222-854: Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of Scotland from the departure of the Romans to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. From the fifth century northern Britain was divided into a series of kingdoms. Of these the four most important to emerge were the Picts , the Gaels of Dál Riata , the Britons of Strathclyde and the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Bernicia , later taken over by Northumbria . After
444-569: A " Davidian Revolution ", by which native institutions and personnel were replaced by English and French ones, underpinning the development of later Medieval Scotland. Members of the Anglo-Norman nobility took up places in the Scottish aristocracy and he introduced a system of feudal land tenure, which produced knight service , castles and an available body of heavily armed body of cavalry. He created an Anglo-Norman style of court, introduced
666-498: A Protestant Reformation that created a predominantly Calvinist national Kirk, which became Presbyterian in outlook and severely reduced the powers of bishops. In the earlier part of the century, the teachings of first Martin Luther and then John Calvin began to influence Scotland, particularly through Scottish scholars, often training for the priesthood, who had visited Continental universities. The Lutheran preacher Patrick Hamilton
888-604: A literary language , and produced the Roman de Fergus , the earliest piece of non-Celtic vernacular literature to survive from Scotland. The first surviving major text in Early Scots literature is John Barbour 's Brus (1375), composed under the patronage of Robert II and telling the story in epic poetry of Robert I's actions before the English invasion till the end of the war of independence. Much Middle Scots literature
1110-568: A "Prayer for Protection" (attributed to St Mugint), c. mid-sixth century and Altus Prosator ("The High Creator", attributed to St Columba), c. 597. In Old English there is The Dream of the Rood , from which lines are found on the Ruthwell Cross , making it the only surviving fragment of Northumbrian Old English from early Medieval Scotland. Before the reign of David I, the Scots possessed
1332-466: A Scottish grammar school, then Cambridge, before moving to Paris, where he matriculated in 1493. By 1497 the humanist and historian Hector Boece , born in Dundee and who had studied at Paris, returned to become the first principal at the new university of Aberdeen. These international contacts helped integrate Scotland into a wider European scholarly world and would be one of the most important ways in which
1554-530: A barony. His reign saw what has been characterised as a " Davidian Revolution ", by which Anglo-Norman followers of King David were granted lands and titles and intermixed their institutions with those of Scots intermarrying with the existing aristocracy, underpinning the development of later Medieval Scotland. David's Anglo-Norman followers joined the Scottish aristocracy and he introduced a system of feudal land tenure, which produced knight service , castles and an available body of heavily armed cavalry. He created
1776-611: A bullion shortage and perhaps helping to create a financial crisis in the fifteenth century. There are almost no written sources from which to re-construct the demography of early Medieval Scotland. Estimates have been made of a population of 10,000 inhabitants in Dál Riata and 80–100,000 for Pictland. It is likely that the 5th and 6th centuries saw higher mortality rates due to the appearance of bubonic plague , which may have reduced net population. The examination of burial sites for this period like that at Hallowhill, St Andrews indicate
1998-473: A family unit and used an infield and outfield system. Arable farming grew in the High Middle Ages and agriculture entered a period of relative boom between the thirteenth century and late fifteenth century. Unlike England, Scotland had no towns dating from Roman occupation. From the twelfth century there are records of burghs, chartered towns, which became major centres of crafts and trade. and there
2220-602: A flourishing literary elite that produced texts in both Gaelic and Latin, a tradition that survived in the Highlands into the thirteenth century. It is possible that more Middle Irish literature was written in Medieval Scotland than is often thought, but has not survived because the Gaelic literary establishment of eastern Scotland died out before the fourteenth century. In the thirteenth century, French flourished as
2442-438: A flourishing religious culture that asserted its independence from English control. Scotland grew from its base in the eastern Lowlands , to approximately its modern borders. The varied and dramatic geography of the land provided a protection against invasion, but limited central control. It also defined the largely pastoral economy, with the first burghs being created from the twelfth century. The population may have grown to
SECTION 10
#17327944992182664-487: A golden age in Scottish poetry. In the late fifteenth century, Scots prose also began to develop as a genre. Although there are earlier fragments of original Scots prose, such as the Auchinleck Chronicle , the first complete surviving work includes John Ireland 's The Meroure of Wyssdome (1490). There were also prose translations of French books of chivalry that survive from the 1450s, including The Book of
2886-586: A heavy reliance on stone. As burghs developed there were more sophisticated houses for the nobles, burgesses and other inhabitants. By the end of the period some were stone built with slate roofs or tiles. Medieval parish church architecture was typically simpler than in England, with many churches remaining simple oblongs, without transepts and aisles , and often without towers. From the eleventh century there were influences from English and continental European designs and grander ecclesiastical buildings were built in
3108-403: A life expectancy of only 26–29 years. The known conditions have been taken to suggest it was a high fertility, high mortality society, similar to many developing countries in the modern world, with a relatively young demographic profile, and perhaps early childbearing, and large numbers of children for women. This would have meant that there were a relatively small proportion of available workers to
3330-487: A major factor in warfare in the Highlands and Islands. By the High Middle Ages , the kings of Scotland could command forces of tens of thousands of men for short periods as part of the "common army", mainly of poorly armoured spear and bowmen. After the introduction of feudalism to Scotland, these forces were augmented by small numbers of mounted and heavily armoured knights. Feudalism also introduced castles into
3552-467: A major influence on late Medieval religious thought. After the outbreak of the Wars of Independence, with occasional exceptions under safe conduct, English universities were closed to Scots and continental universities became more significant. Some Scottish scholars became teachers in continental universities. At Paris this included John De Rate and Walter Wardlaw in the 1340s and 1350s, William de Tredbrum in
3774-633: A meeting of the General Assembly in Glasgow the Scottish bishops were formally expelled from the Church, which was then established on a full Presbyterian basis. Charles gathered a military force; but as neither side wished to push the matter to a full military conflict, a temporary settlement was concluded at Pacification of Berwick . Matters remained unresolved until 1640 when, in a renewal of hostilities, Charles's northern forces were defeated by
3996-485: A peak of a million before the arrival of the Black Death in 1350. In the early Middle Ages society was divided between a small aristocracy and larger numbers of freemen and slaves. Serfdom disappeared in the fourteenth century and there was a growth of new social groups. The Pictish and Cumbric languages were replaced by Gaelic , Scots and later Norse , with Gaelic emerging as the major cultural language. From
4218-648: A picture of highly mobile boat-using people making tools from bone, stone and antlers. The oldest house for which there is evidence in Britain is the oval structure of wooden posts found at South Queensferry near the Firth of Forth , dating from the Mesolithic period, about 8240 BC. The earliest stone structures are probably the three hearths found at Jura , dated to about 6000 BC. Neolithic farming brought permanent settlements. Evidence of these includes
4440-615: A policy of peace with England to expand their authority in the Highlands and Islands. By the reign of Alexander III, the Scots were in a position to annexe the remainder of the western seaboard, which they did following Haakon Haakonarson 's ill-fated invasion and the stalemate of the Battle of Largs with the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The death of King Alexander III in 1286, and then of his granddaughter and heir Margaret, Maid of Norway in 1290, left 14 rivals for succession. To prevent civil war
4662-514: A position to impose reform on the Scottish church. A confession of faith, rejecting papal jurisdiction and the mass, was adopted by Parliament in 1560 , while the young Mary, Queen of Scots, was still in France. Knox, having escaped the galleys and spent time in Geneva as a follower of Calvin, emerged as the most significant figure of the period. The Calvinism of the reformers led by Knox resulted in
SECTION 20
#17327944992184884-402: A pretender to the throne and he seized power. His murder within a few months saw Domnall restored with one of Máel Coluim sons by his second marriage, Edmund , as his heir. The two ruled Scotland until two of Edmund's younger brothers returned from exile in England, again with English military backing. Victorious, Edgar , the oldest of the three, became king in 1097. Shortly afterwards Edgar and
5106-401: A pretender to the throne and he seized power. His murder within a few months saw Domnall restored with one of Máel Coluim sons by his second marriage, Edmund , as his heir. The two ruled Scotland until two of Edmund's younger brothers returned from exile in England, again with English military backing. Victorious, Edgar , the oldest of the three, became king in 1097. Shortly afterwards Edgar and
5328-454: A process of settlement by Scots in what was historically the most troublesome area of the kingdom in Ulster , with perhaps 50,000 Scots settling in the province by the mid-17th century. James adopted a different approach to impose his authority in the western Highlands and Islands. The additional military resource that was now available, particularly the English navy, resulted in the enactment of
5550-497: A remonstrance to the Pope from the nobles of Scotland, helped convince Pope John XXII to overturn the earlier excommunication and nullify the various acts of submission by Scottish kings to English ones so that Scotland's sovereignty could be recognised by the major European dynasties. The Declaration has also been seen as one of the most important documents in the development of a Scottish national identity. In 1326, what may have been
5772-661: A series of forts and towers were established along the Gask Ridge , which marked the boundary between the Lowland and Highland zones, probably forming the first Roman limes or frontier in Scotland. Agricola's successors were unable or unwilling to further subdue the far north. By the year 87, the occupation was limited to the Southern Uplands and by the end of the first century the northern limit of Roman expansion
5994-439: A series of reforms and transformations. With royal and lay patronage, a clearer parochial structure based around local churches was developed. Large numbers of new foundations, which followed continental forms of reformed monasticism, began to predominate and the Scottish church established its independence from England, developed a clearer diocesan structure, becoming a "special daughter of the see of Rome", but lacking leadership in
6216-488: A settlement that adopted a Presbyterian system and rejected most of the elaborate trappings of the medieval church. The reformed Kirk gave considerable power to local lairds, who often had control over the appointment of the clergy. There were widespread, but generally orderly outbreaks of iconoclasm . At this point the majority of the population was probably still Catholic in persuasion and the Kirk found it difficult to penetrate
6438-406: A short time Wallace ruled Scotland in the name of John Balliol as Guardian of the realm. Edward came north in person and defeated Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298. Wallace escaped but probably resigned as Guardian of Scotland. In 1305, he fell into the hands of the English, who executed him for treason despite the fact that he owed no allegiance to England. Rivals John Comyn and Robert
6660-440: A small educated elite, who were essential to create and read documents in a largely illiterate society. In the High Middle Ages new sources of education arose, with song and grammar schools . These were usually attached to cathedrals or a collegiate church and were most common in the developing burghs. By the end of the Middle Ages grammar schools could be found in all the main burghs and some small towns. Early examples including
6882-412: A style of court closer to that of the rest of Western Europe, introduced the office of justicar to oversee justice, and local offices of sheriffs to administer localities. He established the first royal burghs in Scotland, granting rights to particular villages and towns, which led to the development of the first true Scottish cities and helped facilitate economic development as did the introduction of
Scotland in the Middle Ages - Misplaced Pages Continue
7104-419: Is a sward -covered wall made of turf around 20 feet (6 m) high, with nineteen forts. It extended for 37 miles (60 km). Having taken twelve years to build, the wall was overrun and abandoned soon after 160. The Romans retreated to the line of Hadrian's Wall. Roman troops penetrated far into the north of modern Scotland several more times, with at least four major campaigns. The most notable invasion
7326-503: Is evidence of 55 burghs by 1296. There are also Scottish coins, although English coinage probably remained more significant in trade and until the end of the period barter was probably the most common form of exchange. Nevertheless, craft and industry remained relatively undeveloped before the end of the Middle Ages and, although there were extensive trading networks based in Scotland, while the Scots exported largely raw materials, they imported increasing quantities of luxury goods, resulting in
7548-515: Is limited, justice can be seen as developing from the twelfth century onwards with local sheriff , burgh , manorial and ecclesiastical courts and offices of the justicar to oversee administration. The Scots common law began to develop in this period and there were attempts to systematise and codify the law and the beginnings of an educated professional body of lawyers. In the Late Middle Ages major institutions of government, including
7770-465: Is no reliable documentation on the impact of the plague, there are many anecdotal references to abandoned land in the following decades. If the pattern followed that in England, then the population may have fallen to as low as half a million by the end of the fifteenth century. Compared with the situation after the redistribution of population in the later clearances and the industrial revolution , these numbers would have been relatively evenly spread over
7992-478: Is now Scotland. In the year 78, Gnaeus Julius Agricola arrived in Britain to take up his appointment as the new governor and began a series of major incursions. He is said to have pushed his armies to the estuary of the "River Taus" (usually assumed to be the River Tay ) and established forts there, including a legionary fortress at Inchtuthil . After his victory over the northern tribes at Mons Graupius in 84,
8214-527: Is often regarded as the key to formation of the Kingdom of Alba. He was later credited with bringing Scottish Christianity into conformity with the Catholic Church. After fighting many battles, his defeat at Brunanburh was followed by his retirement as a Culdee monk at St. Andrews. The period between the accession of his successor Máel Coluim I (Malcolm I) and Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II)
8436-406: Is often regarded as the key to formation of the Kingdom of Alba. He was later credited with bringing Scottish Christianity into conformity with the Catholic Church. After fighting many battles, his defeat at Brunanburh was followed by his retirement as a Culdee monk at St. Andrews. The period between the accession of his successor Máel Coluim I (Malcolm I) and Máel Coluim mac Cináeda (Malcolm II)
8658-480: Is recorded until Alt Clut was burnt and probably destroyed in 780, although by whom and what in what circumstances is not known. Finally, there were the English or "Angles", Germanic invaders who had conquered much of southern Britain and held the Kingdom of Bernicia , in the south-east. The first English king in the historical record is Ida , who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547. Ida's grandson, Æthelfrith, united his kingdom with Deira to
8880-695: The Antonine Wall . North of this was Caledonia , inhabited by the Picti , whose uprisings forced Rome's legions back to Hadrian's Wall . As Rome finally withdrew from Britain , a Gaelic tribe from Ireland called the Scoti began colonising Western Scotland and Wales. Before Roman times, prehistoric Scotland entered the Neolithic Era about 4000 BC, the Bronze Age about 2000 BC, and
9102-414: The Battle of Langside in 1568, she took refuge in England, leaving her young son in the hands of regents. In Scotland the regents fought a civil war on behalf of James VI against his mother's supporters. In England, Mary became a focal point for Catholic conspirators and was eventually tried for treason and executed on the orders of her kinswoman Elizabeth I. During the 16th century, Scotland underwent
Scotland in the Middle Ages - Misplaced Pages Continue
9324-500: The Battle of Solway Moss (1542). James died a short time later, a demise blamed by contemporaries on "a broken heart". The day before his death, he was brought news of the birth of an heir: a daughter, who would become Mary, Queen of Scots . Once again, Scotland was in the hands of a regent. Within two years, the Rough Wooing began, Henry VIII's military attempt to force a marriage between Mary and his son, Edward . This took
9546-678: The Clan MacDonald of Glencoe were killed by members of the Earl of Argyll's Regiment of Foot, on the grounds that they had not been prompt in pledging allegiance to the new monarchs. The closing decade of the 17th century saw the generally favourable economic conditions that had dominated since the Restoration come to an end. There was a slump in trade with the Baltic and France from 1689 to 1691, caused by French protectionism and changes in
9768-722: The Dunkeld dynasty that ruled Scotland for the following two centuries. Particularly important was his second marriage to the Anglo-Hungarian princess Margaret . This marriage, and raids on northern England, prompted William the Conqueror to invade and Máel Coluim submitted to his authority, opening up Scotland to later claims of sovereignty by English kings. When Malcolm died in 1093, his brother Domnall III (Donald III) succeeded him. However, William II of England backed Máel Coluim's son by his first marriage, Donnchad , as
9990-544: The Dunkeld dynasty that ruled Scotland for the following two centuries. Particularly important was his second marriage to the Anglo-Hungarian princess Margaret . This marriage, and raids on northern England, prompted William the Conqueror to invade and Máel Coluim submitted to his authority, opening up Scotland to later claims of sovereignty by English kings. When Malcolm died in 1093, his brother Domnall III (Donald III) succeeded him. However, William II of England backed Máel Coluim's son by his first marriage, Donnchad , as
10212-645: The Earl of Bothwell , who was implicated in Darnley's murder. Mary and Bothwell confronted the lords at Carberry Hill and after their forces melted away, he fled and she was captured by Bothwell's rivals. Mary was imprisoned in Lochleven Castle , and in July 1567, was forced to abdicate in favour of her infant son James VI . Mary eventually escaped and attempted to regain the throne by force. After her defeat at
10434-707: The English Civil War . This series of civil wars that engulfed England, Ireland and Scotland in the 1640s and 1650s is known to modern historians as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms . The Covenanters meanwhile, were left governing Scotland, where they raised a large army of their own and tried to impose their religious settlement on Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in the north of the country. In England his religious policies caused similar resentment and he ruled without recourse to parliament from 1629. As
10656-701: The Hebudes ( The Hebrides ), Dumna (probably the Outer Hebrides ), the Caledonian Forest and the people of the Caledonii , from whom the Romans named the region north of their control Caledonia . Ptolemy , possibly drawing on earlier sources of information as well as more contemporary accounts from the Agricolan invasion, identified 18 tribes in Scotland in his Geography , but many of
10878-534: The High School of Glasgow in 1124 and the High School of Dundee in 1239. There were also petty schools, more common in rural areas and providing an elementary education. Some monasteries, like the Cistercian abbey at Kinloss , opened their doors to a wider range of students. The number and size of these schools seems to have expanded rapidly from the 1380s. They were almost exclusively aimed at boys, but by
11100-454: The House of Balliol and the House of Bruce through the late Middle Ages . Scotland's ultimate victory confirmed Scotland as a fully independent and sovereign kingdom. When King David II died in 1371 without issue, his nephew Robert II established the House of Stuart , which would rule Scotland uncontested for the next three centuries. James VI , Stuart king of Scotland, also inherited
11322-648: The Iron Age around 700 BC. The Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata was founded on the west coast of Scotland in the 6th century . In the following century, Irish missionaries introduced the previously pagan Picts to Celtic Christianity . Following England 's Gregorian mission , the Pictish king Nechtan chose to abolish most Celtic practices in favour of the Roman rite , restricting Gaelic influence on his kingdom and avoiding war with Anglian Northumbria . Towards
SECTION 50
#173279449921811544-699: The Lord of the Isles , bringing the Western Isles under effective Royal control for the first time. In 1503, he married Margaret Tudor , daughter of Henry VII of England , thus laying the foundation for the 17th-century Union of the Crowns . Scotland advanced markedly in educational terms during the 15th century with the founding of the University of St Andrews in 1413, the University of Glasgow in 1450 and
11766-750: The P-Celtic , from which the Brythonic languages : Welsh , Breton , Cornish and Cumbric derive, and the Q-Celtic , from which come the Goidelic languages : Irish , Manx and Gaelic . The Pictish language remains enigmatic, since the Picts had no written script of their own and all that survives are place names and some isolated inscriptions in Irish ogham script. Most modern linguists accept that, although
11988-598: The Romanesque style, as can be seen at Dunfermline Abbey and Elgin Cathedral , and later the Gothic style as at Glasgow Cathedral and in the rebuilding of Melrose Abbey . From the early fifteenth century the introduction of Renaissance styles included the selective return of Romanesque forms, as in the nave of Dunkeld Cathedral and in the chapel of Bishop Elphinstone's Kings College, Aberdeen (1500–09). Many of
12210-601: The Scottish Borders , from around 1000 BC, which accommodated several hundred houses on a fortified hilltop. From the Early and Middle Bronze Age there is evidence of cellular round houses of stone, as at Jarlshof and Sumburgh in Shetland. There is also evidence of the occupation of crannogs , roundhouses partially or entirely built on artificial islands, usually in lakes, rivers and estuarine waters. In
12432-669: The St Ninian's Isle Treasure. Irish-Scots art from the Kingdom of Dál Riata is much more difficult to identify, but may include items like the Hunterston brooch , which with other items like the Monymusk Reliquary , suggest that Dál Riata was one of the places, as a crossroads between cultures, where the Insular style developed. Insular art is the name given to the common style that developed in Britain and Ireland after
12654-515: The Statutes of Iona which compelled integration of Hebridean clan leaders with the rest of Scottish society. Attempts to found a Scottish colony in North America in Nova Scotia were largely unsuccessful without sufficient funds or willing colonists. Although James had tried to get the Scottish Church to accept some of the High Church Anglicanism of his southern kingdom, he met with limited success. His son and successor, Charles I , took matters further, introducing an English-style Prayer Book into
12876-415: The University of Aberdeen in 1495, and with the passing of the Education Act 1496 , which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools. James IV's reign is often considered to have seen a flowering of Scottish culture under the influence of the European Renaissance . In 1512, the Auld Alliance was renewed and under its terms, when the French were attacked by
13098-407: The privy council and parliament developed. The council emerged as a full-time body in the fifteenth century, increasingly dominated by laymen and critical to the administration of justice. Parliament also emerged as a major legal institution, gaining an oversight of taxation and policy. By the end of the era it was sitting almost every year, partly because of the frequent minorities and regencies of
13320-414: The tower house design. primarily aimed to provide protection against smaller raiding parties, rather than a major siege. Extensive building and rebuilding of royal palaces in the Renaissance style probably began under James III and accelerated under James IV . Linlithgow was first constructed under James I, under the direction of master of work John de Waltoun and was referred to as a palace, apparently
13542-417: The 1380s and Laurence de Lindores in the early 1500s. This situation was transformed by the founding of the University of St Andrews in 1413, the University of Glasgow in 1450 and the University of Aberdeen in 1495. Initially these institutions were designed for the training of clerics, but they would increasingly be used by laymen who would begin to challenge the clerical monopoly of administrative post in
SECTION 60
#173279449921813764-428: The 1950s, nationalism has become a strong political topic, with serious debates on Scottish independence , and a referendum in 2014 about leaving the British Union. People lived in Scotland for at least 8,500 years before Britain's recorded history . At times during the last interglacial period (130,000–70,000 BC) Europe had a climate warmer than today's, and early humans may have made their way to Scotland, with
13986-407: The 5th century, the Picts had emerged as the dominant force in northern Scotland, with the various Brythonic tribes the Romans had first encountered there occupying the southern half of the country. Roman influence on Scottish culture and history was not enduring. In the centuries after the departure of the Romans from Britain, there were four groups within the borders of what is now Scotland. In
14208-410: The Albany family were executed; but he succeeded in centralising control in the hands of the crown, at the cost of increasing unpopularity, and was assassinated in 1437. His son James II (reigned 1437–1460), when he came of age in 1449, continued his father's policy of weakening the great noble families, most notably taking on the powerful Black Douglas family that had come to prominence at the time of
14430-490: The Bruce , grandson of the claimant, were appointed as joint guardians in his place. On 10 February 1306, Bruce participated in the murder of Comyn, at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries . Less than seven weeks later, on 25 March, Bruce was crowned as King. However, Edward's forces overran the country after defeating Bruce's small army at the Battle of Methven . Despite the excommunication of Bruce and his followers by Pope Clement V , his support slowly strengthened; and by 1314 with
14652-423: The Bruce. In 1468, the last significant acquisition of Scottish territory occurred when James III was engaged to Margaret of Denmark , receiving the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands in payment of her dowry. Berwick upon Tweed was captured by England in 1482 . With the death of James III in 1488 at the Battle of Sauchieburn , his successor James IV successfully ended the quasi-independent rule of
14874-429: The Bruce. However, four years after Robert's death in 1329, England once more invaded on the pretext of restoring Edward Balliol , son of John Balliol, to the Scottish throne, thus starting the Second War of Independence. Despite victories at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill , in the face of tough Scottish resistance led by Sir Andrew Murray , the son of Wallace's comrade in arms, successive attempts to secure Balliol on
15096-439: The Caledonians, who were then known as Picts by the Romans. This was defeated by the comes Theodosius , however, Roman military government was withdrawn from the island altogether by the early 5th century, resulting in the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain and the immigration of the Saxons to southeastern Scotland and the rest of eastern Great Britain. By the close of the Roman occupation of southern and central Britain in
15318-423: The English under Henry VIII , James IV invaded England in support. The invasion was stopped decisively at the Battle of Flodden Field during which the King, many of his nobles, and a large number of ordinary troops were killed, commemorated by the song Flowers of the Forest . Once again Scotland's government lay in the hands of regents in the name of the infant James V . James V finally managed to escape from
15540-467: The French and creating martyrs for the Protestant cause. Limited toleration and the influence of exiled Scots and Protestants in other countries, led to the expansion of Protestantism, with a group of lairds declaring themselves Lords of the Congregation in 1557 and representing their interests politically. The collapse of the French alliance and English intervention in 1560 meant that a relatively small, but highly influential, group of Protestants were in
15762-413: The French throne. Her mother, Marie de Guise, stayed in Scotland to look after the interests of Mary – and of France – although the Earl of Arran acted officially as regent. Guise responded by calling on French troops, who helped stiffen resistance to the English occupation. By 1550, after a change of regent in England, the English withdrew from Scotland completely. From 1554 on, Marie de Guise took over
15984-607: The Gothic had become dominant elsewhere from the thirteenth century. Much of the best Scottish artwork of the High and Late Middle Ages was either religious in nature or realised in metal and woodwork, and has not survived the impact of time and of the Reformation. However, examples of sculpture are extant as part of church architecture, including evidence of elaborate church interiors like the sacrament houses at Deskford and Kinkell and
16206-403: The Highlands and Islands, but began a gradual process of conversion and consolidation that, compared with reformations elsewhere, was conducted with relatively little persecution. Women shared in the religiosity of the day. The egalitarian and emotional aspects of Calvinism appealed to men and women alike. Historian Alasdair Raffe finds that, "Men and women were thought equally likely to be among
16428-615: The House of Stuart. During the Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution , Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Later, its industrial decline following the Second World War was particularly acute. In recent decades Scotland has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas. Since
16650-683: The Indies" received a charter to raise capital through public subscription. With the dream of building a lucrative overseas colony for Scotland, the Company of Scotland invested in the Darien scheme , an ambitious plan devised by William Paterson to establish a colony on the Isthmus of Panama in the hope of establishing trade with the Far East. The Darién scheme won widespread support in Scotland as
16872-519: The King of Norway, Magnus Bare Legs concluded a treaty recognising Norwegian authority over the Western Isles. In practice Norse control of the Isles was loose, with local chiefs enjoying a high degree of independence. He was succeeded by his brother Alexander , who reigned 1107–24. When Alexander died in 1124, the crown passed to Margaret's fourth son David I , who had spent most of his life as an English baron. His reign saw what has been characterised as
17094-429: The King of Norway, Magnus Barefoot concluded a treaty recognising Norwegian authority over the Western Isles. In practice Norse control of the Isles was loose, with local chiefs enjoying a high degree of independence. He was succeeded by his brother Alexander , who reigned 1107–1124. When Alexander died in 1124, the crown passed to Margaret's fourth son David I , who had spent part of his life in England where he held
17316-425: The Kingdom of Bernicia , in the south-east. The first English king in the historical record is Ida , who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547. Ida's grandson, Æthelfrith, united his kingdom with Deira to the south to form Northumbria around the year 604. There were changes of dynasty, and the kingdom was divided, but it was re-united under Æthelfrith's son Oswald (r. 634–642). Scotland
17538-669: The Law of Armys and the Order of Knychthode and the treatise Secreta Secetorum , an Arabic work believed to be Aristotle's advice to Alexander the Great . The landmark work in the reign of James IV was Gavin Douglas 's version of Virgil 's Aeneid , the Eneados , which was the first complete translation of a major classical text in an Anglian language, finished in 1513, but overshadowed by
17760-560: The Lowlands under Edward III, but these losses were gradually regained, particularly while England was preoccupied with the Wars of the Roses (1455–85). The dowry of the Orkney and Shetland Islands in 1468 was the last great land acquisition for the kingdom. However, in 1482 Berwick, a border fortress and the largest port in Medieval Scotland, fell to the English once again, for what was to be
17982-601: The North of England for some time. However, not all Scots supported the Covenanter's taking arms against their King. In 1644, James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose attempted to raise the Highlands for the King. Few Scots would follow him, but, aided by 1,000 Irish, Highland and Islesmen troops sent by the Irish Confederates under Alasdair MacDonald (MacColla) , and an instinctive genius for mobile warfare, he
18204-558: The Scots at the Battle of Newburn to the west of Newcastle. During the course of these Bishops' Wars Charles tried to raise an army of Irish Catholics, but was forced to back down after a storm of protest in Scotland and England. The backlash from this venture provoked a rebellion in Ireland and Charles was forced to appeal to the English Parliament for funds. Parliament's demands for reform in England eventually resulted in
18426-514: The Scots promised military aid in return for the King's agreement to implement Presbyterianism in England on a three-year trial basis. The Duke of Hamilton led an invasion of England to free the King, but he was defeated by Oliver Cromwell in August 1648 at the Battle of Preston. The execution of Charles I in 1649 was carried out in the face of objections by the Covenanter government and his son
18648-449: The Scottish cattle trade, followed by four years of failed harvests (1695, 1696 and 1698–1699), an era known as the "seven ill years". The result was severe famine and depopulation, particularly in the north. The Parliament of Scotland of 1695 enacted proposals to help the desperate economic situation, including setting up the Bank of Scotland . The "Company of Scotland Trading to Africa and
18870-596: The Scottish church in 1637. This resulted in anger and widespread rioting. (The story goes that it was initiated by a certain Jenny Geddes who threw a stool in St Giles Cathedral .) Representatives of various sections of Scottish society drew up the National Covenant in 1638, objecting to the King's liturgical innovations. In November of the same year matters were taken even further, when at
19092-491: The Scottish court, a less highly regarded order of bards took over the functions of the filidh and they would continue to act in a similar role in the Highlands and Islands into the eighteenth century. They often trained in bardic schools, of which a few, like the one run by the MacMhuirich dynasty, who were bards to the Lord of the Isles , existed in Scotland and a larger number in Ireland, until they were suppressed from
19314-424: The Scottish magnates asked Edward I of England to arbitrate, for which he extracted legal recognition that the realm of Scotland was held as a feudal dependency to the throne of England before choosing John Balliol , the man with the strongest claim, who became king in 1292. Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale , the next strongest claimant, accepted this outcome with reluctance. Over the next few years Edward I used
19536-621: The Scottish throne, thus starting the Second War of Independence. Despite victories at Dupplin Moor and Halidon Hill , in the face of tough Scottish resistance led by Sir Andrew Murray , the son of Wallace's comrade in arms, successive attempts to secure Balliol on the throne failed. Edward III lost interest in the fate of his protégé after the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with France. In 1341 David II , King Robert's son and heir,
19758-618: The Spanish from nearby Cartagena ; and refused aid by the English in the West Indies , the colonists abandoned their project in 1700. Only 1,000 survived and only one ship managed to return to Scotland. Education Act 1496 The Education Act 1496 (c. 87) was an act of the Parliament of Scotland that required landowners to send their eldest sons to school to study Latin , arts and law . This made schooling compulsory for
19980-517: The Stewart kings, came to the throne in 1371. He was followed in 1390 by his ailing son John, who took the regnal name Robert III . During Robert III's reign (1390–1406), actual power rested largely in the hands of his brother, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany . After the suspicious death (possibly on the orders of the Duke of Albany) of his elder son, David, Duke of Rothesay in 1402, Robert, fearful for
20202-474: The Tay, began a steady decline. Lowland writers began to treat Gaelic as a second class, rustic and even amusing language, helping to frame attitudes towards the highlands and to create a cultural gulf with the lowlands. The establishment of Christianity brought Latin to Scotland as a scholarly and written language. Monasteries served as major repositories of knowledge and education, often running schools and providing
20424-456: The almost bloodless " Glorious Revolution ". The Estates issued a Claim of Right that suggested that James had forfeited the crown by his actions (in contrast to England, which relied on the legal fiction of an abdication) and offered it to William and Mary, which William accepted, along with limitations on royal power. The final settlement restored Presbyterianism and abolished the bishops who had generally supported James. However, William, who
20646-675: The arrival of the Vikings in the late eighth century, Scandinavian rulers and colonies were established along parts of the coasts and in the islands. In the ninth century the Scots and Picts combined under the House of Alpin to form a single Kingdom of Alba , with a Pictish base and dominated by Gaelic culture . After the reign of King David I in the twelfth century, the Scottish monarchs are best described as Scoto-Norman , preferring French culture to native Scottish culture . Alexander II and his son Alexander III , were able to regain
20868-556: The carvings of the seven deadly sins at Rosslyn Chapel . From the thirteenth century, there are relatively large numbers of monumental effigies like the elaborate Douglas tombs in the town of Douglas . Native craftsmanship can be seen in items like the Bute mazer and the Savernake Horn , and more widely in the large number of high quality seals that survive from the mid thirteenth century onwards. Visual illustration can be seen in
21090-430: The centuries after the departure of the Romans from Britain, four major circles of influence emerged within the borders of what is now Scotland. In the east were the Picts , whose kingdoms eventually stretched from the river Forth to Shetland. The first identifiable king to have exerted a superior and wide-ranging authority, was Bridei mac Maelchon (r. c. 550–84), whose power was based in the Kingdom of Fidach and his base
21312-616: The civil wars developed, the English Parliamentarians appealed to the Scots Covenanters for military aid against the King. A Solemn League and Covenant was entered into, guaranteeing the Scottish Church settlement and promising further reform in England. Scottish troops played a major part in the defeat of Charles I, notably at the battle of Marston Moor . An army under the Earl of Leven occupied
21534-508: The concessions he had gained to systematically undermine both the authority of King John and the independence of Scotland. In 1295 John, on the urgings of his chief councillors, entered into an alliance with France, known as the Auld Alliance . In 1296 Edward invaded Scotland, deposing King John. The following year William Wallace and Andrew de Moray raised forces to resist the occupation and under their joint leadership an English army
21756-442: The conversion of the Picts and the cultural assimilation of Pictish culture into that of the Scots and Angles, and which became highly influential in continental Europe, contributing to the development of Romanesque and Gothic styles. It can be seen in elaborate jewellery, often making extensive use of semi-precious stones, in the heavily carved High crosses found most frequently in the Highlands and Islands, but distributed across
21978-566: The council and forced through religious toleration to Roman Catholics, alienating his Protestant subjects. It was believed that the king would be succeeded by his daughter Mary, a Protestant and the wife of William of Orange , Stadtholder of the Netherlands, but when in 1688, James produced a male heir, James Francis Edward Stuart , it was clear that his policies would outlive him. An invitation by seven leading Englishmen led William to land in England with 40,000 men, and James fled, leading to
22200-428: The country after defeating Bruce's small army at the Battle of Methven . Despite the excommunication of Bruce and his followers by Pope Clement V , his support slowly strengthened; and by 1314 with the help of leading nobles such as Sir James Douglas and Thomas Randolph only the castles at Bothwell and Stirling remained under English control. Edward I had died in 1307. His heir Edward II moved an army north to break
22422-594: The country and particularly in the highly decorated illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells , which may have been begun, or wholly created on Iona. The finest era of the style was brought to an end by the disruption to monastic centres and aristocratic life of the Viking raids in the late eighth century. Scotland adopted the Romanesque in the late twelfth century, retaining and reviving elements of its style after
22644-424: The country, originally simple wooden motte-and-bailey constructions, but these were replaced in the thirteenth century with more formidable stone " enceinte " castles, with high encircling walls. In the thirteenth century the threat of Scandinavian naval power subsided and the kings of Scotland were able to use naval forces to help subdue the Highlands and Islands. Scottish field armies rarely managed to stand up to
22866-418: The crown gained greater political control at the expense of independent lords and regained most of its lost territory to approximately the modern borders of the country. However, the Auld Alliance with France led to the heavy defeat of a Scottish army at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 and the death of the king James IV , which would be followed by a long minority and a period of political instability. Kingship
23088-475: The crown managed parliament), bishops and a king who did not visit the country. He ruled largely without reference to Parliament, through a series of commissioners. These began with John, Earl of Middleton and ended with the king's brother and heir, James, Duke of York (known in Scotland as the Duke of Albany). The English Navigation Acts prevented the Scots engaging in what would have been lucrative trading with England's colonies. The restoration of episcopacy
23310-399: The crown now passing down the main line of descent through primogeniture, leading to the first of a series of minorities. The benefits of greater authority were reaped by William's son Alexander II and his son Alexander III , who pursued a policy of peace with England to expand their authority in the Highlands and Islands. By the reign of Alexander III, the Scots were in a position to annexe
23532-495: The custody of the regents in 1528. He continued his father's policy of subduing the rebellious Highlands , Western and Northern isles and the troublesome borders. He also continued the French alliance, marrying first the French noblewoman Madeleine of Valois and then after her death Marie of Guise . James V's domestic and foreign policy successes were overshadowed by another disastrous campaign against England that led to defeat at
23754-463: The death of Robert III, regents ruled Scotland: first, the Duke of Albany; and later his son Murdoch . When Scotland finally paid the ransom in 1424, James, aged 32, returned with his English bride determined to assert this authority. Several members of the Albany family were executed, and he succeeded in centralising control in the hands of the crown, but at the cost of increasingly unpopularity and he
23976-517: The disaster at Flodden. In the early middles ages, there were distinct material cultures evident in the different linguistic groups, federations and kingdoms within what is now Scotland. Pictish art can be seen in the extensive survival of carved stones, particularly in the north and east of the country, which hold a variety of recurring images and patterns, as at Dunrobin ( Sutherland ) and Aberlemno stones ( Angus ). It can also be seen in elaborate metal work that largely survives in buried hoards like
24198-485: The early Iron Age , from the seventh century BC, cellular houses began to be replaced on the northern isles by simple Atlantic roundhouses , substantial circular buildings with a dry stone construction. From about 400 BC, more complex Atlantic roundhouses began to be built, as at Howe, Orkney and Crosskirk , Caithness. The most massive constructions that date from this era are the circular broch towers, probably dating from about 200 BC. This period also saw
24420-462: The early 11th century and the kingdom passed through his daughter's son to the House of Dunkeld or Canmore. The last Dunkeld king, Alexander III , died in 1286. He left only his infant granddaughter, Margaret , as heir, who died herself four years later. England, under Edward I , would take advantage of this questioned succession to launch a series of conquests, resulting in the Wars of Scottish Independence , as Scotland passed back and forth between
24642-460: The early 1680s a more intense phase of persecution began, later to be called " the Killing Time ". When Charles died in 1685 and his brother, a Roman Catholic, succeeded him as James VII of Scotland (and II of England) , matters came to a head. James put Catholics in key positions in the government and attendance at conventicles was made punishable by death. He disregarded parliament, purged
24864-488: The early Middle Ages survives in carving, in metalwork, and elaborate illuminated books, which contributed to the development of the wider insular style . Much of the finest later work has not survived, but there are a few key examples, particularly of work commissioned in the Netherlands. Scotland had a musical tradition, with secular music composed and performed by bards and from the thirteenth century, church music increasingly influenced by continental and English forms. In
25086-462: The east were the Picts, with kingdoms between the river Forth and Shetland. In the late 6th century the dominant force was the Kingdom of Fortriu , whose lands were centred on Strathearn and Menteith and who raided along the eastern coast into modern England. In the west were the Gaelic ( Goidelic )-speaking people of Dál Riata with their royal fortress at Dunadd in Argyll, with close links with
25308-468: The elect....Godly men valued the prayers and conversation of their female co-religionists, and this reciprocity made for loving marriages and close friendships between men and women." Furthermore, there was an increasingly intense relationship in the pious bonds between minister and his women parishioners. For the first time, laywomen gained numerous new religious roles and took a prominent place in prayer societies. In 1603, James VI King of Scots inherited
25530-464: The eleventh century French was adopted in the court and in the late Middle Ages, Scots , derived from Old English, became dominant, with Gaelic largely confined to the Highlands. Christianity brought Latin, written culture and monasteries as centres of learning. From the twelfth century, educational opportunities widened and a growth of lay education cumulated in the Education Act 1496 . Until in
25752-514: The end of the 8th century, the Viking invasions began, forcing the Picts and Gaels to cease their historic hostility to each other and to unite in the 9th century , forming the Kingdom of Scotland . The Kingdom of Scotland was united under the House of Alpin , whose members fought among each other during frequent disputed successions. The last Alpin king, Malcolm II , died without a male issue in
25974-521: The end of the fifteenth century, Edinburgh also had schools for girls, sometimes described as "sewing schools", and probably taught by lay women or nuns. There was also the development of private tuition in the families of lords and wealthy burghers. The growing emphasis on education cumulated with the passing of the Education Act 1496 , which decreed that all sons of barons and freeholders of substance should attend grammar schools to learn "perfyct Latyne". All this resulted in an increase in literacy, but which
26196-450: The era and adopted the conventional offices of Western European courts and later elements of their ritual and grandeur. In the early period the kings of the Scots depended on the great lords of the mormaers (later earls ) and Toísechs (later thanes ), but from the reign of David I sheriffdoms were introduced, which allowed more direct control and gradually limited the power of the major lordships. While knowledge of early systems of law
26418-481: The era. The organisation of society is obscure in the early part of the period, for which there are few documentary sources. Kinship probably provided the primary unit of organisation and society was divided between a small aristocracy , whose rationale was based around warfare, a wider group of freemen, who had the right to bear arms and were represented in law codes, above a relatively large body of slaves, who may have lived beside and become clients of their owners. By
26640-445: The fifteenth century, when Scotland gained three universities, Scots pursuing higher education had to travel to England or the continent, where some gained an international reputation. Literature survives in all the major languages present in the early Middle Ages, with Scots emerging as a major literary language from John Barbour 's Brus (1375), developing a culture of poetry by court makars , and later major works of prose. Art from
26862-579: The final change of hands. Having between a fifth or sixth (15-20%) of the arable or good pastoral land and roughly the same amount of coastline as England and Wales, marginal pastoral agriculture and fishing were two of the most important aspects of the Medieval Scottish economy. With poor communications, in the Early Middle Ages most settlements needed to achieve a degree of self-sufficiency in agriculture. Most farms were based around
27084-542: The first wheelhouses , a roundhouse with a characteristic outer wall, within which was a circle of stone piers (bearing a resemblance to the spokes of a wheel), but these would flourish most in the era of Roman occupation. There is evidence for about 1,000 Iron Age hill forts in Scotland , most located below the Clyde-Forth line, which have suggested to some archaeologists the emergence of a society of petty rulers and warrior elites recognisable from Roman accounts. Of
27306-477: The first full Parliament of Scotland met. The parliament had evolved from an earlier council of nobility and clergy, the colloquium , constituted around 1235, but perhaps in 1326 representatives of the burghs – the burgh commissioners – joined them to form the Three Estates . In 1328, Edward III signed the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton acknowledging Scottish independence under the rule of Robert
27528-410: The first recorded Scottish coinage. He continued a process begun by his mother and brothers helping to establish foundations that brought reform to Scottish monasticism based on those at Cluny and he played a part in organising diocese on lines closer to those in the rest of Western Europe. These reforms were pursued under his successors and grandchildren Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I , with
27750-404: The first time in the world. The humanist intent was to ensure that local government lay in competent hands and to improve the administration of justice nationwide by making the legal system more responsive at the local level. The act states: The act was passed by the Parliament at Edinburgh on 13 June 1496 in the reign of James IV ; in the 19th century, it remained in effect as one of
27972-503: The first use of this term in the country, from 1429. This was extended under James III and began to correspond to a fashionable quadrangular, corner-towered Italian signorial palace, combining classical symmetry with neo-chivalric imagery. History of Scotland The recorded history of Scotland begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century , when the province of Britannia reached as far north as
28194-419: The form of tonsure and the method of calculating Easter , although most of these issues had been resolved by the mid-7th century. Conversion to Christianity may have sped a long-term process of gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There was also a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns, although historians debate whether it was a Pictish takeover of Dál Riata, or
28416-493: The form of archbishops. In the Late Middle Ages the problems of schism in the Catholic Church allowed the Scottish Crown to gain greater influence over senior appointments and two archbishoprics had been established by the end of the fifteenth century. While some historians have discerned a decline of monasticism in the Late Middle Ages, the mendicant orders of friars grew, particularly in the expanding burghs , to meet
28638-466: The form of border skirmishing and several English campaigns into Scotland. In 1547, after the death of Henry VIII, forces under the English regent Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset were victorious at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh , the climax of the Rough Wooing, and followed up by the occupation of Haddington . Mary was then sent to France at the age of five, as the intended bride of the heir to
28860-509: The foundation for the seventeenth century Union of the Crowns . However, in 1512 the Auld Alliance was renewed and under its terms, when the French were attacked by the English under Henry VIII the next year, James IV invaded England in support. The invasion was stopped decisively at the Battle of Flodden during which the King, many of his nobles, and a large number of ordinary troops were killed. Once again Scotland's government lay in
29082-794: The fragmented nature of political power. The defining factor in the geography of Scotland is the distinction between the Highlands and Islands in the north and west and the Lowlands in the south and east. The highlands are further divided into the Northwest Highlands and the Grampian Mountains by the fault line of the Great Glen . The lowlands are divided into the fertile belt of the Central Lowlands and
29304-441: The government and law. Those wanting to study for second degrees still needed to go elsewhere and Scottish scholars continued to visit the continent and English universities reopened to Scots in the late fifteenth century. The continued movement to other universities produced a school of Scottish nominalists at Paris in the early sixteenth century, of which John Mair was probably the most important figure. He had probably studied at
29526-449: The government. Despite her private religion, she did not attempt to re-impose Catholicism on her largely Protestant subjects, thus angering the chief Catholic nobles. Her six-year personal reign was marred by a series of crises, largely caused by the intrigues and rivalries of the leading nobles. The murder of her secretary, David Riccio , was followed by that of her unpopular second husband Lord Darnley , and her abduction by and marriage to
29748-496: The hands of an English army at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, which saw the destruction of a large number of ordinary troops, a large section of the nobility and the king, James IV. Christianity was probably introduced to what is now lowland Scotland from Roman soldiers stationed in the north of the province of Britannia . It is presumed to have survived among the Brythonic enclaves in the south of modern Scotland, but retreated as
29970-409: The hands of his brother, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany . After the suspicious death (possibly on the orders of the Duke of Albany) of his elder son, David, Duke of Rothesay in 1402, Robert, fearful for the safety of his younger son, the future James I , sent him to France in 1406. However, the English captured him en route and he spent the next 18 years as a prisoner held for ransom. As a result, after
30192-407: The hands of regents in the name of the infant James V . Kingship was the major form of political organisation in the Early Middle Ages, with competing minor kingdoms and fluid relationships of over and under kingdoms. The primary function of these kings was as war leaders, but there were also ritual elements to kingship, evident in ceremonies of coronation. The unification of the Scots and Picts from
30414-549: The hands of the English, who executed him for treason despite the fact that he believed he owed no allegiance to England. Rivals John Comyn and Robert the Bruce , grandson of the claimant, were appointed as joint guardians in his place. On 10 February 1306, Bruce participated in the murder of Comyn, at Greyfriars Kirk in Dumfries . Less than seven weeks later, on 25 March, Bruce was crowned as king. However, Edward's forces overran
30636-481: The help of leading nobles such as Sir James Douglas and Thomas Randolph only the castles at Bothwell and Stirling remained under English control. Edward I had died in 1307. His heir Edward II moved an army north to break the siege of Stirling Castle and reassert control. Robert defeated that army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, securing de facto independence. In 1320, the Declaration of Arbroath ,
30858-462: The higher terrain of the Southern Uplands , which included the Cheviot hills , over which the border with England came to run by the end of the period. Some of these were further divided by mountains, major rivers and marshes. The Central Lowland belt averages about 50 miles in width and, because it contains most of the good quality agricultural land and has easier communications, could support most of
31080-513: The highlands, from which area potential resistance could reconquer the Lowlands. However, it also made those areas problematic to govern for Scottish kings and much of the political history of the era after the wars of independence circulated around attempts to resolve problems of entrenched localism in these regions. Until the thirteenth century the borders with England were very fluid, with Northumbria being annexed to Scotland by David I, but lost under his grandson and successor Malcolm IV in 1157. By
31302-566: The idea: involved in the War of the Grand Alliance from 1689 to 1697 against France, it did not want to offend Spain, which claimed the territory as part of New Granada . The English investors withdrew. Returning to Edinburgh, the Company raised 400,000 pounds in a few weeks. Three small fleets with a total of 3,000 men eventually set out for Panama in 1698. The exercise proved a disaster. Poorly equipped; beset by incessant rain; under attack by
31524-730: The illumination of charters, and occasional survivals like the fifteenth century Doom painting at Guthrie . Surviving copies of individual portraits are relatively crude, but more impressive are the works or artists commissioned from the continent, particularly the Netherlands, including Hugo van Der Goes 's altarpiece for the Trinity College Church in Edinburgh and the Hours of James IV of Scotland . Medieval vernacular architecture utilised local building materials, including cruck constructed houses, turf walls and clay, with
31746-411: The independence of Scotland. In 1295, John, on the urgings of his chief councillors, entered into an alliance with France, known as the Auld Alliance . In 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, deposing King John. The following year William Wallace and Andrew de Moray raised forces to resist the occupation and under their joint leadership an English army was defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge . For
31968-424: The island of Ireland, from which they brought with them the name Scots. In 563 a mission from Ireland under St. Columba founded the monastery of Iona off the west coast of Scotland and probably began the conversion of the region to Christianity. The kingdom reached its height under Áedán mac Gabráin (r. 574–608), but its expansion was checked at the Battle of Degsastan in 603 by Æthelfrith of Northumbria . In
32190-529: The island of Ireland, from whom comes the name Scots. In the south was the British (Brythonic) Kingdom of Strathclyde , descendants of the peoples of the Roman-influenced kingdoms of " Hen Ogledd " (Old north), often named Alt Clut, the Brythonic name for their capital at Dumbarton Rock . Finally, there were the English or "Angles", Germanic invaders who had overrun much of southern Britain and held
32412-401: The kingdom, with roughly half living north of the Tay. Perhaps ten per cent of the population lived in one of many burghs that grew up in the later Medieval period, mainly in the east and south. It has been suggested that they would have had a mean population of about 2,000, but many would be much smaller than 1,000 and the largest, Edinburgh, probably had a population of over 10,000 by the end of
32634-642: The kingdoms of North Britain. Orkney , Shetland and the Western Isles eventually fell to the Norsemen. The King of Fortriu, Eógan mac Óengusa , and the King of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta , were among the dead in a major defeat at the hands of the Vikings in 839. A mixture of Viking and Gaelic Irish settlement into south-west Scotland produced the Gall-Gaidel , the Norse Irish , from which the region gets
32856-425: The landed gentry and the merchant class were in agreement in seeing overseas trade and colonialism as routes to upgrade Scotland's economy. Since the capital resources of the Edinburgh merchants and landholder elite were insufficient, the company appealed to middling social ranks, who responded with patriotic fervour to the call for money; the lower classes volunteered as colonists. But the English government opposed
33078-415: The language spoken in northern England, it became a distinct dialect from the late fourteenth century onwards. It began to be adopted by the ruling elite as they gradually abandoned French. By the fifteenth century it was the language of government, with acts of parliament, council records and treasurer's accounts almost all using it from the reign of James I onwards. As a result, Gaelic, once dominant north of
33300-486: The last time in 1482, and James was able to regain power. However, the King managed to alienate the barons, former supporters, his wife and his son James. He was defeated at the Battle of Sauchieburn and killed in 1488. His successor James IV successfully ended the quasi-independent rule of the Lord of the Isles , bringing the Western Isles under effective Royal control for the first time. In 1503, he married Margaret Tudor , daughter of Henry VII of England , thus laying
33522-410: The late thirteenth century when the Treaty of York (1237) and Treaty of Perth (1266) had fixed the boundaries with the Kingdom of the Scots with England and Norway respectively, its borders were close to the modern boundaries. The Isle of Man fell under English control in the fourteenth century, despite several attempts to restore Scottish authority. The English were able to annexe a large slice of
33744-415: The local Norn , which lingered until the end of the eighteenth century and Norse may also have survived as a spoken language until the sixteenth century in the Outer Hebrides . French, Flemish and particularly English became the main language of Scottish burghs, most of which were located in the south and east, an area to which Anglian settlers had already brought a form of Old English. In the later part of
33966-433: The major European dynasties. The declaration has also been seen as one of the most important documents in the development of a Scottish national identity. In 1328, Edward III signed the Treaty of Northampton acknowledging Scottish independence under the rule of Robert the Bruce. However, four years after Robert's death in 1329, England once more invaded on the pretext of restoring Edward Balliol , son of John Balliol, to
34188-492: The modern name Galloway . Sometime in the ninth century the beleaguered Kingdom of Dál Riata lost the Hebrides to the Vikings, when Ketil Flatnose is said to have founded the Kingdom of the Isles . These threats may have speeded a long-term process of gaelicisation of the Pictish kingdoms, which adopted Gaelic language and customs. There was also a merger of the Gaelic and Pictish crowns, although historians debate whether it
34410-426: The motte and bailey castles introduced into Scotland with feudalism in the twelfth century and the castles " enceinte ", with a high embattled curtain wall that replaced those still in occupation, were slighted during the Wars of Independence. In the late Middle Ages new castles were built, some on a grander scale as " livery and maintenance " castles, to house retained troops. Gunpowder weaponry fundamentally altered
34632-528: The names are obscure and the geography becomes less reliable in the north and west, suggesting early Roman knowledge of these areas was confined to observations from the sea. The Roman invasion of Britain began in earnest in AD ;43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province of Britannia in the south. By the year 71, the Roman governor Quintus Petillius Cerialis had launched an invasion of what
34854-543: The nature and unity of Pictish language is unclear, it belonged to the former group. Historical sources, as well as place name evidence, indicate the ways in which the Pictish language in the north and Cumbric languages in the south were overlaid and replaced by Gaelic, Old English and later Norse in this period. By the High Middle Ages the majority of people within Scotland spoke the Gaelic language, then simply called Scottish , or in Latin, lingua Scotica . The Kingdom of Alba
35076-615: The nature of castle architecture, with existing castles being adapted to allow the use of gunpowder weapons by the incorporation of "keyhole" gun ports, platforms to mount guns and walls being adapted to resist bombardment. Ravenscraig , Kirkcaldy, begun about 1460, is probably the first castle in the British Isles to be built as an artillery fort, incorporating "D-shape" bastions that would better resist cannon fire and on which artillery could be mounted. The largest number of late medieval fortifications in Scotland built by nobles were of
35298-503: The new combined Pictish and Gaelic kingdom almost encircled. When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900, Domnall II (Donald II) was the first man to be called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba ). The term Scotia was increasingly used to describe the kingdom between North of the Forth and Clyde and eventually the entire area controlled by its kings was referred to as Scotland. The long reign (900–942/3) of Causantín (Constantine II)
35520-461: The new combined Pictish and Gaelic kingdom almost encircled. When he died as king of the combined kingdom in 900, Domnall II (Donald II) was the first man to be called rí Alban (i.e. King of Alba ). The term Scotia would be increasingly be used to describe the kingdom between North of the Forth and Clyde and eventually the entire area controlled by its kings would be referred to as Scotland. The long reign (900–942/3) of Causantín (Constantine II)
35742-659: The new ideas of humanism were brought into Scottish intellectual life. Much of the earliest Welsh literature was actually composed in or near the country now called Scotland, in the Brythonic speech, from which Welsh would be derived, include The Gododdin and the Battle of Gwen Ystrad . There are also religious works in Gaelic including the Elegy for St Columba by Dallan Forgaill, c. 597 and "In Praise of St Columba" by Beccan mac Luigdech of Rum, c. 677. In Latin they include
35964-421: The noble ranks were husbandmen with small farms and growing numbers of cottars and gresemen with more modest landholdings. The combination of agnatic kinship and feudal obligations has been seen as creating the system of clans in the Highlands in this era. Scottish society adopted theories of the three estates to describe its society and English terminology to differentiate ranks. Serfdom disappeared from
36186-410: The number of mouths to feed. This have made it difficult to produce a surplus that would allow demographic growth and more complex societies to develop. From the formation of the Kingdom of Alba in the tenth century, to before the Black Death reached the country in 1349, estimates based on the amount of farmable land, suggest that population may have grown from half a million to a million. Although there
36408-473: The office of justicar to oversee justice, and local offices of sheriffs to administer localities. He established the first royal burghs in Scotland, granting rights to particular settlements, which led to the development of the first true Scottish towns and helped facilitate economic development as did the introduction of the first recorded Scottish coinage. He continued a process begun by his mother and brothers, of helping to establish foundations that brought
36630-404: The other way around. This culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s, which brought to power the House of Alpin . In 867 AD the Vikings seized the southern half of Northumbria, forming the Kingdom of York ; three years later they stormed the Britons' fortress of Dumbarton and subsequently conquered much of England except for a reduced Kingdom of Wessex, leaving
36852-504: The pagan Anglo-Saxons advanced. Scotland was largely converted by Irish-Scots missions associated with figures such as St Columba from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions tended to found monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas. Partly as a result of these factors, some scholars have identified a distinctive form of Celtic Christianity , in which abbots were more significant than bishops, attitudes to clerical celibacy were more relaxed and there
37074-407: The period, which may have prevented it from being sidelined by the monarchy. In the Early Middle Ages, war on land was characterised by the use of small war-bands of household troops often engaging in raids and low level warfare. The arrival of the Vikings brought a new scale of naval warfare, with rapid movement based around the Viking longship. The birlinn , which developed from the longship, became
37296-449: The possible discovery of pre- Ice Age axes on Orkney and mainland Scotland. Glaciers then scoured their way across most of Britain, and only after the ice retreated did Scotland again become habitable, around 9600 BC. Upper Paleolithic hunter-gatherer encampments formed the first known settlements, and archaeologists have dated an encampment near Biggar to around 12000 BC. Numerous other sites found around Scotland build up
37518-457: The principal statutes for the management of schools under Scots law . This act is sometimes referred to as the Education Act 1494 ; this is due to an error in some editions of the Acts of Parliament , where it is listed as 1494 James IV, c. 54. This article relating to education in Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Scottish history -related article
37740-409: The realm of Scotland was held as a feudal dependency to the throne of England before choosing John Balliol , the man with the strongest claim, who became king in 1292. Robert Bruce, 5th Lord of Annandale , the next strongest claimant, accepted this outcome with reluctance. Over the next few years Edward I used the concessions he had gained to systematically undermine both the authority of King John and
37962-417: The records in the fourteenth century and new social groups of labourers, craftsmen and merchants, became important in the developing burghs . This led to increasing social tensions in urban society, but, in contrast to England and France, there was a lack of major unrest in Scottish rural society, where there was relatively little economic change. Modern linguists divide Celtic languages into two major groups,
38184-516: The reformed monasticism based on that at Cluny . He also played a part in the organisation of diocese on lines closer to those in the rest of Western Europe. These reforms were pursued under his successors and grandchildren Malcolm IV of Scotland and William I , with the crown now passing down the main line of descent through primogeniture, leading to the first of a series of minorities. The benefits of greater authority were reaped by William's son Alexander II and his son Alexander III , who pursued
38406-406: The regency and continued to advance French interests in Scotland. French cultural influence resulted in a large influx of French vocabulary into Scots . But anti-French sentiment also grew, particularly among Protestants , who saw the English as their natural allies. This led to armed conflict at the siege of Leith . Marie de Guise died in June 1560, and soon after the Auld Alliance also ended, with
38628-406: The remainder of the western seaboard, cumulating the Treaty of Perth with Norway in 1266. After being invaded and briefly occupied, Scotland re-established its independence from England under figures including William Wallace in the late thirteenth century and Robert Bruce in the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century under the Stewart Dynasty , despite a turbulent political history ,
38850-472: The remainder of the western seaboard, which they did following Haakon Haakonarson 's ill-fated invasion and the stalemate of the Battle of Largs with the Treaty of Perth in 1266. The death of King Alexander III in 1286, and the death of his granddaughter and heir, Margaret, Maid of Norway , in 1290, left 14 rivals for succession. To prevent civil war the Scottish magnates asked Edward I of England to arbitrate, for which he extracted legal recognition that
39072-452: The safety of his younger son, the future James I , sent him to France in 1406. However, the English captured him en route and he spent the next 18 years as a prisoner held for ransom. As a result, after the death of Robert III, regents ruled Scotland: first, the Duke of Albany; and later his son Murdoch . When Scotland finally paid the ransom in 1424, James, aged 32, returned with his English bride determined to assert his authority. Several of
39294-559: The same amount of coastline at 4,000 miles. Only a fifth of Scotland is less than 60 metres above sea level. Its east Atlantic position means that it has very heavy rainfall: today about 700 cm per year in the east and over 1,000 cm in the west. This encouraged the spread of blanket peat bog , the acidity of which, combined with high level of wind and salt spray, made most of the islands treeless. The existence of hills, mountains, quicksands and marshes made internal communication and conquest extremely difficult and may have contributed to
39516-446: The same period. New " livery and maintenance " castles were built to house these troops and castles began to be adapted to accommodate gunpowder weapons. The Stewarts also adopted major innovations in continental warfare, such as longer pikes and the extensive use of artillery, and they built up a formidable navy. However, in the early fifteenth century one of the best armed and largest Scottish armies ever assembled still met with defeat at
39738-450: The seventeenth century. Members of bardic schools were trained in the complex rules and forms of Gaelic poetry. Much of their work was never written down and what survives was only recorded from the sixteenth century. In the late Middle Ages, Middle Scots , often simply called English, became the dominant language of the country. It was derived largely from Old English, with the addition of elements from Gaelic and French. Although resembling
39960-451: The siege of Stirling Castle and reassert control. Robert defeated that army at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, securing de facto independence. In 1320 the Declaration of Arbroath , a remonstrance to the pope from the nobles of Scotland, helped convince Pope John XXII to overturn the earlier excommunication and nullify the various acts of submission by Scottish kings to English ones so that Scotland's sovereignty could be recognised by
40182-513: The signing of the Treaty of Edinburgh , which provided for the removal of French and English troops from Scotland. The Scottish Reformation took place only days later when the Scottish Parliament abolished the Roman Catholic religion and outlawed the Mass . Meanwhile, Queen Mary had been raised as a Catholic in France, and married to the Dauphin , who became king as Francis II in 1559, making her queen consort of France. When Francis died in 1560, Mary, now 19, returned to Scotland to take up
40404-457: The south to form Northumbria around the year 604. There were changes of dynasty, and the kingdom was divided, but it was re-united under Æthelfrith's son Oswald (r. 634–42), who had converted to Christianity while in exile in Dál Riata and looked to Iona for missionaries to help convert his kingdom. This situation was transformed in AD 793 when ferocious Viking raids began on monasteries like Iona and Lindisfarne, creating fear and confusion across
40626-409: The south was the British ( Brythonic ) Kingdom of Strathclyde , descendants of the peoples of the Roman influenced kingdoms of " The Old North ", often named Alt Clut, the Brythonic name for their capital at Dumbarton Rock . In 642, they defeated the men of Dál Riata, but the kingdom suffered a number of attacks from the Picts, and later their Northumbrian allies, between 744 and 756. After this, little
40848-470: The spiritual needs of the population. New saints and cults of devotion also proliferated. Despite problems over the number and quality of clergy after the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and some evidence of heresy in this period, the church in Scotland remained relatively stable before the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Modern Scotland is half the size England and Wales in area, but with its many inlets, islands and inland lochs , it has roughly
41070-439: The surviving pre-Roman accounts of Scotland, the first written reference to Scotland was the Greek Pytheas of Massalia , who may have circumnavigated the British Isles of Albion ( Britain ) and Ierne (Ireland) sometime around 325 BC. The most northerly point of Britain was called Orcas (Orkney). By the time of Pliny the Elder , who died in AD 79, Roman knowledge of the geography of Scotland had extended to
41292-414: The tallest of which is 16 feet (5 m) in height. These were part of a pattern that developed in many regions across Europe at about the same time. The creation of cairns and Megalithic monuments continued into the Bronze Age , which began in Scotland about 2000 BC. As elsewhere in Europe, hill forts were first introduced in this period, including the occupation of Eildon Hill near Melrose in
41514-467: The tenth century that produced the Kingdom of Alba, retained some of these ritual aspects in the coronation at Scone . While the Scottish monarchy remained a largely itinerant institution, Scone remained one of its most important locations, with Royal castles at Stirling and Perth becoming significant in the later Middle Ages before Edinburgh developed as a capital in the second half of the fifteenth century. The Scottish crown grew in prestige throughout
41736-446: The thirteenth century there are sources that allow greater stratification in society to be seen, with layers including the king and a small elite of mormaers above lesser ranks of freemen and what was probably a large group of serfs , particularly in central Scotland. In this period the feudalism introduced under David I meant that baronial lordships began to overlay this system, the English terms earl and thane became widespread. Below
41958-517: The throne as James III , resulting in another minority, with Robert, Lord Boyd emerging as the most important figure. In 1468 James married Margaret of Denmark , receiving the Orkney and the Shetland Islands in payment of her dowry. In 1469 the King asserted his control, executing members of the Boyd family and his brothers, Alexander, Duke of Albany and John, Earl of Mar , resulting in Albany leading an English backed invasion and becoming effective ruler. The English retreated, having taken Berwick for
42180-406: The throne failed. Edward III lost interest in the fate of his protégé after the outbreak of the Hundred Years' War with France. In 1341, David II , King Robert's son and heir, was able to return from temporary exile in France. Balliol finally resigned his claim to the throne to Edward in 1356, before retiring to Yorkshire, where he died in 1364. After David II's death, Robert II , the first of
42402-472: The throne of England in 1603, becoming James I of England, and this Union of the Crowns of the two independent kingdoms lasted until the Acts of Union in 1707 merged the two kingdoms into a new state, the Kingdom of Great Britain . Ruling until 1714, Queen Anne was the last Stuart monarch. Since 1714, the succession of the British monarchs of the houses of Hanover and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Windsor) has been due to their descent from James VI and I of
42624-416: The throne of the Kingdom of England and became King James I of England, leaving Edinburgh for London and uniting England with Scotland under one monarch. The Union was a personal or dynastic union , with the Crowns remaining both distinct and separate—despite James's best efforts to create a new "imperial" throne of "Great Britain". The acquisition of the Irish crown along with the English facilitated
42846-437: The twelfth century, the writer Adam of Dryburgh described lowland Lothian as "the Land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots". At least from the accession of David I, Gaelic ceased to be the main language of the royal court and was probably replaced by French, as evidenced by reports from contemporary chronicles, literature and translations of administrative documents into the French language. After this "de-gaelicisation" of
43068-435: The urbanisation and elements of conventional Medieval government. However, the Southern Uplands, and particularly the Highlands were economically less productive and much more difficult to govern. This provided Scotland with a form of protection, as minor English incursions had to cross the difficult southern uplands and the two major attempts at conquest by the English, under Edward I and then Edward III, were unable to penetrate
43290-465: The usually larger and more professional armies produced by England, but they were used to good effect by Robert I at Bannockburn in 1314 to secure Scottish independence. He also made use of naval power to support his forces and began to develop a royal Scottish naval force. Under the Stewart kings these forces were further augmented by specialist troops, particularly men-at-arms and archers , hired by bonds of manrent , similar to English indentures of
43512-472: The well-preserved stone house at Knap of Howar on Papa Westray , dating from around 3500 BC and the village of similar houses at Skara Brae on West Mainland , Orkney from about 500 years later. The settlers introduced chambered cairn tombs from around 3500 BC, as at Maeshowe , and from about 3000 BC the many standing stones and circles such as those at Stenness on the mainland of Orkney, which date from about 3100 BC, of four stones,
43734-419: Was a Pictish takeover of Dál Riata, or the other way around. This culminated in the rise of Cínaed mac Ailpín (Kenneth MacAlpin) in the 840s, which brought to power the House of Alpin . In AD 867 the Vikings seized Northumbria, forming the Kingdom of York ; three years later they stormed the Britons' fortress of Dumbarton and subsequently conquered much of England except for a reduced Kingdom of Wessex, leaving
43956-454: Was a line drawn between the Tyne and Solway Firth . The Romans eventually withdrew to a line in what is now northern England, building the fortification known as Hadrian's Wall from coast to coast. Around 141, the Romans undertook a reoccupation of southern Scotland, moving up to construct a new limes between the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde , which became the Antonine Wall . The largest Roman construction inside Scotland, it
44178-409: Was a source of trouble, particularly in the south-west of the country, an area with strong Presbyterian sympathies. Abandoning the official church, many of the inhabitants began to attend illegal field assemblies, known as conventicles . Official attempts to suppress these led to a rising in 1679, defeated by James, Duke of Monmouth , the King's illegitimate son, at the Battle of Bothwell Bridge . In
44400-428: Was able to return from temporary exile in France. Balliol finally resigned his claim to the throne to Edward in 1356, before retiring to Yorkshire, where he died in 1364. After David II's death, Robert II , the first of the Stewart kings, came to the throne in 1371. He was followed in 1390 by his ailing son John, who took the regnal name Robert III . During Robert III's reign (1390–1406), actual power rested largely in
44622-421: Was assassinated in 1437. His son James II when he came of age in 1449, continued his father's policy of weakening the great noble families, most notably taking on the powerful Black Douglas family that had come to prominence at the time of Robert I. His attempt to take Roxburgh from the English in 1460 succeeded, but at the cost of his life as he was killed by an exploding artillery piece. His young son came to
44844-495: Was at the fort of Craig Phadrig near modern Inverness . After his death leadership seems to have shifted to the Fortriu , whose lands were centred on Strathearn and Menteith and who raided along the eastern coast into modern England. Christian missionaries from Iona appear to have begun the conversion of the Picts to Christianity from 563. In the west were the Gaelic ( Goidelic )-speaking people of Dál Riata with their royal fortress at Dunadd in Argyll, with close links with
45066-438: Was defeated at the Battle of Philiphaugh . Escaping to the north, Montrose attempted to continue the struggle with fresh troops; but in July 1646 his army was disbanded after the King surrendered to the Scots army at Newark, and the civil war came to an end. The following year Charles, while he was being held captive in Carisbrooke Castle, entered into an agreement with moderate Scots Presbyterians. In this secret ' Engagement ',
45288-473: Was defeated at the Battle of Stirling Bridge . For a short time Wallace ruled Scotland in the name of John Balliol as guardian of the realm. Edward came north in person and defeated Wallace at the Battle of Falkirk . The English barons refuted the French-inspired papal claim to Scottish overlordship in the Barons' Letter, 1301 , claiming it rather as long possessed by English kings. Wallace escaped but probably resigned as Guardian of Scotland. In 1305 he fell into
45510-400: Was delayed by Cromwell's problems with his various parliaments and the union did not become the subject of an act until 1657 (see Tender of Union ). Following the death of Cromwell and the regime's collapse, Charles II was restored in 1660 and Scotland again became an independent kingdom. Scotland regained its system of law, parliament and kirk, but also the Lords of the Articles (by which
45732-504: Was executed for heresy in St. Andrews in 1528. The execution of others, especially the Zwingli -influenced George Wishart , who was burnt at the stake on the orders of Cardinal Beaton in 1546, angered Protestants. Wishart's supporters assassinated Beaton soon after and seized St. Andrews Castle, which they held for a year before they were defeated with the help of French forces. The survivors, including chaplain John Knox , were condemned to be galley slaves in France, stoking resentment of
45954-399: Was immediately proclaimed as King Charles II in Edinburgh. Oliver Cromwell led an invasion of Scotland in 1650 , and defeated the Scottish army at Dunbar . One year later, a Scottish invasion of England was again defeated by Cromwell at Worcester . Cromwell emerged as the leading figure in the English government and Scotland was occupied by an English force under George Monck . The country
46176-403: Was in 209 when the emperor Septimius Severus led a major force north. After the death of Severus in 210 they withdrew south to Hadrian's Wall, which would be Roman frontier until it collapsed in the 5th century. The Great Conspiracy constituted a seemingly coordinated invasion against Roman rule in Britain in the later 4th century, which included the participation of the Gaelic Scoti and
46398-442: Was incorporated into the Puritan-governed Commonwealth and lost its independent church government, parliament and legal system, but gained access to English markets. Various attempts were made to legitimise the union, calling representatives from the Scottish burghs and shires to negotiations and to various English parliaments, where they were always under-represented and had little opportunity for dissent. However, final ratification
46620-516: Was largely concentrated among a male and wealthy elite, with perhaps 60 per cent of the nobility being literate by the end of the period. Until the fifteenth century, those who wished to attend university had to travel to England or the continent, and just over a 1,000 have been identified as doing so between the twelfth century and 1410. Among these the most important intellectual figure was John Duns Scotus , who studied at Oxford , Cambridge and Paris and probably died at Cologne in 1308, becoming
46842-565: Was largely converted to Christianity by Irish-Scots missions associated with figures such as St Columba , from the fifth to the seventh centuries. These missions tended to found monastic institutions and collegiate churches that served large areas. Partly as a result of these factors, some scholars have identified a distinctive form of Celtic Christianity , in which abbots were more significant than bishops, attitudes to clerical celibacy were more relaxed and there were some significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly
47064-431: Was led by John Graham, Viscount Dundee . His forces, almost all Highlanders, defeated William's forces at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689, but they took heavy losses and Dundee was slain in the fighting. Without his leadership the Jacobite army was soon defeated at the Battle of Dunkeld . In the aftermath of the Jacobite defeat on 13 February 1692, in an incident since known as the Massacre of Glencoe , 38 members of
47286-447: Was marked by good relations with the Wessex rulers of England , intense internal dynastic disunity and relatively successful expansionary policies. In 945, Máel Coluim I annexed Strathclyde , where the kings of Alba had probably exercised some authority since the later ninth century, as part of an agreement with King Edmund of England . This event was offset by loss of control in Moray. The reign of King Donnchad I (Duncan I) from 1034
47508-440: Was marked by good relations with the Wessex rulers of England , intense internal dynastic disunity and relatively successful expansionary policies. In 945, Máel Coluim I annexed Strathclyde as part of a deal with King Edmund of England , where the kings of Alba had probably exercised some authority since the later 9th century, an event offset somewhat by loss of control in Moray. The reign of King Donnchad I (Duncan I) from 1034
47730-504: Was marred by failed military adventures, and he was defeated and killed by MacBeth , the mormaer of Moray , who became king in 1040. MacBeth ruled for seventeen years before he was overthrown by Máel Coluim , the son of Donnchad, who some months later defeated MacBeth's step-son and successor Lulach to become King Máel Coluim III (Malcolm III). It was Máel Coluim III, who acquired the nickname "Canmore" ( Cenn Mór , "Great Chief"), which he passed to his successors and who did most to create
47952-499: Was marred by failed military adventures, and he was defeated and killed by Macbeth , the Mormaer of Moray , who became king in 1040. MacBeth ruled for 17 years before he was overthrown by Máel Coluim , the son of Donnchad, who some months later defeated Macbeth's step-son and successor Lulach to become king Máel Coluim III (Malcolm III). It was Máel Coluim III, who acquired the nickname "Canmore" ( Cenn Mór , "Great Chief"), which he passed to his successors and who did most to create
48174-413: Was more tolerant than the Kirk tended to be, passed acts restoring the Episcopalian clergy excluded after the Revolution. Although William's supporters dominated the government, there remained a significant following for James, particularly in the Highlands. His cause, which became known as Jacobitism , from the Latin (Jacobus) for James, led to a series of risings. An initial Jacobite military attempt
48396-430: Was overwhelmingly an oral society dominated by Gaelic culture. Our fuller sources for Ireland of the same period suggest that there would have been filidh , who acted as poets, musicians and historians, often attached to the court of a lord or king, and passed on their knowledge and culture in Gaelic to the next generation. In the Northern Isles the Norse language brought by Scandinavian occupiers and settlers evolved into
48618-525: Was produced by makars , poets with links to the royal court, which included James I (who wrote The Kingis Quair ). Many of the makars had a university education and so were also connected with the Kirk . However, Dunbar's Lament for the Makaris (c.1505) provides evidence of a wider tradition of secular writing outside of Court and Kirk, now largely lost. Before the advent of printing in Scotland, writers such as Robert Henryson , William Dunbar , Walter Kennedy and Gavin Douglas have been seen as leading
48840-424: Was some significant differences in practice with Roman Christianity, particularly the form of tonsure and the method of calculating Easter , although most of these issues had been resolved by the mid-seventh century. After the reconversion of Scandinavian Scotland from the tenth century, Christianity under papal authority was the dominant religion of the kingdom. In the Norman period the Scottish church underwent
49062-417: Was stunningly successful. A Scottish Civil War began in September 1644 with his victory at battle of Tippermuir . After a series of victories over poorly trained Covenanter militias, the lowlands were at his mercy. However, at this high point, his army was reduced in size, as MacColla and the Highlanders preferred to continue the war in the north against the Campbells. Shortly after, what was left of his force
49284-421: Was the major form of government, growing in sophistication in the late Middle Ages . The scale and nature of war also changed, with larger armies, naval forces and the development of artillery and fortifications. The Church in Scotland always accepted papal authority (contrary to the implications of Celtic Christianity ), introduced monasticism, and from the eleventh century embraced monastic reform, developing
#217782