Battle of Strathearn (904)
Who Fought
Sons of Bárid mac Ímair leading a Danish/Norse-Gaelic army
the forces of Constantine II of Scotland (Picts of Fortriu)
History & Significance
Strathearn or Strath Earn (), also the Earn Valley, is the strath of the River Earn, which flows from Loch Earn to meet the River Tay in the east of Scotland.
The area covers the 30-mile (50-kilometre) stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in Perthshire. It shares a name with a modern ward used for elections to Perth and Kinross Council.
Strathearn was also the name of an ancient province of the Kingdom of Alba, under the authority of a mormaer and then an Earl. More recently, the name has since been used in a number of titles used by the British royal family.
The historic province of Strathearn was bounded on the north by Atholl, north west by Breadalbane, south west by Menteith, south east by Fife, and on the east by Perthia.
The earliest attested mormaer of Strathearn is Mael Ísu I, who is recorded fighting alongside David I at the Battle of the Standard in 1138. Unlike some provinces where the holder of the office of mormaer rotated between kin-groups, the mormaership of Strathearn was dominated by a single family, with a Mael Ísu in every generation until the death of Mael Ísu V in the mid 14th century.
In 904, during the reign of Constantine II of Scotland, sons of Bárid mac Ímair sent a Danish army to attack Strathearn, and were ultimately defeated, the Kingdom of Scotland wasn't attacked by Vikings for the next 50 years.
Strathearn became a stewartry under the authority of the Earls of Perth and part of Perthshire for administrative purposes, until the abolition of heritable jurisdictions in 1748. It continued to be recognised as one of the ancient divisions of the county, without administrative or judicial function.
The Strathearn ward of Perth and Kinross Council was created in 2007.
Following the demise of the ancient Earls of Strathearn, with the title in its later creation being forfeited by Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, the Strathearn title was resurrected for use for a number of Royal dukedoms, awarded to members of the British royal family.
The name appeared in the titles of the Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Duke of Connaught and Strathearn.
More recently, Prince William, now Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay, was created Earl of Strathearn, as a subsidiary title to Duke of Cambridge, on 29 April 2011, the day of his wedding to Catherine Middleton.
"Strathearn" / "Strathern" is also a surname in the United States and Northern Ireland, predominantly in the Bellaghy area of County Londonderry.
Broun, Dauvit (2015). "Statehood and lordship in 'Scotland' before the midtwelfth century". Innes Review. 66 (1): 1–71. doi:10.3366/inr.2015.0084. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Strathearn (904) lies on Strathmore Group, bedrock that formed in the Emsian. The rock here is sandstone with subordinate conglomerate, siltstone and mudstone.
The Annals of Ulster record the death of Ímar ua Ímair, King of Dublin, at the hands of the Picts of Fortriu at Strath Erenn in 904, making him among the most prominent Norse-Gaelic leaders to fall in battle against the Scots during this period; the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba identifies this as the same engagement in which Constantine II secured his victory, a triumph so complete that Viking attacks on Scotland ceased for half a century thereafter.
- Ímar ua Ímair, King of Dublin, killed in the battle
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything a full report reveals about Battle of Strathearn (904)
This page covers Battle of Strathearn (904). A full Aubrey report for the area pulls together this battle alongside scheduled monuments and everything else the record holds within a few miles:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Scheduled Monuments near Battle of Strathearn (904)
Other Early Medieval Battles
Battles near Battle of Strathearn (904)
Explore the landscape around Perthshire
Aubrey generates in-depth historical research for any location in the UK — drawing on Domesday records, scheduled monuments, Victorian OS maps, geological data and archaeological archives to tell the full story of a place.
- Strathearn · Wikipedia
- Ímar ua Ímair · Wikipedia