Constantine II of Scotland

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Constantine II
Áed
, King of the Picts

Causantín mac Áeda (

King of Scotland, known then by the Gaelic name Alba. The Kingdom of Alba
, a name which first appears in Constantine's lifetime, was situated in modern-day Northern Scotland.

The core of the kingdom was formed by the lands around the

Pictland and the origins of the Kingdom of Alba
are traced to Constantine's lifetime.

His reign, like those of his predecessors, was dominated by the actions of

Céli Dé (Culdee) monastery of St Andrews where he died in 952. He was succeeded by his predecessor's son Malcolm I
(Máel Coluim mac Domnaill).

Constantine's reign of 43 years, exceeded in Scotland only by that of King

Old English: Scottas, Scotland) are first used to mean part of what is now Scotland. The earliest evidence for the ecclesiastical and administrative institutions which would last until the Davidian Revolution
also appears at this time.

Sources

Compared to neighbouring Ireland and

genealogical records of the descendants of Kenneth MacAlpin may date from the end of the 10th century, but their value lies more in their context, and the information they provide about the interests of those for whom they were compiled, than in the unreliable claims they contain.[3]

For narrative history the principal sources are the

sagas describe events in 10th-century Britain, their value as sources of historical narrative, rather than documents of social history, is disputed.[5] Mainland European sources rarely concern themselves with affairs in any part of the British Isles, and even less commonly with events in Scotland, but the life of Saint Cathróe of Metz, a work of hagiography written in Germany at the end of the 10th century, provides plausible details of the saint's early life in north Britain.[6]

While the sources for north-eastern Britain, the lands of the kingdom of Northumbria and the former Pictland, are limited and late, those for the areas on the Irish Sea and Atlantic coasts—the modern regions of north-west England and all of northern and western Scotland—are non-existent, and archaeology and toponymy are of primary importance.[7]

Pictland from Constantín mac Fergusa to Constantine I

Main article: Origins of the Kingdom of Alba
Recorded relationships within the early House of Alpin

The dominant kingdom in eastern Scotland before the

Kenneth MacAlpin had emerged as the winner.[9]

Later

Áed (Áed mac Cináeda).[10]

The kingdom ruled by Kenneth's descendants—older works used the name

Forfar, Perth, Fife, and Kinross. Among the chief ecclesiastical centres named in the records are Dunkeld, probably seat of the bishop of the kingdom, and Cell Rígmonaid (modern St Andrews).[12]

Kenneth's son Constantine died in 876, probably killed fighting against a Viking army that had come north from Northumbria in 874. According to the king lists, he was counted as the 70th and last king of the Picts in later times.[13]

Britain and Ireland at the end of the 9th century

Some locations in northern Britain, late 9th and early 10th centuries. The dotted line marked A represents the southern boundary of the Kingdom of Alba, c. 890–950. The dotted line marked B represents the southern boundary of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, c. 925–945.

In 899

Eadulf, based at Bamburgh who controlled the lands from the River Tyne or River Tees to the Forth in the north.[14]

In Ireland,

Norse-Gaels of Dublin. They are reported to have been divided between two rival leaders. In 894 one group left Dublin, perhaps settling on the Irish Sea coast of Britain between the River Mersey and the Firth of Clyde. The remaining Dubliners were expelled in 902 by Flann Sinna's son-in-law Cerball mac Muirecáin, and soon afterwards appeared in western and northern Britain.[15]

To the southwest of Constantine's lands lay the

Dyfnwal.[16]

The situation of the Gaelic kingdoms of

Western Isles or the Northern Isles at this time is debated.[18]

Early life

Áed, Constantine's father, succeeded Constantine's uncle and namesake Constantine I in 876 but was killed in 878. Áed's short reign is glossed as being of no importance by most king lists. Although the date of his birth is nowhere recorded, Constantine II cannot have been born any later than the year after his father's death, i.e., 879. His name may suggest that he was born a few years earlier, during the reign of his uncle Constantine I.[19]

After Áed's death, there is a two-decade gap until the death of

Giric, but all other lists say that Giric ruled after Áed and make great claims for him.[22] Giric is not known to have been a kinsman of Kenneth's, although it has been suggested that he was related to him by marriage. The major changes in Pictland which began at about this time have been associated by Alex Woolf and Archie Duncan with Giric's reign.[23]

Woolf suggests that Constantine and his younger brother Donald may have passed Giric's reign in exile in Ireland where their aunt Máel Muire was wife of two successive

Dunnottar in the Mearns in 900. Constantine succeeded him as king.[26]

Vikings and bishops

William the Lion onwards.[27]

The earliest event recorded in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba in Constantine's reign is an attack by Vikings and the plundering of Dunkeld "and all Albania" in his third year. This is the first use of the word Albania, the

Old Irish Alba, in the Chronicle which until then describes the lands ruled by the descendants of Cináed as Pictavia.[28]

These Norsemen could have been some of those who were driven out of Dublin in 902, or were the same group who had defeated Domnall in 900. The Chronicle states that the Northmen were killed in Srath Erenn, which is confirmed by the Annals of Ulster which records the death of Ímar grandson of Ímar and many others at the hands of the men of Fortriu in 904. This Ímar was the first of the Uí Ímair, the grandsons of Ímar, to be reported; three more grandsons of Ímar appear later in Constantín's reign. The Fragmentary Annals of Ireland contain an account of the battle, and this attributes the defeat of the Norsemen to the intercession of Saint Columba following fasting and prayer. An entry in the Chronicon Scotorum under the year 904 may possibly contain a corrupted reference to this battle.[29]

The next event reported by the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba is dated to 906. This records that:

King Constantine and Bishop

Scone and pledged themselves that the laws and disciplines of the faith, and the laws of churches and gospels, should be kept pariter cum Scottis.[30]

The meaning of this entry, and its significance, have been the subject of debate.

The moot hill at Scone, perhaps the Hill of Belief of 906[31]

The phrase pariter cum Scottis in the Latin text of the Chronicle has been translated in several ways. William Forbes Skene and Alan Orr Anderson proposed that it should be read as "in conformity with the customs of the Gaels", relating it to the claims in the king lists that Giric liberated the church from secular oppression and adopted Irish customs.[32] It has been read as "together with the Gaels", suggesting either public participation or the presence of Gaels from the western coasts as well as the people of the east coast.[33] Finally, it is suggested that it was the ceremony that followed "the custom of the Gaels" and not the agreements.[34]

The idea that this gathering agreed to uphold Irish laws governing the church has suggested that it was an important step in the gaelicisation of the lands east of Druim Alban.[35] Others have proposed that the ceremony in some way endorsed Constantine's kingship, prefiguring later royal inaugurations at Scone.[36] Alternatively, if Bishop Cellach was appointed by Giric, it may be that the gathering was intended to heal a rift between king and church.[37]

Return of the Uí Ímair

Following the events at Scone, there is little of substance reported for a decade. A story in the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, perhaps referring to events sometime after 911, claims that Queen Æthelflæd, who ruled in Mercia, allied with the Irish and northern rulers against the Norsemen on the Irish sea coasts of Northumbria. The Annals of Ulster record the defeat of an Irish fleet from the kingdom of Ulaid by Vikings "on the coast of England" at about this time.[38]

In this period the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba reports the death of

Domnall being a son of Áed Findliath who died on 21 March 915.[40] Finally, the deaths of Flann Sinna and Niall Glúndub are recorded.[41]

There are more reports of Viking fleets in the

Sihtric Cáech and Ragnall, said to be grandsons of Ímar (that is, they belonged to the same Uí Ímair kindred as the Ímar who was killed in 904), were very active in Ireland. Sihtric inflicted a heavy defeat on the armies of Leinster and retook Dublin in 917.[42] The following year Ragnall appears to have returned across the Irish sea intent on establishing himself as king at York.[43] The only precisely dated event in the summer of 918 is the death of Queen Æthelflæd on 12 June 918 at Tamworth, Staffordshire. Æthelflæd had been negotiating with the Northumbrians to obtain their submission, but her death put an end to this and her successor, her brother Edward the Elder, was occupied with securing control of Mercia.[44]

Dere Street; Corbridge is just south of Hadrian's Wall in the centre of the map

The northern part of Northumbria, and perhaps the whole kingdom, had probably been ruled by

Eadulf since 913.[45] Faced with Ragnall's invasion, Ealdred came north seeking assistance from Constantine. The two advanced south to face Ragnall, and this led to a battle somewhere on the banks of the River Tyne, probably at Corbridge where Dere Street crosses the river. The Battle of Corbridge appears to have been indecisive; the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba is alone in giving Constantine the victory.[46]

The report of the battle in the Annals of Ulster says that none of the kings or mormaers among the men of Alba were killed. This is the first surviving use of the word mormaer; other than the knowledge that Constantine's kingdom had its own bishop or bishops and royal villas, this is the only hint to the institutions of the kingdom.[47]

After Corbridge, Ragnall enjoyed only a short respite. In the south, Alfred's son Edward had rapidly secured control of Mercia and had a burh constructed at Bakewell in the Peak District from which his armies could easily strike north. An army from Dublin led by Ragnall's kinsman Sihtric struck at north-western Mercia in 919, but in 920 or 921 Edward met with Ragnall and other kings. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that these kings "chose Edward as father and lord". Among the other kings present were Constantine, Ealdred son of Eadwulf, and the king of Strathclyde, Owain ap Dyfnwal. Here, again, a new term appears in the record, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for the first time using the word scottas, from which Scots derives, to describe the inhabitants of Constantine's kingdom in its report of these events.[48]

Edward died in 924. His realms appear to have been divided with the West Saxons recognising Ælfweard while the Mercians chose Æthelstan who had been raised at Æthelflæd's court. Ælfweard died within weeks of his father and Æthelstan was inaugurated as king of all of Edward's lands in 925.[49]

Æthelstan

See also: Æthelstan's invasion of Scotland

By 926 Sihtric had evidently acknowledged Æthelstan as overlord, adopting Christianity and marrying a sister of Æthelstan at Tamworth. Within the year he appears to have forsaken his new faith and repudiated his wife, but before Æthelstan could respond, Sihtric died suddenly in 927. His kinsman, perhaps brother, Gofraid, who had remained as his deputy in Dublin, came from Ireland to take power in York, but failed. Æthelstan moved quickly, seizing much of Northumbria. In less than a decade, the kingdom of the English had become by far the greatest power in Britain and Ireland, perhaps stretching as far north as the Firth of Forth.[50]

Indulf (Ildulb mac Constantín), during the conference.[51]

Æthelstan followed up his advances in the north by securing the recognition of the Welsh kings.[52] For the next seven years, the record of events in the north is blank. Æthelstan's court was attended by the Welsh kings, but not by Constantine or Owain. This absence of record means that Æthelstan's reasons for marching north against Constantine in 934 are unclear.[53]

Æthelstan's invasion is reported in brief by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and later chroniclers such as John of Worcester, William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Symeon of Durham add detail to that bald account. Æthelstan's army began gathering at Winchester by 28 May 934, and travelled north to Nottingham by 7 June. He was accompanied by many leaders, including the Welsh kings Hywel Dda, Idwal Foel, and Morgan ab Owain. From Mercia the army continued to Chester-le-Street, before resuming the march accompanied by a fleet of ships. Owain was defeated and Symeon states that the army went as far north as Dunnottar and Fortriu, while the fleet is said to have raided Caithness, by which a much larger area, including Sutherland, is probably intended. It is unlikely that Constantine's personal authority extended so far north, so the attacks were probably directed at his allies, comprising simple looting expeditions.[54]

The Annals of Clonmacnoise state that "the Scottish men compelled [Æthelstan] to return without any great victory", while Henry of Huntingdon claims that the English faced no opposition. A negotiated settlement might have ended matters: according to John of Worcester, a son of Constantine was given as a hostage to Æthelstan and Constantine himself accompanied the English king on his return south. He witnessed a charter with Æthelstan at Buckingham on 13 September 934 in which he is described as subregulus, i.e., a king acknowledging Æthelstan's overlordship, the only place there is any record of such a description.[55] However, there is no record of Constantine having ever submitted to Æthelstan's overlordship or that he considered himself such. The following year, Constantine was again in England at Æthelstan's court, this time at Cirencester where he appears as a witness, as the first of several kings, followed by Owain and Hywel Dda, who subscribed to the diploma.[56] At Christmas of 935, Owain was once more at Æthelstan's court along with the Welsh kings, but Constantine was not. His return to England less than two years later would be in very different circumstances.[57]

Brunanburh and after

Following his departure from Æthelstan's court after 935, there is no further report of Constantine until 937. In that year, together with Owain and

Olaf Guthfrithson of Dublin, Constantine invaded England. The resulting battle of Brunanburh—Dún Brunde—is reported in the Annals of Ulster as follows:

a great battle, lamentable and terrible was cruelly fought... in which fell uncounted thousands of the Northmen.  ...And on the other side, a multitude of Saxons fell; but Æthelstan, the king of the Saxons, obtained a great victory.[58]

The battle was remembered in England a generation later as "the Great Battle". When reporting the battle, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle abandons its usual terse style in favour of a heroic poem vaunting the great victory. In this, the "hoary" Constantine, by now around 60 years of age, is said to have lost a son in the battle, a claim which the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba confirms. The Annals of Clonmacnoise give his name as Cellach. For all its fame, the site of the battle is uncertain and several sites have been advanced, with Bromborough on the Wirral the most favoured location.[59]

Brunanburh, for all that it had been a famous and bloody battle, settled nothing. On 27 October 939 Æthelstan, the "pillar of the dignity of the western world" in the words of the Annals of Ulster, died at

Edmund, then aged 18. Æthelstan's realm, seemingly made safe by the victory of Brunanburh, collapsed in little more than a year from his death when Amlaíb returned from Ireland and seized Northumbria and the Mercian Danelaw. Edmund spent the remainder of Constantín's reign rebuilding his kingdom.[60]

For Constantine's last years as king, there is only the meagre record of the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba. The death of Æthelstan is reported, as are two others. The first of these, in 938, is that of

mormaer of Angus or son of the mormaer. Unlike the report of 918, on this occasion, the title mormaer is attached to a geographical area, but it is unknown whether the Angus of 938 was in any way similar to the later mormaerdom or earldom.[61] The second death, entered with that of Æthelstan, is that of Eochaid mac Ailpín, who might, from his name, have been a kinsman of Constantín.[62]

Abdication and posterity

By the early 940s Constantine was an old man in his late sixties or seventies. The kingdom of Alba was too new to be said to have a customary rule of succession, but Pictish and Irish precedents favoured an adult successor descended from Kenneth MacAlpin. Constantine's surviving son

Prophecy of Berchán, a verse history in the form of a supposed prophecy, states that it was not a voluntary decision—Constantine abdicated in 943 and entered a monastery, leaving the kingdom to Malcolm.[63]

Although his retirement might have been involuntary, the Life of

Céli Dé (Culdee) movement. The Céli Dé were subsequently to be entrusted with many monasteries throughout the kingdom of Alba until replaced in the 12th century by new orders imported from France.[64]

Seven years later the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba says:

[Malcolm I] plundered the English as far as the river Tees, and he seized a multitude of people and many herds of cattle: and the Scots called this the raid of Albidosorum, that is, Nainndisi. But others say that Constantine made this raid, asking of the king, Malcolm, that the kingship should be given to him for a week's time so that he could visit the English. In fact, it was Malcolm who made the raid, but Constantine incited him, as I have said.[65]

Woolf suggests that the association of Constantine with the raid is a late addition, one derived from a now-lost saga or poem.[66]

Constantine's death in 952 is recorded by the Irish annals, who enter it among ecclesiastics. His son Indulf would become king on Malcolm's death. The last of Constantine's certain descendants to be king in Alba was a great-grandson, Constantine III (Constantín mac Cuiléin). Another son had died at Brunanburh, and, according to John of Worcester, Amlaíb mac Gofraid was married to a daughter of Constantine. It is possible that Constantine had other children, but like the name of his wife, or wives, this has not been recorded.[67]

The form of kingdom which appeared in Constantine's reign continued in much the same way until the Davidian Revolution in the 12th century. As with his ecclesiastical reforms, his political legacy was the creation of a new form of Scottish kingship that lasted for two centuries after his death.[68]

Family

The name of Constantine's wife is not known, however, they are known to have had at least 3 children:

  • Ildulb mac Causantín (Indulf or Indulph)(died 962), king of Alba 954–962.
  • Cellach, died in 937 in the Battle of Brunanburh.
  • A daughter, name not recorded, married
    Amlaíb mac Gofraid
    .

Notes

  1. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 87–93; Dumville, "Chronicle of the Kings of Alba".
  2. ^ Anderson, Kings and Kingship, reproduces these lists and discusses their origins.
  3. ^ Broun, Irish Identity, pp. 133–164; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 220–221.
  4. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 2–3, 87–88, and 357–359.
  5. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 277–285; Ó Corrain, "Vikings in Scotland and Ireland"; Sawyer and Sawyer, Medieval Scandinavia, pp. 21–26.
  6. ^ MacQuarrie, Saints of Scotland, pp. 199–210.
  7. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 12.
  8. ^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 838.
  9. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 57–67 and 93–98; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 180–185; Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, pp. 8–10; Bannerman, "Scottish takeover"; Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots, pp. 107–108.
  10. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 93–117 and 320–322; Broun, "Dunkeld"; Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, pp. 13–14; Herbert, "Ri Éirenn, Ri Alban"; Dumville, "Chronicle of the Kings of Alba", p. 76.
  11. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 220–221 and 256–257; Broun, Irish Identity, pp. 173–174
  12. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 98–101; Driscoll, Alba pp. 33–51; Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots, pp. 8 fig. 1, 39 fig. 24., and 110–111.
  13. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 106–116; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 72–75, s.a. 875. For Constantine as the last Pictish king, the original count being 66 kings, see Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 124–126; Broun, Irish Identity, pp. 168–169; Anderson, Kings and Kingship, pp. 78–79.
  14. ^ Keynes, "Rulers of the English", pp. 504–505; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 138–139; Blair, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 75–79.
  15. ^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 893 and 902; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp 131 and 138–139.
  16. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 153–157.
  17. ^ Woolf, pp. 99–100 and 286–289; Anderson, Early Sources, p. 277.
  18. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 275–311, especially 286–289; Ó Corrain, "Vikings in Scotland and Ireland"; Crawford, Scandinavian Scotland, pp. 39–62; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 141–174.
  19. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 116–117, 124, and 166, note 84.
  20. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 357–358 and 395; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 117–118.
  21. ^ On this, note Dumville's comments regarding damnatio memoriae, Dumville, "Chronicle of the Kings of Alba", p. 75; see also Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 117–121.
  22. ^ Anderson, Kings and Kingship, pp. 251–252, 254, 263, 267, 274, 283, and 288.
  23. ^ Duncan, pp. 11–16; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 117–121, 137–138, and 320–322. For an alternative view of all this, see Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 215–218.
  24. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 122–125.
  25. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. cxlix and 397–398.
  26. ^ Woolf, p. 125; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 395–398. The account of the conquest of the Kingdom of Strathclyde in Domnall's time given by, for example, Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 217–218, is rejected by Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, p. 40, and Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 152–157.
  27. ^ Yorke, The Conversion of Britain, pp. 190–191; Alcock, Kings and Warriors, pp. 327–329; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, p.136. See also the Cathach of St. Columba, a 7th-century psalter to which similar powers were attributed.
  28. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 122–126; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 444–446, where Albania is translated as Scotland; Broun, "Dunkeld".
  29. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 127–128 and 130–131; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 398, 399, and 444–446; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 902, 904; Chronicon Scotorum, s.a. 902, 904; Fragmentary Annals, FA 429.
  30. ^ After Anderson, Early Sources, p. 445.
  31. ^ Bannerman, "Scottish Takeover", p. 79.
  32. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, p. 445, note 1; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 135. This version is followed by Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 188–189.
  33. ^ Driscoll, p. 37, translates the phrase in this way; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 135–136.
  34. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 136; see also Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, p. 188.
  35. ^ Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 188–189, writes that "it marks the final triumph of the Gaelic order over the old Pictish order".
  36. ^ Driscoll, Alba, p. 37; Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, pp. 15–16.
  37. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 137–138.
  38. ^ Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 185–6; Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, FA 429; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 913.
  39. ^ The Annals of Ulster states that Cormac died on 13 September 908; Woolf, pp. 127–9.
  40. ^ Domnall's death is recorded by the Annals of Ulster. For the re-reading by Benjamin Hudson, see Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 127–129 and 152–157; Dumville, "Chronicle of the Kings of Alba", p. 77. Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 222–223, is typical of the interpretation found in older works. The phrase in question reads "et Dunenaldus filius Ede elig7".
  41. ^ The Annals of Ulster record the death of Flann on 25 May 916 and that of Niall on 14 September 919; Woolf, pp. 127–9.
  42. ^ Hart, "Sihtric Cáech"; Hart "Ragnall"; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 138–141; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 914–917.
  43. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 142; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 918.
  44. ^ Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 186–8; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 105, Ms. C, s.a. 918, 919.
  45. ^ Keynes, "Rulers of the English"; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 138–141.
  46. ^ There is disagreement as to whether there was one battle at Corbridge in the 910s or two. The Annals of Ulster, s.a. 918, the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland, and the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, report only one battle. The idea that there were two rests on the Historia de Sancto Cuthberto, for which see Anderson, Scottish Annals, p. 64. The question is discussed by Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 142–144; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 332–333.
  47. ISBN 0-7486-1803-1
  48. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 333–335; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 104, Ms. A, s.a. 924; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 145–147.
  49. ^ Keynes, "Rulers of the English", p. 514; Miller, "Æthelstan"; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 339.
  50. ^ Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, pp. 186–190; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 339–340; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp.148–151; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 105 and 107, Ms. D, s.a. 925, 926, Ms. E, F, s.a. 927.
  51. ^ Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 66–67; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p.107, Ms. D, s.a. 926; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 339–340; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp 150–152 and 192–193; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 201–202; Miller, "Æthelstan".
  52. ^ Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 340–341.
  53. Edwin
    , perhaps drowned on the king's orders; Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 107, Ms. E, s.a. 933 and note 11; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 355–356. The following year Gofraid died and was succeeded by his son Amlaíb, Constantine's son-in-law; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 934. Finally, the Annals of Clonmacnoise report the death of "Adulf mcEtulfe, king of the North Saxons" in the same year as Æthelstan's campaign; Woolf suggests that this represents Ealdred, or some other son of Eadulf, ruling in Northumbria.
  54. ^ Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, p. 107, Ms. D, s.a. 934; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 67–69; Miller, "Æthelstan"; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, p. 342; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 160–166; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, p. 203.
  55. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, p. 426; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 67–69; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168; Miller, Sean. "Charter S 426". Anglo-Saxons.net. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  56. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 166–168; only a part of this charter survives, see "Charter S 1792". Anglo-Saxon Charters Website. Archived from the original on 27 February 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  57. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 167–168.
  58. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 428–9; Annals of Ulster, s.a. 937.
  59. ^ Swanton, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, pp. 106–10, Ms. A, s.a. 937; Anderson, Scottish Annals, pp. 69–73; Anderson, Early Sources, p. 429; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, 168–73; Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men, pp. 203–4; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 342–3; Scragg, "Battle of Brunanburh".
  60. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 174; Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 356–9; Higham, Kingdom of Northumbria, p. 193; Blair, Anglo-Saxon England, pp. 87–9.
  61. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 175, 211–2.
  62. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 175.
  63. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 175; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 444–448; Broun, "Constantine II".
  64. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 431–444; Broun, "Constantine II"; Woolf, Pictland to Alba, p. 175; MacQuarrie, Saints of Scotland, pp. 199–210. The Prophecy of Berchán describes Constantine's "fair, long reign" as a time "with fruit upon slender branches, with ale, with music, with good cheer; with corn, with milk, with nimble cattle; with pride, with fortune, with [worth]"; Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 447–448.
  65. ^ Anderson, Early Sources, pp. 452–453.
  66. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 178–181.
  67. ^ Woolf, Pictland to Alba, pp. 171, 175, and 177; Duncan, Kingship of the Scots, p. 345, table A; Anderson, Early Sources, p. 451.
  68. ISBN 1-85285-195-3
    .

References

External links
Constantine II of Scotland
×
879 Died: 952
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Alba
900–943 		Succeeded by
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