Coroticus of Alt Clut (c.410 - c.450)

The first king of Alt Clut, Coroticus was a powerful Celtic monarch who ruled a considerable swathe of southern Scotland from his base on Dumbarton Rock. The history of Alt Clut during the fifth and sixth centuries is murky at best and what little is known comes from Irish and Welsh sources. Because of this, Coroticus is sometimes referred to as Ceretic Guletic, the Welsh version of his name.

The Harleian genealogies list Coroticus as the son of Cynloup, the grandson of Quintillus and the great-grandson of Clemens. The Roman names of his grandfather and great-grandfather suggest that Coroticus descended from Damnonii leaders who, although they lived some way north of Hadrian’s Wall, were Romanised to some extent. However, Coroticus is a British name and it has been suggested that he was named after Caratacus of the Catuvellauni, a then-legendary leader of a British revolt against the Romans.

Not much is known of his reign in the dark days of sub-Roman Britain. Coroticus was almost certainly the Brittonic warrior addressed in a letter written by St. Patrick. In the letter St Patrick bemoans the capture and enslavement of Irish Christians and their sale to pagans before excommunicating Coroticus and his men. It’s possible that St. Patrick’s letter referred to a bloody raid on Ireland by Coroticus and his men which resulted in the deaths of many Irish, some of which were Christian converts, and others carried back to sell as slaves. Coroticus’s response to the letter, if any, has gone unrecorded.

Stained glass window in Carlow Cathedral, Ireland, showing St. Patrick preaching to the kings.

It’s thought that Coroticus died around 450 and was succeeded either by his son, Cinuit, or possibly his grandson, Dumnagual Hen. His descendants went on to rule kingdoms as far south as the Isle of Man and Alt Clut itself would survive until the late ninth century when Dumbarton would be captured and sacked by the Norse kings of Dublin.