(c.810-c.859)

In c. 841 AD, a man came to power in Dalriada who would change the face of politics in Scotland forever. He was born Ciniod Mac Alpin, but later took the Christian name of Kenneth. In c. 841, he became Kenneth I, King of Alba.

Kenneth MacAlpin was born around the year 810 AD. His father, Alpin Mac Eochaid, was king of Scots in name only, as at that time Dalriada was ruled by the Picts. Kenneth's mother is said to have been either a daughter of Achalas, King of Argyllshire or a princess of the royal lines of the Picts. In either case, he was born into a strong royal bloodline. On his father's side he could lay claim as rightful heir to the throne of Dalriada and his mother's bloodline gave him the right to petition for the throne of Caledonia.

Kenneth grew up under the heel of a Pictish rule and apparently disliked it immensely. As a Scot of Irish descent, he naturally resented Caledonian control of Dalriada and their pre-emptive usurping of his fathers' throne. Meanwhile, his father Alpin took advantage of the Viking raids of the early 830's to lead a revolt against the Caledonians. Alpin died in battle against the Picts, which probably did little to change his son's attitude towards their rule.

The Picts victory over Kenneth MacAlpin's father only earned them the right to face the Vikings in battle. In their weakened state, the Picts were soundly defeated and not only lost their King, Eogan, but his brother and successor as well. After this battle, the warrior and royal class of the Picts was so severely depleted that they never again offered any serious threat to Viking or Scot for control of their country. Thus, a very jaded Kenneth took the reigns of a now independent Dalriada in approximately 841 AD.

Through Kenneth's ample ancestry he had the right to become a claimant to the Caledonian throne. Through a rumored marriage to the daughter of Constantine he increased his standing, but his petition was not accepted during the next four ascensions of the Caledonian Crown. When Drust, reigned as the last Pictish King of Caledonia, it is said that Kenneth planned and executed an episode that is now known as 'MacAlpins treason'.

During the reign of Drust, Caledonian rule was still greatly weakened. Less than eight years had passed since the disastrous defeat by the Vikings in c. 839. The country was largely occupied by Viking forces and could not mount any serious challenge to their forced authority. It was then, in c. 847 AD, that Kenneth invited the seven remaining Moramers (Earls) of Caledonia to his court to discuss his claim to the throne.

A great banquet was held, and the guests were plied with food and wine. Late in the evening, after the guests - including Drust the King - were sufficiently inebriated, they were attacked and slaughtered by Kenneth's men. Thus Kenneth cleared the way for his claim to the throne of Caledonia and became King of Scots and Picts. He ruled from c. 841-859 as King of Alba, the New Kingdom created by the combination of the two previous nations. He moved the capital from Dunndald to Scone, and in the process transferred the Stone of Destiny to its new home. After many years, this stone became known as the Stone of Scone, in reference to its new location in Scone.

Upon Kenneth's death in c. 859, his brother Donald became King and ruled as a member of the House of Alpin. As for Kenneth himself, he was rumored to be a man of astuteness, while his method of uniting the two kingdoms belies this fact and brings the term ruthless to mind. Either way, he successfully united the rule of the two Kingdoms permanently. As for the country of Caledonia itself, its territory was divided between the Vikings and the Scots and later became known as a part of Scotland itself.

BW, February 2000