Talorgan son of Eanfrith

{{Short description|King of the Picts from 653 to 657}}

{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Talorgan son of Eanfrith

| succession = King of the Picts

| reign = 653–657

| predecessor = Talorc III

| successor = Gartnait IV

| birth_date =

| death_date = 657

| house =

| father = Eanfrith of Bernicia

| mother = Pictish princess

}}

Talorgan son of Eanfrith ({{langx|sga|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.{{sfn|Williams|Smyth|Kirby|1991|p=105}}

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.{{sfn|Fraser|2009|p=158}} Talorgan's mother is likely to have been a member of a powerful Pictish royal dynasty,{{sfn|Fraser|2009|p=158}} and may have been the sister of his predecessor Talorg son of Uuid, as "Talorgan" is a diminutive meaning "Little Talorg".{{sfn|Clarkson|2016|p=109}} Talorgan may have claimed Pictish kingship through his mother, but his rule may also have been because he was the nephew of Oswiu at a time Oswiu was ruling Northumbria.{{sfn|Williams|Smyth|Kirby|1991|p=220}} Talorgan was probably imposed upon the southern Picts by Oswiu,{{sfn|Smyth|1989|p=66}} as part of his policy of expansion and domination in northern Britain.{{sfn|Smyth|1989|p=62}}

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.{{sfn|Fraser|2009|p=184}} 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.{{sfn|Williams|Smyth|Kirby|1991|p=220}}

Talorgan's death in 657 may have seen Oswiu launch an offensive against the Picts,{{sfn|Smyth|1989|p=62}} as Bede implies that Oswiu's subduing "the greater part of the Picts" took place in 658.{{sfn|Duncan|1975|p=53}}