Chapter 2 - Emergence of the Pictish Kings
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 January 2021
Summary
Only the Pictish king-lists notice the reign of Necton grandson of Erp (ca. 601– 620). A late gloss in one of these lists describes the king's establishment of the monastery of Abernethy (Aburnethige) in Perth and Kinross. To add to the confusion, this gloss is attached to the reign of an earlier Necton, the son of Erp (ca. 456– 480); another version credits the initiative to Gartnait son of Dolmech, successor to Bridei son of Mailcon. These versions claim that Abbess Darlugdach of St. Brigid's monastery in Kildare journeyed to Pictland, as a voluntary exile, where the king granted her lands to establish a monastery in honour of St. Brigid and God. One version explains that Necton's generosity was due to the intervention of St. Brigid who, in response to his prayer, restored him to the kingship after he had been exiled by his brother Drust. Improbably, this would place Necton son of Erp in Ireland around the 450s when Brigid was just a child; hence the preference for the legend being associated with the later Necton. As a Brigidine foundation with local commemorations to nine holy virgins Abernethy was potentially a double house of nuns and monks, like its mother house of Kildare in Ireland. The foundation account was probably added to the king-lists between 862 and 876 at Abernethy. The descendants of Erp, often identified with the northern British king Guipno, are prolific in the Pictish king-lists. Nevertheless, it is difficult to extract a cohesive account of Pictish rule for this period. Instances of kings reigning simultaneously add to the confusion. Scholars generally interpret this as evidence of distinct southern and northern Pictish kingdoms or provincial kingdoms. One picture to emerge is the prevalence of consanguine links and alliances between the northern ruling dynasties. They also sought refuge among each other's courts during periods of exile. This can make it difficult to unpick genealogies and alliances to construct a plausible geo political history. As a result, there is limited consensus among historians about this period. An added complication remains the extent, nature, and date of kings Oswald and Oswiu's intrusion into southern Pictland.
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- The Picts Re-Imagined , pp. 37 - 58Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2018