Scottish history really started with Kenneth I the first King of Scotland.
But how did Kenneth achieve his rise to power as King of Scotland?
Well, it probably wasn’t as straightforward as it sounds. Scotland had been a collection of separate tribes and mini-states for most of its history, and many areas had more than one claimant to the throne. The biggest split was between the western lands and the northern and eastern territories that had been ruled by the Picts.
In the west, Kenneth fell back on the old technique of bringing in a trusted colleague. He invited over a leader from Ireland, one Gofraid mac Fergusa, to western Scotland. Historians don’t know a lot about Gofraid, but his name is a mixture of Norse and Celtic elements, so he could have been a compromise leader, able to please both the Scots and the Vikings who were in the habit of attacking Britain’s shores at around this time.
Kenneth saved his own energies for eastern Scotland. Between about 842 and 848, he was busy in the east imposing his authority. Historians aren’t sure how he ruled. Some people think he was a peaceful ruler who was accepted with little bloodshed. Others portray Kenneth as a war lord. Certainly, the early chroniclers stress his battles and military ruthlessness, so he probably had to conquer his way to power in the east.
However he achieved his victory, Kenneth was widely accepted as ruler of Scotland by the year 848. Once he was settled on the throne, Kenneth set about making sure of his power using one of the most popular methods open to early rulers – arranging favourable marriages for his children. Kenneth was blessed with several daughters.
Early medieval kings sometimes looked down on their womenfolk because girls weren’t usually thought to have the right stuff to be rulers – for that, you had to be a macho warlord.
But princesses were useful to early kings in another way. They could get married to your neighbours to create useful political alliances. Alliances with this lot must have bought Kenneth a great deal of security. Ireland would launch fewer attacks, and less trouble should occur in western Scotland, as a result.
But Kenneth’s army was still busy making war with enemies who threatened to give him a pounding on several fronts at once. Kenneth’s challenges included:
- Fighting off Viking raiders who were still turning up on Scotland’s coast and making off with booty from villages and monasteries.
- Repelling challenges to his kingship from rebels who ignored his careful alliance-making in Strathclyde.
- Taking part in a series of battles against the Northumbrians in an attempt to extend his rule southwards.
All together, it sounds as if Kenneth had a busy time making war, and when he died in 858, he was probably still fighting to keep his kingdom secure. He had made important gestures of peace, such as the marriage alliances and building a new church at Dunkeld where St Columba’s relics were housed but his reign was mostly one of war.
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