Chronicle of the Kings of Alba

Key Dates

1000

The chronicle was probably written during the 11th century AD. Since the 17th century it's been in the hands of French national library.

Key People

The chronicle covers the reigns of 12 Scottish kings from the early Kingdom of Alba, from Kenneth MacAlpin (d. 858 AD) to Kenneth II (971–995).

The Chronicle of the Kingdom of Scotland – a list of Scotland’s first royal family, the 12 kings of the House of Alpin – has been called the “birth certificate of Scotland,” since it contains the first ever mention of Albanium, a Latinised version of the Gaelic name for Scotland. It was writtin, in Hiberno-Latin, in the 11th century AD, not long after the death of Kenneth II in 995 AD.

Since the 17th century, it’s been in the hands of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, the national library of France. A campaign for the Chronicles of the Kings of Alba’s repatriation to Scotland was launched by Scottish politicians and historians in 2008.

Origin & Collection

On display at:

Bibliotheque Nationale de France

Images

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