48) Brude son of Bile
Usually called Brude Mac Bile, this king, believed to have been the son of a king of Strathclyde, must surely rank alongside Robert the Bruce as one of Scotland’s most capable commanders and patriotic leaders. Like King Robert six centuries later, upon ascending the throne Brude immediately set out to bring his kingdom firmly under his control. His first task was to bring the troublesome sub- kings of Pictland to heel.

Advancing northwards with a force of trusted veterans he tackled one rebellious stronghold after another. In 681 A.D. he besieged and overthrew the mighty fortress of Dunottar on the eastern seaboard. By 682 A.D. he had equipped a navy of such strength that he was able to sail north and lay waste the insubordinate Orkney Isles. One year later he completed his hat-trick by attacking and subduing the Scots’ Dalriadan capital of Dunadd. Brude had, in a few masterful years, secured his northern, eastern and western boundaries. He now looked to the south. The year was 685 A.D.

The English King Ecgfrith had marched into Pictiand with a thundering army of cavalry and infantry in order to further subjugate the Picts and force the Roman church upon them as the state religion. As we have already seen, the Picts preferred the teachings and form of the Celtic church. Unluckily for Ecgfrith, King Brude Mac Bile, unlike his predecessor Drust, was a brilliant tactician. Using his knowledge of local terrain, the English were lured into a mire where their whole army, along with its king and his personal bodyguard, was routed and utterly destroyed in a furious orgy of bloody revenge and unleashed nationalist rage at Dunnichen Hill in Angus. Only a few survivors managed to struggle back to England where their dire news and story of the battle was listened to by a numbed and shocked populace.

In England, this battle became known as Nechtansmere. Among the Britons, who, in consequence of the Pictish victory were at last able to reclaim their own independence, it became known as ‘Gueith Lin. Garan’, the Battle of the Heron Pool. Among the Scots it became known as ‘Cath Duin Neachtain’, the Battle of Dun Nechtan. Nechtan’s fort, which was shamefully quarried away in the 19th century for building material, stood nearby. Regrettably, we do not know what the Picts themselves called the battle.

The clash was well documented by contemporary Irish and English scribes, and we are generously informed that the engagement took place at around 3 p.m. on Saturday 20th of May, 685 A.D. This is a date that should surely be taught to, and memorised by, every Scottish school child together with that of Bannockburn in 1314, for it is likely that without the Pictish victory at Dunnichen Hill, the Nation of Scotland would never have come about, and our world would be a very different place.

It was recorded that Ecgfrith was given a royal burial by the Picts on ‘St. Columba’s Isle,’ which was either lona, on the west coast of Scotland, a journey of several days duration, or, much more likely in the circumstances, Inchcolm in the Firth of Forth, just a day or so away from Dunnichen Hill.

No matter where King Ecgfrith was buried however, his royal inhumation shows that the Picts were obviously magnanimous in victory; a sure sign of a highly civilised people. Brude died in 693 A.D. and was buried on the sacred Isle of lona, sorely lamented by his kinsmen. St. Adamnan, Columba’s biographer, was reportedly much affected by Brude’s death and is reported, in a very ancient Irish document called the ‘Life of St. Adamnan’, to have made this short statement;

This same document tells a very unusual tale about how Adamnan attempted to bring Brude back to life, and that, just as Brude’s body began to move and his eyes began to open, ‘a certain pious man came to the door of the house and said, “If Adamnan’s object be to raise the dead, I say he should not do so, for it will be a degradation to every Cleric who shall succeed to his place, if he too cannot raise the dead.” Adamnan agreed and said, “Therefore let us give our blessing to the body and the soul of Brude.” Then Brude resigned his spirit to Heaven again, with the blessing of Adamnan and the congregation of lona.’

An Irish cleric, Riaguil of Bennchor, was in Pictiand at the time of the battle, and wrote the following lines which are preserved in the Annals of MacFirbis, the celebrated Irish 'seanachaidh,’ or ‘keeper of records.’ The Old Irish here is very difficult to translate with accuracy.

“Iniu feras Bruide cath, in forba a senathar,
Manad algas la mac De, conide ad genathar
Iniu ro bith mac Ossa a ccath fria claidhme glasa
Cia do rada aitrige, is hi ind hi iar nassa.
Iniu ro bith mac Ossa, las ambidis duba deoga
Ro cuala Crist ar n-guidhe roisaorbut Bruide bregha."

A Pictish carved stone, which is believed to commemorate the battle of Dunnichen Hifi, can be seen in Aberlemno village churchyard in Angus. It is a truly outstanding piece of Pictish art, showing on the one side horsemen and infantrymen engaged in battle, and, on the other, a huge highly decorated Celtic cross, surrounded by various fantastic animals, including a pair of stylised sea horses complete with fins and hooves. It is a shame that in view of its importance it is being allowed to weather away out of doors except for a period during the winter when it is enclosed. Scotland now has its own Parliament. Let us hope and pray that it will give some assistance to help conserve monuments such as these to protect the Nation’s culture.