FAMILY TREES

Britons, Irish, Picts, Angles and Scots

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THE IRISH OF ULSTER Descendents of Forgg, Coelbad and Neill The families of Northern Ireland were collectively known as the Ulaid, and there were three provinces: Dál Fiatach (ethnically related to the southern Érainn); Dál Riada (with major lands in Scotland); and Dál nAraide. The last two were ethnically Cruithne, and anciently related to the Picts of Scotland. (See the next chart for the genealogy of the Dalriadan families.) Further west (modern Donegal) was ruled the Uí Neill dynasty (descendants of Neill of the Nine Hostages). By the 6th century, the Uí Neills were the overlords to the Ulaid.
THE SCOTS OF DÁL RIADA Descendents of Erc mac Eochaid The Dalriadan lords had maintained lands in both Ulster and Argyll for centuries. By about AD 500, the Scottish lands had become the centre of Dalriadan power, so Erc mac Eochaid transferred his capital from Dun Severick to Dunadd in Kintyre. There were three main clans in Argyll, but the descendants of Fergus became the high kings of Dál Riada. Within a few generations, the Scots had married into the royal families of Strathclyde, Manau and the Picts.
THE PICTS OF ALBA Descendents of Erp and Aniel By the 6th century, the various tribes in Pictland had coalesced into two distinct dynasties: the Caledonii of the north, and the Miathi of the south. The northern Picts were the dominant group, while the often rebellious Miathi were more fragmented because many clans were heterogeneously mixed with Britons from Gododdin and Strathclyde. Unlike the Britons and Gaels, Pictish royal ascension was decided through a form of tanistry that favoured the mother’s lineage. There are no known instances in Pictish history where a son followed his father to the throne.
THE BRITONS OF ALBA Descendents of Ceretic Gwledig Strathclyde and Gododdin Strathclyde, with its capital at Alt Clud, remained independent during the Roman occupation and for centuries after. It dominated most of southern Scotland and included the provinces of Galloway, Ynys Manann (Isle of Man) and, later, Salway. By the middle of the 5th century, Greater Strathclyde was ruled by Ceretic Gwledig. Gododdin was the northern province of the Votadini tribes who ruled the east coast from the Firth of Forth to the River Tweed. By the middle of the 6th century, Gododdin had become suzerain to Strathclyde.
THE BRITONS OF THE “OLD NORTH” Descendents of Coel Hen Rheged, Bryneich, Eborac, Pennines, The Peak, and Elmet The lands between the rivers Trent and Tweed formed Rome’s Britannia Secunda, and when the Romans left in 410, Coel Hen ruled as king. Thereafter, generation by generation, his province was split into several smaller kingdoms, eventually becoming so diminished that they were inevitably annexed by the Angles of Northumbria. Gwynedd & Rhos Northwest Wales came under the control of Cunedda of Manau in the late 4th century. He founded the kingdom of Gwynedd which soon broke into two warring houses: Gwynedd proper and Rhos.
THE ANGLES OF NORTHUMBRIA Descendents of Eoppa and Yffi Bernicia and Deira Germanic mercenaries were encouraged to settle in Bryneich and Deifr during the 5th century. These had been hired to replace the Roman legions who defended the Britons from the Picts and Scots. In 547, however, they had grown so powerful that they overran the local Britons and formed the kingdoms of Bernicia and, in 560, Deira. Eventually, the Bernicians absorbed Deira, and the new powerhouse of Northumbria soon overran most of the British kingdoms.