Dál Riata

Dál Riata
Dál Riata
498–850
	Satellite image of Scotland and Northern Ireland showing the approximate greatest extent of Dál Riata (shaded)
Capital	Dunadd
Common languages	Old Gaelic
Religion	Christianity; Ancient Celtic religion
Demonym(s)	Scoti
Government	Monarchy
King
• 498–501	Fergus Mór (first)
• 841–850	Cináed mac Ailpin (last)
Historical era	Early Middle Ages
• Established	498
• Disestablished	850
Preceded by	Succeeded by
	Ulaid
Kingdom of Scotland
Kingdom of the Isles
Today part of	United Kingdom Northern Ireland; Scotland; ;

Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) (/dælˈriːədə/) was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is now Argyll ("Coast of the Gaels") in Scotland and part of County Antrim in Northern Ireland.^[1] After a period of expansion, Dál Riata eventually became associated with the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba.^[2]^[3]

In Argyll, it consisted of four main kindreds or tribes,^[4] each with their own chief: the Cenél nGabráin (based in Kintyre), the Cenél nÓengusa (based on Islay), the Cenél Loairn (who gave their name to the district of Lorn)^[2] and the Cenél Comgaill (who gave their name to Cowal).^[2] The hillfort of Dunadd is believed to have been its capital. Other royal forts included Dunollie, Dunaverty and Dunseverick. Within Dál Riata was the important monastery of Iona, which played a key role in the spread of Celtic Christianity throughout northern Britain, and in the development of insular art. Iona was a centre of learning and produced many important manuscripts. Dál Riata had a strong seafaring culture and a large naval fleet.

Dál Riata is said to have been founded by the legendary king Fergus Mór (Fergus the Great) in the 5th century. The kingdom reached its height under Áedán mac Gabráin (r. 574–608). During his reign Dál Riata's power and influence grew; it carried out naval expeditions to Orkney and the Isle of Man, and assaults on the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. However, King Æthelfrith of Bernicia checked its growth at the Battle of Degsastan in 603. Serious defeats in Ireland and Scotland during the reign of Domnall Brecc (died 642) ended Dál Riata's "golden age", and the kingdom became a client of Northumbria for a time. In the 730s the Pictish king Óengus I led campaigns against Dál Riata and brought it under Pictish overlordship by 741. There is disagreement over the fate of the kingdom from the late 8th century onwards. Some scholars have seen no revival of Dál Riatan power after the long period of foreign domination (c. 637 to c. 750–760), while others have seen a revival under Áed Find (736–778). Some even claim that the Dál Riata usurped the kingship of Fortriu. From 795 onward there were sporadic Viking raids in Dál Riata. In the following century, there may have been a merger of the Dál Riatan and Pictish crowns. Some sources say Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) was king of Dál Riata before becoming king of the Picts in 843, following a disastrous defeat of the Picts by Vikings.^[5] The kingdom's independence ended sometime after, as it merged with Pictland to form the Kingdom of Alba.

Latin sources often referred to the inhabitants of Dál Riata as Scots (Scoti), a name originally used by Roman and Greek writers for the Irish Gaels who raided and colonised Roman Britain. Later, it came to refer to Gaels, whether from Ireland or elsewhere.^[6] They are referred to herein as Gaels or as Dál Riatans.^[7]

^ Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Philosopher King: Nechtan mac Der Ilei," SHR 83 (2004): 135–149
^ ^a ^b ^c Oxford Companion to Scottish History pp. 161–162, edited by Michael Lynch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.
^ Laing, Lloyd Robert (2006). The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland c. AD 400–1200. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0521838627. The inhabitants of what is now Co. Antrim, Ireland, were known as the Scots, a name they transported to what is now Argyll and the adjacent islands where they established the kingdom of Dál Riata.
^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Smyth—and Bannerman, Scottish Takeover—present this case, arguing that Pictish kings from Ciniod son of Uuredech and Caustantín onwards were descendants of Fergus mac Echdach and Feradach, son of Selbach mac Ferchair. Broun's Pictish Kings offers an alternative reconstruction, and one which has attracted considerable support, e.g. Clancy, "Iona in the kingdom of the Picts: a note", Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 57–67.
^ Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, pp. 159–160, considers whether the Latin terms Scotti and Atacotti refer to the confederations in Ulster and Leinster, respectively. The etymology of Scotti, and its Gaelic roots, if any, are uncertain. The term in late Classical sources is either specifically linked to raiders from Ireland, or is geographically ambiguous. In sharp contrast, no clear reference pointing to Scotti in Scotland in the Roman period has been found. Despite several references listing different combinations of Picti, Scotti, Hiberni, Attecotti and Saxons together as later Roman Britain's archetypal enemies, it is worth noting that 'Scotti' and 'Hiberni' are never listed together, confirming that they were then, as they were later, alternative names for the Irish or confederations of the Irish. Regardless of the original sense, or its modern popularity, to use the term "Scot" in this context invites confusion.
^ See 1066 And All That, p. 5, for a parody of the confusion the word "Scot" engenders in this context.

[Clancy,_Thomas_Owen_2004-1] Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Philosopher King: Nechtan mac Der Ilei," SHR 83 (2004): 135–149

[OxfordCompanion1-2] Oxford Companion to Scottish History pp. 161–162, edited by Michael Lynch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.

[3] Laing, Lloyd Robert (2006). The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland c. AD 400–1200. Cambridge University Press. p. 324. ISBN 978-0521838627. The inhabitants of what is now Co. Antrim, Ireland, were known as the Scots, a name they transported to what is now Argyll and the adjacent islands where they established the kingdom of Dál Riata.

[:0-4] Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[5] Smyth—and Bannerman, Scottish Takeover—present this case, arguing that Pictish kings from Ciniod son of Uuredech and Caustantín onwards were descendants of Fergus mac Echdach and Feradach, son of Selbach mac Ferchair. Broun's Pictish Kings offers an alternative reconstruction, and one which has attracted considerable support, e.g. Clancy, "Iona in the kingdom of the Picts: a note", Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 57–67.

[6] Charles-Edwards, Early Christian Ireland, pp. 159–160, considers whether the Latin terms Scotti and Atacotti refer to the confederations in Ulster and Leinster, respectively. The etymology of Scotti, and its Gaelic roots, if any, are uncertain. The term in late Classical sources is either specifically linked to raiders from Ireland, or is geographically ambiguous. In sharp contrast, no clear reference pointing to Scotti in Scotland in the Roman period has been found. Despite several references listing different combinations of Picti, Scotti, Hiberni, Attecotti and Saxons together as later Roman Britain's archetypal enemies, it is worth noting that 'Scotti' and 'Hiberni' are never listed together, confirming that they were then, as they were later, alternative names for the Irish or confederations of the Irish. Regardless of the original sense, or its modern popularity, to use the term "Scot" in this context invites confusion.

[7] See 1066 And All That, p. 5, for a parody of the confusion the word "Scot" engenders in this context.

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