Drest (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: ''Drust'';

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

: ''Durst'') 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 ...

from 845 to 848, a rival of

Kenneth MacAlpin Kenneth MacAlpin (; ; 810 – 13 February 858) or Kenneth I was King of Dál Riada (841–850), and King of the Picts (848–858), of likely Gaelic origin. According to the traditional account, he inherited the throne of Dál Riada from his fa ...

(Cináed mac Ailpín). According to 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 The ...

, he was the son of

Uurad Uurad or Ferat son of Bargoit (died 842) was king of the Picts, from 839 to 842. No two versions of the king lists, known as the Pictish Chronicle, give exactly the same version of his name. Ferat, or Uurad in Pictish language, Pictish, is the ...

(also spelled Vurad, Ferant, Ferat). Drest X was killed at

Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

in the event known in history as MacAlpin's Treason. He was the last king of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

. With such scant information about Drest, this detail is enticing:

In the ancient graveyard of
St Vigeans St Vigeans is a small village and parish in Angus, Scotland, immediately to the north of Arbroath. Originally rural, it is now more or less a suburb of the town of Arbroath. History St Vigeans is derived from ''Vigeanus'', a Latinised form of ...
in
Forfarshire Angus (; ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agriculture and fishing. Global pharmaceuticals ...
, within which there exist many most interesting early
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
monuments, there is to be found one old stone which is possessed of this singularity: that on it there is engraved the only inscription in the ordinary character of the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...
manuscript which is to be found in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
outside the bounds of
Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...
. That inscription has been thus read by the late Sir James Simpson: "The stone of Drost, son of Voret, of the race of Fergus". There is considerable probability that the Drost here commemorated is the Drost son of Ferat and king of the Picts referred to above .e., Drest son of Uurad

References

848 deaths Pictish monarchs 9th-century Scottish monarchs Year of birth unknown {{Scotland-royal-stub