Covering a thousand years of Scottish history, this account incorporates both historical and contemporary research into old theories and controversies. During the first millennium AD, the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords; tribal chiefs and Roman generals, at first, followed by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond their own borders. From Lothian to Orkney and from Fife to the Isle of Skye, fierce battles were won and lost, but,...

This book traces the history of relations between the kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglo-Saxon England in the Viking period of the ninth to eleventh centuries AD. It puts the spotlight on the North Britons or 'Cumbrians', an ancient people whose kings ruled from a power-base at Govan on the western side of present-day Glasgow. In the tenth century, these kings extended their rule southward from Clydesdale to the southern shore of the Solway Firth, bringing their language and culture to a region that had been in English hands for more than two hundred years. They played a key role in many of the...

Drawing together the remaining historical fragments of the Pictsan ancient nation who ruled most of northern and eastern Scotland during the Dark Agesthis account relates the story of this mysterious people from their emergence in Roman times to their eventual disappearance. Considering their unique identity, language, and vibrant artistic culture, this chronicle examines the Picts legacy, including the mysterious monuments that still survive in modern Scotland s landscape: standing stones decorated with incredible skill and covered with enigmatic symbols. Despite being absorbed by the...