Óengus mac Fergusa (Angus MacFergus; Irish ''Onuist'', Latinized ''Hungus'') was

king of the Picts The list of kings of the Picts is based on the Pictish Chronicle king lists. These are late documents and do not record the dates when the kings reigned. The various surviving lists disagree in places as to the names of kings, and the lengths of ...

from 820 until 834. In Scottish historiography, he is associated with the veneration of

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pete ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Although, this has not been proven.

Life

Óengus succeeded his brother Caustantín to the throne. Previously thought to have been of

Dál Riata Dál Riata or Dál Riada (also Dalriada) () was a Gaelic kingdom that encompassed the western seaboard of Scotland and north-eastern Ireland, on each side of the North Channel. At its height in the 6th and 7th centuries, it covered what is n ...

n origin and descended from

Fergus mac Echdach Fergus mac Echdach was king of Dál Riata (modern western Scotland) from about 778 until 781. He succeeded Áed Find. He is stated to have been a son of Eochaid mac Echdach, and thus a brother of Áed. Some much later sources make him a son of � ...

, their family is now assumed to have been that of the first king Óengus mac Fergusa, perhaps originating in Circinn (presumed to correspond with the modern Mearns), a Pictish family with ties to the Eóganachta of

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following t ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Óengus, along with his brother, son Eogán, and nephew Domnall, is included in the ''

Duan Albanach The Duan Albanach (Song of the Scots) is a Middle Gaelic poem. Written during the reign of Mael Coluim III, who ruled between 1058 and 1093, it is found in a variety of Irish sources, and the usual version comes from the '' Book of Lecan'' and ' ...

'', a praise poem from the reign of Máel Coluim (III) mac Donnchada listing Máel Coluim's predecessors as

kings of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...

, of Alba and of Dál Riata from Fergus Mór and his brothers onwards. The inclusion of Pictish kings from Caustantín to Eogán in the ''Duan'' led to the supposition that Dál Riata was ruled by Pictish kings, or rather that Dál Riata kings ruled Pictland, leading to supposition that the origins of the Kingdom of Alba lay in a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, an ...

conquest of Pictland. However, it is now suggested that their inclusion is due to their importance in the religious communities of

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

and

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourt ...

, where they were seen as founders and early patrons. However, a modern reconstruction of the later lists of Dál Riata kings presumes that Óengus's nephew Domnall was king of Dál Riata during this time (approximately 811–835). Óengus died in 834, the only event of his reign reported 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 ...

, and was succeeded by his nephew Drest mac Caustantín. Óengus's son Eogán was later king and was killed with his brother Bran in a battle against

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

in 839.

Association with Saint Andrew

Walter Bower Walter Bower (or Bowmaker; 24 December 1449) was a Scottish canon regular and abbot of Inchcolm Abbey in the Firth of Forth, who is noted as a chronicler of his era. He was born about 1385 at Haddington, East Lothian, in the Kingdom of Scot ...

in his ''

Scotichronicon The ''Scotichronicon'' is a 15th-century chronicle by the Scottish historian Walter Bower. It is a continuation of historian-priest John of Fordun's earlier work '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' beginning with the founding of Ireland and thereb ...

'' (1440s) supplies a legend according to which Saint Andrew appears to Óengus II in 832, on the eve of a battle against the

Angles The Angles ( ang, Ængle, ; la, Angli) were one of the main Germanic peoples who settled in Great Britain in the post-Roman period. They founded several kingdoms of the Heptarchy in Anglo-Saxon England. Their name is the root of the name ...

. The saint advises the king to watch for the "sign of the Cross of Christ in the air". Bower's account has precedents in earlier chroniclers

John of Fordun John of Fordun (before 1360 – c. 1384) was a Scottish chronicler. It is generally stated that he was born at Fordoun, Mearns. It is certain that he was a secular priest, and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th ...

(IV, xiii–xiv) and

Andrew of Wyntoun Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun (), was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and, later, a canon of St. Andrews. Andrew Wyntoun is most famous for his completion of an eight-syllabled metre entitled, ...

. A still earlier reference of the 12th century simply states that "King Hungus" won a victory aided by Saint Andrew, in gratitude for which the Picts agreed to venerate the Saint. Skene, in his notes to Fordun IV, xiii–xiv, states that the episode is placed in the 4th century, making the entire tale anachronistic in the extreme. The three kings whom the legend has been tied to are Athelstan of England and Athelstan of East Anglia, as well as

Guthrum the Old Guthrum ( ang, Guðrum, c. 835 – c. 890) was King of East Anglia in the late 9th century. Originally a native of what is now Denmark, he was one of the leaders of the "Great Summer Army" that arrived in Reading during April 871 to join force ...

(whose baptismal name was Athelstan). The "Cross of Christ" vision in Bower's account (itself a reminiscence of the

Milvian Bridge The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge ( it, Ponte Milvio or ; la, Pons Milvius or ) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the ...

episode) is turned into the white on blue

Saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

in the narrative by

George Buchanan George Buchanan ( gd, Seòras Bochanan; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth century Scotland produced." ...

(1506–1582), who has such a saltire appear in the sky in the form of a cloud formation during the battle. The religious site at St Andrews, originally Cennrígmonaid, long predates this Óengus. Túathalán, first known Abbot of Cennrígmonaid, died in 747, and it is thought likely that the establishment is due to the earlier Óengus (king from 729; died 761) or to

Nechtan mac Der-Ilei Nechtan mac Der-Ilei or Nechtan mac Dargarto (Old Irish ''Nechtan mac Der-Ilei'' or ''Nechtan mac Dargarto'') (before 686–732) was king of the Picts 706–724 and 728–729. He succeeded his brother Bridei in 706. He is associated with signific ...

(king 706–724 and ?728–729; died 732). The

St Andrews Sarcophagus The Saint Andrews Sarcophagus is a Pictish monument dating from the second half of the 8th century. The sarcophagus was recovered beginning in 1833 during excavations by St Andrew's Cathedral in Scotland, and in 1922 the surviving components w ...

is assumed to have been made for the remains of Nechtan or the first Óengus. The later St Andrews tradition recounting the supposed arrival of Saint Regulus (or Saint Rule) at St Andrews, with relics of St Andrew, has him met at

Forteviot Forteviot ( gd, Fothair Tabhaicht) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village in Strathearn, Scotland on the south bank of the River Earn between Dunning and Perth. It lies in the council area of Perth and Kinross. The population in 1991 was 160. The pres ...

by three sons of Óengus: Eogán, Nechtan and Finguine.Broun, "Pictish Kings", p. 81 and note 27. Broun notes that, apart from Eogán, the names may be fictitious. However, Nechtan mac Der-Ilei's paternal grandfather was named Finguine, so that some person of that name could have been linked with the earliest history of Cennrígmonaid.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections, Stamford: Paul Watkins, 1990. * Bannerman, John. "The Scottish Takeover of Pictland and the relics of Columba" in Dauvit Broun and

Thomas Owen Clancy Thomas Owen Clancy is an American academic and historian who specializes in medieval Celtic literature, especially that of Scotland. He did his undergraduate work at New York University, and his Ph.D at the University of Edinburgh. He is currentl ...

(eds.) ''Spes Scotorum: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland.'' Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999 * Dauvit Broun, "Dunkeld and the origins of Scottish Identity" in Dauvit Broun and Thomas Owen Clancy (eds), op. cit. * Broun, Dauvit. "Pictish Kings 761-839: Integration with Dál Riata or Separate Development" in Sally Foster (ed.) ''The St Andrews Sarcophagus: A Pictish masterpiece and its international connections.'' Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1998. * Broun, Dauvit, "The church of St Andrews and its foundation legend in the early twelfth century" in Simon Taylor (ed.) ''Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland, 500-1297: : essays in honour of Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday.'' Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000. * Clancy, Thomas Owen. "Caustantín son of Fergus (Uurgust)" in M. Lynch (ed.) ''The Oxford Companion to Scottish History.'' Oxford & New York: Oxford UP, 2002. *

, ''Chronicle of the Scottish Nation'', ed.

William Forbes Skene William Forbes Skene WS FRSE FSA(Scot) DCL LLD (7 June 1809 – 29 August 1892), was a Scottish lawyer, historian and antiquary. He co-founded the Scottish legal firm Skene Edwards which was prominent throughout the 20th century but disappeare ...

, tr. Felix J.H. Skene, 2 vols. Reprinted, Lampeter: Llanerch Press, 1993. * Foster, Sally M., ''Picts, Gaels and Scots: Early Historic Scotland.'' London: Batsford, * Henderson, Isabel. "''Primus inter Pares'': the St Andrews Sarcophagus and Pictish Sculpture" in Simon Taylor (ed.) op. cit. * Smyth, Alfred P. ''Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000.'' Reprinted, Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1998.

External links

Annals of Ulster, part 1, at CELT

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oengus 02 Of The Picts Pictish monarchs 8th-century births 834 deaths 9th-century Scottish monarchs

Life

Association with Saint Andrew

See also

Notes

References

External links