Talorgan son of Eanfrith

Talorgan son of Eanfrith (Old Irish: Talorcan mac Enfret; died 657) was a King of the Picts from 653 to 657. As with his successors Gartnait son of Donuel and Drest son of Donuel, he reigned as a puppet king under the Northumbrian king Oswiu.[1]

Talorgan was the son of Eanfrith of Bernicia, who had fled into exile among the Picts after his father, the Bernician king Æthelfrith, was killed around the year 616.[2] Talorgan's mother is likely to have been a member of a powerful Pictish royal dynasty,[2] and may have been the sister of his predecessor Talorg son of Uuid, as "Talorgan" is a diminutive meaning "Little Talorg".[3] Talorgan may have claimed Pictish kingship through his mother, but his rule may also have been due to the fact that he was the nephew of Oswiu at a time Oswiu was ruling Northumbria.[4] Talorgan was probably imposed upon the southern Picts by Oswiu,[5] as part of his policy of expansion and domination in northern Britain.[6]

Talorgan became king in 653, probably with a powerbase within the southern Pictish territory south of the Mounth, which was also probably the home territory of his predecessor Talorg.[7] In the next year, he defeated and killed Dúnchad mac Conaing, king of the Dál Riata, at the Battle of Strathyre. This may have been part of a traditional "inaugural raid" against hostile neighbours to mark the beginning of a king's rule.[4]

Talorgan's death in 657 may have seen Oswiu launch an offensive against the Picts,[6] as Bede implies that Oswiu's subduing "the greater part of the Picts" took place in 658.[8]