List of kings of the Picts facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

The Picts were an ancient people who lived in what is now Scotland a long, long time ago. They were known for their unique art, symbols, and for being fierce warriors. This page tells you about the kings who ruled the Picts.

The information about these kings comes from old records like the Pictish Chronicle. These records don't always agree on everything, like the exact names of kings or how long they ruled. But they help us understand who was in charge of the Pictish kingdom.

This old writing says Rex Pictorum, which means King of the Picts.

Who Were the Pictish Kings?
Understanding the Names
Kings of the Picts List
See also

Who Were the Pictish Kings?

The Pictish kings ruled in the northern and eastern parts of Scotland. Around the year 843, the Pictish kingdom slowly changed into a new kingdom called Kingdom of Alba. This new kingdom eventually became what we know as Scotland. Even after 843, some old Irish writings still talked about the "Picts" for a while.

Historians believe that the lists of Pictish kings were put together in the early 700s. Some kings were called "king of Fortriu" or "king of Alba" in old Irish records. The kings listed here were likely the main rulers, or "overkings," of the Picts. There were also many smaller, local kings, but we don't know much about them.

Some very early Pictish kings are mentioned in old stories, like the Lebor Bretnach. These stories say the Picts came from a person named Cruithne. The old lists sometimes include:

A list of Cruithne's sons.
A list of early kings with just their names and dates.
Another list of early kings who all had two names starting with "Brude." Some people think "Brude" might have been a title for "king" instead of a name.
A list of later kings. The first king from this list who is also mentioned in other historical records is Galam Cennalath.

The dates you see here come from these old writings. It's sometimes hard to be sure about how these kings were related to each other, but historians do their best to figure it out.

Understanding the Names

The names of Pictish kings can look a bit tricky because they were written down a long time ago in different ways. For example, "Cinioch," "Ciniod," and "Cináed" are all old versions of the modern name Kenneth. Also, the Pictish "uu" sound is like the Gaelic "f" sound. So, Uuredach is like Feredach, and Uurguist is like Fergus.

Kings of the Picts List

The colors in the tables below help show which kings might have been related to each other.

Early Kings of the Picts

These are some of the earliest kings mentioned in the Pictish lists.

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
311-341	Vipoig			Ruled for 30 years.
341–345	Canutulachama			Ruled for 4 years.
345–347	Uradech			Ruled for 2 years.
347–387	Gartnait II			Ruled for 40 years.
387–412	Talorc mac Achiuir			Ruled for 25 years.
412–452	Drest I	Drest son of Erp		The first king in the lists whose time is linked to another event: Saint Patrick coming to Ireland.
452–456	Talorc I	Talorc son of Aniel		Ruled for 2 or 4 years.
456–480	Nechtan I	Nechtan son of Uuirp, Nechtan the Great	Possibly a brother of Drest son of Erp	Some stories say he founded a monastery at Abernethy, but this is probably not true.
480–510	Drest II	Drest Gurthinmoch		Ruled for 30 years.
510–522	Galan	Galan Erilich
522–530	Drest III	Drest son of Uudrost
522–531	Drest IV	Drest son of Girom
531–537	Gartnait I	Garthnac son of Girom
537–538	Cailtram	Cailtram son of Girom	Brother of Gartnait
538–549	Talorc II	Talorc son of Murtolic
549–550	Drest V	Drest son of Manath

Early Historical Kings

These kings are considered more "historical" because their deaths are often mentioned in other old Irish records.

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
550–555	Galam	Galam Cennalath		His death is recorded. He might have ruled at the same time as Bridei son of Maelchon.
554–584	Bridei I	Bridei son of Maelchon		His life and death are recorded. He is mentioned in a book about Columba, a famous saint. He is the first Pictish king we know more about than just his name.
584–595	Gartnait II	Gartnait son of Domelch
595–616	Nechtan II	Nechtan grandson of Uerb		He ruled during the time of Pope Boniface IV.
616–631	Cinioch	Cinioch son of Lutrin
631–635	Gartnait III	Gartnait son of Uuid	Possibly sons of Gwid son of Peithan
635–641	Bridei II	Bridei son of Uuid
641–653	Talorc III	Talorc son of Uuid
653–657	Talorgan I	Talorgan son of Eanfrith	Son of Eanfrith of Bernicia
657–663	Gartnait IV	Gartnait son of Donnel
663–672	Drest VI	Gartnait son of Donnel

Later Historical Kings

These kings ruled closer to the time when the Pictish kingdom changed into Alba.

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
672–693	Bridei III	Bridei son of Bili	Son of Beli I of Alt Clut	Fought against the Scots in 683. He famously defeated Ecgfrith of Northumbria at the Battle of Dun Nechtain in 685.
693–697	Taran	Taran son of Ainftech	Possibly a half-brother of Bridei and Nechtan mac Der-Ilei
697–706	Bridei IV	Bridei son of Der-Ilei	Brother of Nechtan	His mother was a Pictish princess, and his father was from a group called the Cenél Comgaill.
706–724	Nechtan III	Nechtan son of Der-Ilei	Brother of Bridei	He changed the way Easter was dated around 712 to match the Roman way. He also helped found many churches and monasteries.
724–726	Drest VII	Drust		He took over from Nechtan and even put him in prison in 726.
726–728	Alpín I	Alpin mac Echach		He might have ruled at the same time as Drest. He was also a king of Dál Riata.
728–729	Nechtan III restored	Nechtan son of Der-Ilei, second reign		He returned to power.
729–761	Óengus I	Onuist son of Vurguist
736–750	Talorcan II	Talorcan son of Fergus	Brother of Óengus	He was killed in a battle against the Britons from Alt Clut.
761–763	Bridei V	Bridei son of Fergus	Brother of Onuist	King of Fortriu.
763–775	Ciniod I	Ciniod son of Uuredach		He gave safety to the king of Northumbria, Alhred of Northumbria, who had lost his throne.
775–778	Alpín II	Alpin son of Uuroid
778–782	Talorc II	Talorc son of Drest		His death is mentioned in the Ulster Annals.
782–783	Drest VIII	Drest son of Talorgan	Son of the previous Talorgan or of Talorgan, brother of Óengus
783–785	Talorc III	Talorgan son of Onuist	Son of Óengus
785–789	Conall	Conall son of Tarla		He might have been a king in Dál Riata instead.
789–820	Caustantín	Caustantín son of Fergus		His son Domnall might have been a king of Dál Riata.
820–834	Óengus II	Óengus son of Fergus	Brother of Caustantín
834–837	Drest IX	Drest son of Caustantín	Son of Caustantín
834–837	Talorc IV	Talorcan son of Wthoil
837–839	Eógan	Eógan son of Óengus	Son of Óengus	He was killed in 839 along with his brother Bran in a battle against the Vikings. This battle led to many years of fighting for the Pictish throne.

Kings of the Picts (839–848)

After Eógan and Bran died, many people tried to become king of Pictland.

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
839–842	Uurad	Uurad son of Bargoit	Unknown	Said to have ruled for three years. His name might be on the Drosten Stone.
842–843	Bridei VI	Bridei son of Uurad	Possibly the son of the previous king	Said to have ruled for one year.
843	Ciniod II	Kenneth son of Ferath	Possibly the brother of the previous king	Said to have ruled for one year in some lists.
843–845	Bridei VII	Brudei son of Uuthoi	Unknown	Said to have ruled for two years in some lists.
845–848	Drest X	Drest son of Uurad	Related to previous sons of Uurad	Said to have ruled for three years in some lists.
848– 13 February 858	Cináed	Cináed mac Ailpín, Kenneth MacAlpin

Kings of the Picts (Later Called Kings of Scots)

Cináed mac Ailpín (also known as Kenneth MacAlpin) defeated other kings and became the main ruler around 845–848. He is often called the first "King of Scots." However, many modern historians say he was actually "King of the Picts." The titles "King of Alba" and "King of Scots" were used much later by his family.

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
Died 13 February 858	Cináed	Cináed mac Ailpín, Kenneth MacAlpin
Died 862	Domnall	Domnall mac Ailpín, Donald I	Brother of Cináed
Died 877	Causantín	Causantín mac Cináeda, Constantine I	Son of Cináed
Died 878	Áed	Áed mac Cináeda	Son of Cináed
Deposed 889 ?	Eochaid		Son of Rhun ap Arthgal, and grandson of Cináed	He might have ruled with Giric, or as King of Strathclyde.
Deposed 889 ?	Giric	Giric mac Dúngail	Possibly Cináed's daughter's son	He might have ruled with Eochaid.
Died 900	Domnall	Domnall mac Causantín, Donald II	Son of Causantín mac Cináeda	He was the last king to be called "king of the Picts."

King of Alba

After Donald II, the rulers were called "Kings of Alba," which later became "Kings of Scotland."

Reign	Ruler	Other names	Family	Remarks
Abdicated 943, died 952	Causantín	Causantín mac Áeda, Constantine II	Son of Áed mac Cináeda	He was the first king of Alba, the kingdom that eventually became known as "Scotland."