irish Dal means portion or share, and is usually followed by the name of an eponymous founder. Bede’s tale may come from the same root as the Irish tales of Cairpre Riata and his brothers, the sons of Conaire Mor. The story of kingdom moves from foundation myth to something nearer to history with the reports of the death of Comgall mac Domangairt around 540 and of his brother Gabran around 560.
The version of history in the Duan Albanach was long accepted, although it is preceded by the purely legendary tale of Albanus and Brutus conquering Britain. The implantation of the Old Irish language in Scotland was seen as a product of a large-scale migration from Ulster. However, archaeological evidence shows that Argyll and its surrounds were different from Ireland, before and after the supposed migration, but that they also formed part of the Irish Sea province with Ireland, being easily distinguished from the rest of Scotland.
For this reason, it is now widely, but not universally, supposed that the Gaelic language had long been present in the area of Dal Riata, perhaps since the Insular Celtic languages had divided into Goidelic and Brythonic branches. However Dal Riata came to form, the period in which it arose was one of great instability in Ulster, following the loss of territory by the kingdom of Ulaid, including the ancient centre of Emain Macha, to the Airgialla and the Ui Neill. Whether the two parts of Dal Riata had long been united, or whether a conquest in the 4th century or early 5th century, either of Antrim from Argyll, or vice versa, in line with myth, is not known.
Druim Cett to Mag Rath
Map of Dal Riata at its height, c. 580-600. Pictish regions are marked in yellow.
The history of Dal Riata, while unknown before the middle of the 6th century, and very unclear after the middle of the 8th century, is relatively well recorded in the intervening two centuries, although many questions must remain unanswered. As has been said, the origins of the link between Dal Riata in Scotland and Ireland are obscure. What is not in doubt is that Irish Dal Riata was a lesser kingdom of Ulaid. The Kingship of Ulster was dominated by the Dal Fiatach and contested by the Cruithne kings of the Dal nAraidi.
In 575, Columba fostered an agreement between Áedan mac Gabrain and Áed mac Ainmuirech of the Cenel Conaill at Druim Cett. This alliance was likely precipitated by the conquests of the Dal Fiatach king Baetan mac Cairill, one of the very few High Kings of Ireland not of the Connachta or the Ui Neill, who had sought to subjugate all of Dal Riata, and the Isle of Man as well. Baetan died in 581, but the Ulaid kings did not abandon their attempts to control Dal Riata.
The kingdom of Dal Riata reached its greatest extent in the reign of Áedan mac Gabrain. It is said that Áedan was ordained as king by Columba. If true, this was one of the first ordinations known. As noted, Columba brokered the alliance between Dal Riata and the Northern Ui Neill. This pact was successful, first in defeating Baetan mac Cairill, then in allowing Áedan to campaign widely against his neighbours, as far afield as Orkney and lands of the Maeatae, on the River Forth. Áedan appears to have been very successful in extending his power, until he faced the Bernician king Æthelfrith at Degsastan c. 603. Æthelfrith’s brother was among the dead, but Áedan was defeated, and the Bernician kings continued their advances in southern Scotland. Áedan died c. 608 aged about 70. Dal Riata did expand to include Skye, possibly conquered by Áedan’s son Gartnait.
It appears, although the original tales are lost, that Fiachnae mac Baetain (d. 626), Dal nAraidi King of Ulster, was overlord of both parts of Dal Riata. Fiachnae campaigned against the Northumbrians, and besieged Bamburgh, and the Dal Riatans will have fought in this campaign.
Dal Riata remained allied with the Northern Ui Neill until the reign of Domnall Brecc, who reversed this policy and allied with Congal Caech (also known as Congal Claen) of the Dal nAraidi. Domnall joined Congal in a campaign against Domnall mac Áedo of the Cenel Conaill, the son of Áed mac Ainmuirech. The outcome of this change of allies were defeats for Domnall Brecc and his allies on land at Mag Rath (Moira, County Down) and at sea at Sailtir, off Kintyre, in 637. This, it was said, was divine retribution for Domnall Brecc turning his back on the alliance with the kinsmen of Columba. Domnall Brecc’s policy appears to have died with him, in 642, at his final, and fatal, defeat by Eugein map Beli of Alt Clut at Strathcarron, for as late as the 730s, armies and fleets from Dal Riata fought alongside the Ui Neill.
Mag Rath to the Pictish Conquest
The history of Dal Riata in Ireland after Mag Rath is not entirely clear. It appears that the Ui Choelbad kings of Dal nAraidi came to control the Glens of Antrim in the years after the battle. The Dal Riatan lands along the River Bush appear to have fallen into the hands of the Cenel nEogain, and the Airgialla may have benefitted by taking over lands to the south of the Antrim Mountains. It has been proposed that some of the more obscure kings of Dal Riata mentioned in the Annals of Ulster, such as Fiannamail ua Dunchado and Donncoirche may have been kings of Irish Dal Riata.
The fate of Scottish Dal Riata is no more certain. It does appear that the kingdom was tributary to Northumbrian kings until the Pictish king Bruide mac Bili defeated Ecgfrith of Northumbria at Dunnichen in 685. It is not certain that this subjection ended in 685, although this is usually assumed to be the case. However, it appears that Eadberht Eating made some effort to stop the Picts under Óengus mac Fergusa crushing Dal Riata in 740. Whether this means that the tributary relationship had not ended in 685, or if Eadberht sought only to prevent the growth of Pictish power, is unclear.
Since it has been thought that Dal Riata swallowed Pictland to create the Kingdom of Alba, the later history of Dal Riata has tended to be seen as a prelude to future triumphs. The annals make it clear that the Cenel Gabrain lost any earlier monopoly of royal power in the late 7th century and in the 8th, when Cenel Loairn kings such as Ferchar Fota, his son Selbach, and grandsons Dungal and Muiredach are found contesting for the kingship of Dal Riata. The long period of instability in Dal Riata was only ended by the conquest of the kingdom by Óengus mac Fergusa, king of the Picts, in the 730s. After a third campaign by Óengus in 741, Dal Riata then disappears from the Irish records for a generation.
The last century
Áed Find may appear in 768, fighting against the Pictish king of Fortriu. At his death in 778 Áed Find is called “king of Dal Riata”, as is his brother Fergus mac Echdach in 781. The Annals of Ulster say that a certain Donncoirche, “king of Dal Riata” died in 792, and there the record ends. Any number of theories have been advanced to fill the missing generations, none of which are founded on any very solid evidence. A number of kings are named in the Duan Albanach, and in royal genealogies, but these are rather less reliable than we might wish. The obvious conclusion is that whoever ruled the petty kingdoms of Dal Riata after its defeat and conquest in the 730s, only Áed Find and his brother Fergus drew the least attention of the chroniclers in Iona and Ireland. This argues very strongly for Alex Woolf’s conclusion that Óengus mac Fergusa “effectively destroyed the kingdom.”
It is unlikely that Dal Riata was ruled directly by Pictish kings, but it is argued that Domnall, son of Caustantin mac Fergusa, was king of Dal Riata from 811 to 835. He was apparently followed by the last known king of Dal Riata, Áed mac Boanta, who was killed in the great Pictish defeat of 839 at the hands of the Vikings.
From Dal Riata to the Innse Gall
If the Vikings had a great impact on Pictland and in Ireland, in Dal Riata, as in Northumbria, they appear to have entirely replaced the existing kingdom with a new entity. In the case of Dal Riata this was to be as the kingdom of the Sudreys, traditionally founded by Ketil Flatnose (Caitill Find in Gaelic) in the middle of the 9th century. The Frankish Annales Bertiniani may record the conquest of the Inner Hebrides, the seaward part of Dal Riata, by Vikings in 849.
Alex Woolf has suggested that there occurred a formal division of Dal Riata between the Norse-Gaelic Ui Ímair and the natives, like those divisions that took place elsewhere in the British Isles, with the Norse controlling most of the islands, and the Gaels controlling the Scottish coast and the more southerly islands. In turn Woolf suggests that this gave rise to the terms Airer Gaedel and Innse Gall, respectively “the coast of the Gaels” and the “Islands of the foreigners”.
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