Loarn Mack Erk

Primary Sources

Medieval historical sources call Loarn one of the twelve sons of the ruler of the Irish Dal Riad Erk poppy Ehdaha . One of the sources closest to the life of Loarn about Dal Riad, written in the 9th century, The Three-Part Life , does not mention him by name, but reports that when Patrick visited these lands, he cursed the sons of Erk who stole his horses. At the same time, the saint blessed one of Erk's sons, Fergus , to whom his brothers treated without due respect ^{[1] [2]} . The Scottish Song reports that besides Fergus, his brothers Loarn and Angus received a blessing from Patrick. In other sources, there is no information about the early years of Loarn Poppy Erk's life ^[3] .

The 11th-century Scottish chronicles The History of the Alba People and the Scottish Song report that the three sons of Erk poppy Ehdah ^[4] - Loarn, Fergus and Engus - sailed with ships to Britain with one hundred and fifty soldiers and took possession of the Argail lands belonging to the Picts ^{[ 5]} . These sources tell us that the first kings of the British Dal Riad were Loarn Mack Erk, who ruled for ten years, and Fergus I, who ruled twenty-seven years ^{[3] [6]} . The death of Fergus I “ Annals of Tigernach ” dates back to 501 ^{[7] [8]} , which allows the reign of Loarn to be attributed to 464-474 years ^[9] . Later chronicles report other dates of the reign of Loarn poppy Erka - 503-513 ^[10] . At the same time, a number of sources do not endow Loarn with a royal title: in them lists of Dal Riad monarchs begin with Fergus I who ruled for three years ^[11] . Some of the kings of Alba's kings report that Loarn was buried in the monastery of Iona ^{[6] [12] [13]} .

In the genealogies included in the Rawlinson B 502 code and the Leinster Book , Loarn Mack Erk is called the progenitor of one of the two most influential families of early medieval Scotland. This genus, named after its founder, Kenel Loarn , owned land in the modern county of Argyll. To him belonged several Dal-Riad kings and Mormaires Morea ^[14] . The authors of medieval genealogies considered Loarn the father of twelve sons and two daughters. Of his sons, the most famous were Fergus Salah, Muyredah and Mine, who became the ancestors of the branches of the Kenel Loarn family. Loarn's oldest daughter was Erk, the wife of three kings - Saran poppy Coelbad , Muyredah poppy Eogain and Fergus Long-headed , the youngest daughter - Bobon (or Popon), the second wife of King Saran ^{[6] [15] [16]} .

Modern research

Modern historians question medieval sources about Loarn Poppy Erke. They note that all these sources were created much later than the events described in them, and that the first reliable information about the British Dal Riad dates back no earlier than the middle of the VI century. At the same time, it is possible that these sources nevertheless reflected some real facts of the early history of Scotland ^{[17] [18]} .

In the course of studies of the evidence of chronicles about the conquest of lands in Britain by the sons of Erk, Mack Ehdaha was recognized by historians as unreliable. As a result of archaeological excavations, it was found that the Scottes lived on the western coast of Britain long before the turn of the 5th-6th centuries. No traces of destruction were discovered here that could have been dated to the 5th century ^{[5] [18]} . On the basis of the testimony of Bede Venerable , in his “ Church History of the People of the Angles ” who connected the foundation of Dal Riad with the leader Revda ^[19] , the second century is called the Scottes as a possible date of the beginning of colonization of Northern Britain ^[5] . It is assumed that the sons of Erk could only be those who united under their authority all the scottish settlements of the British Scottes ^[20] . Probably, the attribution of the activities of Fergus I in Scotland to the second half of the 5th century by the Annals of Tygernach and the History of the people of Alba was caused by information, preserved in manuscripts from the abbey of Aion, about the construction of Fort Dunadd at that time - the main connecting point between the Irish and British parts of the Dal Riad ^{[18] [21]} . Although the traditional foundation date of Dal Riad is considered to be a period of about 500 years ^{[22] [23] [24]} , it is likely that the unification of the British Scots was to occur around the middle of the fifth century ^{[1] [25]} . Perhaps this process was accompanied by Irish campaigns in the southern lands of Britain. It is assumed that precisely these events are mentioned in the letter from the British of Aetius dated 446, in which the inhabitants of Britain asked the rulers of the Roman Empire for help in the fight against “ barbarians ” ^{[18] [26]} .

Some historians believe that Loarn Mack Erk never independently occupied the throne of Dal Riad: he could be either co-ruler of Fergus ^[27] , or only the owner of the fortress Dunadd located on his family’s lands ^[21] . Opinions are expressed that he is an absolutely legendary person ^[6] . It is likely that the news of the chronicles about the kinship of the first rulers of Dal Riad was greatly influenced by the political realities of a later time. It is possible that the spread of these legends was played by the struggle for the throne between the representatives of the Kenel Gabran ^[28] and Kenel Loarn families in the 7th – 8th centuries, as well as the relationship between kings and their subordinate tribes . Initially, Fergus, Loarn, and Engus were only eponymous ancestors of various Scottish clans that migrated to Britain ^[17] . However, Fergus I, unlike Loarn, is considered by most modern scholars as a historical figure, information about the activities of which were greatly distorted in later sources ^{[5] [11] [29]} .

• Dillon M. and Chadwick N.K. Celtic kingdoms. - SPb. : Eurasia , 2002 .-- 512 p. - ISBN 5-8071-0108-1 .
• Anderson AO Early Sources of Scottish History AD 500 to 1286 . - Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1922. - Vol. I. - 604 p.
• Calse JMP Pictish Sourcebook: Documents of Medieval Legend and Dark Age History . - Greenwood Publishing Group , 2002 .-- 365 p. - ISBN 978-0-3133-2295-2 .
• Koch JT Celtic Culture. A Historical Encyclopedia . - ABC-CLIO , 2006 .-- 2128 p. - ISBN 978-1-8510-9440-0 .