ARTHGAL ap DYFNWAL ap RHYDDERCH:

             Perhaps the first event we could reasonably attribute to Arthgal ap Dyfnwal is the record of an event during the reign of Cinaid (Kenneth) Mac Alpin in which “the Britons burned Dunblane”, dated between 850 and 858. [2] This event was likely orchestrated by Arthgal (b ca 810), but would almost certainly occur at a date too late for his father, Dyfnwal ap Rhydderch. We would date this Dyfnwal to ca 780, and provide him with an estimated obit of 840/5, certainly prior to the burning of Dunblane. We suggest that this foray into Pictish territory may have been a military display relatively early in the reign of Arthgal ap Dyfnwal, and further, that Arthgal may have agreed to wed his son Rhun to a daughter of Cinaed as part of a “peace treaty” or other alliance agreements resulting from this event. We date the birth of Rhun ap Arthgal to c. 838 using the marriage to this daughter of Cinaed, which likely occurred in 860/2, at the time of his son Constantine's accession to the kingship.

           The next attested event in Strathclyde is the four month long Viking siege of the fortress at Alt Clud which occurred in 870/1 and appears in the Annals of Ulster, Chronicon Scotorum, and the Fragmentary Annals of Ireland. A large number of prisoners including “Angles, Britons and Picts” were transported to Ireland, [3] likely to ransom the elites and sell the rest on the slave market. It is likely that these prisoners included King Arthgal, as well as many of those who lived at Alt Clud.

          The next entry for Arthgal is his 872 obit, in which he is reported killed "at the behest of Constantine". [4] One doubts Arthgal's captors were intent on providing any favors for Constantine; this entry could simply be “eliminating a hostage with no ransom value”. The “Behest” of Constantine could be interpreted as his refusal to pay any ransom to ensure the safe return of Arthgal. This refusal would equate to tacit approval "it's okay with me if you kill this hostage", but does not necessarily indicate a “request” made by Constantine “Please kill Arthgal for me”. One notes that the “hostages taken” do not appear to include Constantine's brother-in-law, Rhun ap Arthgal, who would have been about 30 years of age, and may not have resided at Alt Clud. It certainly suited Constantine for his political ally Rhun to become the new king of Strathclyde.

EOCHAID ap RHUN ap ARTHGAL:

            Additional sources [5, 6, 7] state that Rhun had a son named Eochaid who was living c. 878-889 and seems to be the lynch pin in an Alban coup that occurred in 878, after which, Eochaid is reported to be the new king in Alba. No sources mention Eochaid's “contemporary” in Strathclyde during this time, and it may be that Eochaid held both the kingdoms of Alba and Strathclyde while still a youth.

           The reports [5-7] state that a "Giric" or “Ciric” (also called Greg) installed himself and Eochaid ap Rhun as “joint” kings, which supports the suggestion of an 877 or 878 obit for Rhun. We date the marriage of Rhun and the daughter of Cinaed Mac Alpin to ca 862, and an estimated birth for Eochaid ap Rhun can occur no earlier than 863. Thus in 878, Eochaid would have been a scant 15 years old. This Giric/Greg is described as some type of "guardian" for the boy, which supports the suggested minority of Eochaid at the time of the coup.

           Furthermore, both men are cited together in chronicles describing their reign, wherein Giric's ward, Eochaid, is clearly named as son of the late king of Strathclyde (filiis Run regis brittanorum), and as a maternal grandson of Kenneth mac Alpin (nepos Cinadei ex filia). [Chronicles of the Picts] If there were no males in the next generation of the extended Alpinid family who were yet teens after the death of Aed, then Eochaid had the “best” claim to the Alban throne. Interestingly, Eochaid ap Rhun is never cited as a sole king of Alba, which distinction is reserved for Giric. [8]

            This same passage in the Pictish Chronicles [5] informs us that Eochaid and Greg were "driven from the kingship" (expulsus) in 889 after a reign of 11 years, while Fordun provides a reign of 18 years ending in 892. The next citations in both the Chronicles of Alba and the Pictish Chronicles state that Domnall (Dyfnwal or Donald), son of Constantine I, assumed the kingship in Alba, corroborated by obits in the Annals of Ulster. [5-9] It may be that this Donald, born perhaps a few years after Eochaid, attained his majority and having a stronger claim to the kingship, was able to gain enough support to force his cousin out of Alba. Eochaid's obit is unknown, and it may be that he continued to rule in Strathclyde for some time even after he lost the throne of Alba to his cousin Donald I (Mac Constantine).