580 



SCOTLAND. 



History. Picts under one government, became formidable to the 



s -y' Saxons of Lothian, whose territories he frequently in- 



Kenneth vaded. His dominions were assailed on the west by 



Macaipinc. the Britons of Strathclyde, who burned Dunblane. 



The Danish pirates, under Regner Lodbrog, made a 



descent upon the eastern coast, penetrated to Dunkeld, 



and plundered the country. 



A. D. 850. Kenneth is said to have removed the relics of St. Co- 

 lumba from lona to Dunkeld ; and he transported the 

 " fatal stone," the palladium of Scottish independence, 

 from Argyllshire to Scone. He died at Forteviot, the 

 Pictish capital, and left a son and a daughter. 

 A. D. 859. Donald the Third. This prince succeeded his bro- 

 ther ; and the Picts, to regain their independence, 

 formed an alliance with the Northumbrian Saxons. 

 In the first engagement the Saxons were defeated ; in 

 the second, the Scottish king was taken prisoner ; but 

 the former, attempting to cross the Firth of Forth, lost 

 the half of their boats in a storm. A treaty of peace 

 was then concluded, from which the Picts were shut 

 out. Donald reigned only four years. He was suc- 

 A. D. 863. ceeded by his nephew, Constantine the Second. At 

 the period of Constantine's accession, his country was 

 exposed to the piratical Danes, who infested England, 

 France, and Ireland. 



Half a century had elapsed since Ireland had become 

 the scene of conflicts with the Danes, who established 

 themselves on its eastern shores. They invaded and 

 .pillaged the opposite coast of Scotland during the third 

 and seventh years of Constantine's reign, and he fell in 

 battle on the shores of the Forth. 



A. D. 881. Eth, or Hugh. The reign of this prince was short 

 and turbulent. A faction, headed by Grig, rendered 

 an appeal to the sword indispensable. Eth was wound- 

 ed in battle, and died in two months after. 



Grig, or Gregory, the leader of the rebellion, seized 

 the sceptre, and chose for his colleague Eocha, king of 

 Strathclyde, the grandson of Kenneth. But at the end 

 of three years he and his colleague were driven from 

 the throne. He died at his castle in Aberdeenshire, 

 four years after his abdication. 



A- D. 893. Donald the Fourth Upon the deposition of Grig, 

 Donald ascended the throne. The Danes arrived in 

 the Tay, and marched to the vicinity of Scone, where 

 they were met by the Scots and defeated. Nine years 

 after, another army of Dan& from Ireland invaded 

 Scotland upon the western coast. The Scots were not 

 long in attacking them. The Danes lost their leader, 

 and the Scots their king, who had defended the li- 

 berties of his people during a reign of eleven years. 



Constanline the Third. Constantine, the son of Eth, 

 assumed the government, and, having vanquished the 

 Danes in Strathern, procured a respite from invasion 

 for fourteen years. 



At the end of that period Reginald, a Danish chief, 

 appeared in -the Clyde with an armament, and plun- 

 dered the country while the Scots were mustering their 

 armies. On this occasion the latter were assisted by 

 the Northumbrian Saxons, who contributed to obtain 

 the victory, the fruits of which were enjoyed for many 

 years. 



Edward, king of England, having made pretensions 

 of sovereignty to the southern districts of Scotland, 

 marched with an army to the borders ; but hid death 

 A. D. 934. occasioned a suspension of hostilities. His son Ethel- 

 s-tan, in obedience to his father's commands, entered 

 Scotland, and wasted the country. The Scots retired 

 tie the mountains, to avoid an enemy which they were 

 unable to res.ist. A peace was concluded ; but it was 



A. D. 904. 



purchased by valuable presents, and the delivery of History. 

 Constantine's son as a hostage. -v * 



A general confederacy of Danish and Northumbrian 

 freebooters united with the Scots to attack the Eng- 

 lish. A numerous fleet sailed from the Tay and the 

 Forth, when a sanguinary engagement ensued disad- 

 vantageous to the Scots and their allies. 



In the sixth year of his reign, Constantine entered 

 into a solemn engagement with the nobles and clergy, 

 to maintain the faith, the laws, and the discipline of 

 the church. After a reign of forty years, he resigned 

 his crown, and retired among the Culdees of St. An- 

 drews, where he lived several years in religious soli- 

 tude, and, on account of his piety, was promoted to 

 the dignity of abbot of that order. 



Malcolm the First. Malcolm, the son of Donald the A. D. 941. 

 Fourth, ascended the abdicated throne. The most re- 

 markable event of his reign, was the obtaining of Cum- 

 berland from the English, on condition of maintaining 

 the peace of the northern counties, and becoming the 

 ally of Edmund. But Edmund was assassinated. His 

 brother Edred, who succeeded him, required Malcolm 

 to fulfil the conditions of the treaty, and the Scots in 

 consequence overran the disturbed counties, and were 

 rewarded with their plunder. Malcolm was less for- 

 tunate in settling his own kingdom. An insurrection 

 in Murrayshire required his presence to suppress it. 

 The chief of the insurgents was punished with death ; 

 but his sept pursued the king, who encountered them 

 in the Mearns, and was slain in battle. 



Indulf. Upon the demise of Malcolm, Indulf, the A. D. 953. 

 son of Constantine the Third, assumed the govern- 

 ment. It was during this reign that Edinburgh was 

 ceded by Edwy to the Scots, which, at a subsequent 

 period, led to the cession of Lothian. 



The Danes infested the shores of Buchan. They 

 were repulsed in the first attack ; but landing afterwards 

 in Banffshire, Indulf hastened to expel them, and was 

 slain in the pursuit of the intruders. 



Duf. This prince had the misfortune to be opposed A. D. 961. 

 by his brother Culen, who was instigated by the abbot 

 of Dunkeld. The rival prince appealed to the sword. 

 Duf was at first successful ; but being compelled to re- 

 tire to the north, was assassinated at Forres. 



Culen enjoyed but a short period the sovereignty of A. D. 965. 

 the kingdom, as a war with the kingdom of Strath- 

 clyde terminated in his defeat and death. 



Kenneth the Third. The national independence of A. D. 970. 

 the Britons of Strathclyde was about to expire ; and 

 they were subdued by Kenneth, who added their ter- 

 ritory to the Scottish monarchy. 



Edgar, king of England, being harassed by the 

 Danes, required Kenneth, agreeably to the treaty, to 

 restore tranquillity. The Scots appeared; and carried 

 off the son of the Northumbrian chief. Scarcely had 

 they returned home, when the Danes appeared in the 

 Tay with a numerous fleet. Kenneth engaged the 

 enemy at Luncarty, near Perth. Having secured do- 

 mestic tranquillity, Kenneth established the succession 

 in his own family. To this may be traced the sangui- 

 nary disputes which succeeded between the families of 

 Duf and Kenneth. The king's death was effected by 

 the treachery of Finella, a lady of the Mearns ; but she 

 soon after expiated her crime with her blood. 



Conslanline the Fourth was the son of Culen. His ^ p 994, 

 right of succession being disputed by Kenneth, the son 

 of Duf, the competitors met near Perth, and Constan- 

 tine finished his short reign of one year. 



Kenneth the Fourth. Kenneth, the son of Duf, wa.8 A. D. SPA. 



