Constantine I mac Cináeda King of Scots ¹⁶⁸⁷

   Cause of his death was Killed in battle.¹⁶⁸⁷

  General Notes:

King of Scotland or Alba, the united kingdom of the Picts and Scots, who succeeded his uncle Donald I. Constantine's reign was occupied with conflicts with the Norsemen. Olaf the White, the Danish king of Dublin, laid waste the country of the Picts and Britons year after year; in the south the Danish leader Halfdan devastated Northumberland and Galloway. Constantine was slain at a battle at Inverdovat in Fife, at the hands of another band of northern marauders. His heir was his brother Aed, who was killed by the Scots after a year and was succeeded by a nephew, Eochaid.
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Constantine I ( Scottish Gaelic: Causantín mac Cináeda) ( 836 - 877), son of King Kenneth I of Scotland, became King of Scots and King of the Picts in 862 when he succeeded his uncle Donald I of Scotland.

Constantine I was a warrior King. During his reign he spent most of his days fighting off the vikings or trying to expand the Kingdom of Scotland into the south. In 872 his assassination of 'Rhun' (Arthgal), King of Strathclyde, and his brother-in-law, meant that the southern regions of what is now Scotland, became a part of his own Alba.

The year 864 saw the rampage of the Norsemen led by Olaf the White from Dublin. Swiftly defeated by Constantine I, the Norsemen relaxed their threats on him until Thorsten the Red led them, but he too was defeated successfully by King Constantine I.

Although usually confident in battle, Constantine I often resorted to tactics of bribery and payoffs to his rivals in order to keep the peace. This form of peace-keeping was later employed by the English Royals, namely King Ethelred II of England in the year 1000. In the end though, Constantine I was finally defeated by the Norsemen, when a raiding party known as the 'Black Strangers' from Dublin made a base for themselves in Fife from which they launched their attacks. It was during one of these attacks that Constantine I met his match.

He was killed in battle against the Vikings in 877 at the "Black Cave" (Inverdovat) in Forgan, Fife. His successor was his brother Aedh of Scotland. He had a son, Donald, who became King Donald II of Scotland following the joint reign of Kings Eochaid of Scotland and Giric of Scotland. ^1678,1687

  Life Events:

1. Acceded: King of Scots, 862-877. ¹⁶⁸⁷

Constantine married.