Domnall mac Caustantín is thought to have been king 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 ...

in the early ninth century. Domnall's existence is uncertain, and is based on attempts to reconcile eleventh century works such as the poem

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 ' ...

and the Synchronisms of

Flann Mainistrech Flann Mainistrech (died 25 November 1056) was an Irish poet and historian. Flann was the son of Echthigern mac Óengusso, who had been lector at the monastery of Monasterboice (modern County Louth), in Irish ''Mainistir Buite'', whence Flann's ...

with the evidence of 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 t ...

. The Duan says that Domnall reigned for twenty-four years and places him between "Aodh",

Áed Find Áed Find (Áed the White), or Áed mac Echdach (before 736–778), was king of Dál Riata (modern western Scotland and County Antrim, Ireland). Áed was the son of Eochaid mac Echdach, a descendant of Domnall Brecc in the main line of Cené ...

, and the two Conalls,

Conall mac Taidg Conall mac Taidg (died c. 807) (Conall son of Tadc) was a king of the Picts from 785 until 789. Very little is recorded of Conall. He is mentioned twice by the Irish annals, the most reliable source for the history of northern Britain in the year ...

and

Conall mac Áedáin Conall mac Áedáin was a king in 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 othe ...

. Flann gives Domnall's father's name as "Constantine". The only person of that relatively uncommon name known is

Causantín mac Fergusa Causantín or Constantín mac Fergusa ( en, "Constantine son of Fergus") (before 775–820) was king of the Picts (or of Fortriu), in modern Scotland, from 789 until 820. He was until the Victorian era sometimes counted as Constantine I of S ...

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 o ...

from 792 to 820. Since Áed Find died in 778, and his brother

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 Á ...

was king of Dál Riata at his death in 781, it is thought unlikely that Caustantín's son could have been king as early as 781. Additionally, a king named

Donncoirce Donncoirce (or Donn Corci) was probably king of Dál Riata until his death in 792. Donncoirce's death, the only report of his existence, appears in the ''Annals of Ulster'' for the year 791, corresponding with 792 AD. In it he is called "Donncoirc ...

is reported to have died in 792, and Conall mac Taidg died in 807, making it very difficult to accommodate a 24-year reign at this time. Since no kings of Dál Riata are known for the period from 811, when the four-year reign of Conall mac Áedáin is presumed to have ended, and the four-year reign of

Áed mac Boanta Áed mac Boanta (died 839) is believed to have been a king of Dál Riata. The only reference to Áed in the Irish annals is found in the Annals of Ulster, where it is recorded that " Eóganán mac Óengusa, Bran mac Óengusa, Áed mac Boanta, an ...

who died in 839, Domnall mac Caustantín may have been king from around 811 to around 835.Broun, pp.79–83. See also Bannerman, p. 85, for an alternative interpretation.

Notes

References

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

Dauvit Broun Dauvit Broun, FRSE, FBA ( en, David Brown) (born 1961) is a Scottish historian and academic. He is the professor of Scottish history at the University of Glasgow. A specialist in medieval Scottish and Celtic studies, he concentrates primarily on ...

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 currently ...

(eds.) ''Spes Scotorum: Hope of Scots. Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland.'' T & T Clark, Edinburgh, 1999. * Broun, Dauvit, "Pictish Kings 761–839: Integration with Dál Riata or Separate Development" in Sally M. Foster (ed.), ''The St Andrews Sarcophagus: A Pictish masterpiece and its international connections.'' Four Courts, Dublin, 1998.

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 ...

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Domnall Mac Caustantin Kings of Dál Riata 9th-century Irish monarchs 9th-century Scottish monarchs