Wikipedia:Today's featured article/December 31, 2013

Áedán mac Gabráin was a king of Dál Riata from circa 574 until circa 609. The kingdom of Dál Riata was situated in modern Argyll and Bute, Scotland, and parts of County Antrim, Ireland. Genealogies record that Áedán was a son of Gabrán mac Domangairt. He was a contemporary of Saint Columba, and much that is recorded of his life comes from hagiography such as Adomnán of Iona's Life of Saint Columba. Other sources include Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum and Irish annals; none of the sources are contemporary. Áedán appears as a character in Old Irish and Middle Irish language works of prose and verse, some now lost. Áedán also appears in some Welsh sources, making him one of the few non-Britons to figure in Welsh tradition. The Irish annals record his campaigns against his neighbours, in Ireland, and in northern Britain, including expeditions to the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man, and the east coast of Scotland. As recorded by Bede, Áedán was decisively defeated by Æthelfrith of Bernicia at the Battle of Degsastan. Áedán may have been deposed, or have abdicated, following this defeat, and the annals report nothing of him until his death around six years later. (Full article...)

Recently featured: T-26 tank – Robert Howe (Continental Army officer) – Keith Johnson (cricket administrator)