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The Royal House of MacAlpin

By Matthew White  


Kenneth MacAlpin or Kenneth I of Alba had five children. His two sons later became kings of Alba while his three daughters each married into other royal families thus consolidating the influence of the MacAlpins in the politics of the day. One of the daughters married King Run of Strathclyde thereby laying the foundation for the incorporation of this area into Scotland. Another married the Norwegian king of Dublin while the third wed the High King of Ireland, Aedh Finnlaich.

During his reign, Kenneth extended the boundaries of Alba to the area south of the River Forth almost as far as the River Tweed, although Strathclyde in the West still remained independent. After his death at Forteviot in Perthshire in 859 AD, Kenneth MacAlpin was buried on the Holy Isle of Iona. He was succeeded by his brother, Donald, who ruled form circa 859 to 862 AD.

King Donald I is credited with instituting the system of tanistry to determine the succession to the throne. Previously the king had named his successor. Tanistry was a custom whereby the king or clan chief was elected by an assembly of family heads. The king had to be an adult, of sound mind and body and of noble birth. An heir was often appointed by the same system. Of course, this led to many feuds and the system was replaced by that of primogeniture (first birth) by James I (1406 –1437)

Donald died, of natural causes, at the Rath of Inver-amon and was interred at Hy. Apart from these few details, little is known about Donald I, who was succeeded by his nephew and Kenneth’s son, Constantine I.

Constantine’s reign was one of constant battles with the Vikings, who by this time occupied much of Scotland. In 864, from his base in Dublin, the Viking, King Olaf the White, led a number of raids into Donald’s territory. He was followed by Thorsten the Red but Constantine defeated them both. In 872 Constantine also assassinated King Run of Strathclyde, his brother-in-law, and incorporated Strathclyde into Alba.

However a party of Danes, known as the ‘Black Raiders’ made their base in Fife and from there attacked King Constantine and his forces, leading to Constantine’s death in 877 AD. He was buried on Iona.

Kenneth’s other son, Aedh ‘Swift-Foot’ then became king. The name ‘Aedh’ was anglicised as ‘Hugh’. Aegh only ruled for about a year before his murder by his cousin Giric, Donald I’s son, in 878.

Giric became known as Gregory the Great and he and his brother, Eocha or Eochaid, took the throne as joint kings. Little is known about their reign but they were both deposed in 889, and Constantine’s son, Donald II, became king.

Unfortunately, Donald II inherited a much-depleted kingdom with the Danes, under Sigurd the Mighty, having control of the North of Scotland. There is a strange tale surrounding the death of Sigurd the Mighty. Sigurd killed another Dane, Melbrigda Tonn, and cut of his head which he hung from his saddle. As he rode, the head bounced around and one of Melbrigda’s teeth punctured Sigurd’s leg. Sigurd died a painful death from blood-poisoning! Melbrigda had had his revenge.

King Donald II died near Forres in 900 AD. Some say from poisoning.


King Constantine II

By Matthew White

After King Donald II’s death in 900 AD, the throne of Alba was inherited by Constantine II, eldest son of the murdered Aedh. He was to become the most powerful king of the House of MacAlpin and his reign helped to define Scotland as we know it today. 

After his father’s violent death, Aedh was forced to flee to Ireland where he spent his boyhood in a monastery, surrounded by Gaelic culture. In 889AD he returned to Alba with his cousin Domnall. His reign was a successful one, by the standards of that time. As well as fighting off the Danes and the Norse, Constantine extended the borders of his kingdom south past the river Clyde. This meant more fighting with the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of that district.

The Norse were finally defeated in 904 AD, after they had laid waste to Dunkeld, where St Columba’s relics were kept, and much of Alba. They were forced to withdraw from Scotland. In 908 AD Constantine’s brother, Donald, secured the kingdom of Strathclyde which Constantine I had tried to incorporate into Alba, assassinating King Run in 872 AD.

From 1912 to 1927 there was increased fighting between the Scandinavians in the South and Constantine’s men, until a border between Scotland and England was recognised. This uneasy peace lasted until 934 AD when King Athelstan of England invaded Scotland and took King Constantine’s son as a hostage. Leading to a major battle at Brunanaburgh three years later. Here the Scots were defeated although the King survived.

In the midst of all this warring, King Constantine found time to restructure the early Christian church in Scotland, modelling it on the Gaelic church of Ireland, where he had spent his childhood. He also instituted a system of earls, called ‘mormaers’ to help with the defence of his kingdom.

The remainder of King Constantine’s reign was spent defending his territory against the Danes, who were once more trying to invade. In 943 AD he abdicated, having been the longest reigning monarch of the house of MacAlpin. He spent the rest of his life in a monastery.
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