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Dál Riata (also Dalriada or Dalriata) was a Gaelic overkingdom that included parts of western Scotland and northeastern Ulster in Ireland, across the North Channel. In the late 6th–early 7th century it encompassed roughly what is now Argyll and Lochaber in Scotland and also County Antrim in Ulster.〔Oxford Companion to Scottish History p. 161 162, edited by Michael Lynch, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-923482-0.〕 In Argyll it consisted initially of three kindreds: Cenél Loairn (kindred of Loarn) in north and mid-Argyll, Cenél nÓengusa (kindred of Óengus) based on Islay and Cenél nGabráin (kindred of Gabrán) based in Kintyre; a fourth kindred, Cenél Chonchride in Islay, was seemingly too small to be deemed a major division. By the end of the 7th century another kindred, Cenél Comgaill (kindred of Comgall), had emerged, based in eastern Argyll. The Lorn and Cowal districts of Argyll take their names from Cenél Loairn and Cenél Comgaill respectively,〔 while the Morvern district was formerly known as Kinelvadon, from the Cenél Báetáin, a subdivision of the Cenél Loairn.〔Watson, ''Celtic Place-names of Scotland'', p. 122.〕 The traditional view was that Dál Riata was founded by Gaelic Irish migrants who brought Christianity and writing, but this is no longer universally accepted. Archaeologists, such as Dr. Ewan Campbell, say there is no archaeological or placename evidence of a migration or invasion. He suggests that close sea links helped maintain a Gaelic culture on both sides of the North Channel.〔Campbell, Ewan. "(Were the Scots Irish? )" in ''Antiquity'' No. 75 (2001). pp. 285–292.〕 However, this has been questioned. The inhabitants of Dál Riata are often referred to as ''Scots'' (''Scoti'' in Latin), a name originally used by Roman and Greek writers for the Irish who raided Roman Britain. Later it came to refer to Gaelic-speakers, whether from Ireland or elsewhere.〔Charles-Edwards, ''Early Christian Ireland'', p. 159–160, considers whether the Latin terms ''Scotti'' and ''Atacotti'' refer to the confederations in Ulster and Leinster respectively. The etymology of ''Scotti'', and its Gaelic roots, if any, are uncertain. The term in late Classical sources is either specifically linked to raiders from Ireland, or is geographically ambiguous. In sharp contrast, no clear reference pointing to Scotti in Scotland in the Roman period has been found. Despite several references listing different combinations of Picti, Scotti, Hiberni, Attecotti and Saxons together as later Roman Britain's archetypal enemies, it is worth noting that 'Scotti' and 'Hiberni' are never listed together, confirming they were then, as they were later, alternative names for the Irish or confederations of the Irish. Regardless of the original sense, or its modern popularity, to use the term Scot in this context invites confusion.〕 They are referred herein as ''Gaels'', an unambiguous term, or as ''Dál Riatans''.〔See ''1066 And All That'', p. 5, for a parody of the confusion the word "Scot" engenders in this context.〕 The kingdom reached its height under Áedán mac Gabráin (r. 574–608), but its growth was checked at the Battle of Degsastan in 603 by Æthelfrith of Northumbria. Serious defeats in Ireland and Scotland in the time of Domnall Brecc (d. 642) ended Dál Riata's "golden age", and the kingdom became a client of Northumbria, then subject to the Picts. There is disagreement over the fate of the kingdom from the late eighth century onwards. Some scholars have seen no revival of Dál Riata after the long period of foreign domination (after 637 to around 750 or 760), while others have seen a revival of Dál Riata under Áed Find (736–778), and later Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpín, who is claimed in some sources to have taken the kingship there in c.840 following the disastrous defeat of the Pictish army by the Danes): some even claim that the kingship of Fortriu was usurped by the Dál Riata several generations before MacAlpin (800–858).〔Smyth, and Bannerman, ''Scottish Takeover'', present this case, arguing that Pictish kings from Ciniod son of Uuredech and Caustantín onwards were descendants of Fergus mac Echdach and Feradach, son of Selbach mac Ferchair. Broun's ''Pictish Kings'' offers an alternative reconstruction, and one which has attracted considerable support, e.g. Clancy, "Iona in the kingdom of the Picts: a note", Woolf, ''Pictland to Alba'', pp 57–67.〕 The kingdom's independence ended in the Viking Age, as it merged with the lands of the Picts to form the Kingdom of Alba. The name of the kingdom is preserved in the etymology of the Dalradian geological series, a term coined by Archibald Geikie because its outcrop has a similar geographical reach to that of the former Dál Riata. ==Name== The name ''Dál Riata'' is derived from Old Irish. ''Dál'', cognate to English ''dole'' and ''deal'', German ''Teil'' / ''Theil'', and Latin ''tāliō'' and descendants including French ''taille'' and Italian ''taglia'', means "portion" or "share" (as in "a portion of land"); ''Riata'' or ''Riada'' is believed to be a personal name.〔Bede, HE, Book I, Chapter 1.〕 Thus, the name refers to "Riada's portion" of territory in the area. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dál Riata」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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