On February 13th 858 Kenneth MacAlpin who united the Picts and Scots in one kingdom, died at Forteviot.
Kenneth, son of Alpin, Cináed mac Ailpin, King of Scotia succeeded his father in 843. He defeated the Picts about 843, uniting them with the Scots in the new kingdom of Alba, which comprised a large part of present day Scotland.
When the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba was compiled, probably in the 11th century the annalist wrote:
"So Kinadius son of Alpinus, first of the Scots, ruled this Pictland prosperously for 16 years. Pictland was named after the Picts, whom, as we have said, Kinadius destroyed. ... Two years before he came to Pictland, he had received the kingdom of Dál Riata"
Sources for the period disagree about the exact date of his victory, but Kenneth features as a notable warrior who reputedly invaded Northumbria six times and fought off attacks by the Britons of Strathclyde as well as by the Norsemen.
Using dynastic marriage to solve the problem, Kenneth married his daughter to Rhun, the Strathclyde king.
Because of the Norse threat to Iona, the burial place of St Columba, he removed the saint's relics to a new church which he founded in Pictland at Dunkeld, Perthshire. However, Iona continued to be the burial place of Scottish kings even after St Columba's relics were moved, until the eleventh century.
Kenneth died in 858 at Forteviot, near Perth, probably of a tumour.
The pic is part of the magnificent frieze by William Hole at The National Portrait Gallery.
