38) Brude son of Mailcon
A strong and powerful leader, this king, also known as Brude Mac Maelchon, was almost certainly the son of Maelgwn, the famous king of Gwynedd in North Wales. Maelgwn, whose name means the ‘white stone’, was a great patron of the arts and more can be found out about him in the writings of St. Gildas, a 6th. century monk from the west of Britain. We do not know the name of Brude’s Pictish mother.

Brude united the Northern and Southern Picts and repelled an invasion of Scots from Dalriada (Argyll) in 560 A.D.
He adopted the Christian faith and was baptised by St. Columba in 565 A.D. near Inverness. The story is fully told in “The Life of Saint Columba”, a hagiography written in the 7th century by St. Adamnan, the ninth abbot of lona. Also included are accounts of how St. Columba bested Brude’s chief druid Broichan in a contest of Christian versus pagan magic, and of how he drove off a monster that was lurking in the depths of the River Ness. Note that it was recorded as being by the River Ness that the event took place, and not Loch Ness, as is often supposed. This monster (whatever it was) wasn’t benign by any manner or means and could probably best be described as a beast with attitude. It had already killed one of the local inhabitants, “the barbarous heathens,” as Adamnan called them, by giving him a nasty bite, and was all for having a second helping of human flesh, only this time from one of Columba’s companions, when ‘the blessed man’ intervened. Part of the text, translated in 1856 by Dr. W. Reeves, Canon of Armagh, is given below.

‘But the monster, which, so far from being satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar, darted after him with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of the stream. Then the blessed man observing this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster saying, “Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed.” Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes.’
Scotland, and in particular the Highlands, is full of stories about water dwelling monsters similar to this one, which are better known as ‘Kelpies’ or Water Horses’. The Gaelic word is ‘Each Uisge’. It is more than probable that the Picts had their own tales about them and there is a good likelihood that many of the tales told in the Highlands today have sprung from indigenous Pictish folklore.

Perhaps it is worth mentioning here that a great many of the Pictish carved stones portray a strange creature which nobody has as yet been able to identify. It has been given the eponymous nick-name of The Beastie’ by enthusiasts of these carved stones, for it bears no resemblance to any known animal, either living or dead. Its head somewhat resembles a duck, and its ‘legs’ appear to be some kind of rounded fins or flippers. It has a mane and a tail, and its eyes, depending on which particular stone you are examining, vary from round to oval shaped, and can put you in mind of everything from a lizard to a porpoise. Every flowing aspect of the ‘Beastie’ gives one the impression of its being an aquatic animal.
If this monster ever existed beyond the confines of fertile imaginations and carved stones then it’s hardly surprising that the Romans didn’t linger long in the land of the Caledonians.

Adamnan, throughout his biography of St. Columba, gives us a whole lot of information similar to that contained in this story about the monster in the river Ness. He even tells us the name of the lucky man whose life was saved from the monster. It was a certain Lugne Mocumin. What a pity space couldn’t be found to tell us a little more about the Picts themselves. We should love to have known what sort of houses they lived in and the colour of the clothes they wore. What kind of folk tales did they tell one another while sitting round their cosy fireside hearths and what were their songs about? We shall never know. Even knowing the colour of Brude’s hair would be something worth having.

Brude, son of Mailcon, ruled for 30 years. He died in 584 A.D. supposedly in the battle of ‘Sreith’ (Strathmore?) in ‘Circin’ (Angus).

39) Gartnait son of Domnach
This king had it pretty tough. Throughout his reign of 11 years (some scribes say 20), he was battling constantly with Aedan Mac Gabhran, King of the Dairiadan Scots who, with his four (some say five) sons, never ceased attacking Gartnait’s kingdom. It is possible that Gartnait fell under Aedan’s sword as Aedan is reported in the 11th century document "Scelo Cano Meic Gartnain" to have killed a certain Gartnan with whom he had been at war.

The names Gartnait and Gartnan look similar enough for us to conclude that they were for one and the same person; King Gartnait, son of Domnach.

40) Nechtan, grandson or nephew of Uerb
This king is credited with establishing a church at Abernethy. It is likely that he has been confused with Nechtan Morbet son of Irb (No.26), as the king lists become very complex at this point and the various Chronicles are often at odds with one another as to who was ruling what, where and when, and for how long.

41) Cinioch son of Lutrin
Nothing is known of this king and nothing is known of his father Lutrin. Cinioch is an early form of the name Kenneth, generally held to be a Scottish name, so he may have been of Dalriadan origin.

42) — 44) Gartnait, Brude and Talorg, all Sons of Uuld
These three kings, all brothers, are also recorded in the king lists under other names. Respectively: Nechtan son of Fochle, Brude son of Fochie, and Tolarg son of Fethar.

The name Nechtan, often spelt Naiton, can be found in the second syllable of the name Gartnait. The name Uuid would probably have been pronounced ‘Fid’, (hence Fethar), and may be from the same root as Fidach, the wood dwelling son or clan of Cruithne. The Gaelic word for wood is ‘fiodh’, but it may be worth pointing out that Uuid or Fid may equally derive from the word ‘fiadh’, meaning a deer. The Picts often portrayed deer on their carved stones. This is, of course, mere speculation. We have no information on these kings.

45) Talargan son of Anfrud
Talargan came to the throne in 653 A.D. He led the Picts to victory in a battle against the Scots at Strath Ethairt the next year, and this seems to have brought about a breathing space, as there was a lasting peace and no major skirmishes between these two peoples for several decades. Talargan died in 657 A.D. No sooner had he died than the English, under their King Oswy (he was Talargan’s uncle), ‘subdued and made tributary’ most of Southern Pictland. This subjugation was to last for almost 30 years.

46) Gartnait son of Donnel
Gartnait took over kingship around 657 A.D. in the part of Pictland that was not under the control of the English King Oswy. He died in 663 A.D. His father is believed to have been Donnel Brecc (freckled Donald), the famous king of Dairiada who was killed in a battle with the Britons of Strathclyde in 642 A.D.

47) Drust son of Donnel
Drust, Gartnait’s brother, was crowned in 664 A.D. the very same year that the infamous ‘Synod of Whitby’ took place. This was the scene of the great debate about the correct dating of Easter, and the attempt (ultimately successful), by the Roman church to assert its ascendancy over the Celtic church.

It was during this acrimonious debate that Wilfred, the Roman envoy, who was obviously not a man to mince his words said;

“The only people stupid enough to be in disagreement with the whole world are those Scots and their obstinate allies the Picts and the Britons who live on two islands at the ends of the ocean.”

Oswy, the Northumbrian king, who up until then had preferred the Celtic church, came down in favour of the Roman faction, and Pictish blood began to boil. King Oswy died in 672 A.D. and was succeeded by King Ecgfrith who immediately sought to bring the Picts more directly under his control.

Drust led a rising against Ecgfrith in around 672 A.D, “determined to free themselves forever from subjection to the Saxons”,
according to Eddius Stephanus in his “Life of Wilfred”. The Picts suffered a terrible slaughter, and Eddius recorded that two rivers were so filled with Pictish dead that the English were able to cross over dry- shod to pursue the fugitives. The Picts were then, according to Eddius, “reduced to slavery and remained subject under the yoke of captivity”.

Shortly afterwards, King Drust was banished from the land of the Picts. He died around 677 A.D., probably from a broken heart. It is not recorded whether it was the English or his own people that had expelled him.