Mac
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Copyright © Celtic Studio 2005 |
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. Mac Alpin HistoryIt was the fortune of King
Alpine of Dalriada to beget the son who became
the first sovereign of the Picts and Scots and
the founder of the royal dynasty of what was to
evolve as the modern kingdom of Scotland. Kenneth
Mac Alpins achievement has remained a
matter of some surprise ever since, and the
explanations for it have been various. The
British (Welsh-speaking) kingdoms of Strathclyde,
Gododden and Rheged in southern Scotland were of
ancient and firm foundation: yet they vanished
utterly. The Picts had been considered the most
formidable military power by the Romans, and they
had repelled the Northunbrian English who
conquered the Britons. Yet it was Kenneth the
Scot who took over Pictland in 843, and not the
Picts who conquered Dalriada. By the time he died
in 858 he had established the Scottish hegemony
so effectively that the very Pictish language
soon disappeared in favour of Gaelic. |
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Background: Lightened Mac Alpin Tartan