Aed mac Cinaeda (840-878) was King of Scotland from 877 to 878, succeeding Causantin mac Cinaeda and preceding Giric.
Biography[]
Aed mac Cinaeda was born in Pictland in 840, the son of Kenneth mac Alpin and the brother of Constantine I of Scotland. He succeeded his brother in 877, and, in 878, he decided to launch a bold invasion of Northumbria, bragging that he would make York the new capital of his kingdom. The Danish warlord Ivar Ivarsson led a large army north to meet Aed in battle, and the two forces skirmished in the Tweed valley before Aed lured Ivar into an ambush battle in a glen on the north bank of the river. Aed personally led his household troops into the battle, and the Vikings suffered heavy losses, with Ivar escaping with only 60 men. Aed's own army had lost hundreds of troops, and he and his men limped back north, having failed to conquer Northymbre from the Danes. Aed was murdered by Giric at Nrurim later that year.
