Scotland in the Middle Ages

Scotland in the Middle Ages concerns the history of the region that is now Scotland, from the departure of the Romans (from Britannia) in the early fifth century, to the adoption of major aspects of the Renaissance in the late 19th century. From the fifth century North Britain was divided into a series of petty kingdoms. Of these the four most important to emerge were the Picts, the Scots of Dál Riata, the Britons of Strathclyde and the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia. After 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 annexe the remainder of the western seaboard, cumulating the Treaty of Perth with Norway in 1266. Scotland 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, 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.

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