Scottish Blog

Oengus mac Fergus was the king of the Picts between 732 and 761, he was also one of the most powerful rulers in Scotland during his reign.

Oengus mac Fergus is a figure somewhat shrouded in mystery in Scottish history, as there are only a limited number of historic sources regarding him left intact. For instance, the first piece of unknown information is exactly how old Oengus mac Fergus was, although at his death it was recorded that he was most likely to be roughly 75 years old, putting his birth year at 686, or there about. This archival problem is not aided by the fact that many of the sources are written in local dialects and languages, meaning that Oengus mac Fergus could be read in a number of different ways. Typically, he is referred to as Onuist map Urguistin Pictish sources, Óengus mac Fergusso in Irish sources and, Angus mac Fergusin in any Anglican texts.

Oengus mac Fergus was the leader of one of four groups inhabiting the current day United Kingdom. Oengus mac Fergus was the leader of the Picts, the other three groups consisted of Northumbrians, Dal Riata and Gaels. As with Oengus mac Fergus, the available information on these empires was scarce making it hard to construct a full timeline of the events leading to the crowning of Oengus mac Fergus. It is known that between 728 and 729 four large scale battles were held between Oengus mac Fergus and an opposing leader by the name of Alpin. Of these, Oengus mac Fergus was the victor of two. On the 12th of August 729, Oengus mac Fergus ascended as the ultimate rules when he defeated Drest.