| Bridei son of Beli | |
|---|---|
 The battle scene from the Aberlemno 2 Pictish stone, which may show the Battle of Dun Nechtain; Picts on the left, Northumbrians on the right, the mounted Pictish figure perhaps representing King Bridei. | |
| King of the Picts and of Fortriu | |
| Reign | 671–692 |
| Predecessor | Drest son of Donuel |
| Successor | Taran mac Ainftech |
| Born | by 628 |
| Died | 692 |
| Burial | |
| Father | Beli I of Alt Clut |
| Mother | Unknown daughter of Edwin of Northumbria |
Bridei son of Beli, died 692[a] was king of Fortriu and of the Picts from 671 until 692. His reign marks the start of the period known to historians as the Verturian hegemony, a turning point in the history of Scotland, when the uniting of Pictish provinces under the over-kingship of the kings of Fortriu saw the development of a strong Pictish state and identity encompassing most of the peoples north of the Forth.
Bridei was probably brought up at the court of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, whose expansion had established it as the dominant power in northern Britain over the mid-7th century. His father was Beli, king of the British kingdom of Altclut, and his mother probably a daughter of Edwin of Northumbria, though his grandfather may have been the earlier Pictish king Nechtan nepos Uerb.
Bridei's rise to power in Fortriu probably took place under the patronage of his kinsman King Ecgfrith of Northumbria, after Bridei's predecessor Drest son of Donuel was expelled from the kingship after leading a rebellion against Northumbrian domination in 671. Bridei established an expansionary policy however, and in a series of campaigns between 679 and 683 built a confederation of Pictish territories owing allegiance to him through alliance and conquest. This brought him into conflict with Ecgfrith, who led an army north into Pictish territory in 685, culminating in the Battle of Dun Nechtain, when Ecgfrith was killed and the Northumbrian army destroyed by Bridei's forces.
Bridei's victory at Dun Nechtain marked the end of Northumbrian overlordship over the Picts, the Gaels and many of the Britons; and saw him consolidate his extensive territorial control. The following period saw the conscious development of the idea of the Picts as a single people under a single ruler; this process continued under the later kingships of Bridei son of Der-Ilei and Naiton son of Der-Ilei, who were probably his grandchildren.
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