Home > Constantine I of Scotland

Constantine was a warrior king. During his reign he spent most of his days fighting off the Vikings or trying to expand his kingdom into the south. In 872 his assassination of 'Rhun' (Arthgal), King of Strathclyde, and his brother-in-law, meant that the southern regions of what is now Scotland, became apart of his own Alba.

The year 864 saw the rampage of the Norsemen led by Olaf the White from Dublin. Swiftly defeated by Constantine, the Norsemen relaxed their threats on him until Thorsten the Red led them, but he too was defeated successfully by King Constantine.

Although usually confident in battle, Constantine often resorted to tactics of bribery and payoffs to his rivals in order to keep the peace. This form of peace-keeping was later employed by the English Royals, namely King Ethelred the UnreadyEthelred II the Unready Rank 15th Ruled March 18, 978- December 25, 1013 and February 2, 1014- April 23, 1016 Predecessor Edward the Martyr Date of Birth 968 Place of Birth Wessex Wives AElfgifu and Emma Buried Old Saint Paul's Cathedral Date of Death Apr in the year 1000Events World Population 300 million. Gunpowder invented in China. Scandinavia, Iceland and Hungary Christianized. Stephen I becomes King of Hungary. Sancho III of Navarre becomes King Aragon, Navarre, and Castile. Leif Ericson lands in North America, call. In the end though, Constantine was finally defeated by the Norsemen, when a raiding party known as the 'Black Strangers' from Dublin made a base for themselves in FifeThis article is about the area in Scotland. For other uses, see Fife (disambiguation). Fife is a unitary council region of Scotland situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth. It was originally one of the Pictish kingdoms and is still known from which they launched their attacks. It was during one of these attacks that Constantine met his match.

He was killed in battle against the Vikings in 877 at the "Black Cave" (Inverdovat) in Forgan, Fife. His successor was his brother Aed. He had a son, Donald who became King Donald II of ScotlandDonald II of Scotland (Domnall mac Causantin) was king of Scotland from 889 to 900. He was the son of King Constantine I and first cousin of the previous king Eochaid and of his successor Constantine II. Donald took the throne of Scotland in battle as an following the joint reign of Kings Eochaid and Giric.