Eric Brown - Scottish History: A Concise Overview of the History of Scotland From Start to End

A Concise Overview of the History of Scotland From Start to End

Copyright 2019 by Eric Brown - All rights reserved.

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Introduction

T he very idea of Scottishness is inseparable from an opposition to Englishness. Englands influence on its northern neighbor after it became the most powerful political force in the British Isles by 1100 cannot be understated. However, Scotland has long insisted on being a separate country on a shared island. Historical fact and myth have been resolutely channeled into the creation of a distinct national identity over the centuries.

For the majority of human history, however, there was no Scotland, Wales, Ireland, or England to speak of.[2] Scotland is derived from the Latin Scotia, which means land of the Scots.[3] The Scots were a Celtic people of Irish origins who decided to settle on the west coast of Great Britain during 5th century AD. The people who inhabited Scotia, which only meant the entire kingdom north of England during Alexander IIs reign, were certainly not monolingual or monocultural. As the Scottish language slowly became the lingua franca of the entire nation, it had to coexist with Celtic, Gaelic, and Norwegian.

Before a national identity was forged through the trauma of invasion and years of painful resistance, local, regional, and dynastic identities and affiliation had more meaning and relevance to everyones daily lives. When roads and advanced technologies for communication did not exist, everyones existence was rooted in their immediate surroundings. Identities were formed based on the specific physical geography that individuals, families, and clans found themselves in. Scotlands terrain is mostly rugged and subject to weather extremes, but this challenging landscape also possesses a striking beauty and the capacity to facilitate the evolution of a fiercely unique culture.

Scottish folklore has perpetuated the idea that the Scots have never been conquered. The Scots have certainly fought bravely against conquest from various foreign powers, but they also have a mixed track record. It is true that the Romans eventually abandoned their attempts to conquer Scotland (which was then known as Caledonia) and decided to simply build walls to keep the barbaric tribes up north from attacking them. In the tenth century, the Scots managed to fend off a Danish invasion, but only with English aid. This dependency meant that the English ruler could define himself as father and lord of the king of Scots.

Chapter 1: Medieval Strife

R obert VII was born on July 11, 1274, probably at Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire. His parents had met and married the previous year on his father's return from crusade after Robert VI brought Marjorie news of her husband's death on that same military campaign. Though it was a politically advantageous marriage, bringing together a family of grand title and one of great power, it seems to have been motivated by love. Young Robert was the first of eleven children - five sons and six daughters - who would between them come to include a King of Scotland, High King of Ireland and Queen of Norway.

As noble families went, the Bruces were something of a powerhouse. Robert Bruce was a descendant of both the Gaelic nobility native to Scotland and the Anglo-Norman nobility that had become increasingly powerful in Scotland since the Norman conquest of England in 1066. Like many nobles of the period, he was descended from royalty, in his case King David I of Scotland, to whom he was connected on his father's side. First becoming established in Scotland in the early 12th century, the Bruces had come to dominate the southwest of the country, becoming one of the most powerful magnate families.

In fact, the future King Robert was one in a long line of men named Robert Bruce - alternatively Robert de Brus or Robert de Bruce, in the shifting spellings and naming conventions of the period. His grandfather and head of the family was Robert Bruce V, Lord of Annandale, the family's traditional base of power. His father, Robert Bruce VI, had married the widowed Marjorie, Countess of Carrick, and so become Earl of Carrick. This made him technically superior in rank to Robert V, but the Lord of Annandale remained leader of the Bruces.