King Bridei III (or Bridei map Beli; O.Ir.: Bruide mac Bili) (616?-693) was king of Fortriu and overking of the Picts between 671 and his death in 693. Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language which can be, more or less, fully reconstructed from extant sources. ... Events The Persians capture Alexandria. ... Events Births Deaths Categories: 693 ... Fortriu or the the Kingdom of Fortriu is the name given by historians for an ancient Pictish kingdom, and often used synonymously with Pictland in general. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Events Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I-Ching visited the capital of the partly-Buddhist kingdom of Srivijaya, Palembang, Indonesia. ... Events Births Deaths Categories: 693 ...

Bridei may have been born as early as 616, but no later than the year 628. He was the son of Beli, King of Al Clut. His claim to the Fortrean Kingship came through his paternal grandfather, King Nechtan of the Picts. Nennius' Historia Brittonum tells us that Bridei and King Ecgfrith were fratules, i.e. first cousins. Bridei's mother was probably a daughter of King Eadwine, King of Northumbria. Events Khusro II of Persia overthrown Pippin of Landen becomes Mayor of the Palace Brahmagupta writes the Brahmasphutasiddhanta Births Deaths Empress Suiko of Japan Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards Categories: 628 ... The list of the Kings of Strathclyde concerns the kings of Strathclyde, a Brythonic Celt region in southern Scotland below Dál Riada and Pictavia. ... Nennius, or Nemnivus, is the name of two shadowy personages traditionally associated with the history of Wales. ... The Historia Britonum, or The History of the Britons, is a historical work that was first written sometime shortly after AD 820, and exists in several recensions of varying difference. ... Ecgfrith (645–May 20, 685) was the King of Northumbria from 670 until his death. ... Saint Edwin (alternately Eadwine or Æduini) ( 584–October 12, 632/633) was the King of Northumbria from about 616 until his death. ... Northumbria, an kingdom of Angles in northern England, was initially divided into two kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira. ...

Bridei was one of the more expansionary and active of Fortrean monarchs. He attacked Dunnottar in 680/681, and campaigned against the Orcadian sub-kingdom in 682, a campaign so violent that the Annals of Ulster said that the Orkneys were "deleted" by Bridei ("deletae sunt a Bruide"). It is also recorded that, in the following year, Bridei attacked Dundurn in Strathearn. It is clear that, from his base in Fortriu (or Moray), Bridei was establishing his overlordship of the lands to the north, and those to the south, perhaps putting himself in a position to attack the Anglian possessions (or overlordship) which existed in the far south. Dunnottar Castle is a castle on the east coast of Scotland, near the town of Stonehaven. ... Events October 10 - Battle of Kerbela November 12 - The Sixth Ecumenical Council opens in Constantinople The Bulgars subjugate the country of current-day Bulgaria Pippin of Herstal becomes Mayor of the Palace Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I succeeded by Yazid I ibn Muawiyah Erwig deposes Wamba to become king of the... // Events August 9 - The Bulgars win the war with the Byzantine Empire; the latter signs a peace treaty, which is considered as the birth-date of Bulgaria Wilfrid of York is expelled from Northumbria by Ecgfrith and retires into Sussex Births Deaths January 10 - Pope Agatho Ebroin, Mayor of the... The Orkney Islands form one of 32 unitary council regions in Scotland, and are a Lieutenancy Area. ... // Events Leo II elected pope. ... The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. ... Strathearn or Strath Earn, (Scottish Gaelic, Srath Èireann) is the valley of the River Earn. ... Moray (Moireibh in Gaelic), one of the 32 unitary council regions (or areas) of Scotland, lies in the north-east of the country and borders on the regions of Aberdeenshire and Highland. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ...

It is very possible then that Bridei was regarded by Ecgfrith as his sub-king. The traditional interpretation is that Bridei severed this relationship, causing the invervention of Ecgfrith. This led to the famous Battle of Dunnichen in 685, in which the Anglo-Saxon army of Ecgfrith was annihilated. One Irish source reports that Bridei was "fighting for his grandfather's inheritance",^[1] suggesting that either Ecgfrith was challenging Bridei's kingship, or more likely given Bridei's earlier campaigns, that Bridei was seeking to recover the territories ruled by his grandfather, but since taken by the English. The consequences of this battle were the expulsion of Northumbrians from southern Pictland (established through, for instance, the Anglian "Bishopric of the Picts" at Abercorn) and permanent Fortrean domination of the southern Pictish zone. Combatants Picts Northumbrians Commanders Bridei III Ecgfrith Strength Casualties {{{notes}}} The Battle of Dunnichen (known to the English as Nechtansmere, and to the Welsh Linn garan) was fought between the Picts and Northumbrians on May 20, 685, near Forfar, Angus. ... Events Umayyad caliph Marwan I (684-685) succeeded by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685-705) Justinian II succeeds Constantine IV as emperor of the Byzantine Empire Sussex attacks Kent, supporting Eadrics claim to the throne held by Hlothhere Pope Benedict II succeeded by Pope John V Cuthbert consecrated... Abercorn is a village and parish in Linlithgowshire, Scotland. ...

Bridei's death is recorded by both the Annals of Ulster and the Annals of Tigernach under the year 693. The Annals of Ulster are a chronicle of medieval Ireland. ... Events Births Deaths Categories: 693 ...

References

1. ^ , M.O. Anderson, Kings and Kingship, p. 171, n 194

Bibliography

• Anderson, Marjorie O., Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1973)
• Fraser, James E., The Battle of Dunnichen: 685 (Charleston, 2002)
• Woolf, Alex, "Dun Nechtain, Fortriu and the Geography of the Picts", (forthcoming)

External links

• Annals of Tigernach
• Annals of Ulster