Culen of Scotland

Culen of Scotland (also called Cuilean, Colin and Culen the Whelp) was king of Scotland from 967 to 971. He was the son of King Indulf, the third cousin of the previous king Dubh and of his successor Kenneth II. He was slain by the Britons of Strathclyde.

Culen was the third king in a row to succeed to the throne of Scotland because his predecessor had been murdered. When Dubh's body was discovered under a bridge at Kinloss, near Forres in Aberdeenshire it was widely assumed that his assassins (who had kidnapped him the day before) were employed by Culen.

Culen married at some point in his life, but there is little known of his marriage. As is the case with many kings of this period, the place and date of the marriage are unrecorded, and the name of the wife is no longer known. Culen did have two sons, the future Constantine III and Malcolm. Malcolm remains a very obscure figure in Scottish history; it is only known that he was alive in 1002.

Culen was assassinated in Lothian by Riderch, sub-king of Strathclyde, in 971. The act was in revenge for Culen's rape of Riderch's daughter, and the murder of his brother during a campaign to re-assert control over Strathclyde. This in turn was part of a wider picture of conflict between Culen's family and the Strathclyde nobles, which saw Culen's brother Eochaid die the same year.

Preceded by: Dubh

List of British monarchs

Succeeded by: Kenneth II