The House of Alpin ruled the country that would become Scotland from 848 to 1034. Before this, the country, much like England, was split into several different kingdoms, but it wasn’t until the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin that Scotland started to form as we know it now. Also in a similar way to England’s Plantagenet kings that split between Lancaster and York, Kenneth MacAlpin’s descendents were divided into two branches and the crown would alternate between the two. Malcom II was the final king associated with the House of Alpin, when he died, he passed the crown to his grandson who created the House of Dunkeld.
As little is known about the kings of this era, we haven’t been able to fully profile them. However, this is everything we know about House of Alpin.
Kenneth MacAplin, otherwise known as Kenneth I is widely considered to be the first King of the Scots. His other titles included King of Dal Riada, which would now be found in a region of West Scotland, King of the Picts and the King of Alba. After inheriting the throne of Dai Riada from his father, he conquered the kingdom of the Picts and went on a campaign to seize and rule the majority of Scotland. It is because of this that he is considered to be the founder of Scotland, which was also at the time known as Alba, but many texts from the time refer to him as King of the Picts.
Early kings from the House of Alpin are often described as being Kings of the Picts, something which stopped after Constantine I. The descendants of Kenneth were ousted in 878, but returned in 889. From here on, they were known as the Kings of Alba.
After the death of the final king from House Alpin, future kings would continue to trace their lineage back to Kenneth, but via Malcolm’s daughter Bethoc and her husband, Crinan of Dunkeld, leading to the House of Dunkeld.
The kings under the House of Alpin are as follows:
Kenneth I
Donald I
Constantine I
Aed
Giric
Eochaid
Donald II
Constantine II
Malcom I
Indulf
Dub
Cullen
Amlaib
Kenneth II
Constantine III
Kenneth III
Malcom II
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