Constantine II (Scotland)

18th century painting by King Constantine II - However, there is no evidence whatsoever to the authenticity of the depiction

Constantine II ( Causantín mac Áeda ; * around 874; † 952 in St Andrews ) was the Scottish king from 900 to 942 or 943. He was the son of King Aedh , cousin of his predecessor Donald II and uncle of his successor Malcolm I Constantine had the second longest term of any Scottish kings and abdicated to live as a monk .

At the beginning of his rule, Constantine had to repel raids by the Vikings in the north and west. After the triumphant victory at the Battle of Scone in 904, the Vikings were forced to withdraw from Scotland. However, they had devastated large areas. The fighting later continued in the Northumberland region , where the Vikings had resettled under King Ragnall . Constantine defeated them in two battles (referred to as the Battles of Corbridge ) in 914 and 918 , and finally drove the Vikings from the southern border.

When he was not on campaigns against the Vikings, Constantine reformed the Christian church system of the time so that it took on more and more Gaelic features. A synod was held in Scone in 906 . He also introduced the title of count, the so-called Mormaer, in Scotland . Constantine also married, but no further details are known; even the name of his wife and the timing have been lost. However, it is known that he had two sons and a daughter.

Constantine's daughter, whose name is unknown, married the then Viking King of Dublin, Olaf Guthfrithsson , in 937 in order to stabilize relations with the Vikings. There were at least three children from this marriage. If the intention was to secure the southern border at Northumbria , it did not succeed. Constantine's troops were defeated in the same year in the battle of Brunanburh by the troops of the English king Æthelstan . Cellach, one of Constantine's sons, died during the fighting.

In 942 or 943 Constantine abdicated in favor of Malcolm I and retired to a monastery in St Andrews , where he later became abbot . He died of natural causes in 952 and was probably buried at the monastery. His only surviving son, Indulf , became King of Scotland two years later.

See also

• Family tree of the Kings of Scotland

Web links

• Constantine II, King of Alba on thepeerage.com , accessed July 26, 2015.

predecessor	Office	successor
Donald II	King of Scotland 900–943	Malcolm I.