History of Medieval Scotland

When Kenneth MacAlpin achieved his ambition of being styled King of Scots and Picts, the land of Alba began it's 500-year transformation into the fiercely nationalistic medieval Scotland of Wallace and Bruce. The price paid was a heavy one for the Gaels who founded ancient Dalriada, for the very factors that conspired to unite Scotland under one language and one king worked to alienate the clan-based, Gaelic-speaking west so that by 1296 the Highland line was clearly established culturally as well as geographically.

When Kenneth MacAlpin achieved his ambition of being styled King of Scots and Picts, the land of Alba began it's 500-year transformation into the fiercely nationalistic medieval Scotland of Wallace and Bruce. The price paid was a heavy one for the Gaels who founded ancient Dalriada, for the very factors that conspired to unite Scotland under one language and one king worked to alienate the clan-based, Gaelic-speaking west so that by 1296 the Highland line was clearly established culturally as well as geographically.


MacAlpin's kingdom stretched from west to east across the face of Scotland, with a British kingdom firmly established in Strathclyde to the southwest, and the Angles permanently based in Lothian and Northumbria. From now on Alba would be styled "Scotia" and Scottish language and culture, over the next 200 years, would completely overlay and submerge the Pictish language and story, until within three or four generations, the Picts themselves became the stuff of legend.

Of course, the Pictish people were still there - making up the bulk of the population in Scotia, and without them Scotland would be unrecognizable as the distinct country it is. For a very long while, both before and after MacAlpin, the Pictish warriors fought the Britons, the Angles, the Danes, and the Norse, holding them off and preserving the core of early medieval Scotland for the Scots.

MacAlpin's first steps in uniting the Scottish peoples were to move his capital to Forteviot in the east, move the religious capital to Dunkeld (bringing St. Columba's bones with him), and bring the Stone of Destiny to Scone, one of the old Pictish capitals. This shift in powerbase from west to east was permanent and of long-lasting import to the clans of the west.

Little is known of the kings over the next 150 years, besides a recitation of the major battles. For through this time, Scotland's four peoples - Gaels, Picts, Angles, and Britons - forged ties of friendship and cultural exchange through their lengthy and fiercely contested efforts to hold off the Vikings (this is not to say they didn't continue to fight one another!).

History from heartoscotland.com

The Ancient Scots and Picts

Dalriada

Northern Ireland is "nae so far" from Scotland, and as early as 258 AD the Romans complain of Scots from the north sweeping down upon them. The ancient Irish kingdom of Dalriada (race of Riada) traces its legendary lineage from the High Kings of Tara. About 500 AD, the sons of Erc, King of Dalriada, Fergus, Loarn, and Angus, established kingdoms in the Western Isles and Argyll, with their seat at Dunadd.

The kings of Scotland are descended from one of Fergus Mor's sons, Gabhran. In the mid-500s, St. Columba established a monastery on the Isle of Iona. From there, he acted not only as missionary to the Picts, but diplomat as well, helping to unite the Scots under Gabhran's son, King Aidan. Nevertheless, the Scots did not fare too well their first three centuries in Scotland, losing to the Britons in the south, and the Picts in the west. Indeed, the Picts continued as the strongest force in the land for 300 years more, both numerically and politically.

Saint Columba



Picture from saintcolumba.org

There are a great many legends surrounding Kenneth McAlpin, Scotland's first Scottish king. They say he killed the members of all seven Pictish royal houses to secure the throne. Such ruthlessness paid off, though. While some future kings were styled "King of the Scots" or "King of the Picts", all were buried on Iona as Scottish kings and the name of the country became "Scotia".

So Pictish power gave way to Scots, and the kingdom of the Gaels stretched from the Western Isles to the eastern coast. But there were Vikings in the north, and Britons and Angles in the south. Future kings would have the task of expanding Scotland's borders to their present extent and preserving her independence.

History from heartoscotland.com