Kenneth II of Scotland

Kenneth II was king of Alba in the late tenth century. His reign belongs to a poorly documented period of dynastic rivalry, warfare with neighbouring rulers and the gradual consolidation of the Scottish kingdom.

Later chronicles attach dramatic stories to his accession and death, but many details are uncertain. He is chiefly important as a member of the royal line that competed for control of Alba before the eleventh-century monarchy became more stable.

In Nigel Tranter’s High Kings and Vikings, As the first millennium draws to its close, Scotland is not yet a single secure kingdom but a country of competing dynasties, regional rulers and vulnerable coasts.