content Skara Brae: c.2500 BC.....................................................6 Pre-Roman Scotland: to the 1st century AD.......................................................................................8 Picts and Scots: 3rd - 9th century AD 11 The Vikings and the British Isles: 9th 10th century.................................................................................12 The MacAlpin dynasty: 843-1057.....................14 Duncan and Macbeth: 1034-1057........................16 The Scottish kingdom: 1058-1286.................17 Margaret, the Maid of Norway: 12861290.................................................................................................................20 Edward I and Scotland: 1290-1297..............21 Scotland’s Wars of Independence: from1297.................................................................................................22 Robert the Bruce: 1306-1314...................................24 4
Bannockburn and after: 1314-1328................26 The Stewart dynasty: 1371-1503...................28 England and Scotland in Europe: 16th century..................................................................................................30 Holy League and Flodden: 1513...........................32 Scotland and France: 1513-1559.........................33 Reform in Scotland: 1546-1560............................35
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Skara Brae: c.2500 BC In the extreme north of Scotland, in the Orkneys, a small neolithic community builds a village in about 2500 BC on a site already occupied for many generations. There is no wood on the island, so the walls of the one-room dwellings are of stone. So is the built-in furniture. There are stone beds and shelves and recessed cupboards, with a hearth in each hut. Low covered passages lead from one
is piled up around to give shelter from the wind. There is even a drain from each of leading to a common sewer.
A sudden disaster of some kind causes Skara Brae to be abandoned. Rapidly cove intact until unearthed in 1850.
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dwelling to another. Earth
of the seven or eight houses,
ered by sand, it is preserved
7
Pre-Roman Scotland: to the 1st century AD
In the neolithic period Sco
shares with the Atlantic coast o rope the tradition of massive
architecture, of which Skara B
a rare domestic example. The i
Lewis provides a magnificent exa of standing stones at Callanish,
8
otland
the stone circle is in use as a temple
Beaker people and the Celts. The first
of Eu-
of some kind well into the bronze age
written accounts of Scotland are by the
(until about 1200 BC).
Romans after their invasion of Britain.
stone
Brae is
Like the rest of the British Isles, the
isle of
region is subject to successive waves
ample
of immigrants from the continent of
where
Europe. The most significant are the
9
They list several tribes, of which the Caledonii are the most important.
Picts and Scots: 3rd - 9th century AD With the frontier of the Roman empire established along the line of Hadrian’s Wall, the tribes to the north are free to engage in their own power struggles largely undisturbed by Roman interference. Gradually a new tribal group establishes a dominant position. They are the Picts, first mentioned in a Roman document of the 3rd century as the Picti. This may be a version of their own name for themselves, or it may mean that they tattoo their bodies (picti, Latin for ‘painted people’). Theirs seems not to have been an Indo-European language, so they may have been indigenous people asserting themselves over the Celtic intruders. The Picts, in their turn, are subdued by Celts - not from within Scotland but
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from overseas. In the 5th century a Celtic tribe from northern Ireland begins to settle on the west coast of Scotland. They are the Scots. (It is one of the endearing oddities of British history that the original Scots are northern Irish). The Scots establish a kingdom, by the name of Dalriada, on both sides of the water. By the 9th century Dalriada in Ireland has succumbed to raids by Vikings. But from within Dalriada in Scotland there emerges the first Scottish dynasty. The kings of this line establish themselves, over two centuries, against constant Viking pressure from all sides.
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The Vikings and the British Isles: 9th 10th century The coasts of the British isles are
in a decade (in 795, 802 and 805).
now dotted with monasteries, not
Even monasteries which seem se-
yet rich by the standards of medi-
cure, pleasantly sited on inland riv-
eval monasticism but with suffi-
ers, fall victim to Viking longships
cient wealth to attract Viking ma-
rowing upstream. But gradually,
rauders. One of the most famous
during the 9th century, the raiders
islands, Iona, is raided three times
settle. Soon all the Scottish islands and the Isle of Man are in Viking hands, and the intruders are even seizing territory on the mainland of both Britain and Ireland. In 838 Norwegians capture Dublin and establish a Norse kingdom in Ireland. From 865 the Danes settle in eastern England. At this time the territory securely
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in the hands of the Scots and Picts
Danish Vikings, whose capital city
extends only from the great rift of
is York.
Loch Ness down to the firths of
But at least by now, in the mid-
Clyde and Forth. North of this cen-
9th century, there is a recognizable
tral region, the Hebrides, Orkneys
Scottish kingdom.
and Shetlands, together with much of the mainland, are in the hands of Vikings from Norway. In the southwest the border region of Strathclyde is often under threat from the Norwegian Vikings of Dublin. In the southeast Lothian is another border region. Until recently part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria, it is exposed to the
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The MacAlpin dynasty: 8431057 The love of early historians for pre-
the east of
cise turning points has caused the year
Scotland (by contrast with the western
843 to be selected as the starting date
base of the Scots in Dalriada), it has
of the Scottish kingdom. It is said to be
been strongly associated with the Pic-
the year in which Kenneth MacAlpin,
tish kings. Tradition maintains that as
already king of the Scots (since 840), is
a gesture of unified rule Kenneth Ma-
accepted also as king of the Picts. In re-
cAlpin brings to Scone the sacred cor-
ality the merging of the two kingdoms
onation stone, known now as the Stone
seems to have been a gradual process
of Scone or Stone of Destiny.
throughout the 9th century.
The MacAlpin kings win no territo-
The significant fact is that Kenneth’s
ry from the Vikings on their northern
male descendants provide kings in
borders. But they do significantly ex-
Scotland for the next two centuries;
tend the boundaries of Scotland in the
and during the early part of that pe-
south.
riod a separate Pictish kingdom fades
During the MacAlpin dynasty the
from view. The name of Kenneth’s fa-
border regions of Strathclyde and Lo-
ther is said to be Alpin. So he and his
thian are firmly established as Scottish.
descendants are known as MacAlpin.
In 945 the English king Edmund I
An indication of the conscious merg-
subdues the independent kingdom of
ing of the Picts and Scots under one
Strathclyde and then declares it subject
rule is the use of Scone as the royal site
to the king of Scotland; when the last
of the MacAlpin dynasty. Situated in
king of Strathclyde dies, in about 1025,
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the region is merged with the Scottish realm. Similarly the English king Edgar, in 973, accepts Scottish control of Lothian - a state of affairs subsequently emphasized by a resounding Scottish victory over the English at Carham in 1018.
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Duncan and Macbeth: 1034-1057
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The death of Malcolm II in 1034 causes a succession crisis in the MacAlpin dynasty and a civil war in Scotland. He has only a daughter, Bethoc, whose son Duncan succeeds to the throne. But Duncan is challenged by Macbeth, also descended in the female line from the royal family. Contrary to Shakespeare’s version of the story, Duncan is a young man probably younger than Macbeth - and Macbeth may have an equally good claim to the throne (there is no precedent in the dynasty for inheritance through a female line). Nor does Macbeth murder Duncan in his bed; he kills him in battle near Elgin in 1040. Macbeth reigns seventeen years as the king of Scotland (or king of Scots, in the more authentic phrase), and on the whole he rules well. Indeed the kingdom is calm enough for him to go on pilgrimage in 1050 to Rome, where he is said to have demonstrated his status by ‘scattering money like seed’. Duncan’s son, Malcolm, eventually rises against Macbeth and kills him, in a battle at Lumphanan in 1057. Both men are members of the MacAlpin dynasty, and the fact that Macbeth is buried in the holy island of Iona suggests that his conusurper. Macbeth is immediately succeeded by his stepson, Lulach. But Malcolm kills him too, in an ambush in 1058, before himself being crowned at Scone.
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The Scottish kingdom: 1058-1286 of Man. He is defeated by the Scottish king, Alexander III. In 1266, at a treaty agreed in Perth, the Norwegians cede the western isles to the Scottish king. Only the Shetlands and Orkneys remain in Norse hands. The most significant theme during these reigns is the relationship of the Scottish kings with their Norman neighbours to the south. It is one of The Scottish crown remains in the considerable complexity, involving family of Malcolm III for more than both cooperation and hostility. In two centuries. During this time Scot- several generations the royal familand becomes more prosperous and lies of Scotland and England intermore civilized, with the founding marry. The Scottish kings give land of great monasteries in the southern and power to great Norman families. parts of the country.
They introduce into Scotland the
Meanwhile the north is gradual- structures of Norman Feudalism. ly recovered from the Vikings. A
Yet at the same time the border be-
turning point is the battle of Largs, tween the two kingdoms is a region in 1263. The king of Norway lands of almost constant warfare. And the a fleet to assert his long-standing relationship between the kings themright over the Hebrides and the Isle selves is one of prolonged struggle
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within a feudal framework. The kings of England like to consider the Scottish kings their vassals, and at certain periods this status is accepted in Scotland - most notably for a while after 1174. In that year William the Lion is captured raiding into Northumberland. After a humiliating journey south, with his feet tied beneath his horse, he is imprisoned by Henry II. He is released only when he does homage to the English king ‘for Scotland and all his other lands’. In the long run neither side prevails in this uneasy relationship, until matters are brought to a head by a vacancy on the Scottish throne. In 1286 Alexander III dies. His only heir is Margaret, a young Norwegian princess, the child of his deceased daughter Margaret and of Eric II, king of Norway.
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Margaret, the Maid of Norway: 1286-1290 At first the succession of the 4-yearold Margaret to the Scottish throne seems to offer an easy solution to the problem of the two kingdoms. She is acclaimed queen of Scotland in 1286. The king of England, Edward I, sets about arranging a marriage between the child and his own infant son (two years younger than Margaret), the future Edward II. The intention is that the bridegroom shall eventually rule over both kingdoms, with safeguards to ensure the separate integrity of Scotland. In 1289 the pope gives his approval. In 1290 Margaret sails from Norway to meet her intended husband. During the journey she falls ill. She never reaches her Scottish kingdom. She dies, at the age of eight, in the Orkneys
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Edward I and Scotland: 1290-1297 When the Maid of Norway dies, in 1290, there are thirteen claimants to the vacant Scottish throne - each somewhat tenuously related to the royal family. The king of England, Edward I, asserts his right as the feudal overlord to choose between them. The two most serious contenders, descended from great-granddaughters of David I, are John de Balliol and Robert de Bruce. In 1292 Edward chooses John - an entirely reasonable choice, since John descends from the elder of the great-granddaughters. But Edward’s humiliating treatment of the new king as his feudal vassal is less than tactful. So are his demands that Scottish barons shall do service in England’s war against France. Scottish resentment is expressed, in 1295, in a treaty with France against England. This prompts, in 1296, a swift and brutally effective invasion by Edward. It begins with the massacre of almost the entire male population of Berwick. Seventeen days later Stirling and Edinburgh castles are in English hands. John de Balliol and his court are prisoners, destined for the Tower of London. The sacred Scottish coronation seat, the Stone of Scone, travels south at the same time - to a new home (until 1996) in Westminster Abbey. An English government is set up north of the border. Scotland is humiliated, but only briefly so. The very next year, 1297, a war of independence is launched.
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Scotland’s Wars of Independence: from1297
The main leader to emerge from ling Bridge enables Wallace to rule the uprisings in Scotland in 1297 Scotland briefly on behalf of the is William Wallace. Confronted by imprisoned John de Balliol. But the an English army outside Stirling, situation brings Edward I north in on September 11, he holds back his person in 1298. troops and thus entices the enemy across a narrow bridge over the riv-
At Falkirk, in 1298, Edward
er Forth. When about half are over avenges the humiliation of Stirling the river, Wallace attacks so force- Bridge. English and Welsh archers fully that nearly all the English on inflict devastating casualties on the the northern bank are killed or are massed ranks of Scottish spearmen, drowned in flight.
in an early example of the power of
The prestige of this victory at Stir- the longbow (half a century before
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its more famous deployment at CrĂŠcy). This defeat undermines the authority of Wallace, who vanishes from history until his capture and execution in 1305. But Edward is committed now to holding down the Scots by force of arms - a task more difficult, over a much wider region, than his subjection of Wales. And from 1306 he is confronted by a newly proclaimed Scottish king, in the person of Robert de Bruce.
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Robert the Bruce: 1306-1314
Robert de Bruce, or Robert the Bruce as he is often known in British history, is the grandson of the Robert de Bruce whose claim to the Scottish throne was rejected in favour of John de Balliol’s. The Bruces are one of the great Norman families invited north of the border by the Scottish kings. The eldest son in every generation of the family is christened Robert. The head of the family in the early 14th century is Robert de Bruce VIII. By 1306, with Wallace dead and John de Balliol living privately in Normandy (after renouncing his throne), the Scots lack both a leader and a king. Bruce’s ambition to fill both roles becomes evident after an act of violence in 1306. John Comyn, a member of another great Norman family and a nephew of John de Balliol, is a natural rival of Bruce’s with perhaps slightly bet-
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ter claims to the Scottish throne. On 10 February 1306 the two men and several of their followers are in the Franciscan church in Dumfries. A quarrel breaks out. It is not known whether the event is premeditated. But it ends with John Comyn lying dead before the high altar. After the murder Bruce moves quickly to secure his position. On March 25 he is crowned at Scone, still the sacred site for the occasion - even though it now lacks the ancient Stone of Scone, linked with Scottish kingship. During the next few months the new king’s fortunes could hardly sink lower. Defeated in two battles, in June and August, he flees for safety to the island of Rathlin off the northern Irish coast. (His supposed place of refuge is still shown as Bruce’s Cave, but the story of the spider demonstrating to him the importance of perseverance is first told in the 19th century by Walter Scott.) In Bruce’s absence three of his brothers are captured by the English and are executed. In February 1307 Bruce returns to Scotland, to persevere in self-advancement. His final success, firmly establishing his authority within the kingdom, comes with victory at Bannockburn in 1314.
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Bannockburn and after: 1314-1328 By 1314 Bruce’s slow campaign of a resounding success for Scotland, guerrilla warfare and attrition has bringing rich rewards in prestige, brought into his hands all the Eng- booty and ransom. lish strongholds in Scotland except
In the years after Bannockburn,
Stirling. The Scottish threat to this Bruce continually raids south across great castle brings Edward II north the border into England. And he to its defence.
extends his campaign against the
On June 24 Bruce, with only about English by sending Edward Bruce, 8000 men, is confronted by an Eng- his only surviving brother, to attack lish army of double that size. But he them in 1315 in Ireland. chooses his ground well - an area of
The Irish campaign ends in 1318
boggy turf about two miles south of with the death of Edward Bruce, Stirling, with a narrow front and the but in the north of England RobBannock burn to cut off the enemy’s ert Bruce’s aggressive tactics go unretreat. The English cavalry floun- checked. Edward II marches north der in the face of Scottish footsol- with large armies in 1319 and again diers armed with spears. The day is in 1322, but achieves nothing. After his death, in 1327, the English are ready to come to terms. At Edinburgh, in March 1328, a treaty is agreed - and is ratified at an English parliament in Northampton the following month. The Scots are to pay £20,000 in reparation for
26
damage done in the northern coun- his son David, now aged five, to ties of England, but otherwise the the throne. The English instinct to concessions are all to their bene- meddle in Scottish affairs is revived. fit. Above all it is agreed that Scot- Edward, the son of John de Balliol land shall ‘remain to Robert king of (who has died in 1314), is encourScots and his heirs and successors aged to stake a claim to his father’s free and divided from the kingdom throne. Scotland is again plunged of England, without any subjection, into war. right of service, claim or demand’.
Robert the Bruce’s son, David II,
As a token for a better future, spends much of his reign in exile Bruce’s 4-year-old son David is or in captivity. But he is still on the married in July, in Berwick, to Joan- throne when he dies, childless, in na, the 7-year-old sister of the new 1371. The future of the royal house English king, Edward III.
lies with the descendants of his el-
The agreements of 1328 raise the der sister, Marjorie. She married, in hope that Scotland is due at last for 1315, one of Scotland’s hereditary a period of calm. But the death of stewards. Robert the Bruce in 1329 brings
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The Stewart dynasty: 1371-1503 The Stewarts, a family from Brittany, take their name from their job. In Brittany in the 11th century they are stewards to the local count. In about 1136 one of the family, Walter, becomes steward to the king of Scotland. Two decades later the appointment is made hereditary. Another Walter, the 6th steward in this line, fights beside Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn in 1314. He is knighted by the king on the field of battle. In the following year he marries Bruce’s daughter Marjorie. Their child Robert, the 7th steward, succeeds his uncle David II as king of Scots in 1371 - ruling as Robert II, and establishing the Stewart dynasty on the Scottish throne. Stewart rule in Scotland is bedevilled from the start by the power of great barons (in particular the Douglas family), whose rich ancestral territories have been the reward for their support of Robert the Bruce or of his son David II. To the south the English remain as eager as ever
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to foment trouble when an opportunity presents itself. Even so, during the 15th century, royal authority is gradually established in most parts of the kingdom. And the marriage of James III in 1469 to Margaret of Denmark brings into Scottish hands the last two island groups held by Scandinavians - the Orkneys and Shetlands. Even the long centuries of turmoil with England seem to be settled (once again), when James IV makes two promising alliances with Henry VII. In 1502 the monarchs agree to a ‘treaty of perpetual peace’. And in 1503 James marries Henry’s daughter, Margaret Tudor. In exactly 100 years’ time this marriage will result in a final ironic reversal of the long English struggle to dominate the royal family of Scotland. It will deliver the English crown to the Stewarts. But the intervening years bring many setbacks for the Scots.
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England and Scotland in Europe: 16th century In the greatest rivalry of 16th century Europe - that of Spain and France - the two kingdoms of the British Isles are peripheral players. But there are certain contexts in which they can harm or hinder the main contestants. England can help Spain by invading across the Channel when France is engaged elsewhere. England can help France by denying Spanish ships an easy passage through the Channel to the Netherlands. And Scotland can help any enemy of England by marching into the northern English counties. Royal marriages with France and Spain are used by both countries to reinforce these potential alliances. England’s Henry VIII is himself already married to the Spanish Catherine of Aragon when, in 1514, he arranges a match for his sister Mary with the French king Louis XII. Henry VIII’s wedding plans for his daughter Mary are equally even-handed. When
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she is two, a betrothal is agreed between her and the infant son of the king of France, who by now is Francis I. When she is five, there is a new plan; she will instead marry Francis’s hated Spanish rival, Charles V. When she is eleven, the prospective bridegroom is once again French - but now it is accepted that it may be either the young dauphin or his father, Francis I. In the event the unfortunate Mary marries no one until 1554, when she is thirty-eight. By then she is herself queen of England, as Mary I, and her bridegroom is Spanish - the son of Charles V. Meanwhile Scotland’s diplomats are busy at the same game. In 1548 the 5-year-old Scottish queen, Mary Stuart, is betrothed to the dauphin of France. They marry in 1558. These matrimonial negotiations are part of the wider diplomacy of England and Scotland in Europe, involving military alliances and sometimes war. The first occasion for war, in 1513, proves a disaster for Scotland.
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Holy League and Flodden: 1513 In 1513 the European rivals entice both England and Scotland into their conflict. The pope, the emperor and the king of Spain have formed a Holy League against France. The king of Spain, Ferdinand II, is the father-inlaw of Henry VIII. He persuades his son-inlaw to support the cause. In June 1513 Henry leads an army across the Channel into France. Meanwhile the French king has recently agreed a treaty of alliance with Scotland. He now urges James IV, king of Scotland, to respond in kind to this English aggression. In August, within weeks of Henry’s departure for France, James crosses the river Tweed to invade northern England. Both the English and the Scottish kings have initial successes in their summer campaigns, but disaster strikes the Scots in September 1513. At Flodden they meet an English army sent north under the earl of Surrey. Scottish casualties amount to some 10,000 men, subsequently lamented in ballads as the ‘flowers of the forest’. Among the dead is the king, James IV. He is succeeded by his one-year-old son, as James V. Scotland enters a profoundly unsettled period. By contrast Henry returns to England in October, well pleased with his participation in two successful sieges and a victory over the French at Guinegate.
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Scotland and France: 1513-1559 The disaster at Flodden, in an engagement undertaken on behalf of France, divides the kingdom as to whether Scottish interests are best served in alliance with France or with England. The issue remains topical but unresolved during the minority of James V. By the time that he takes power into his own hands, in 1528, the three leading powers of Europe are all eager for an alliance with Scotland. From England Henry VIII offers James the hand in marriage of his daughter Mary. The emperor Charles V proposes the charms either of his own sister or of a Portuguese niece. Francis I of France will be happy for James to marry either of his daughters. The young king of Scots accepts the French proposal, marrying in 1537 Madeleine, the elder daughter of Francis. She dies in Scotland only six months later, whereupon James chooses another French bride - Mary of Guise (also known as Mary of Lorraine). The Guise family are extremely powerful in France, and are becoming more so. With this marriage the Scottish link with France is secured for a generation. When James V dies, in 1542, he and Mary of Guise have only one living child - a girl, only a week old, also called Mary. She is, from the second week of her life, Mary Queen of Scots.
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When Mary is five, in 1548, she is sent by her mother to be brought up at the French court under the protection of her powerful Guise uncles. In 1558 she is married to the heir to the French throne. A year later her young husband inherits the crown as Francis II. Mary, now sixteen, is queen consort of France and queen of Scotland. But this royal couple also claims the English throne. After the death of England’s Mary I, in 1558, Mary Queen of Scots is greeted in France as the queen of England - on the Catholic argument that Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon was invalid, making Elizabeth I a bastard and Mary the legitimate heir (as the great-granddaughter of Henry VII). Meanwhile the young queen’s French mother, Mary of Guise, is ruling Scotland as regent with the support of French troops. (The French connection is the reason for the gradual change of spelling of the family name - instead of the original Stewart it becomes Stuart, a version easier for the French who have no ‘w’ in their alphabet.) There seems real danger of a French invasion of England, to assert the Scottish queen’s rights and to preserve the whole of Britain as a Catholic realm. This crisis is the first to confront Elizabeth I of England at the start of her reign. She is helped, in her response, by the progress of the Reformation in Scotland.
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Reform in Scotland: 1546-1560 The first dramatic clash between reformers and the establishment in Scotland occurs in 1546. It is occasioned by the burning for heresy of George Wishart by the archbishop of St Andrews, Cardinal David Beaton. In retaliation Protestants murder the cardinal in May 1546 and seize the town and castle of St Andrews. Here they are besieged by the Scottish government while help from France is awaited. In April 1547 the rebels in the castle are joined by John Knox, a close colleague of the martyred Wishart. His powerful preaching in St Andrews rapidly gives him the status of the leader of the reform movement. But in June retribution arrives in the form of French troops. The castle is taken. Knox and the other Protestants are carried off to serve as galley slaves in the French fleet. Knox survives nineteen months of this before he is released. Unable to return to Catholic Scotland, the preacher is welcomed in England. The kingdom is now experiencing its first real
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period of reform under Edward VI. Knox travels round the country spreading the faith. But the accession of Mary I in 1553 forces him to flee for safety to the continent, settling eventually in Calvin’s Geneva. Meanwhile the movement for reform is gathering strength in Scotland. It is given added impetus during a period when Knox returns for a few months (in 1555-6), and it is strengthened by nationalism - since the persecuting government is that of a foreign Catholic regent, Mary of Guise, whose daughter Mary Queen of Scots is in France. The turning point for the Scottish Reformation comes in 1559, when Mary of Guise resolves to take strong measures to suppress the reformers. Knox returns from Geneva to take part in the confrontation. Fired by his preaching, an army of reformers marches south from Perth - sacking monasteries and smashing church images on their way. By the end of June 1559 the reformers are in Edinburgh and Knox is preaching in St Giles’ cathedral. They hold the city only briefly against Mary of Guise’s French forces. The next nine months are spent in spasmodic warfare, while Knox appeals desperately to Elizabeth and William Cecil for help. At last, in April 1560, the English send 10,000 troops. The result is a treaty between France and England in July. Both sides will withdraw, leaving the Scots to their own devices (the regent, Mary of Guise, has conveniently died in June). Knox immediately writes a doctrine for the reformed church of Scotland. It is accepted in August by the Scottish parliament, which also abolishes the authority of the pope and bans idolatry and the ceremony of the mass.
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