Bridei I, also known as Bridei, son of Maelchon, was king of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

from 554 to 584. Sources are vague or contradictory regarding him, but it is believed that his court was near Loch Ness and that he may have been a Christian. There were contemporaries claiming the title "king of the Picts". He died in the mid-580s, possibly in battle, and was succeeded by Gartnait son of Domelch.

Historical sources

Bridei son of Maelchon was king of the

until his death around 584–586. Other forms of his name include Brude son of Melcho and, in Irish sources, Bruide son of Maelchú and Bruidhe son of Maelchon. He was first mentioned in the

Irish annals A number of Irish annals, of which the earliest was the Chronicle of Ireland, were compiled up to and shortly after the end of the 17th century. Annals were originally a means by which monks determined the yearly chronology of feast days. Over ...

from 558 to 560, where the ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' ( ga, Annála Uladh) are annals of medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luinín, ...

'' report "the migration before Máelchú's son, king Bruide". An earlier entry, reporting the death of "Bruide son of Máelchú" in the ''Annals of Ulster'' for 505 is presumed to be an error. The Ulster annalist does not say who fled, but the later ''

Annals of Tigernach The ''Annals of Tigernach'' (abbr. AT, ga, Annála Tiarnaigh) are chronicles probably originating in Clonmacnoise, Ireland. The language is a mixture of Latin and Old and Middle Irish. Many of the pre-historic entries come from the 12th-centur ...

'' refers to "the flight of the Scots before Bruide son of Máelchú" in 558. This uncertainty has provoked considerable speculation; in one version the ''Annals of Ulster'' is said to associate this with the death of

Gabrán mac Domangairt Gabrán mac Domangairt (Old Welsh: ''Gawran map Dinwarch'Annales Cambriae'' B Text) or Gabrán the Traitor (''Gwran Wradouc'') was king of Dál Riata,in the mid-6th century. He is the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nGabráin. Gabrán was the ...

Personal life

Bridei is suggested to have been the son of

Maelgwn Gwynedd Maelgwn Gwynedd ( la, Maglocunus; died c. 547Based on Phillimore's (1888) reconstruction of the dating of the '' Annales Cambriae'' (A Text).) was king of Gwynedd during the early 6th century. Surviving records suggest he held a pre-eminent positio ...

by John Morris in his ''Age of Arthur'', where he is referred to in passing as "... Bridei, son of Maelgwn, the mighty king of north Wales, ...". Though the book has been a commercial success, it is disparaged by historians as an unreliable source of "misleading and misguided" information. Bridei's death was reported in the 580s, perhaps in battle against Pictish rivals in Circinn, an area thought to correspond with the Mearns. The lists of kings in the ''

Pictish Chronicle The Pictish Chronicle is a name used to refer to a pseudo-historical account of the kings of the Picts beginning many thousand years before history was recorded in Pictavia and ending after Pictavia had been enveloped by Scotland. Version A Ther ...

'' agree that Bridei was followed by Gartnait son of Domelch.

Political life

Bridei appears in

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (, la, Adamnanus, Adomnanus; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and saint. He was the author of the ''Life of ...

's ''Life of Saint

Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...

'' as a contemporary, and as one of the chief kings in Scotland. Adomnán's account of Bridei is problematic as it does not mention whether Bridei was already a Christian, and if not, whether Columba converted him. The

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

discoveries at Portmahomack, showing that there was a monastic community there from around 550, provide some support for the idea that Bridei was either already a Christian, at least in name, or was converted by Columba. Bridei was not the only "king of the Picts" during his lifetime. The death of Galam—called "Cennalath, king of the Picts"—is recorded in 580 in the ''Annals of Ulster,'' four years before Bridei's death. In addition, Adomnán mentions the presence of the "under-king of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

" at Bridei's court. The ''Annals of Ulster'' report two expeditions to Orkney during Bridei's reign, in 580 and 581. The location of the court of Bridei's kingdom is not certain. Adomnán's account states that after leaving the royal court, Columba came to the

River Ness The River Ness (Scottish Gaelic: ''Abhainn Nis'') is a river in Highland, Scotland, UK. It flows from Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, north-east to the mouth of the Beauly Firth at Inverness, a distance of about , with a fa ...

and that the court was located atop a steep rock. Accordingly, it is supposed that Bridei's chief residence was at

Craig Phadrig Craig Phadrig (Scottish Gaelic: Creag Phàdraig, meaning Rock of Patrick) is a forested hill on the western edge of Inverness, Scotland. A hill fort on the summit is generally supposed to have been the base of the Pictish king Bridei mac Maelcho ...

, which is to the west of the modern city of Inverness and overlooks the Beauly Firth. Bridei's kingdom may also have corresponded with what would later become

Fortriu Fortriu ( la, Verturiones; sga, *Foirtrinn; ang, Wærteras; xpi, *Uerteru) was a Pictish kingdom that existed between the 4th and 10th centuries. It was traditionally believed to be located in and around Strathearn in central Scotland, but ...

References in popular culture

Juliet Marillier's trilogy '' The Bridei Chronicles'' is written as a combination of history, fiction, and informed guesswork regarding this king's rise to power and rule. Her novels also describe events in the life of Bridei III.

Notes

References

* Adomnán of Iona, ''Life of St Columba'', tr. & ed. Richard Sharpe. Penguin, London, 1995. * * Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990. * Anderson, Marjorie Ogilvie, ''Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland'', Scottish Academic Press, Edinburgh, revised edition, 1980. * Smyth, Alfred P., ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80–1000'', Edinburgh UP, Edinburgh, 1984.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
at

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one o ...

includes the ''Annals of Ulster'', ''Tigernach'', ''the Four Masters'' and ''Innisfallen'', the ''Chronicon Scotorum'', the ''Lebor Bretnach'' (which includes the ''Duan Albanach''), Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress.
Bede's Ecclesiastical History and the Continuation of Bede (pdf)
a
CCEL
translated by A.M. Sellar.
Tarbat Discovery Programme
with reports on excavations at Portmahomack.