Kingdom of Ce

This map of Scotland shows roughly the area the Pictish kingdoms were located, superimposed on a map of modern Scotland.

The Kingdom of Ce (c. 1 - 900 AD) was a legendary ancient Pictish kingdom in Scotland. The author of the Pictish Chronicle records that the kingdom was formed after the division of Alba among the seven sons of Cruithne. Ce was the first and eponymous king, and his reign lasted fifteen years. Some sources dispute this and give him reign of eleven, twelve or twenty years. The kingdom of Ce encompassed Banff, Buchan, and other areas of Aberdeenshire, such as a region known in present day as Mar.

After Roman period a number of Pictish kingdoms formed in the Eastern Scotland. Kingdom of Circind, that was further divided in kingdoms of Fotla (Atholl), Fib (Fife) and Circind (county of Argus), bordered the kingdom of Ce in south. In the west around modern Inverness might have been the kingdom of Fidach. In the far north and in the Northern Isles was kingdom of Cat that later gave the name of the county of Caithness.

The seven sons, or provinces, of Cruithne represent division within the Pictish nation. The kingdoms were ruled by hereditary chiefs (later known as mormaers). However, the Irish sources sometimes refer to them as kings (righ). In times of weak central control, these local rulers have certainly been more independent.

The kingdom of Ce's name appears in titles of two Old Irish tales. The Ravaging of Bennachie is about the battle of Bennachie (Peak of Ce) and The Ravaging of the Plain of Ce by Galo son of Febal is about destruction of the plain of Ce. However, these works are apart from their titles lost. Plain of Ce might denote Urie's watershed.

By the 6th century Pictish people was divided into larger kingdoms of the Northern and Southern Picts. Ce can be regarded as a frontier region between northern and southern Pictish influence.

See also

• Fortriu
• Scotland in the Early Middle Ages