What events shaped Scottish history in the dark ages?

[wolram]

What events shaped scotish history in the dark ages ? Dalriada in the Kilmartin
glen seems to have been the royal center.

 

[wolram]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacAlpin's_Treason

MacAlpin's Treason, as it is now called, was a murder of the nobles of the Pictish realm of ancient Scotland. Kenneth mac Alpin's Pictish mother was descended from the royal house of Fortrenn, and his great-grand uncle, Alpin Mac Eachaidh, had actually reigned as King of Picts until deposed by Oengus I. It is thus that Kenneth Mac Alpin was one of several nobles with a claim to the crown of Picts and Scots.

The sources for facts of how Kenneth Mac Alpin, the avenging son of the slain Alpin, became King of Picts and Scots are few and suspect. Two such sources, The Prophecy of St. Berchan, and De Instructione Principus note that in 841 Mac Alpin attacked the remnants of the Pictish army and defeated them.

 

[wolram]

There is to much information on Scotland and Ireland in the dark ages, so i
have started a journal on the kings of these two countries, any good references
would be appreciated.

 

[arildno]

Is Fergus unhistorical to mention here??
I'm not quite sure when his invasion was..

 

[Astronuc]

Would that be

Fergus I of Dalriada, also known as Fergus Mor Mac Earca was king of Dalriada. He reigned from about 500-501. He is sometimes considered the father of Scotland.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus_I_of_Dalriada

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kings_of_Dalriada

http://www.scotlandroyalty.org/scotland.html (watch out for the music on this one - electronic bagpipes - )

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~pmcbride/rfc/kingsofscotland.htm (this one is quiet)

I have not reviewed the sources for accuracy.

 

[arildno]

That was the guy I was thinking about..

 

[wolram]

Is Fergus unhistorical to mention here??
I'm not quite sure when his invasion was..

Around AD500 Fergus Mor Mac Eirc supposedly displaced a Pictish community
from Argyll, which lead to the eventual take over of the Pictish kingdom.
But there is no evidence for this invasion, Bannerman 1974 suggests the
story was distorted in the 10th century for political reasons.

 

[Astronuc]

. . . , Bannerman 1974 suggests the
story was distorted in the 10th century for political reasons.

Which raises an interesting point, as well as one of concern. How reliable is the history we read? And at what point - time - does it start becoming murky?

Some of my ancestors go back to the McDonalds of the Highlands, particularly those who feuded with the Campbell's.

When one thinks about it, we are only here now, because our ancestors survived the hundreds or thousands of years of warfare. So many others do not exist based on the death of one person.

 

[wolram]

Which raises an interesting point, as well as one of concern. How reliable is the history we read? And at what point - time - does it start becoming murky?

Some of my ancestors go back to the McDonalds of the Highlands, particularly those who feuded with the Campbell's.

Just found what i was looking for.

http://www.postroman.info/scotti.html

Archaeological evidence suggests that the flux was more from scotland to ireland

 

[wolram]

When one thinks about it, we are only here now, because our ancestors survived the hundreds or thousands of years of warfare. So many others do not exist based on the death of one person.

I do not think the written word from ancient times is reliable, if two or more
sources locate a person in the same place and time all well and good ,so long
as there is no cross contamination, archaeological evidence helps with finds
from the peoples that are suggested to be there at the time.

 

[Astronuc]

Just found what i was looking for.

http://www.postroman.info/scotti.html

Archaeological evidence suggests that the flux was more from scotland to ireland

Cool site! Good show, old chap!

 

[Astronuc]

I do not think the written word from ancient times is reliable, if two or more
sources locate a person in the same place and time all well and good ,so long
as there is no cross contamination, archaeological evidence helps with finds
from the peoples that are suggested to be there at the time.

One of my aunts went through old church records and grave markers - back to the 1600's at least, possibly into the 1500's. I really need to get her records.