page_title: Eochaid, son of Rhun
section_title: Sources of the royal succession
hierarchical_section_title: Eochaid, son of Rhun / Sources of the royal succession
caption_attribution_description: English: Barochan Cross, Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Scotland. Nederlands: Barochan Cross, Paisley Abbey, Paisley, Schotland.
context_page_description: Eochaid was a ninth-century Briton who may have ruled as King of Strathclyde and/or King of the Picts. He was a son of Rhun ab Arthgal, King of Strathclyde, and descended from a long line of British kings. Eochaid's mother is recorded to have been a daughter of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts. This maternal descent from the royal Alpínid dynasty may well account for the record of Eochaid reigning over the Pictish realm after the death of Cináed's son, Áed, in 878. According to various sources, Áed was slain by Giric, a man of uncertain ancestry, who is also accorded kingship after Áed's demise.
  It is uncertain if Eochaid and Giric were relatives, unrelated allies, or even rivals. Whilst it is possible that they held the Pictish kingship concurrently as allies, it is also conceivable that they ruled successively as opponents. Another possibility is that, whilst Giric reigned as King of the Picts, Eochaid reigned as King of Strathclyde. Eochaid's floruit dates about the time when the Kingdom of Strathclyde seems to have expanded southwards into lands formerly possessed by the Kingdom of Northumbria.
context_section_description: It is uncertain who assumed the kingship of Strathclyde after Rhun. If Rhun and Custantín both died in 876, Eochaid could well have succeeded his father. Certainly, Custantín's brother, Áed mac Cináeda, succeeded as King of the Picts, and ruled as such upon his death two years later. Whilst the Annals of Ulster reports that Áed was killed by his own companions, several mediaeval king-lists state that he was slain by a certain Giric. Quite who reigned as king after Áed is uncertain, although there are several plausible possibilities.
  According to the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, Eochaid succeeded Áed, and held the kingship for eleven years. The chronicle adds that it was further said that Giric also reigned during this period on account of the fact that he was Eochaid's alumnus ("foster father", "guardian") and ordinator ("guardian", "governor", or "king-maker"). A solar eclipse is also noted during their reigns—an event dated to the feast of St Ciricius—and the two are stated to have been ejected from the kingdom.
  The chronicle reports that Áed Findliath mac Néill died in the second year of Eochaid's reign. Since Áed indeed expired in 879, the chronicle's chronology is evidently accurate for the outset of Eochaid's reign. As for the eclipse, the chronicle appears to place it in the context of the final year of Eochaid's kingship. Nevertheless, it is clear that the eclipse is identical to that which took place on 16 June 885, as 16 June is certainly the feast day of at least one saint named Ciricius. Since the dates given by the chronicle and the Annals of Ulster show that there was an eleven-year gap between the previous reign and the next, it is evident that the eclipse indeed occurred in the midst of Eochaid's reign. The chronicle's inconsistency in regard to the eclipse may owe itself to an attempt to increase the dramatic effect of the regime change by associating a remarkable astronomical event with Eochaid's expulsion.
  Other than the chronicle, the only source to associate both Eochaid and Giric as kings is the twelfth-century Prophecy of Berchán. According to the latter, Eochaid ruled as king for thirteen years until he was expelled and succeeded by Giric (described as "the son of fortune"). The discrepancies between the two sources may partly stem from an ethnic bias. Certainly, the Prophecy of Berchán is critical of Eochaid's British heritage whilst Giric is celebrated as a Scot.
caption: Barochan Cross, a stone high cross,[50] dating between the eighth- and tenth century.[51] This British monument is an example of the so-called 'Govan School' of sculpture.[52]
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