Domnall Brecc (Welsh: ''Dyfnwal Frych''; English: ''Donald the Freckled'') (died 642 in Strathcarron) was king of Dál Riata, in modern

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 ...

, from about 629 until 642. He was the son of Eochaid Buide. He was counted as Donald II of Scotland by the scholar Fraxinius. He first appears in 622, when the Annals of Tigernach report his presence at the battle of Cend Delgthen (probably in the east midlands of Ireland) as an ally of Conall Guthbinn of Clann Cholmáin. This is the only battle known where Domnall Brecc fought on the winning side. Domnall suffered four defeats after he broke Dál Riata's alliance with the Cenél Conaill clan of the Uí Néill. In

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 ...

, Domnall and his ally

Congal Cáech Congal Cáech (also Congal Cláen) was a king of the Cruthin of Dál nAraidi in the medieval Irish province of Ulaid, from around 626 to 637. He was king of Ulaid from 627–637 and, according to some sources, High King of Ireland. Origins Whil ...

of the

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin ki ...

were defeated by

Domnall mac Áedo Domnall mac Áedo (died 642), also known as Domnall II, Was an Irish king and son of Áed mac Ainmuirech and his consort Land, the daughter of Áed Guaire mac Amalgada of Airgíalla. Domnall was High King of Ireland from 628 until his death. He b ...

of the Cenél Conaill, the High King of Ireland, at the

Battle of Mag Rath The Battle of Moira, also known as the Battle of Magh Rath, was fought in the summer of 637 by the High King of Ireland, Domnall II, against his foster son Congal Cáech, King of Ulaid, supported by his ally Domnall Brecc, King of Dál Riata. ...

( Moira, County Down) in 637. He also lost to 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 ...

in 635 and 638 and lastly to

Eugein I of Alt Clut Eugein I was a ruler of Alt Clut, the Brittonic kingdom later known as Strathclyde, sometime in the mid-7th century. According to the Harleian genealogies, he was the son of Beli I, presumably his predecessor as king, and the father of Elfin, wh ...

at Strathcarron in 642, where he was killed. A stanza interpolated into the ancient Welsh poem '' Y Gododdin'' refers to these events:

I saw an array that came from
Pentir Pentir is a community and electoral ward in the county of Gwynedd, Wales, and is 124 miles (199.9 km) from Cardiff and 205 miles (329.4 km) from London. In 2011 the population of Pentir was 2450 with 58.7% of them able to speak Wel ...
,
And bore themselves splendidly around the conflagration.
I saw a second one, rapidly descending from their township,
Who had risen at the word of the grandson of Nwython.Eugein was the grandson of Nwython ( Neithon).
I saw great sturdy men who came with the dawn,
And the head of Dyfnwal Frych, ravens gnawed it.

Domnall's son Domangart mac Domnaill was later to be king of Dál Riata and from him the later kings of the

Cenél nGabráin The Cenél nGabráin was a kingroup, presumed to descend from Gabrán mac Domangairt, which dominated the kingship of Dál Riata until the late 7th century and continued to provide kings thereafter. Kings of Alba and of Scotland traced their desc ...

were descended. A second son, Cathasach, died c. 650, and a grandson of Domnall, also called Cathasach, died c. 688.

Notes

References

* Anderson, Alan Orr, ''Early Sources of Scottish History A.D 500–1286'', volume 1. Reprinted with corrections. Paul Watkins, Stamford, 1990.

External links

CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts
a
University College Cork
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 and other translations are in progress. {{DEFAULTSORT:Brecc, Domnall 642 deaths Kings of Dál Riata 7th-century Irish monarchs 7th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown