Beli I of Alt Clut

Last updated

Beli I was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, some time in the 7th century. Very little is known of him, but his family appears to have been very well connected in northern Britain.

The Harleian genealogies name Beli as the son of Neithon, his predecessor as king, and the father of Eugein I, his successor. [1] Beli map Neithon is probably identifiable as the Beli who was the father of Bridei III of the Picts, as the Elegy for Bruide mac Bili attributed to Adomnán calls Bridei mac rígh Ala Cluaithe ("son of the King of Alt Clut"). [2] [3] The Historia Brittonum says that Bridei was the fratruelis or maternal first cousin of Ecgfrith of Northumbria, [4] indicating that Beli's wife might have been of the Northumbrian nobility, though Bridei must have had some Pictish connection to become king of Fortriu. [2] The Annales Cambriae entry for 627 refers to the death of a certain Belin, who may be identified with Beli map Neithon. [2] [5] He was certainly dead by 642, the year Irish sources record King Oan or Hoan of Alt Clut (apparently Beli's son Eugein) fighting the Battle of Strathcarron. [2]

Notes

Related Research Articles

Maelgwn Gwynedd was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent position among the Brythonic kings in Wales and their allies in the "Old North" along the Scottish coast. Maelgwn was a generous supporter of Christianity, funding the foundation of churches throughout Wales and even far beyond the bounds of his own kingdom. Nonetheless, his principal legacy today is the scathing account of his behavior recorded in De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae by Gildas, who considered Maelgwn a usurper and reprobate. The son of Cadwallon Lawhir and great-grandson of Cunedda, Maelgwn was buried on Ynys Seiriol, off the eastern tip of Anglesey, having died of the "yellow plague"; quite probably the arrival of Justinian's Plague in Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cunedda</span> Founder of the Kingdom of Gwynedd

Cunedda ap Edern, also called Cunedda Wledig, was an important early Welsh leader, and the progenitor of the Royal dynasty of Gwynedd, one of the very oldest of western Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhodri Molwynog</span>

Rhodri Molwynog, also known as Rhodri ap Idwal was an 8th-century king of Gwynedd. He was listed as a King of the Britons by the Annals of Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridei III</span> King of the Picts from 671 to 692

Bridei son of Beli was king of Fortriu and of the Picts from 671 until 692. His reign marks the start of the period known to historians as the Verturian Hegemony, a turning point in the history of Scotland, when the uniting of Pictish provinces under the over-kingship of the kings of Fortriu saw the development of a strong Pictish state and identity encompassing most of the peoples north of the Forth.

Dyfnwal Hen or Dumnagual Hen was a ruler of the Brittonic kingdom of Alt Clut, later known as Strathclyde, probably sometime in the early 6th century. His biography is vague, but he was regarded as an important ancestor figure for several kingly lines in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain. As an ancestor figure, he compares to Coel Hen, another obscure figure credited with founding a number of northern dynasties.

Clinoch is thought to have been a ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, some time in the 6th century. The Harleian genealogies name Clinoch as the son of Dumnagual Hen, his probable predecessor as King of Alt Clut, and the father of Tutagual, his probable successor. The Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd, a later genealogy of rulers in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain, names the descendant between Dumnagual and Tutagual, Kedic.

Tutagual is thought to have been a ruler of the kingdom of Alt Clut, later known as Strathclyde, a Brittonic kingdom in the Hen Ogledd or "Old North" of Britain. He probably ruled sometime in the mid-6th century.

Neithon son of Guipno was a 7th-century ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Guipno map Dumnagual Hen. Alfred Smyth suggests he is the same man as King Nechtan the Great of the Picts, and perhaps the Nechtan son of Canu the Annals of Ulster record as having died in 621. The Senchus fer n-Alban indicate that Gartnait, the son of Áedán mac Gabráin, King of Dál Riata, sired a son named Cano, but unless the Harleian genealogies are to be ignored, this would make Gartnait and Dumnagual Hen the same persons, as the respective fathers of Gartnait and Guipno. However, it is possible that either as an Alt Clut Briton ascending the throne of Pictland, or as a Pict ascending the throne of Alt Clut, his genealogy might have been altered, and it is notable that in the Pictish king-lists he is called "Nechtan, nepos Uerb", suggesting that it was a descent from Uerb that mattered in Pictland, and not his unimportant father Guipno/Canu. Alan Orr Anderson pointed out that Uerb is probably the Pictish form of Ferb, a female name. Alan MacQuarrie suggests that Neithon was indeed the Pictish king Nechtan, but does not take any stance on the Guipno/Canu problem.

Eugein or Ywain was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, sometime in the mid-7th century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli I, presumably his predecessor as king, and the father of Elfin, who ruled sometime later. The Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach record another probable son, Dumnagual, who ruled Alt Clut and died in 694. Eugein was probably the brother or half brother of Bridei III of the Picts, the victor at the Battle of Dun Nechtain.

Guret was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, during the mid-7th century. He is known only from an obituary note in the Annals of Ulster, which records Mors Gureit regis Alo Cluathe under the year 658. He is absent from the Harleian genealogies, which record the names of many other kings of Alt Clut. Historian Alan MacQuarrie suggests that he may have been an otherwise unrecorded brother, or perhaps son, of Eugein I of Alt Clut.

Elfin was a ruler of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, sometime in the later 7th century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Eugein I, one of his predecessors as king, and the father of Beli II, who ruled some time later. Very little is certainly known of him, though he may be identifiable with other figures attested in the Irish annals, and circumstantial evidence may link him to a number of important events during this time.

Beli II was a king of Alt Clut, a Brittonic kingdom based on Dumbarton Rock, for some period in the early 8th century.

Teudebur of Alt Clut was the ruler of Alt Clut, in the early-to-mid eighth century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli II, his probable predecessor as king. Such information is confirmed by both the Irish and Welsh annals. We know from the Harleian genealogy that he was the father of Dumnagual III, one of his successors. His reign coincided with that of the illustrious Pictish king Óengus mac Fergusa. The Annales Cambriae reports that in 750, the Britons defeated a Pictish army at Mocetauc (Mygedawc), in which, according to the Annals of Tigernach, Óengus' brother Talorgen was killed. Mygedawc is often identified with modern Mugdock, on the boundary between Dunbartonshire and Stirlingshire, but this identity is by no means certain. The Annals of Tigernach, which styles him Taudar mac Bile, rí Alo Cluaide, put his death at 752, and for this reason, we can be certain Teudebur was the British king responsible for the British victory.

Rotri was a ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, for a few years in the mid-8th century. He is known only from the Annales Cambriae, which records his death in the entry for 754. He does not appear in the Welsh genealogies or the Irish annals, which record many other kings of Alt Clut. Historian Alan MacQuarrie suggests he may have usurped the throne following the death of the previous king Teudebur in 752, and then been killed shortly after by Teudebur's son Dumnagual.

Dumnagual III was a king of Strathclyde in the mid-eighth century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Teudebur, one of his predecessors.

Eugein II may have been ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, for some time in the late-8th century. He is known only from the Harleian genealogies, which indicate that he was the son of King Dumnagual III of Alt Clut; there is no direct evidence that he ruled as king himself. Dumnagual is presumed to be the monarch who submitted to the joint army of Kings Óengus I of the Picts and Eadberht of Northumbria in 756; after this event, Alt Clut seems to have remained under foreign power and the royal line is known exclusively through the Harleian genealogies for more than a century. If Eugein was king, he may have been in power during the "burning of Ail Cluaithe" recorded in the Annals of Ulster as having occurred in 780. According to Harleian, he was the father of Riderch II.

Riderch II was, according to the Harleian genealogies, the son of Eugein II, the son of King Dumnagual III of Alt Clut. He is known only from this source, and there is no direct evidence he was king of Alt Clut, although he is usually regarded as such by scholars. The Harleian genealogies indicate he was the father of Dumnugual IV, evidently his successor as king.

Dumnagual IV was a 9th-century British figure thought to have been a ruler of Alt Clut, the kingdom later known as Strathclyde. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of his predecessor Riderch II, the grandson of Eugein II, and the great-grandson of King Dumnagual III of Alt Clut. He is known only from this source, and there is no direct evidence he was king of Alt Clut, although he is usually regarded as such by scholars. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba reports the burning of Dunblane by the Britons in the year 849, and it is possible that Dumnagual was the British ruler responsible for the act, though it is equally possible that his son Artgal was responsible.

Finguine Fota or Finguine son of Eochaid was king of Cowal in modern-day Scotland, and a member of the Gaelic Cenél Comgaill kindred.

References

Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Alt Clut
fl. early to mid-7th century
Succeeded by