his part of the site will attempt to document the history of Cumbria in the "Dark Ages" as a long term (very) project. As my research time is limited the site is not updated very frequently but I suggest you keep calling back to see if anything new is here.

The intention with this page is to first figure out when British independent rule ended and then slowly work back to Romans. I have so much conflicting information on 10th century Cumbria that I have included my development notes in the hope that someone reading them can provide some illumination.   

It seems Cumbria underwent three major phases in this time period

• 410-620 Rheged
• 620-908  Northumbria
• 908-1066 Strathclyde 

So the timeline is split into 3 tables accordingly.

My attempts at producing a definitive king listing for this period have not yet come to fruition and probably never will. I am striving to provide something different here to the excellent websites such as David Fords "Early British Kingdoms" , the "Regnal Chronologies" or "Kingdoms of the British celts". As a result I have attempted to gather and cross correlate the findings of these sites (I will add more when I have time to study them). Be aware that it is difficult to directly compare dates as the Quoted dates may be for the life of the King and not his reign. Bearing this in mind it still provides an interesting comparison without all that web hopping.  I also have to add dates from several books and papers that I have waiting to be read.

• Celts of Britain =  http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~plk/History/KingListsBritain/BritainCaerGuendoleu.htm
• EBK =  http://britannia.com/bios/ebk/ 
• Regnal = http://web.raex.com/~obsidian/engl.html
• Mammoth = The mammoth book of British Kings and Queens by Mike Ashley [ISBN 0-7867-0692-9}

I have taken a serious liberty of copying some of my sources on this webpage in the hope that further interpretation may be forthcoming by someone reading this page. If any of the respective authors feel this is in anyway a misrepresentation of their work then I will remove the aforementioned text. Please visit their pages to experience the wealth of information for yourself.

There, Year 148, Corvus, the senior heir of the old British pre-Roman royal house, founded the British "Free State", which eventually evolved into a regional-kingdom in Scotland, i.e., the Kingdom of Strathclyde. Corvus of Roman History may be identified with Corb(ed) of Scottish History, called the "first" King of Scotland in some Scottish annals. Corvus, representing the senior line of the descendants of the Old British Royal House, reigned as "King of Britain" (government-in-exile) as an
anti-king in opposition to the junior line, which was then represented by the client-king Coilus I (Old King Cole) (reigned AD 94-154, 60 years), installed by the Romans as a puppet-king. Corvus (Corbed) maintained himself at Dumbarton against attacks by the Romans under Tuscillus, the Roman governor, as well as attacks by the Picts under Durgal (Durdegal), the King of Albany, and attacks by the Irish under Fedlim, the King of Midhe (Meath-Connaught).

The attacks on Roman Britain by the Strathclyde Britons under Corvus forced the Romans to temporarily abandon the Antonine Wall and withdraw to Hadrian's Wall. Corvus was killed in battle in Year 184 fighting the reknown Roman general Ulpius Marcellus.

The descendants of Corvus reigned at Dumbarton, beyond the Roman border, as an independent line of kings rivalling the client-kings of Roman Britain and were the ancestors of the later Kings of Strathclyde (543-889), surviving the Roman Era until the close of the early Middle Ages . The British "Free State" was recognized by Rome in Year 305 when Constantius "Chlorus", the Roman governor, made treaties with the Strathclyde Britons, the Picts of Scotland, and the Irish, in a political
move to stop their attafcks on Roman Britain.

Cursalem, one of the Strathclyde kings, even later accompanied Constantine "The Great" in his
campaigns on the European continent. Gwydno "Garanir", the King of the North Britons, in Year 543 moved his seat from Dumbarton, i.e., "Alclyde" ("Rock of the Clyde") to Glasgow, due to attacks by the Scots, etc., after which the name of the northern British kingdom came to be called "Strathclyde" ("Vale of the Clyde"), for which he is reckoned as the "first" King of Strathclyde. The kingdom came to an end as an independent state in Year 889 when its last native king, Eochu, was expelled by the Scots, whereupon he and the remaining members of the Strathclyde royal house fled to Wales, and disappear from history.

These five kings strove among themselves for supremacy in Britain. They were followed by Vortigern who reunified the country under a central government and reigned as High-King over the whole of what had once been the Roman diocese of Britain. (2) Coilus (III) "Votepacus", the Welsh Cole/Cole "Godebog"/"Guotepauc", who is often confused with Cole "Hen" (Old King Cole), i.e., Cole I, and sometimes confused with Coel?cole II, the eponymous founder of, and/or duke of, Colchester, who is sometimes confused with the others of that name even today by modern scholars. Coilus/Caelius "Votepacus", called "protector", is to be identified with Coelestius "Senex", the "dux Britanniarum", formerly in Roman service, who was descended from pre-Roman British royalty and was the representative of one of the secondary-branches of the Old British Royal House. His epithet "Votepacus"/"Guotepauc" means "The Splendid" or "The Excellent".

Cole "Godebog" (Coilus '"Votepacus") has sometimes been called Britain's "first" Dark Age king, and was regarded by the annalists of Northern England as the founder of Britain's Dark Age Royal House. Cole "Godebog" held sway in Northern England and sat at York. He later moved his headquarters to Dunbar in Gododdin (S-E Scotland) during the civil war between he and Dunvallo "Molmutius", who held sway over Southern England and is regarded by the annalists of Southern England as the founder of Britain's Dark Age Royal House. There are others also reckoned as the founder of Britain's Dark Age Royal House, e.g., Vortigern, for one. The move Cole "Godebog" made from York to Dunbar is why he is reckoned as the "first" King of Gododdin, which was a regional-kingdom overlapping N-E England and S-E Scotland.

It is recorded that Cole "Godebog" launched a massive attack on Ayrshire against Quintillus of Strathclyde, and on Galloway and Cumbria against Antonius "Donatus" of Galloway/Cumbria. Cole "Godebog" appears to have again moved his headquarters at this time to Aeron (Ayrshire, Scotland), and appears later to have established his headquarters at Kyle, to which he gave his name. That would have been his third move. Cole "Godebog" would allow some barbarian groups, e.g., Scots, Norse, and Irish, to settle in Britain as "laeti". "Laeti" were warrior-colonists who were granted land by the king in exchange for military service. Cole "Godebog" was caught by surprise by Quintillus who made a night-attack on Cole's encampment and scattered Cole's Army in flight, and Cole "Godebog" drowned in some bogs during the rout of his forces Year 420. This battle, according to tradition, took place somewhere in Strathclyde. Cole "Godebog" was buried under a circular mound at Coilsfield, in the parish of Tarbolton.

The descendants of Cole "Godebog", called "the sons of Godebog", or "the Coelings", or The "Gwyr Y Gogledd" ("Men of the North-Country"), developed into numerous branches over time and were the rulers of lands throughout Northern England which was called the British "North Country". Of the thirteen local states (regional-kingdoms) into which the British "North Country" was resolved, eight were ruled by Cole's descendants.

The "King Dunmail", the last King of Cumberland (d. 945), was descended from "the Coelings" rather than Antonius "Donatus" since the descendants of Cole "Godebog", the "Gwyr Y Gogledd" , tookover Cumbria from the descendants of Antonius "Donatus", who were afterwards confined to Galloway. It is more proper that the "last" King of the Britons should descend from ancient British royalty (represented by Cole Godebog's descendants) rather than the British branch of the Roman imperial house (represented by Antonius "Donatus", among others, e.g. the Dukes of Gloucester, etc.)

Skye's Scottish History Timeline

by Robert M. Gunn, Historian

1018
Carham - King Malcolm the 2nd and Owen of Strathclyde defeated the Northumbrian army on the Tweed.
Battle of Carham. Scots victorius and Strathclyde is annexed by the Scots.
Malcolm II gains Lothian after defeating the Anglo-Saxon Northumbrians, with the help of the King of Strathclyde.
Death of Owen-the-Bald, King of Strathclyde. Duncan, grandson of Malcolm II
made ruler of Strathclyde.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1034
Duncan I (r.1034 - 1040)
Duncan, made King of Strathclyde after the battle of Carham, helps kill his   grandfather Malcolm II and becomes King of a (largely) united Scotland.

• Eochu (K. of Scots 878-889)........................ ? -889
• Donald I......................................fl. aft. 908
• Donald II.....................................fl. aft. 908
• Owen II.........................................fl. c. 915/16
• Owen III........................................fl. c. 927/34
• Dunmael............................................ ? -945
• Indulf.............................................945-954 d. 962: with...
• Dunwallun I............................................950
• Duff...............................................954-962 d. 967
• Malcolm I.......................................fl. c. 971
• Malcolm II.........................................fl. 973
• Duffnal............................................fl. 973
• Dunwallun II.......................................974-975
• Domnall II.........................................975-aft. 991
• Malcolm III...................................aft. 991-997
• Malcolm IV.........................................997-c. 1016
• Owen V the Bald........................................c. 1016/18
• Duncan I MacCrinan..........................from circa 1016 d.1040

937 - Battle of Brunanburh: Athelstan defeats alliance of Scots, Strathclyde Britons and Vikings, and takes the title of "King of all Britain"

973 - After his coronation, King Edgar of England marches his army north to Chester. His navy meets him there via the Irish Sea. This show of strength persuades the Northern Kings to submit to his overlordship. Legend says he is rowed across the Dee by Kings Kenneth of Alba, Malcolm of the Cumbrians, Magnus of Man & the Isles, Donald of Strathclyde, Iago of Gwynedd, Princes Hywel of Gwynedd, Ithel and Siferth (the latter two of unknown origin). The Council of Winchester calls for English monastic reform and draws up a code of practice known as the Regularis Concordia. Foundation of Thorney Abbey.

• To the Later Votadini............................410-c. 440's
• To Catraeth...................................c. 440's-c. 480's
• CENEU
• Gwrgi the Ragged.............................fl. 480's-500's
• Merchiaun the Lean...........................fl. 500's-540's
• Elidyr the Handsome...........................c. 540's-c. 560
• Cynmarch the Dismal..........................fl. 560's-570's
• Urien...........................................c. 570-c. 590 with...
• Llywarch the Old (in South Rheged)..............c. 570-c. 575 ? d. ?
• Owen............................................c. 590-c. 595
• Rhun ?
• Rhoeth..........................................c. 595-c. 620's
• To Northumbria, early 7th century

• Anything at all on King Dunmail or his sons
• Information of Northern British kings 400-1066 AD
• A Map of the British Isles from the early 10th Century
• Information on the North west of England 400 to 1066AD
• Information on The kings of Strathclyde 900-1066 AD