Óengus (mac Fergusa) King of the Picts (abt. 688 - abt. 761)

Born about 0688 in The Mearns, Pictland (Scotland) [uncertain]

Descendants

Died about 0761 at about age 73 in St Andrews, Fife, Pictland (Scotland) [uncertain]

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Óengus I (mac Fergusa) King of the Picts was an inhabitant of Medieval Scotland. Join: Scotland Project Discuss: Scotland

Biography

"Aengus," "Angus," "Angus son of Fergus," "First king of Scotland," "Hungus," "King of Fortriu," "Óengus mac Fergusso," "Óengus son of Fergus," "Onuist," "Onuist map Vurguist," "Onuist son of Uurguist," "Onuist son of Wrguist," "Ungus," "Unust," "Unuist"

Birth

Óengus (Onuist) mac Fergusa was born about AD 688, the son of Fergus (Fergusa). ^[1][2][3] "Óengus thus seems to have been a native of the Mearns, possibly born into Venturian (Pictish) kindred established there after 680." ^[1]

Siblings of Óengus

• Bridei mac Fergusa Bridei V, king of the Picts (AD 761-AD 763), king of Fortriu; died AD 763 ^[1][4]
• Talorgan mac Fergusa, king of Fortriu (AD 736-AD 756); died AD 756 in battle against the Britons of Alt Clut (Mugdock) ^[1][5]

Children of Óengus and an unknown wife

• Bridei mac Óengus, died AD 736 ^[1][6]
• Talorgan mac Óengus, Talorgan II, king of the Picts, "Dub Tholargg (Black Talorcen) king of the Picts"; died AD 782, near the Mounth. ^[7]

Historical Background

During the lifetime of Óengus, there were four main political entities in north Britain seeking to survive and increase land and power. All were later absorbed into the Kingdom of Alba (AD 900-AD 1124), which became the Kingdom of Scotland (AD 843-AD 1707).

Kingdom of the Picts (AD 30-AD 900) Picts; Fortriu
Kingdom of Northumbria (AD 654-AD 954) Celtic Britons; Eadberht of Northumbria
Kingdom of Dál Riata (AD 498-AD 850) ^[8] Gaels; Dunadd, ^[8] Cenél Loairn, Cenél nGabráin
Kingdom of Strathclyde (AD 900-AD 1150) Anglo-Saxons; Alt Clut, Dumbarton Rock

Óengus I, King of the Picts

Succession. In AD 724, his predecessor, Nechtan mac Derile, King of the Picts, relinquished the kingship, perhaps unwillingly. In AD 728, after five years of conflict, two possible nephews of king Nechtan, Drust was killed and Alpin driven out. Óengus, subsequently, reigned from AD 729 as Óengus I, King of the Picts, until his death in AD 761. ^{[3][4][9][10][11]}

Subjugation of Dál Riata. In AD 731, hostilities arose with a Dál Riata, in confrontation with Talorg mac Congus. Although, supported by Dúngal mac Selbaig, the head of the Cenél Loairn family, Bridei mac Óengus easily defeated him in battle. ^[12] However, in AD 733, Bridei mac Óengus was captured and imprisoned by Dúngal mac Selbaig. Óengus I subsequently destroyed the fortress of Dúngal mac Selbaig, wounding him and causing him to flee in AD 734 to sanctuary in Ireland. ^[13][14] Talorg mac Congus, however, was less fortunate as his own brother, possibly Alpin, a king of the Dál Riata, delivered him up to Óengus I, who executed him by drowning. ^[3][15]

The year AD 736 marked a major invasion of Dál Riata by Óengus I. ^[16] The Annals of Ulster recorded, "Óengus I wasted the territories of Dál Riata and seized Dunadd..." ^[17] and captured Dúngal. In AD 739, Óengus I also captured Talorcan mac Drostan, king of Atholl, but put him to death by drowning. ^{[18][3][19][20]} Sealing the conquest, a brother of Óengus, Talorgan mac Fergusa, defeated an army led by a cousin of Dúngal mac Selbaig. "Rock-carvings at Dunadd" may memorialize this final victory of Óengus I over Dál Riata. However, the Irish Chronicles reported Óengus I as having 'smitten' Dál Riata in 741, suggesting ongoing fighting. ^{[21][22][3][23][24][6]}

Allied with Northumbria against Strathclyde. The Northumbrians had been vanquished by Nechtan mac Derile, King of the Picts in AD 685. ^[25] During the reign of Óengus, in AD 750, they supported the Picts in battle against the Britons of Strathclyde at Mugdock (near Dumbarton). in this battle, many Picts were killed, including Óengus's brother, Talorgan mac Fergusa. ^[26] However, in a second confrontation in 756, Óengus was victorious over Dumbarton in a joint raid with Eadberht, King of Northumbria. ^{[2][3][27][28][29][30]}

His Reputation Many chroniclers and modern authors praised him highly; "His...interventions among the Gaels...unprecedented and unparalleled in...Pictish history," "...first king of Picts to be commemorated in the source of the Durham "Liber Vitae," "150 years before so impressively precocious a king reigned in northern Britain." ^[22] To the other extreme, The Venerable Bede excoriated him as, "a despotic butcher who stained the beginning of his reign with criminal blood, and continued likewise right up to the end." ^[31][32]

Founding of St Andrews

Óengus I, King of the Picts or his predecessor was possibly the founder of Kinrymount (St Andrews); "...a foundation legend survive[s] for St Andrews, written down in the 12th century...that ‘King Hungus’ founded the site. Hungus is likely to have been the powerful 8th-century King Onuist son of Uurguist (reigned 732–761), since the earliest contemporary reference to St Andrews is in the Irish annals which record the death of Abbot Túathalán in AD 747 at Cinrigh Monai (Kinrymont) during Onuist’s reign. Kinrymont was the older name for St Andrews..." ^[33]

Sarcophagus of St Andrews

“Historians differ on who was likely to have been interred in the sarcophagus. Although it is generally presumed that it was commissioned by the Pictish King Óengus, or Onuist, a Christian who died in 761, whether it was actually used for his corpse, for his predecessor, Nechtan mac Der Ilei, or for a later personage is unclear.” ^[34]

Death

Óengus I died in AD 761 and was succeeded by his brother, Bridei mac Fergusa, also king of Fortriu, who reigned from AD 761 until his death in AD 763. ^{[35][4][3][36][37][38][39][31]}

Research Notes

1. Date of birth, AD 688 (728-40=688), "Having a son, Bridei, who in AD 731 was capable of leading an army, Onuist can hardly have been about 40 when he moved against Elphin." in AD 728. ^[1]
2. Another possible son is Urguist mac Óengus; source not located.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Fraser, James E., From Caledonia to Pictland; Scotland to 795, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009), 290-291.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 5.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} Anderson, Marjorie O., Oengus [Angus] mac Forgusso [Onuist son of Uurguist] (d. 761), Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, (United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2004), Oengus [Subscription]
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 28, 351.
5. ↑ Fraser, James E., From Caledonia to Pictland; Scotland to 795, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009), 313.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Annals of Tigernach. Stokes, W., ed. 2 vols., Felinfach (1993); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AT736.1.
7. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), citing, "Dub Tholargg rex Pictorum citra Monoth, & Muiredhach m. h-Uargaile equonimus Iae, & Beccan Liffechairi, & Scannal nepos Taidhgg abbas Achaid Bo in feria Comghaill dominatus .xl.iii. anno, & Banban abbas Cloento, & Aedhan abbas Roiss Commain, & Ultan equonimus Bennchair, & Ferdomnach Tomae Da Ghualann omnes perierunt. (all perished)" U782.1
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 440.
9. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AU728.4.
10. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AU729.2.
11. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AU729.3.
12. ↑ Anderson, Allan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), 228.
13. ↑ Annals of Tigernach. Stokes, W., ed. 2 vols., Felinfach (1993); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), citing, “T736.1, Aengus mac Fergus, king of the Picts, ravaged the regions of Dail Riata, and obtained Dun Ad, and burnt Creic, and bound the two sons of Selbaich in chains, i.e. Dondgal and Feradhach, and a little later Brudeus mac Aengus mac Fergus dies.” Index T736.1.
14. ↑ Anderson, Allan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), 229.
15. ↑ Yorke, Barbara, The Conversion of Britain: Religion, Politics and Society in Britain, c. 600-800, (London and New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2006), Onuist… [Subscription]
16. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 47.
17. ↑ Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 29.
18. ↑ Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 11.
19. ↑ Anderson, Allan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), 214.
20. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 50.
21. ↑ Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 9.
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1} Fraser, James E., From Caledonia to Pictland; Scotland to 795, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009), 287-288.
23. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), (2020), AU741.10.
24. ↑ Donaldson, Gordon, Scottish historical documents, (Scottish Academic Press; Edinburgh, 1970), 9.
25. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 224.
26. ↑ CELT; Corpus of Electronic Texts, Ó Corráin, Professor Donnchadh; Morgan, Dr, Hiram, (Cork, Ireland: University College, 2023), citing, “T750.4 Cath eter Pictones et Britones, i testa Tolargan mac Fergusa & a brathair, & ár Picardach imaille friss.” Index T750.4.
27. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AU750.4.
28. ↑ Chalmers, George, Caledonia; ..., (Gardner, A; Paisley, 1887), p. 256, note (b)
29. ↑ Anderson, Allan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), 224, 234, 239.
30. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 60.
31. ↑ ^{31.0 31.1} Anderson, Alan Orr, Scottish Annals from English Chroniclers A.D. 500 to 1286, (London: Nutt, 1908), 222
32. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), p. 50, citing, "...Pictish leaders are recorded drowning their enemies..."
33. ↑ Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas, PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North, Kindle edition, (Edinburgh: Berlinn, 2022), 284.
34. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, St Andrews Sarcophagus, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2023) St Andrews Sarcophagus [MacLean, Douglas. "The Northumbrian Perspective" in Simon Taylor (ed.), Kings, clerics and chronicles in Scotland, 500–1297: essays in honour of Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson on the occasion of her ninetieth birthday. (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2000), 200–201; Henderson, George & Isabel Henderson, The Art of the Picts, (London: Thames and Hudson), 155–156; Clancy, Thomas Owen. Caustantín son of Fergus (Uurgust) in The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, (Oxford & New York: Oxford UP, 2002).]
35. ↑ Woolf, Alex, From Pictland to Alba, AD789-AD1070, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2008), 41.
36. ↑ Annals of Ulster. mac Airt, S. and mac Niocaill, eds. & tr.,vol. I (to AD 1131) Dublin (1983); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AU761.4.
37. ↑ Annals of Tigernach. Stokes, W., ed. 2 vols., Felinfach (1993); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AT759.7.
38. ↑ Annals of Tigernach. Stokes, W., ed. 2 vols., Felinfach (1993); CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College Cork College Road, Cork, Ireland (2000) (2020), AT761.4.
39. ↑ Anderson, Allan Orr, Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922), mode/1up?q=Angus 244.

See also:

• Anderson, Allan Orr. Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1922). Volume 1.
• Fraser, James E. From Caledonia to Pictland; Scotland to 795. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2009). chap. 11, ‘When Óengus took Alba’: Despot, Butcher and King (728-61), 287-319.
• Nobel, Gordon; Evans, Nicholas. PICTs, Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North. Kindle edition. Edinburgh: Berlinn, Ltd. (2022). [Kindle]
• Ó Corráin, Professor Donnchadh; Morgan, Dr Hiram, CELT; Corpus of Electronic Texts, (Cork, Ireland: University College, 2023), Index.
• Wikipedia contributors. House of Óengus. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, House of Óengus.
• Wikipedia contributors. List of kings of the Picts. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, List of kings of the Picts.
• Wikipedia contributors. Óengus I. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Óengus I.
• Woolf, Alex. From Pictland to Alba, 789-1070. The New Edinburgh History of Scotland. Mason, Roger, gen. ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2008). [Kindle]