Scotland’s Millennium
3 main key periods in Scottish history for the last millennium:
1. Scottish Medieval: c.1000- c.1560.
2. Scottish Early modern: c.1560-c.1707.
3. Scottish Modern: c.1707-2014 (referendum).
Medieval Scotland
What does the term medieval mean?
• In Latin means “the middle ages” c.500-c.1500.
• Typically seen as taking place after the classical era and the fall of the roman empire, but taking
place before the Renaissance. Not really a global term as both of these “time periods are euro-
centric.
• There are roughly 3 time periods within it, early medieval (c.500-c.1000), high medieval (c.1000-
c.1300) and late medieval (c.1300-c.1500). For the history of medieval Scotland, we ignore the
early middle ages due to the fact that it is only really then that a recognisable kingdom of Scotland
comes into view.
Setting the scene for medieval Scotland
The climate, topography and society:
• Medieval Scotland went through a warm period, but by the late medieval era Europe was going
into a “mini ice age”.
• Very mountainous country. Central belt of flatland between modern day Edinburgh and
Glasgow, easier to farm.
• Very small population centres, no towns much bigger than 5000 people.
,• A very rural based society, mostly illiterate.
• Gaelic, Norse and English (the dialect of scots) in the early medieval, by the end of the period
scots was the primary language. Latin was also widely spoken, French occasionally spoken in
elite circles.
• Main towns or “burghs” c.1300: Aberdeen, Dundee, Berwick (is now English), Edinburgh and
Perth.
• Religion: mostly catholic Christians, the occasional Jew. Most major towns had a Cathedral.
• Social hierarchy was very much based upon serfs and a feudal system.
Key locations:
• Flanders (France) a main trade partner for Scotland.
• Rome, main base of the pope, therefore a steady stream of communication was in place.
• Jerusalem, obviously the holy land.
Economy:
• Mostly agrarian, Scotland was very rural. One of the biggest producers of wool in Europe, this
prompted economic growth in Scotland.
Primary sources for Medieval Scotland:
1. Manuscripts are very key as they contain the written records of the time.
a. 4 main types:
i. Chronicles.
ii. Narrative histories.
iii. Burgh registers.
iv. Legal compilations.
b. There have been major losses of books and manuscripts, many from church archives have
survived, we know the locations of most of the churches and we can therefore tell how many
archives have been lost.
c. 2 main types: Contemporary (written at the time) and Non-contemporary (written later)
,2. Archaeological digs show us bodies and artefacts.
3. Ruined buildings as well.
4. Place names can show us a lot about the change of languages.
5. Landmarks.
6. For History we need to be able to use all of these. Accurate dating is hard to come by on many
of these sources however.
Scotland becoming Scotland
Pre-unification (before 840AD)- unification:
• Scotland was made up of two unified peoples: the Picts (spoke peckish and lived in Pictland)
and the scots (spoke Gaelic and lived in Dal Riata)
• Unified by king Kenneth son of Alpine into “Alba” (think proto Scotland), or this is the opinion
that traditionalists have on the matter.
• Newer theories propose that the unification of Scotland was actually an event that had been
slowly in the works since the 6th century and wasn't actually complete until the 13th century with
the death of King Alexander the third. It is argued that the unification of the Picts and the scots
under Kenneth was just a step in that process1.
• However, in some other circles Kenneth is still seen as important, as he is seen to be the founder
of the Scottish royal lineage and therefore his successors had a monopoly on the Scottish throne.2
• The current view seems to be that the unification of Scotland was more gradual of a process and
that the combination of the scots and Picts was more of a slow process than one undertaking.3
Brief timeline of developments in the union of Picts and Scots:
9th century:
1
Hume Brown, ‘The molding of the Scottish nation’, Scottish Historical Review 1 (1904), pp. 245–59, at p. 245
2
Sally M. Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots: Early Historic Scotland (Edinburgh, 2014), p. 158
3
Thomas Owen Clancy, ‘Gaelic in Medieval Scotland: advent and expansion’, The Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture
2009, Proceedings of the British Academy 167 (2011), pp. 349–92, at pp. 358–9.
, • Kenneth Mac Alpine, king of scots, becomes king of the Picts, no evidence of conquest though.
10th century:
• Kenneth’s Grandsons consolidate power and Kenneth’s dynasty can now be seen emerging.
13th century and later:
• New ideas emerge that Kenneth unified the kingdoms by “destroying” the Picts.
• Later accounts agree on the idea that the Picts were conquered.
Modern understanding:
• The “union” was more of a gradual process.
• There is a general understanding that there is a lack of contemporary sources from the time, we
rely on mostly non contemporary sources, however, there are still many of these written as early
as the 9th century. They aren't as reliable as a contemporary source, but do give us an insight
into the minds of the writers at that time, whilst not being hugely reliable on the pieces of history
they are writing about.
The origins of Scotland 1000-1500 AD:
• The Scotland in 1000AD (pretty much just between the fourth and the Spey on the east coast)
is much smaller than the Scotland of 1500 AD (whole of Scotland).
• This was because of the fact that the Scotland of the time had Scandinavian settlements
throughout the north and west coasts.
• The kingdom expanded as the role of the king as a state figurehead expanded, people slowly
began to see themselves as scots.
Key events:
• 1237: The Treaty of York, this establishes the border with England.
• 1266: The Treaty of Perth, the western isles were annexed from Norway.
• 1469: The Northern isles were presented to the Scottish crown as a dowry.
3 main key periods in Scottish history for the last millennium:
1. Scottish Medieval: c.1000- c.1560.
2. Scottish Early modern: c.1560-c.1707.
3. Scottish Modern: c.1707-2014 (referendum).
Medieval Scotland
What does the term medieval mean?
• In Latin means “the middle ages” c.500-c.1500.
• Typically seen as taking place after the classical era and the fall of the roman empire, but taking
place before the Renaissance. Not really a global term as both of these “time periods are euro-
centric.
• There are roughly 3 time periods within it, early medieval (c.500-c.1000), high medieval (c.1000-
c.1300) and late medieval (c.1300-c.1500). For the history of medieval Scotland, we ignore the
early middle ages due to the fact that it is only really then that a recognisable kingdom of Scotland
comes into view.
Setting the scene for medieval Scotland
The climate, topography and society:
• Medieval Scotland went through a warm period, but by the late medieval era Europe was going
into a “mini ice age”.
• Very mountainous country. Central belt of flatland between modern day Edinburgh and
Glasgow, easier to farm.
• Very small population centres, no towns much bigger than 5000 people.
,• A very rural based society, mostly illiterate.
• Gaelic, Norse and English (the dialect of scots) in the early medieval, by the end of the period
scots was the primary language. Latin was also widely spoken, French occasionally spoken in
elite circles.
• Main towns or “burghs” c.1300: Aberdeen, Dundee, Berwick (is now English), Edinburgh and
Perth.
• Religion: mostly catholic Christians, the occasional Jew. Most major towns had a Cathedral.
• Social hierarchy was very much based upon serfs and a feudal system.
Key locations:
• Flanders (France) a main trade partner for Scotland.
• Rome, main base of the pope, therefore a steady stream of communication was in place.
• Jerusalem, obviously the holy land.
Economy:
• Mostly agrarian, Scotland was very rural. One of the biggest producers of wool in Europe, this
prompted economic growth in Scotland.
Primary sources for Medieval Scotland:
1. Manuscripts are very key as they contain the written records of the time.
a. 4 main types:
i. Chronicles.
ii. Narrative histories.
iii. Burgh registers.
iv. Legal compilations.
b. There have been major losses of books and manuscripts, many from church archives have
survived, we know the locations of most of the churches and we can therefore tell how many
archives have been lost.
c. 2 main types: Contemporary (written at the time) and Non-contemporary (written later)
,2. Archaeological digs show us bodies and artefacts.
3. Ruined buildings as well.
4. Place names can show us a lot about the change of languages.
5. Landmarks.
6. For History we need to be able to use all of these. Accurate dating is hard to come by on many
of these sources however.
Scotland becoming Scotland
Pre-unification (before 840AD)- unification:
• Scotland was made up of two unified peoples: the Picts (spoke peckish and lived in Pictland)
and the scots (spoke Gaelic and lived in Dal Riata)
• Unified by king Kenneth son of Alpine into “Alba” (think proto Scotland), or this is the opinion
that traditionalists have on the matter.
• Newer theories propose that the unification of Scotland was actually an event that had been
slowly in the works since the 6th century and wasn't actually complete until the 13th century with
the death of King Alexander the third. It is argued that the unification of the Picts and the scots
under Kenneth was just a step in that process1.
• However, in some other circles Kenneth is still seen as important, as he is seen to be the founder
of the Scottish royal lineage and therefore his successors had a monopoly on the Scottish throne.2
• The current view seems to be that the unification of Scotland was more gradual of a process and
that the combination of the scots and Picts was more of a slow process than one undertaking.3
Brief timeline of developments in the union of Picts and Scots:
9th century:
1
Hume Brown, ‘The molding of the Scottish nation’, Scottish Historical Review 1 (1904), pp. 245–59, at p. 245
2
Sally M. Foster, Picts, Gaels and Scots: Early Historic Scotland (Edinburgh, 2014), p. 158
3
Thomas Owen Clancy, ‘Gaelic in Medieval Scotland: advent and expansion’, The Sir John Rhys Memorial Lecture
2009, Proceedings of the British Academy 167 (2011), pp. 349–92, at pp. 358–9.
, • Kenneth Mac Alpine, king of scots, becomes king of the Picts, no evidence of conquest though.
10th century:
• Kenneth’s Grandsons consolidate power and Kenneth’s dynasty can now be seen emerging.
13th century and later:
• New ideas emerge that Kenneth unified the kingdoms by “destroying” the Picts.
• Later accounts agree on the idea that the Picts were conquered.
Modern understanding:
• The “union” was more of a gradual process.
• There is a general understanding that there is a lack of contemporary sources from the time, we
rely on mostly non contemporary sources, however, there are still many of these written as early
as the 9th century. They aren't as reliable as a contemporary source, but do give us an insight
into the minds of the writers at that time, whilst not being hugely reliable on the pieces of history
they are writing about.
The origins of Scotland 1000-1500 AD:
• The Scotland in 1000AD (pretty much just between the fourth and the Spey on the east coast)
is much smaller than the Scotland of 1500 AD (whole of Scotland).
• This was because of the fact that the Scotland of the time had Scandinavian settlements
throughout the north and west coasts.
• The kingdom expanded as the role of the king as a state figurehead expanded, people slowly
began to see themselves as scots.
Key events:
• 1237: The Treaty of York, this establishes the border with England.
• 1266: The Treaty of Perth, the western isles were annexed from Norway.
• 1469: The Northern isles were presented to the Scottish crown as a dowry.
