Kingdom of Strathclyde

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Image:Scotland Dumbarton Castle bordercropped.jpg Strathclyde (Gaelic: Srath Chluaidh), also known as Alt Clut, the British name for Dumbarton Rock, was one of the kingdoms of the Britons in southern Scotland during the post-Roman, Early and High Medieval periods. It may have had its origins in the Damnonii of Ptolemy's Geographia.

After the sack of Dumbarton Rock by a Viking army from Dublin in 870, the name Strathclyde came into use. In the same period, it was also referred to as Cumbria, and its inhabitants as Cumbrians, a name also used for Cumbria in north-west England where the British kingdom of Rheged existed in Early Medieval times. During the High Middle Ages, the area was conquered by the kingdom of Alba, becoming part of Scotland. It remained a distinctive and not entirely Scots-controlled area into the 12th century.

Contents 1 Origins 2 The Old North 3 Early Historic Period 4 Notes 5 References 5.1 Secondary sources 6 See also 7 External links

Origins

Ptolemy's Geographia - a sailors' chart, not an ethnographical survey<ref>The description is Ó Corráin's, in R. Foster (ed.), The Oxford History of Ireland, p. 4.</ref> - lists a number of tribes, or groups of tribes, in southern Scotland at around the time of the Roman invasion and the establishment of Roman Britain in the first century AD. As well as the Damnonii, Ptolemy lists the Otalini, whose capital appears to have been Traprain Law; to their west, the Selgovae in the Southern Uplands and, further west in Galloway, the Novantae. In addition, a group known as the Maeatae, probably in the area around Stirling, appear in later Roman records. The capital of the Damnonii is believed to have been at Carman, near to Dumbarton, but around 5 miles inland from the river Clyde.

Although the northern frontier was Hadrians Wall for most of the history of Roman Britain, Roman forts existed north of the wall, the frontier was three times moved north. Twice it was advanced to the line of the Antonine Wall, when the wall was built and again under Septimius Severus, and once further north, beyond the river Tay, during Gnaeus Julius Agricola's campaigns, although it was soon withdrawn each time. In addition to these contacts, Roman armies undertook punitive expeditions north of the frontiers. Natives certainly travelled south of the wall, to trade, to raid and to serve in the Roman army. Roman traders may have travelled north, and Roman subsidies, or bribes, were sent to useful tribes and leaders. The extent to which Roman Britain was romanised is debated, and if there are doubts about the areas under close Roman control, then there must be even more doubts over the degree to which the Damnonii were romanised.<ref>For a brief survey of Rome and southern Scotland see Hanson, "Roman occupation".</ref>

The final period of Roman Britain saw an apparent increase in attacks by land and sea, the raiders including the Picts, Scotti and the mysterious Attacotti whose origins are not certain.<ref>The home of the Attacotti has been variously identified. Ireland is the most favoured location, and an association with the Déisi is plausible. A few authors have suggested the Outer Hebrides or the Northern Isles.</ref> These raids will have also targetted the tribes of southern Scotland. The final withdrawal of Roman forces around 410 is unlikely to have been of immediate impact on the Damnonii.

The Old North

Template:Main Image:Y Gogledd.jpg Although often referred to as the Dark Ages, the period after the end of Roman rule in southern Scotland, while poorly understood, is considerably less dark than the Roman period. Archaeologists and historians have offered varying accounts of the period over the last century and a half. The written sources available for the period are largely Irish and Welsh, and very few indeed are contemporary with the period between 400 and 600.

Irish sources report events in the kingdom of Dumbarton only when they have an Irish link. Excepting the 6th century jeremiad by Gildas and the poetry attributed to Taliesin and Aneirin, in particular Y Gododdin, thought to have been composed in Scotland in the 7th century, Welsh sources generally date from a much later period. Some are informed by the political attitudes prevalent in Wales in the 9th century and after. Bede, whose prejudice is apparent, rarely mentions Britons, and then usually in uncomplementary terms.

No historical source gives any firm information on the boundaries of the kingdom of Alt Clut, but suggestions have been offered on the basis of place-names and topography. Near the north end of Loch Lomond, which can be reached by boat from the Clyde, lies Clach nam Breatann, the Rock of the Britains, which is thought to have gained its name as a marker at the northern limit of Alt Clut. The Campsie Fells and the marshes between Loch Lomond and Stirling may have represented another boundary. To the south, the kingdom extended some distance up the valley of the Clyde, and along the coast probably extended south towards Ayr.<ref>Alcock & Alcock, "Excavations at Alt Clut"; Koch, "The Place of Y Gododdin".</ref>

Two kings are known from near contemporary sources in this early period. The first is the tyrant Coroticus or Ceretic, known as the recipient of a letter from Saint Patrick, and stated by a 7th century biographer to have been king of the Height of the Clyde, Dumbarton Rock, placing him in the second half of the 5th century. From Patrick's letter it is clear that Ceretic was a Christian, and it is likely that the ruling class of the area were also Christians, at least in name. His great-grandson Riderch Hael is named in Adomnán's Life of Saint Columba. Riderch was a contemporary of Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata and Urien of Rheged, to whom he is linked by various traditions and tales, and also of Æthelfrith of Bernicia.

The Christianisation of southern Scotland, if Patrick's letter to Coroticus was indeed to a king in Strathclyde, had therefore made considerable progress when the first historical sources appear. Further south, at Whithorn, a Christian inscription is known from the second half of the 5th century, perhaps commemorating a new church. How this came about is unknown. Unlike Columba, Kentigern, the supposed apostle to the Britons of the Clyde, is a shadowy figure and Jocelyn of Furness's 12th century Life is late and and of doubtful authenticity.

Early Historic Period

Template:Main Image:Britons in Southern Scotland (languages).pngAfter 600, information on the Britons of Alt Clut becomes slightly more common in the sources. However, historians have disagreed as to how these should be interpreted. Broadly speaking, they have tended to produce theories which place their subject at the centre of the history of north Britain in the Early Historic period. The result is a series of narratives which cannot be reconciled.<ref>Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men represents a work where the Britons are given prominence, others have concentrated on Dál Riata. At present, the division appears to be between Scots, Irish and "north British" scholars and Anglo-Saxonists. Leslie Alcock, Kings and Warriors, could be taken as representing a "north British (and Irish)" perspective.</ref>

At the beginning of the 7th century, Áedán mac Gabráin may have been the most powerful king in northern Britain, and Dál Riata was at its height. Áedán's byname in later Welsh poetry, Aeddan Fradawg (Áedán the Treacherous} does not speak to a favourable reputation among the Britons of Alt Clut. Áedán's dominance came to an end around 604, when his army, including Irish kings and Bernician exiles, was defeated by Æthelfrith at the battle of Degsastan. Æthelfrith's Welsh epithet, Flesaurs, has been translated as the Twister or the rather more admiring Artful Dodger.

It is supposed, on rather weak evidence, that Æthelfrith, his successor Edwin and Bernician and Northumbrian kings after them expanded into southern Scotland. Such evidence as there is, such as the conquest of Elmet, the wars in north Wales and with Mercia, would argue for a more southern focus of Northumbrian activity in the first half of the 7th century. The report in the Annals of Ulster for 638, "the battle of Glenn Muiresan and the besieging of Eten (Din Eidyn, modern Edinburgh)", has been taken to represent the capture of Din Eidyn by the Northumbrian king Oswald, son of Æthelfrith, but the Annals mention neither capture, nor Northumbrians, so that this is rather a tenuous identification.

In 642, the Annals of Ulster report that the Britons of Alt Clut led by Eugein son of Beli defeated the men of Dál Riata and killed Domnall Brecc, grandson of Áedán, at Strathcarron, and this victory is also recorded in an addition to Y Gododdin. The site of this battle lies in the area known in later Welsh sources as Bannawg, the name Bannockburn is presumed to be related, which is thought to have meant the very extensive marshes and bogs between Loch Lomond and the river Forth, and the hills and lochs to the north, which separated the lands of the Britons from those of Dál Riata and the Picts, and this land was not worth fighting over. However, the lands to the south and east of this waste, were controlled by smaller, nameless British kingdoms. Powerful neighbouring kings, whether in Alt Clut, Dál Riata, Pictland or Bernicia, would have imposed tribute on these petty kings, and wars for the overlordship of this area seem to have been regular events in the 6th to 8th centuries.

There are few definite reports of Alt Clut in the remainder of the 7th century, although it is possible that the Irish annals contain reports which may be related. In the last quarter of the 7th century, a number of battles in Ireland, largely in areas along the Irish Sea coast, are reported where Britons take part. It is usually assumed that these Britons are mercenaries, or exiles dispossessed by some Anglo-Saxon conquest in northern Britain. However, it may be that these represent campaigns by kings of Alt Clut, whose kingdom was certainly part of the Irish Sea province. All of Alt Clut's neighbours, Northumbria, Pictland and Dál Riata, are known to have sent armies to Ireland on occasions.

Alt Clut was attacked by Vikings in 870 AD, and seems to have ended its role as an independent kingdom shortly afterwards, around 900.

As well as its fortress capital at Dumbarton, Strathclyde had a religious centre at Govan, and a royal residence at Partick, both of which are in modern-day Glasgow.

The Vikings had laid siege to Dumbarton for four months in 870, eventually defeating the inhabitants when they cut off their water supply. The Norse king Olaf returned to the Viking city of Dublin in 871, with two hundred ships full of slaves and looted treasures. Olaf came to an agreement with Constantine I, king of Scots, and Arthgal ap Dyfnwal, king of Strathclyde, was executed. Rhun ab Arthgal, brother-in-law of Constantine, became king of Strathclyde, apparently as a client or sub-king of Constantine.

Rhun was to die c. 878, possibly in the same battle as Constantine, who was killed fighting the Norse. He was succeeded by Eochaid map Rhun, who allied himself with Giric of the Scots. The two reigned jointly over Alba and Strathclyde until 889, when they were expelled, effectively ending Strathclyde's status as an independent state, c. 890. Following their expulsion, Donald mac Constantine became king of Strathclyde. This marked the merging of the kingships of the kingdom of Alba and the Britons of Strathclyde. Strathclyde kept some independence, but its kingdom was essentially one subject to Scottish rule.

Strathclyde's history beyond this point is at best sketchy, although there is evidence which suggests that some of the Strathclyde nobility fled to Gwynedd in north Wales. Lands previously belonging to Strathclyde seem to have become a sub-kingdom under Scottish control.

The first source of evidence which refers to the exodus to Wales c. 890 is the Welsh Chronicle of the Princes:

"The men of Strathclyde, those that refused to unite with the English, had to depart from their country and go into Gwynedd."

It should be noted that the "English" referred to the fact that Strathclyde was liege to the King of England. On the arrival of the men in Gwynedd, the Strathclyde Britons were welcomed by Anarawd ap Rhodri of Gwynedd. They were soon to help him in battle against the Saxons.

It remains uncertain whether Eochaid travelled to Gwynedd with his people, since the date of his death is unknown, but other evidence supports and corroborates the possibility of a small group of Strathclyde nobility travelling to Gwynedd c. 890.

Firstly, the migration would explain the growth of the cult of St Kentigern in north Wales. Jocelin's Vita Kentigerni tells a strange tale about a period of exile in Gwynedd for St Kentigern. There are dedications to him at St. Asaph and elsewhere in north Wales, and also many dedications in Cumbria.

Secondly, Glasgow remained obscure as the cult centre of St Kentigern, until it was revived by Earl David between 1113 and 1124. Perhaps this obscurity dated back to 890 and later years, although this may be ambitious, and is not borne out by the Inquisitio David. Jocelin's Vita Kentigerni, however, might well date back to the eighth and ninth centuries in its earliest sections, which could perhaps have been written by a Glasgow scriptorium, active until the later ninth century, and folding with the Strathclyde exodus.

A third clue that would back up the migration theory is that the pedigree of Rhun mab Arthgal has been preserved in Welsh lore. Other traditions relating to the 'Men of the North' may also have some bearing, and the 'Welsh' poem, "Gododdin" might have travelled to Wales with the Strathclyde exiles.

Following the flight to Gwynedd, the Strathclyde kings seem to have been sub-kings of the Scottish monarchy. Donald mac Aed, for instance, was definitely part of the royal Scottish dynasty, and some other Strathclyde kings may also have been. Strathclyde's independence effectively came to an end with the death of Ywain (Owen) the Bald, who died in 1018, when the dynasty of Kenneth mac Alpin began to rule the region.

The influence of the Norse in Strathclyde during the period from 870 onwards cannot be ignored. Five "hogback" house-shaped gravestones of Norse design are to be found at Govan Parish Church in modern-day Glasgow, a site that had religious importance for the Strathclyde kings. A road leads from the churchyard to Doomster Hill, a large earthen mound used as an assembly place, in a manner similar to that found at Tynwald in the Isle of Man, where, the church of St John is linked to the Manx parliament hill by a straight processional route. The links to the Norse kings of Man of the ninth and tenth centuries suggest a strong Norse influence in Strathclyde at that time.

Notes

<references/>

References

Secondary sources

See also

• List of Kings of Strathclyde

External links

• BBC - History - Native Tribes of Britainfr:Royaume de Strathclyde

it:Regno di Strathclyde no:Kongedømmet Strathclyde sv:Strathclyde