His monastery provided education for their sons, he was a close advisor to the king, and he served as a diplomat to the king's neighbours in Pictland and Ireland. Columba's blessing was treasured ...

They occupied large parts of the country including Dalriada. The Scotti moved into Pictland, where the Picts were too busy or weak to stop them taking over. Vikings killed the King of the Picts ...

So it was that in his early twenties, Constantine mac Áed became King of Pictland. The kingdom had been nearly destroyed by the Vikings, but its peoples, Picts and Gael, faced with the prospect ...