Taran mac Ainftech

Taran son of Ainftech was a King of the Picts from 693 until 697.^[1] according to the Pictish king-lists. His name is the same as that of the Gaulish thunder-god, Taranis.^[2]

His father is just a name, which occurs in various forms, e.g., Entifidich in the Poppleton manuscript,^[3] Enfidaig,^[4] Amfredech,^[5] Anfudeg,^[6] and as Amfodech in the French king-list embedded in the Scalacronica.^[7] The list in National Library of Scotland MS, Advocates' 34.7.3,^[8] seems to say that Taran was the brother of King Nechtan m. Der-Ilei,^[9] which could mean that Taran's mother was the Pictish princess Der-Ilei. However, the latter list is problematic and places the reign of King Bridei m. Der-Ilei, Nechtan's brother, after Nechtan; on the other hand, the list is one of those that is aware that Bridei was the son of Dargart, indicating access to material not available to some of the other lists.^[10]

Some of the king-lists say he reigned for fourteen years; however, the Poppleton and Lebor Bretnach lists,^[11] along with the Scalacronica list, give four years only,^[12] so the x may be a mistake. He was almost certainly succeeded by Bruide, the son of Dargart and Der-Ilei, although in what circumstances, it is hard to say.

Entries from the Irish annals, which Alan Orr Anderson suggested may be related to this Taran, are a report in the Annals of Ulster reporting "the killing of Ainfthech and Nia Néill and the sons of Boendo",^[13] where Ainfthech may be Taran's father,^[14] and then Taran's deposition in 696,^[15] and finally the report in the Annals of Ulster that "Tarachin went to Ireland" in 698.^[16]

Notes

^ The four-year reign and the accession in 692 are chosen by Marjorie O. Anderson, Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1973), p. 175.
^ op. cit., p. 90.
^ op. cit., p. 248.
^ op. cit., p. 263.
^ op. cit., pp. 266, 272.
^ op. cit., p. 280.
^ op. cit., p. 297.
^ M.O. Anderson, List D; Skene, no, XXIII.
^ It writes frater eius after Taran's listing; see M.O. Anderson, op. cit. p. 266.
^ see Thomas Owen Clancy, "Philosopher-King: Nechtan mac Der-Ilei", in the Scottish Historical Review, 83, 2004, pp. 125–149.
^ Marjorie Anderson believes these lists to derive from a list kept at Abernethy; she and others believe these lists, marked by "un-gaelicized" name forms, are more reliable; see M.O. Anderson, op. cit. pp. 77-102.
^ 'op. cit., pp. 248, 263, 297.
^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 693.
^ Early Sources, p. 201, note 1.
^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 697; Annals of Tigernach, s.a. 697; Early Sources, p. 202, note 7.
^ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 699; Early Sources, p. 206, note 5; the Annals of Tigernach used the Tarachin form in reporting Taran's deposition.

References

Anderson, Alan O., Early Sources of Scottish History A.D. 500 to 1286, volume 1, (Reprinted with corrections, Stamford, 1990)
Anderson, Marjorie O., Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1973)
Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Philosopher-King: Nechtan mac Der-Ilei", in the Scottish Historical Review, 83, 2004, pp. 125–149

Regnal titles
Preceded by Bridei m. Beli	King of the Picts 693-697	Succeeded by Bridei m. Der-Ilei

Pictish and Scottish monarchs

Monarchs of the Picts (traditional)	Drest I Talorc I Nechtan I Drest II Galan Erilich Drest III Drest IV Gartnait I Cailtram Talorc II Drest V Galam Cennalath Bridei I Gartnait II Nechtan II Cinioch Gartnait III Bridei II Talorc III Talorgan I Gartnait IV Drest VI Bridei III Taran Bridei IV Nechtan III Drest VII Alpín I Óengus I Bridei V Ciniod I Alpín II Talorgan II Drest VIII Conall Constantine (I) Óengus II Drest IX Uuen Uurad Bridei VI Ciniod II Bridei VII Drest X

Monarchs of the Scots (traditional)	Kenneth I MacAlpin Donald I Constantine I (II) Áed Giric Eochaid (doubtful) Donald II Constantine II (III) Malcolm I Indulf Dub Cuilén Amlaíb Kenneth II Constantine III (IV) Kenneth III Malcolm II Duncan I Macbeth Lulach Malcolm III Canmore Donald III Duncan II Donald III Edgar Alexander I David I Malcolm IV William I the Lion Alexander II Alexander III Margaret (disputed) First Interregnum John Second Interregnum Robert the Bruce (I) David II Robert II Robert III James I James II James III James IV James V Mary I James VI¹ Charles I¹ Charles II¹ James VII¹ Mary II¹ William II¹ Anne¹

¹ also monarch of England and Ireland.

Categories

This article was sourced from Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. World Heritage Encyclopedia content is assembled from numerous content providers, Open Access Publishing, and in compliance with The Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act (FASTR), Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Public Library of Science, The Encyclopedia of Life, Open Book Publishers (OBP), PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and USA.gov, which sources content from all federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial government publication portals (.gov, .mil, .edu). Funding for USA.gov and content contributors is made possible from the U.S. Congress, E-Government Act of 2002.

Crowd sourced content that is contributed to World Heritage Encyclopedia is peer reviewed and edited by our editorial staff to ensure quality scholarly research articles.

By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. World Heritage Encyclopedia™ is a registered trademark of the World Public Library Association, a non-profit organization.

Taran mac Ainftech