Editing Kenneth MacAlpin (section)

== Life and reign ==
=== Early years ===
Kenneth MacAlpin is believed to have been born around 810<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jonathan |last=Luxmoore |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/scottish-diocese-hopes-be-faith-refuge |title=Scottish diocese hopes to be a faith refuge |date=30 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201134634/https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/scottish-diocese-hopes-be-faith-refuge |archive-date=1 December 2016 |work=[[National Catholic Reporter]] |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/monarchs/kennethi.html |title=King Kenneth I |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213050605/https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/monarchs/kennethi.html |archive-date=13 December 2020 |work=Undiscovered Scotland |access-date=24 February 2021}}</ref> on the [[Iona|island of Iona]], which is part of modern-day [[Scotland]]. After his father's death, Kenneth succeeded him as the King of Dál Riada. His [[coronation]] took place in 840 or 841. One of the main sources on Kenneth's life is the 10th century ''[[Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]]'' which describes the reigns of Scottish kings from Kenneth I to [[Kenneth II]] ({{reign|971|995}}).{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=161–163}}{{Sfn|Woolf|2007|pp=87–93}}{{Sfn|Dumville|2018|pp=73–86}}

=== Conquest of Pictavia ===
According to the ''[[Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]]'', Kenneth came to a region that was inhabited by the [[Picts]], during the second year of his reign in Dál Riada. Having defeated the Picts, Kenneth ruled there for 16 years. According to the ''[[Annals of Ulster]]'', compiled in the 15th century, he became the King of the Picts in 842 or 843 and died in 858.{{Sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=115–121}} Although some sources state Kenneth ruled the Picts from 841 to 856, according to the ''[[Chronicle of Melrose]]'', he became king in 843, a date that is generally accepted by most modern-day historians.{{Sfn|Mackenzie|2003|p=90}}

[[File:Kenneth MacAlpin.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of Kenneth MacAlpin by [[Jacob de Wet II]], 1684–1686]]

In the first half of the 9th century, the geopolitical situation in Dál Riada deteriorated. Almost the entire territory of the kingdom was mountainous and was filled with uneasy terrain. Kenneth's realm lay between the powerful [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] in the south and the [[Druim Alban]] mountain ridge in the east. It was difficult to pass through the provinces of Dál Riada, most of the land was infertile, and the kingdom had lost its western territories in the [[Hebrides]] to the [[Vikings]], who had settled in the area and were raiding the borders of Dál Riada. These conditions may have forced Kenneth to attack the Picts.{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=115–121}}

After the death of [[Eóganan mac Óengusa]] in the [[Battle of 839]], [[Uurad]], and then [[Bridei VI]] succeeded him as the King of the Picts. According to List One,{{Efn|There are eight lists of the Pictish kings, which are based on two protographs labelled List One and List Two respectively.{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=161–163}}}} Uurad's reign lasted three years, while Bridei VI reigned for a year. According to List Two, Uurad reigned for two years, while Bridei VI's reign lasted a month. The reigns of Uurad's three sons were also present in List Two. Based on these accounts, the Pictish kingdom fell in 849 or 850. Many sources dating to the following periods state that the historical kingdom of the Picts and the Scots unified in 850. List Two states that the last Pictish King was killed in [[Forteviot]] or [[Scone, Scotland|Scone]]. This is probably a reference to [[MacAlpin's treason]], a medieval legend first recorded in the 12th century by [[Giraldus Cambrensis]]. According to the legend, a Pictish nobleman is invited by the Scots to a meeting or a feast in Scone and is treacherously killed there. At the same time, List One gives the year 843 as the date when Kenneth received the title of King of the Picts.{{Sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=115–121}}

Sources do not detail Kenneth's conquest of Pictavia.{{Efn|[[Edward J. Cowan]], based on handwritten versions of royal lists compiled in the 12th century, suggested that the description of the conquest of the Pictish kingdom existed in an earlier protograph but it was later removed from the lists.{{Sfn|Fyodorov|2017|pp=63–65}}}} No chronicle mentions either Kenneth's continuing his father's campaign against the Picts or his supposed claim to the Pictish crown. Modern-day historians suggest Kenneth was a descendant of Pictish kings through his mother or had ties with them through his wife. Kenneth's grandmother (Alpin's mother), was also said to have been a Pictish princess, the sister of Constantine I and [[Óengus II]]. It is likely the death of Eógananhe, ''Chronicle of Huntingdon'' gives the following interpretation of the events that took place after Eóganan's death:

{{Blockquote|Kynadius [Kenneth] succeeded his father Alpin in his kingdom, and that in the seventh year of his reign [the year 839], while the Danish pirates, having occupied the Pictish shores, had crushed the Picts, who were defending themselves, with a great slaughter, Kynadius, passing into their remaining territories, turned his arms against them, and having slain many, compelled them to take flight, and was the first king of the Scots who acquired the monarchy of the whole of Alban, and ruled in it over the Scots.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ferguson |first=James |date=May 1911 |title=The Pictish Race and Kingdom (continued) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/30070394 |journal=The Celtic Review |volume=7 |issue=26 |page=134 |doi=10.2307/30070394 |jstor=30070394 |access-date=27 April 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}}

It is likely Kenneth killed the Pictish leaders and destroyed their armies during his conquest of Pictavia, after which he devastated the whole country. The ''[[Annals of the Four Masters]]'' record a single battle during Kenneth's campaign, which according to Isabel Henderson, proves the Picts did not show any significant resistance to Kenneth's forces, however, more evidence will have to be presented.{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=115–121}}

=== King of Alba ===
According to historical tradition, a new kingdom was formed after Kenneth annexed the kingdom of the Picts. This kingdom's [[Scottish Gaelic|Gaelic]] name was [[Alba]], which was later replaced with [[Scotia]] and [[Scotland]]. The rulers of the kingdom initially held the title of [[King of Alba]], however in reality it wasn't until at least 42 years after Kenneth's death that the title King of Alba was ever used. Kenneth is retroactively listed in the royal lists dating to later periods as the first King of Scotland; modern historians, however, argue the final unification of the kingdom took place half a century later and that Kenneth's main political achievement should be considered the creation of a [[House of Alpin|new dynasty]]. This dynasty sought to dominate all of Scotland, under which the Scots assimilated the Picts, resulting in the quick disappearance of the Picts' language and institutions.{{Sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Mackenzie|2003|p=90}}{{Sfn|GRE|2005|p=405}}

[[File:Coronation Chair and Stone of Scone.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration of the [[Stone of Scone]] in the [[Coronation Chair]] at [[Westminster Abbey]], 1855]]

After the conquest of [[Pictavia]], the Scots from Dál Riada began to migrate ''[[Glossary of French words and expressions in English|en masse]]'' to the territories populated by the Picts. The list of Pictish kings concludes in 850 and the list of kings of Dál Riada also ends around the same time, meaning the title ceased to exist. Kenneth I and his administration moved to Pictavia; it is possible the Scots moved to the region before the war and that such settlements played a major role in the selection of [[Scone, Scotland|Scone]] as the capital of the Kingdom. Kenneth moved relics from an [[Iona Abbey|abandoned abbey]] on [[Iona]], where [[Viking raids]] made life untenable, to [[Dunkeld]], which was the centre of the [[Church of Scotland]], in 848 or 849, according to the ''[[Chronicle of the Kings of Alba]]''. The coronation stone was also moved from the island to Scone, for which it is referred to as the [[Stone of Scone]]. According to archaeological excavations, [[Forteviot]] was probably originally a royal residence but the place is not mentioned in the chronicles after the death of [[Donald I]]. The mass migration of Scots to the east most likely led to the assimilation of the Picts. Although the [[Irish annals]], which date to the late 9th century, mention the title King of the Picts, the Picts may not have remained independent. The Pictish civil system and clerical laws were completely replaced with the Scottish legal system, and it is likely similar changes occurred in other spheres of the Pictish society. The Picts did not revolt against this assimilation process.{{Sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Henderson|2004|pp=115–121}}{{Sfn|MacKay|1892|pp=437–439}}{{Sfn|Goring|2009|p=661}}

The ''Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'' describes the events that occurred during Kenneth's reign without specifying their dates. He invaded [[Lothian]] in the [[Kingdom of Northumbria]] six times, and captured the towns of [[Melrose, Scottish Borders|Melrose]] and [[Dunbar]], and razed them. The [[Celtic Britons]] from the [[Kingdom of Strathclyde]] attacked Kenneth's kingdom and burnt [[Dunblane]]. Furthermore, Viking invaders raided Pictavia, ravaging the territories "from Clunie to Dunkeld".{{Sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Mackenzie|2003|p=94}}

Kenneth strengthened his power by arranging royal marriages with neighbouring states, marrying his daughters to the kings of Strathclyde and Ireland.{{sfn|Anderson|2004b|p=1}}{{Sfn|Mackenzie|2003|p=94}} According to the ''[[Chronicle of Melrose]]'', Kenneth was one of the first Scottish lawgivers but his laws have not survived to the 21st century.{{Sfn|Fyodorov|2017|p=80}}