Gotland and The Black Sea Area

August 2, 2019 ClanCarruthers

Gotland and its relations to the Black Sea area

The Guta Saga like the Goths’ tribal saga speak of a southern migration from Gotland to the Black Sea area and the Byzantine Empire. We know from Byzantine sources that the Goths settled in the Bosporian Kingdom and took possession of its feet with which they for some time ravaged in the Mediterranean. As we have seen above, we have already in late Bronze Age Gotlandic trading Emporiums on the Baltic Sea coast where the river roads lead down to the Black Sea. Even at the time when the Guta Saga was recorded, in the early1200s, it is not startling when the author of the Guta Saga notes that in Greece (Crimea belonged to Greece with Miklagarðr, as its capital), there lived a group
that “settled and live there and even today they have in their speech track of our language”.

One can therefore assume that the contemporaries with the Guta Saga, when they traveled to the Black Sea area, without too much diffculty understood the language of the Crimean Goths. It may not have been much more difference between their own language and that of the Crimean Gothic than between current Danish and Swedish. Especially silver findings prove that the Gotlanders during the Viking Age were frequent travelers to the area concerned.

Although the coins are minted further east in the Caliphate, they will in many
cases come just from this area, as they were used as means of payment there.
Other evidence that the Gotlanders travelled in the areas closest to the Crimea is the rune stones on Gotland. It can be mentioned the stone from Pilgårds in Boge, from the 900s, which tells about the Gotlander Ravn together with some brothers who came to Aeiphor, a ford in the Dnieper, not far from the Crimea.

One of the attractions with the Byzantine Empire can be attributed to the
proximity of ancient Troy. A trip to the Byzantine Empire was not only a
trading trip, but could also be a pilgrimage to the region for the mythological
home of the Æsir even if the exact location was not known.
Saxo Grammaticus (1150-1220) describes how a gold image of Odin was sent to Byzantium from the northern kings as an act of homage. This may have been regarded as a visit by the God in his former homeland as is told in an episode in Snorri’s Ynglinga Saga. There it tells how King Sveigdir travels to the Turk country in search for Odin and the home of the gods.

According to Snorri Sturluson he was a descendant of Yngve, the king of the Turks. Several other traditions show how well established the belief was that the Norse gods originally came from Troy.

Holm fishing village, Holmhällar in Vamlingbo

The ‘Snäck’ harbor Snäckhusvik in Vamlingbo. There may have been an activity similar to that in Paviken.
Painting by Erik Olsson
When the people in the Baltic Sea region went on crusades to the Holy Land
they followed the same road, and the journey went over Gotland, as it says in
Guta Saga: “Before Gutland in seriousness appointed a bishop, bishops came
to Gutland, who were pilgrims on their way to the holy Jerusalem, or went
home from there. At that time the road went east across Russia and Greece to
Jerusalem.”
Already Saxo in his chronicle tells how king Erik Ejegod from Denmark on his
pilgrimage to Jerusalem with his queen and a splendid retinue of knights and
attendants about the year 1103 pass Visby and inaugorates the St Olaf church.
The most detailed records of Byzantine court activity, diplomacy and administration are the compilations by Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos (945-59):
‘Book of Ceremonies; a treatise on Governing the Empire’, dedicated to his
son; and another ‘On the Themes’. These refect a practical need to prepare
Romanos II for his imperial role, and it draws on a long tradition of books of
guidance. The two treatises deal respectively with territories and rulers beyond
the empire, and the regions under imperial control, the themes. Both include
much geographical information about the different terrains, mountains, rivers
and the characteristics of their inhabitants.
In the section on Byzantium’s northern neighbors, Constantine gives a detailed
account of the way the people from Novgorod, Smolensk and other cities, who
gather in Kiev and sail down the river Dnieper to the Crimea, and thence across
the Black Sea to Miklagarðr.

Denieper River

He describes the seven rapids or cataracts on the lower Dnieper and how they may be negotiated. At the frst, which is called Essoupi, which means ‘Do not sleep!’, the water crashes against rocks in the middle ‘with a mighty and terrifc
din’. To provide a sense of scale, he reports that this cataract is as narrow as
the polo ground in Miklagarðr. Here the Rus’ disembark the men and guide the
boats around the rocks in the middle of the river on foot, also punting them
with poles.
At the fourth barrage, the big one called in Rus’ Aeiphor and in Slavonic, Neasit, because the pelicans nest in the stones of the barrage … all put into
land. They conduct the slaves in their chains by land, six miles, until they are
through the barrage. Then partly dragging their boats, partly carrying them on
their shoulders, they convey them to the far side of the barrage.
They continue to the seventh barrage and on to Krarion, where there is a ford
as wide as the Hippodrome and as high as an arrow can reach if shot from the
bottom to the top. This is where the Pechenegs come down and attack the alRus’.
How did Constantine have such a detailed knowledge about the Varangians or
al- Rus’ (Gotlanders) when they travel to Miklagarðr (Byzantium)?
His father Leo VI was the grandson to the Gotlandic Varangian Ingr.
Kiev was a Slavic settlement on the trade route between the Baltic Sea and Constantinople, and was a tributary of the Khazars, until seized by the VaranThe free trade on the Gotlandic coast. In the time of the Sagas when the Gotlanders were a free people, the Gotlandic
Merchant Farmers sailed and traded with whomever they wished. At that time the Gotlanders decided that the
island’s trade would be free for all mariners. It was the free trade that made us rich!

Tore Gannholm

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Uncategorized, Varangians

Viking or Varangian

August 2, 2019August 3, 2019 ClanCarruthers

There were no Vikings in the Baltic Sea Region. The word Viking is not known there. The vikings were warriors from Denmark, the west of Sweden and Norway, and the Viking Age started with the attack on Lindisfarne in 793.

There is a clear line in the River Elbe between Vikings and Varangians. West of the River Elbe there is no mention of Vikings only Varangians.

In the Baltic Sea region the Gotlanders, after the signing of the trade and peace treaty in the 550’s also controlled trade and areas umder Svea protection.

At the end of the 700’s when silver was from the Islanic Caliphate started to flow, the Gotlanders entered the Russian Rivers all the way to Volga and the Hapsian Sea.

The Gotlandic Merchant Farmers were on the Russian Rivers called Varagians and al-Rus (rowing ships). It is documented in Byzantine sources that there was a large trade delegation in Konstaninopole 838 , and that from late 800 and forward there were large trade Gotlandic contingents stationed in Miklagaror.

Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire has left its mark in the form of religious items, jewelry, and not least in coins. The trade treaty signed in 911 by a Gotlandic Varangian delegation and the Byzantine Emperor Leo VI testies that the Varangians were settled in the quarters of Saint Mamas. The Treasure from Ocksarve inHemse contains 123 Byzantine coins, representing Constantine VII913-959, Basileios II 976-1025, Romanus III 1028-1034 andConstantine IX 1042-1055 Photo Gotland’s Museum

The fourth silver treasure on Stavar’s farmwas taken as preparation to be dug out

under laboratory conditions. The 205 silvercoins were packed together in rolls, as they once were transported in the 900s, may be all the way from the Orient.

The Russian rivers
Nearly 80% of all coins from the Islamic Caliphate found in present day
Sweden have been found on Gotland.
In the areas of the Svear no silver treasure from the Islamic Caliphate has been
found.
From the 500s until the 1000s the Gotlanders have, according to Swedish researchers, been considered rarely to be mentioned in ancient sources. The Gotlandic history was uninteresting from a Swedish perspective.
However, the Gotlanders were in Arabic and Byzantine sources from the 800s
well known as merchants from the island in the Baltic Sea region. They are in
these sources called al-Rus’, Rhos and Varangians.
Al-Rus’ / Rhos comes from the Old Norse word Ro∂r meaning rowing feets.
The Arab writers say that it is merchants from the island in the Baltic Sea who
came rowing on the Russian rivers. From there comes later the name Russia.
These Varangians emerged not only as slave hunters, but were primarily known
as merchants.
Ibn Khordadhbeh (c.820–912): ‘The al-Rus’come from the farthest corners of
the Slav’s country. They travel over the Roman Sea to Constantinople and sell
their goods, furs of beaver, black fox and swords’.
Al-Marwazi, reports that the al-Rus’ had abandoned their wild pagan ways and
raids and settled into Christianity.
Ibn Rustah’s description:
‘What al-Rus’ concern, they live on an island, surrounded by a lake. This island, on which they live, have an extent of three days’ journey. His information
on non-Islamic peoples of Europe and Inner Asia makes him a useful source
for these obscure regions. He was even aware of the existence of the British
Isles and of the Heptarchy of Anglo-Saxon England and the prehistory of the
Turks and other steppe peoples. Ibn Rustah travelled to Novgorod with the al-Rus’, and compiled books relating to his own travels, as well as second-hand
knowledge of the Khazars, Magyars, Slavs, Bulgars, and other peoples.
His impression of the al-Rus’ is very favourable:
‘They carry clean clothes and the men adorn themselves with bracelets of gold.
They treat their slaves well and they also carry exquisite clothes, because they
put great effort in trade. They have many towns. They have a most friendly
attitude towards foreigners and strangers who seek refuge.’
See also the picture stones from the 800s that probably tell about the Gotlanders’ contacts with Khazaria and the Islamic Caliphate.
Khazaria converted in the late 700s to Judaism and became the world’s largest
Jewish kingdom. It is estimated today that 80% of those in the world who
confess to the Jewish religion are descended from there. They are also called
the ‘13th tribe’, or Volga-Jews in contrast to Jordan-Jews. In Khazaria the main
languages were Turkish, various Slavic languages and Gothic. If you mix these
languages you get Jiddish.
When the Swedes a couple of hundred years later forcibly Christenized Finland
and Estonia they also came with rowing feets and are called Ruotsi and Rootsi.
But it has nothing to do with the Arabic writers much earlier name for the Gotlandic rowing merchants al-Rus’ and the Byzantines’ Rhos to do. Tore Gannholm

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Gutland / Gotland, Uncategorized

Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea

August 2, 2019August 2, 2019 ClanCarruthers

Gotland: Pearl of the Baltic Sea

medieval walls of Visby, Gotland

We spotted the towers of Visby’s medieval cathedral as we approached Sweden’s island of Gotland. We were there to see the Old Town, a medieval Viking and Hanseatic trading post with a ring wall, towers, and moat. It is so well preserved that it seems to have come to life from a fairy tale.

Today, Visby is a modern municipality and cultural center, a fusion of the best of the old and new. You can shop for innovative local goods and modern Scandinavian designs in historic buildings along winding 13th century cobbled lanes.

The medieval city is well tended by the affluent residents who treasure the historic sites and ensure an abundance of cultural, gastronomic, entertainment, and recreational options. Visby has the most restaurants per capita of all towns of Sweden.

Artists and musicians flourish. Locals and visitors alike enjoy the attractions and party atmosphere that radiates from the main street, Strandgatan.

Gotland, the largest island in the Baltic, is about 56 miles off the east coast of Sweden. It was ideally situated to rise to greatness as a center of trade between Russia and Western Europe.

Its history is a tale of Viking traders, German merchants, riches, buried treasures, churches, kings, pirates and knights. In 1995 it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Known as the Pearl of the Baltic Sea, Gotland is one of Sweden’s best places to live and top vacation destinations. It has the most hours of sun of all of Sweden and a milder climate the mainland.

Gotland is a little larger than Rhode Island, but has only about 5% of the population. As an island, it has an abundance of beaches, stunning seascapes, and soaring cliffs with spectacular views.

Limestone outcroppings are often carpeted in flowers. Many, like the over forty kinds of orchids, are not found in other parts of Sweden. Taxonomist Carl Linnaeus was here in 1741.

Gotland’s main industry, agriculture, makes for a bucolic countryside. Little wonder tourism is the next largest segment of the economy. About a million people visit each year, mostly between June and August.

Gotland is flat, making it ideal for walking or cycling along its paths. It’s eco-friendly, with electricity-generating windmills in the southern part of the island.

History: Location, location, location

In the 8th and 9th centuries, Viking was a name used to describe the farmers, tradesmen, and fishermen who lived here in wooden houses in Gotland’s protected bay, or vik. Viking traders journeyed through Russia to Byzantium and the Caliphate, trading things like Greenland furs for silver, silks, and glass. Visby enjoyed great prosperity as a transit town and merchants’ hub.

Visby joined the medieval Hanseatic League (Hansa) to consolidate power and interests with the German merchants who expanded into the Baltic, and by the 12th century, Visby was the center of Hanseatic League trade. With all Baltic commercial routes passing through here, the 12th to 14th centuries are considered to be Visby’s Golden Age.

Construction boomed when German and other wealthy merchants expanded their interests and came to live in Visby. They tore down the simple wooden buildings and built stone guild houses and stately homes.

The 13th century Hanseatic stone warehouses along the harbor were built to impress. As high as five to seven stories, they were the medieval equivalent of skyscrapers. So many churches were built–for the parish, guilds, monasteries, and as hospitals–that there were more churches here than in any other town in Sweden.

former warehouses, Visby

The German and Gotlandic communities coexisted, each with its own bailiff and mayor. Laws were written in both languages. Danish and Russian merchants also settled here, and despite language and cultural differences, tradespeople worked cooperatively, united in the common goal of making a profit. Merchants sent family members to other Hanseatic trading communities, and marriages within the trade network were common.

However, resentment was brewing. Visby merchants had rejected their long-standing Gotlandic union for the laws of Hanseatic League. In 1288 a civil war erupted between people inside and outside the wall.

Word of Gotland’s wealth also attracted raiders and plunderers. Treasures buried for safekeeping continue to be discovered in fields and gardens throughout the island. Over 700 Viking Age hoards of Arabic and European coins and silver have been found.

In the 14th century, a series of disastrous events occurred. The island was struck by the Black Death in 1350. In 1361, King Valdemar Atterdag of Denmark attacked, slaughtering the people of the countryside, demanding vast ransom from the horrified people within the walls, and declaring himself King of Gotland.

By the end of the century, the Baltic pirates and former mercenaries known as the Vitalie brothers took control of the island. They were ousted by the next occupiers, the Teutonic knights. In 1525 Visby was attacked and the northern part of town was burned by an army from Lübeck in present-day Germany.

When Gotland reverted to Swedish rule, the Danes blew up Visborg Castle before leaving. In the 17th century, women convicted in Europe’s witch trials were imprisoned here.

By the 18th century, trade and industry returned. Gotland has continued to prosper happily ever after.

What to See

Visby, Gotland

Visby, City of Roses and Ruins, is known for fragrant gardens and remains that include twenty-three churches and abbeys.

garden lanes, Visby, Gotland

The ring wall, ringmuren, is one of the best preserved in the world. When it was constructed along the shore in 1221 existing structures were built right into it.

The wall was rebuilt around 1300 to its present height and towers were added. The wall is strongest on the side facing the rest of the island, designed to keep those in the countryside out and extract tolls from those allowed in.

There are over 200 medieval stone warehouses and merchants’ homes inside Visby’s city walls. Most are limestone, tall and rectangular, with the gabled end facing the street. Designs are simple, with perhaps quoins, brick or stepped gables. There are also charming little 17th and 18th century wooden houses, all of which seem to have with colorful flower gardens.

One of the best preserved buildings is Gamla Apoteket, the Old Pharmacy on Strandvagan, which has a medieval well and an example of Visby’s state-of-the-art latrine system in the cellar. The 17th century Burmeister House, also on Strandvagan, is worth a stop to see its elaborately painted burgher interior.

Almedalen, or Elm Tree Park, Visby, Gotland

The area known as Almedalen, or Elm Tree Park, is in the filled-in old medieval harbor. This was a protected bay and trading center when Visby was a Hanseatic partner. It is a meticulously landscaped setting for special events, picnics, and a summer amusement park.

The 35 meter high Gun Powder Tower, Kruttornet, was built into the ring wall. This fortress is thought to be from the mid-12th century, making it one of the oldest secular buildings in Scandinavia.

Legend has it that a wealthy merchant’s daughter was walled up alive in Jungfrutornet–(Maiden’s Tower). It is said she betrayed the town by falling in love with a Danish king.

Visby Cathedral, now known as St. Mary’s Church, was built by the Germans and has a carved walnut pulpit from Lübeck. It is the only medieval church in Visby still used for worship.

The Gotland Museum houses treasures from the Stone Age, Viking Age, and Middle Ages to the present. It’s a place to see unique picture stones, gold, and silver.

Visby’s Botanical Garden has specimens from around the world and over 200 kinds of roses. It is one of best botanical gardens in Sweden.

There are many shopping areas in the walled city offering local art, brightly painted wooden handicrafts, ceramics, and woolen throws. Local specialties include lamb with local herbs, smoked fish, ice cream or coffee and pastry. Or make your own picnic of limpa (rye) bread, lingonberry or cloudberry jam, fall truffles, and dill-flavored cheeses.

Outside Visby

At Tofta, about 1 1/2 hours from the city, there are small restaurants, sandy beaches and a recreation of a Viking village. The village is a place to learn crafts, prepare food, or try a competitive sport, all Viking-style. The shoreline is a popular spot for camping.

Fishing villages dot the coast. In the 19th century, island farmers built cabins by the sea for their farm employees to use during the busy autumn fishing season. These cabins are now popular vacation rentals.

Christianity was brought to Gotland in the 1st century, by its own residents, and, yet because of generational differences, it took fifty or sixty years spread throughout the island. This was a time when wealthy farmers ruled, and each built a church, often with a defense tower. There are 92 churches from the 12th and 13th centuries here, all in good condition, that continue to be used for ceremonies like marriages and funerals.

Fröjel Socken’s “saddle style” church, Gotland

We visited Fröjel Socken’s “saddle style” church, so named for the 12th century Roman-style area in the middle. Its defense tower was built around the same time as the Powder Tower in Visby. In the mid-13th century, a Gothic-style section with windows was added.

Gannarve ship grave, Gotland

There are over 300 historic ship graves on Gotland, and we stopped at one known as Gannarve. Bronze Age people of importance were buried in stone coffins with food, weapons, and tools for the afterlife. Stones outline the gravesite in the shape of a ship sailing to a new life.

A royal crown marks the entrance to Fridhem, the former summer home of Princess Eugenie, daughter of Swedish King Oscar I. Health concerns brought her here for the fresh air and mild climate beginning in the summer of 1860. She welcomed writers and painters and made this a cultural time for Gotland. Fridhem is now a hotel. A youth hostel and rental cottages have been added.

traditional red stuga, Gotland

Our ride through the countryside took us past sheep farms, modern houses and charming traditional red and white houses known as stugas. There were people picking small Gotland berries for jam. Swedes enjoy a typically egalitarian policy known as allamansrätt, “all man’s right”, which allows everyone the right to roam private land to picnic, pick wild mushrooms and berries and such, so long as they leave the land as they found it and respect privacy.

With more time

There are many leisure attractions like Kneippbyn’s Summer & Waterland with Villekulla Cottage. The cottage was used in a television series and movies based on Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking books.

Lummelunda Cave, just a mile north of Visby, has underground lakes and rivers.

With Gotland’s mild climate, it is often possible to play golf year-round.

Just north of Gotland is Fårö, the tiny island where Ingmar Bergman lived and filmed some of his movie scenes.

Events

The twenty-seventh week of each year is known as Almedalen Week. Representatives of Sweden’s major political parties participate in political forums and give speeches in Almedalen Park.

The highlight of the year is Medieval Week, held the first week of August. Visby reverts to its medieval roots with jousting tournaments, knights on on horseback, fairy tales, crafts, a medieval market, pageants, lectures, educational events, banquets, theater, and concerts from hurdy-gurdy to classical in the old ruins. Step back to the Middle Ages and the sights and sounds of Hanseatic League days. Wear a medieval costume if you like. Book well in advance and be prepared to pay high-season prices.

flag of Gotland

Linda Fasteson

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Ancient and Honorable Carruthers Clan Int Society LLC

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The Viking Age

CLAN CARRUTHERS CCIS – Oswiu, King of Northumbria

January 16, 2017April 16, 2021 ClanCarruthers

Oswiu, King of Northumbria

It just might be one of the great alliances of the age that can be pieced together, and it began with one man’s death. Oswiu, king of Northumbria, was a formidable leader. His reach extended far beyond the once frontier land of the Forth valley. Regimes that came to paramountcy further north and west probably did so, in part, through his backing.

Cenél nGabrain, ‘the kindred of Gabrain’, enjoyed stability in Argyll, from where we know Oswiu exacted tribute. In Pictland, where his nephew, Talorcan, had been king in the 650s, Oswiu would likely have had a say in who replaced him. James E Fraser also argues that Niuduera had been a Pictish territory, centred on Fife, that was subject to Anglian settlement and power during this time.

It is into this world, then, that Oswiu’s death on February 15 670 would have sent shock waves. His son and successor, Ecgfrith, first had to deal with an uprising from the Picts. Together with the possibly Niuduarian sub-king, Beornhaeth, the new king defeated them, “filling two rivers with corpses”, and overthrew their ruler, Drest. Ecgfrith’s cousin, Bridei, took over.

It is here that our alliance has its genesis.

Bridei is the earliest king explicitly called rex Fortrenn, ‘king of Fortriu’, in the chronicles. Alex Woolf has convincingly argued that this chief kingdom of the Picts was centred on the shores of the Moray Firth. Its people were known in Old English as the Wærteras. Bridei was the son of Beli, a king of Clyde Rock. His mother meanwhile was apparently a half-sister of Eanfled – Oswiu’s wife and Ecgfrith’s mother.

Bridei’s nephew, Dumngual, ruled Alt Clut, the kingdom of Britons centred on Clyde Rock and its environs. It seems likely the two would have been predisposed to amity. The Clyde Britons also seem to have enjoyed good relations with Cenél Comgaill, who inhabited the Cowal peninsula. A further kin group, Cenél nGartnait, make up the fourth part of this reconstructed alliance.

Before Oswiu’s death, these parties were in the shadows to varying extents. I’ve always thought the battle of Luith Feirn that took place in 664 in Pictland was probably between Bridei and Drest for the kingship itself. Defeated, Bridei could have sought exile in Northumbria. It would explain the fact it took him and Ecgfrith 15 years to come to blows – at the battle of Dunnichen.

Oswiu’s expansionist tendencies had robbed Dumngual of many interests in central Scotland, perhaps explaining the realignment of the Clyde king’s focus to the west, Cenél Comgaill had been kept in check by a muscular Cenél nGabrain, and Cenél nGartnait had yet to gain the attention of the chronicles.

In Argyll, Domangart son of Domnall Brecc enjoyed dominion over the Corcu Réti (the Cenél nGabrain and Cenél Comgaill kindreds of Kintyre and Cowal). In the second year after Oswiu’s death, Domangart was slain and two men, perhaps implicated in his death, were captured. They were Elphin, who James E Fraser argues was a kinsman of Bridei, and Conamail son of Cano.

Conamail belonged to a seemingly Pictish / Gaelo-Pictish branch of Cenél nGabrain known as Cenél nGartnait. They seem to have belonged to the Isle of Skye and returned to Scotland in 670 following a brief exile in Ireland. With the date of their return in mind, they could have been looking to upset a status quo that had become entrenched under Oswiu.

If we assume the killing of Domangart was an attempted coup, it failed – his cousin, Máel Dúin, succeeded him. However, over the next 25 years Máel Dúin and his heirs would fight a losing battle for paramountcy in Argyll. By contrast, Cenél nGartnait’s prominince in genealogical tract Cethri prímchenéla suggests they flourished. Conamail escaped captivity and his son, Congus, later enjoyed prestige. If Cenél nGartnait thrived through Pictish/British support they were not the only ones.

Cenél Comgaill dynast Dargart mac Finnguine comes to prominence following his marriage to a certain Der-Ilei. She may have been a sister, or more likely a daughter, of Bridei. The fruits of their union were two eighth-century Pictish kings but Dargart would not live to see them reign. His death in 685 suggests he may have fallen at the battle of Dunnichen.

Loch Awe.

Three years after Domangart’s death sustained Pictish interest in Argyll is confirmed by an entry in the Annals of Ulster. They record that ‘many Picts were drowned in the land of Awe’ (i Llaind Abae), probably a scribal error for ‘in Loch Awe’ (i lind Abae).

Two years after that a distinctly more successful incursion into the west was made by a British force. Here Ferchar Fota, probably the king of Cenél nEchdach, likely based in Upper Lorn, was defeated in battle.

Yet it isn’t until the 680s that the north and west truly explode in a series of strongholds besieged, key men slain and regimes possibly overturned.

The catalyst could have been Ecgfrith’s defeat to the Mercian king Æthilred at the Trent in 679. Ecgfrith lost his brother in the battle as well as the hold he had enjoyed over Mercia since besting Æthilred’s predecessor in battle in 672. Æthilred’s victory stemmed the northward flow of southern tribute. In response Ecgfrith might have upped the taxes he exacted from his northern cousin and others. This, together with the air of vulnerability Oswiu’s son now had, perhaps prompted our allies to raise their game.

The Annals of Ulster record the siege of Dunnottar (Dún Foither) in 680, Bridei’s destruction of the Orkneys the year after, and the siege of Dundurn (Dún Duirn), near modern-day St Fillans, the year after that. The last two campaigns took place in the same years as known or suspected British aggression in the west. In 681 Britons invaded Mag Line, the Uí Chóelbad heartland in Antrim. Here they attacked the royal centre of Ráith Mór and slew the king. Then in 682 Dunadd (DúnAtt), in Argyll, was besieged.

Bridei fought Ecgfrith at Dunnichen in 685, a battle that was to claim the Anglian king’s life.

Dunnichen needn’t be seen as an allied victory. The conjectured involvement of Dargart mac Finnguine aside, it seems purely to have pitted Picts against Angles. The Annals of Inisfallen even curiously refer to it as ‘a great battle between Picts’. This perhaps indicates the no doubt considerable Niuduarian involvement.

What is clear, however, is that Bridei’s allies would have had a vested interest in a Pictish victory.

Bede was later to write: “The Picts recovered their own land which the Angles had formerly held, and the Irish who were in Britain and some part of the Britons recovered their liberty.”

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Neil Carruthers

CLAN CARRUTHERS INT SOCIETY CCIS HISTORIAN AND GENEALOGIST

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