Constantín, son of Fergus

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Constantín, son of Fergus (d. 820), king of Picts (from 790) and of Scottish Dalriada (from 811). Constantín was the first king to rule by right over both Picts and Scottish Gaels. After defeating a rival in 789, he reigned first as king of the Picts, only in 811 taking the kingship of Dalriada, which his father had held 778–81. His power base was the central Pictish territory of Fortriu, and his dominance there is reflected in the recently discovered inscription on the Dupplin Cross (5 miles south-west of Perth), which bears his name set amidst the iconography of Christian kingship. The religious dimension of his reign is further demonstrated by his foundation of the monastery of Dunkeld (c.818), by the presence of his name in the Durham Liber vitae (entered after that of Charlemagne), and by his commemoration as a saint in Irish martyrologies and a Scottish litany. He stands at the head of a short-lived Pictish dynasty, his brother, son, and nephew reigning in turn.

Thomas Owen Clancy

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Constantín, son of Fergus

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