Bridei IV of the Picts
Encyclopedia
Bruide mac Der-Ilei was king
of the Picts
. He became king when Taran
was deposed in 697.
He was the brother of his successor Nechtan
. It has been suggested that Bruide's father was Dargart mac Finguine
(d. 686) of the Cenél Comgaill, a kingroup in Dál Riata
who controlled Cowal
and the Isle of Bute
. The parentage of his mother Der-Ilei
is not certainly known.
As well as Nechtan, a number of other brothers, half-brothers or foster-brothers of Bruide can be tentatively identified in the Irish annals
: Talorgan son of Drest, Congus son of Dargart and Cináed son of Der-Ilei.
Bruide was one of many important men of Ireland
and Scotland
who guaranteed the Cáin Adomnáin
(Lex Innocentium; Law of Innocents) at Birr
in 697.
A battle between the Picts and Saxons in 698, where Berhtred son of Beornhaeth was killed, is reported by the Irish chroniclers. A defeat of the Dál Riata is reported in 704, either at Loch Lomond
or by the Leven
, but this is more likely to have been at the hands of the Britons of Alt Clut
than the Picts. Conflict in Skye in 701, where Conaing son of Dúnchad
was killed, is most probably an internal conflict among the tribes of Dál Riata. It is reported in the Chronicon Scotorum
that the winter of 700 was so cold that "the sea froze between Ireland and Scotland".
Bruide died in 706, when his death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster
and the Annals of Tigernach
. He was succeeded by his brother Nechtan.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the Picts
Picts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
. He became king when Taran
Taran of the Picts
Taran son of Ainftech was a King of the Picts according to the Pictish king-lists. His name is the same as that of the Gaulish thunder-god, Taranis....
was deposed in 697.
He was the brother of his successor Nechtan
Nechtan IV of the Picts
Nechtan mac Der-Ilei or Nechtan mac Dargarto was king of the Picts in the early 8th century. He succeeded his brother Bridei in 706. He is associated with significant religious reforms in Pictland. He abdicated in 724 in favour of his nephew and became a monk...
. It has been suggested that Bruide's father was Dargart mac Finguine
Dargart mac Finguine
Dargart mac Finguine was a member of the Cenél Comgaill kindred, after which Cowal in Scotland is named. The only event directly connected with him in the Irish annals, based on a chronicle then being kept on Iona, is his death....
(d. 686) of the Cenél Comgaill, a kingroup in Dál Riata
Dál Riata
Dál Riata was a Gaelic overkingdom on the western coast of Scotland with some territory on the northeast coast of Ireland...
who controlled Cowal
Cowal
thumb|Cowal shown within ArgyllCowal is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Highlands.-Description:The northern part of Cowal is mostly the mountainous Argyll Forest Park. Cowal is separated from the Kintyre peninsula to the west by Loch Fyne, and from Inverclyde and North Ayrshire to...
and the Isle of Bute
Isle of Bute
Bute is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. Formerly part of the county of Buteshire, it now constitutes part of the council area of Argyll and Bute. Its resident population was 7,228 in April 2001.-Geography:...
. The parentage of his mother Der-Ilei
Der-Ilei
Der-Ilei is believed to have been a daughter, or less probably a sister, of Bridei map Beli, king of the Picts...
is not certainly known.
As well as Nechtan, a number of other brothers, half-brothers or foster-brothers of Bruide can be tentatively identified in the Irish annals
Irish annals
A number of Irish annals were compiled up to and shortly after the end of Gaelic Ireland in the 17th century.Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days...
: Talorgan son of Drest, Congus son of Dargart and Cináed son of Der-Ilei.
Bruide was one of many important men of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
who guaranteed the Cáin Adomnáin
Cáin Adomnáin
The Cáin Adomnáin , also known as the Lex Innocentium was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dál Riatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr in 697. It is named after its initiator Adomnán of Iona, ninth Abbot of Iona after St...
(Lex Innocentium; Law of Innocents) at Birr
Birr
Birr is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. Once called Parsonstown, after the Parsons family who were local landowners and hereditary Earls of Rosse. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe....
in 697.
A battle between the Picts and Saxons in 698, where Berhtred son of Beornhaeth was killed, is reported by the Irish chroniclers. A defeat of the Dál Riata is reported in 704, either at Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond
Loch Lomond is a freshwater Scottish loch, lying on the Highland Boundary Fault. It is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area. The lake contains many islands, including Inchmurrin, the largest fresh-water island in the British Isles, although the lake itself is smaller than many Irish...
or by the Leven
River Leven, Dunbartonshire
The River Leven is a stretch of water in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, flowing from Loch Lomond in the North to the River Clyde in the South...
, but this is more likely to have been at the hands of the Britons of Alt Clut
Kingdom of Strathclyde
Strathclyde , originally Brythonic Ystrad Clud, was one of the early medieval kingdoms of the celtic people called the Britons in the Hen Ogledd, the Brythonic-speaking parts of what is now southern Scotland and northern England. The kingdom developed during the post-Roman period...
than the Picts. Conflict in Skye in 701, where Conaing son of Dúnchad
Dúnchad mac Conaing
Dúnchad mac Conaing was king of Dál Riata . He was joint ruler with Conall Crandomna until he was defeated and killed by Talorcan, king of the Picts, in the battle of Strath Ethairt...
was killed, is most probably an internal conflict among the tribes of Dál Riata. It is reported in the Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum
Chronicon Scotorum is a medieval Irish chronicle.According to Nollaig Ó Muraíle, it is "a collection of annals belonging to the 'Clonmacnoise group', covering the period from prehistoric times to 1150 but with some gaps, closely related to the 'Annals of Tigernach'...
that the winter of 700 was so cold that "the sea froze between Ireland and Scotland".
Bruide died in 706, when his death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster
Annals of Ulster
The Annals of Ulster are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years between AD 431 to AD 1540. The entries up to AD 1489 were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, under his patron Cathal Óg Mac Maghnusa on the island of Belle Isle on Lough Erne in the...
and the Annals of Tigernach
Annals of Tigernach
The Annals of Tigernach is a chronicle probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish....
. He was succeeded by his brother Nechtan.
External links
- CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork includes the Annals of Ulster, Tigernach, the Four Masters and Innisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Lebor Bretnach (which includes the Duan Albanach), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
- Pictish Chronicle
- Cáin Adomnáin (translated by Kuno MeyerKuno MeyerKuno Meyer was a German scholar, distinguished in the field of Celtic philology and literature. His pro-German stance at the start of World War I while traveling in the United States was a source of controversy.-Biography:...
) at the Internet Medieval Sourcebook.