Taran, son of Ainftech was a King of the Picts (692-96)The four year reign and the accession in 692 are chosen by Marjorie O. Anderson,, Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1973), p. 175. according to the Pictish king-lists. His name is the same as that of the Gaulish thunder-god, Taranis.op. cit., p. 90.
His father is just a name, which occurs in various forms, e.g. Entifidich in the Poppleton manuscript,op. cit., p. 248.Enfidaig,op. cit., p. 263., Amfredech,op. cit., pp. 266, 272. Anfudeg,op. cit., p. 280. and as Amfodech in the French king-list embedded in the Scalacronica.op. cit., p. 297. The list in National Library of Scotland MS, Advocates' 34.7.3,=M.O. Anderson, List D; Skene, no, XXIII., seems to say that Taran was the brother of King Nechtan,It writes frater eius after Taran's listing; see M.O. Anderson, op. cit. p. 266. which could mean that Taran's mother was the Pictish princess Der-Ilei. However, the latter list is problematic and places the reign of King Bruide, Nechtan's brother, after Nechtan; on the other hand, the list is one of the lists which is aware that Bruide was the son of Dargart, indicating access to material not availble to some of the other lists.see Thomas Owen Clancy, "Philosopher-King: Nechtan mac Der-Ilei", in the Scottish Historical Review, 83, 2004, pp. 125â€"149.
Some of the king-lists say he reigned for fourteen years; however, the Poppleton and Lebor Bretnach lists,Marjorie Anderson believes these lists to derive from a list kept at Abernethy; she and others believe these lists, marked by "un-gaelicized" name forms, to be more reliable; see M.O. Anderson, op. cit. pp. 77-102. along with the Scalacronica list, give four years only,'op. cit., pp. 248, 263, 297. so the x'' may be a mistake. He was almost certainly succeeded by Bruide, the son of Dargart and Der-Ilei, although in what circumstances, it is hard to say.
* Anderson, Marjorie O., Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, (Edinburgh, 1973) * Clancy, Thomas Owen, "Philosopher-King: Nechtan mac Der-Ilei", in the Scottish Historical Review, 83, 2004, pp. 125â€"149
