Before it was Scotland, everything north of River Tweed was held by tribes speaking Brythonic languages or variations thereof. As much as the south of the island of Great Britain, the shape of northern society developed largely in reaction to the Roman invasions, though none of the lands north of Hadrian’s Wall were held for long. Two of the major factors influencing what shape those societies took were the defensive works known as Hadrian’s Wall and the Antonine Wall.
This essay covers mostly Scotland south of the
Firths and all of the kingdoms including those much farther south that
collectively were known to the Welsh as Hen Ogledd, the “Old North”.
Hadrian’s Wall
After visiting Britannia during the final year of Legatus
Falco as governor in 122, Imperator Publius
Aelius Hadrianus Augustus ordered the construction of an elaborate defensive
works on the line between Pons Aelius (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) in the east and
Luguvalium (Carlisle) in the west.
This limites,
or defensive wall, the largest in the Imperium Romanum, included a massive stone
wall built on a stone base. Every mile
between the two ends was marked by a gate with a milecastle (small fort with
two towers) garrisoned by twenty to thirty limitanei (border
soldiers), eighty of these in all).
There was also a large fort every five miles for a total of
twenty-five. A deep ditch guarded the
Wall to the north, and to the south, beyond the military road stretching
coast-to-coast was the Vallum, unique in the empire, a ditch half as deep as
the northern one with embankments on either side.
This
massive fortification, ten feet wide and twenty feet tall, was known as
Hadrian’s Wall, but for most of its existence in use was simply called The
Wall. It was also supported by a line of
forts running to the north. Later it
ends were extended to the fort of Segedunum (Wallsend) in the east and
the fort of Mais (Bowness-on-Solway) in the west.
Antonine
Wall, 141-164
In 141, Legatus
Augusti Quintus Lollius Urbicus subdued the south of Scotland once again. The next year the Romans began constructing
the Antonine Wall (named for Imperator Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus
Augustus Pius) across the narrow neck of land between the Firth of Forth and
the Firth of Clyde.
The wall
was anchored in the west by the fort at Old Kirkpatrick in the west and the
fort at Carriden in the east, with fourteen forts between them and smaller
forlets in support. In addition, a fort
at Bishopton on the right bank of River Clyde and a fort at Camelon (Camlann
in Gaelic) north of the wall two miles east of Falkirk provided additional
support.
This construction
of the wall, much of it still existing, was of earth, ten feet tall and sixteen
feet wide, and almost certainly topped with a wooden palisade. Like its senior to the south, it had forts
along its length, sixteen in all, with smaller fortlets between them. It was abandoned in 164 when the Romans again
withdrew to Hadrian’s Wall.
Construction
of this wall affected the Damnonii more than any other people as it cut off
their northern regions from easy intercourse with their southern cousins.
Claudius Ptolemaeus c. 150
The Romans, at least in the first two centuries,
referred to all the people beyond Hadrian’s Wall as Brittunculi, or “Little
Britons”, leaving little doubt about their ethnicity.
South of the Firths and north of Hadrian’s Wall, i.e.,
“between the Walls” (Hadrian’s and Antonine), in the later province of
Valentia, there were six tribes: Damnoni,
Votadini, Novantae, Selgovae, Anavionenses, and Gadeni (the first four known
from Ptolemy, the last two from other sources).
The Maeatae may be another (see below).
The territories of the Damnoni and the Votadini spread across the
Antonine Wall, as did the Votadini with Hadrian’s Wall.
South of Hadrian’s Wall, in the region that later
became the province of Britannia Secunda and amounted to the dominion of the
Brigantes in their prime, lived Brigantes, Carvetii (in English Cumbria), Textoverdi,
Lopocares, Setantii, Parisii (in East Riding of York), and Gabrantovices.
Identity
of the Maeatae
Most authorities place the Maeatae just north of
the Antonine Wall and the Caledoni to the north of them, but some place the
Maeatae between the Walls. In later
centuries Irish chroniclers refer to the kingdom of Manaw as Miathi, probably
an Irish cognate for the same group.
This leads to the conclusion that the group so named either alone or at
the head of a broader coalition lived in what became known as Manaw, or Manaw
Goddodin.
At the time Dio first mentions them, he refers to the
Maeatae as living “next to the Wall which splits the island”, which usually
refers to Hadrian’s Wall, which supports that last contention, though the other
evidence suggests that the individual tribe of Maeatae were none other than
those former Damnonii living north of the Antonine Wall cut off from easy
commerce with their cousins and left to their own devices. Especially since the Damnonii are known to
have spread north to include Stirling, Menteith, Strathearn, and Fothriff,
precisely the territory of Manaw.
Dio’s reference dates from the 2nd century and
likely refers to the confederation, while the Irish references are from the
early 7th century and probably refer to its chief tribe, the former Damnonii
north of the Antonine Wall who had formed into a separate people.
Revolt
of Carausius, 286-274
From 259 to 274, the Britanniae belonged to the Imperium Galliarum
along with Galliae (the Gauls), Hispaniae (the Spains) and Germaniae (the
Germanies), but the center of that secession lay on the Continent, specifically
the Germaniae.
In 286, Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius, praefectus of the Classis Britannica (the imperial
fleet in the British Channel) based at Dubris (Dover), revolted and set himself
up as emperor of Britanniae and northern Gaul.
After ruling for eight years, he was murdered and usurped by his
treasurer, Allectus, following a serious military setback in 294 at the hands
of the western Caesar (the empire was then under the Tertrarchy), Caesar Marcus Flavius
Valerius Constantius Herculius.
After
finally defeating Allectus once and for all, Constantius Chlorus, as he is
commonly known, then set about reorganizing the Britanniae once again,
attempting to dilute any more power bases for revolt. Such as the one his son, Flavius Valerius
Aurelius Constantinus, used to make himself Augustus and Imperator in 306. He divided the two Britanniae into four:
Maxima Caesariensis, based in Londinium (London); Britannia Prima, based in Corinium
(Circenchester); Flavia Caesariensis, based in Lindum (Lincoln); and Britannia
Secunda, based in Eboracum (York). Thus the
Britanniae became a diocese, with the governor of the first province ranked as
a consularis while the other three ranked as praefecti, with a vicarius over
them all.
The death of Constantine the Great, 337
At the death of Constantinus Augustus, the
Imperium Romanum divided into three praetorian praefectures (a fourth was added
later). The Diocese of Britanniae fell
under the Praetorian Prefecture of Galliae, which also included Galliae, Septem
provincae, Hispaniae, Germaniae, and Tingitana (more or less Morocco).
In the Diocese of Britanniae, there were three
commands, who officially reported to the Magister Militum per Galliae:
Comes
Maritimi Tractus per Britanniae, later known as Comes Litoris Saxonici, whose command included the limitanei
of the coastal forts (3000 foot, 600 horse), as well as Legio II Augusta.
Dux Limitum
Britanniarum, whose command included the limitanei of the North (14,000
foot, 900 horse), as well as Legio VI Victrix.
Comes
Militum Britanniarum whose command included mobile comitatenses of 2200
foot and 200 horse.
Legio XX Valeria probably remained stationed at Deva
Victrix (Chester) on what later became the Welsh border.
Though one is never specifically listed, the
overall commander of Roman forces in Britanniae would have been called Magister Militum per Britanniae. That such a position existed is evident from
the history of later usurper Maxen Wledig, as he was and is known to the Welsh.
The naval forces of the British Channel, the
Classis Britannica under a praefectus, were based at Dubris (Dover, England) in
Britanniae and Bononia Gesoriacum (Boulogne, France) in Galliae.
Two commands in Galliae fell under the overall
command of the Comes Litoris Saxonici: Dux Belgicae Segundae (limitanei in
coastal Belgica and Germania) and Dux Tractus Armoricani et Nervicani
(limitanei in coastal Armorica and Nervica).
Magnentius, 350-353
In January 350, the general who would go on to
become Flavius Magnus Magnentius
Augustus rose against the rule, or rather misrule, of Imperator Flavius Iulius
Constans Augustus, son of Constantine the Great. He quickly won support throughout the
Prefecture of Galliae. However, the
popularity and strength of support for the dynasty descended from Constantine
proved too great, and Magnentius committed suicide after his defeat in the
Battle of Mons Seleucis in 353.
One of
the reasons for his popular support was his toleration of pagans, Jews, and
Christian religious dissidents such as Arians.
The Great Conspiracy, 360-369
Historian Ammianus Marcellinus refers to the
“Scoti” and the “Picti” raiding Britanniae (the Britains, south of the Wall) in
360, then again in 364, this time in conjunction with the “Attacotti” and the
“Saxonici”.
In 367, the Great Conspiracy breaks out, with the
Roman garrisons along Hadrian’s Wall rebeling in conjunction with native
frontier troops known as areani; northern and western Britanniae
are overwhelmed. In the midst of the chaos, Valentinus, an exile from
Pannonia, and others begin planning a revolt. The Great Conspiracy is
finally defeated by a force under Flavius Theodosius, Comes Britanniarum.
Afterwards, he disbands the areani and organizes a new civil
administration.
While these internal struggles ensued, the Picti, Attacotti,
and Scoti were attacking Britannia and the Saxonici and the Franci attacking
northern Gaul.
In 369, Comes Flavius Theodosius created the
province of Valentia, which is usually held to have lain within the territory
“between the Walls”. The province is
noted in the Notitia Dignitatum of
circa 420, and was considered important enough to have a consularis rather than
a praefectus as governor.
Identity of the Attacotti
The identity of the Attacotti has been a subject
of much dispute.
From the 18th century, the prevailing view was
that Attacotti is a Latin corruption of the Irish aithechthuatha, or daortuatha, the subject or slave tribes. This view declined at the end of the 19th
century, though it has again become popular.
Others in the 19th century hypothesized that it referred to those from
the extreme north of the island, what are now Caithness, Sutherland, and Ross,
as its inhabitants were then known as the Catti.
The Notitia
Dignitatum of the early 5th century lists four units of Attacotti in the
ranks of the imperial army, indicating residence within or at least geographic
closeness to the Imperium Romanum. That
being the case makes more likely the third, and minority, opinion that
Attacotti refers to a confederation of the tribes between the Walls, being a
later name for the Maeatae or a succeeding or even rival confederation.
More raids
In 381, there was a fourth wave of raiding by
Scoti, Picti, and Saxonici. After their
defeat in 382, Flavius Magnus Maximus, Magister Militum per Britanniae, brought
over Aed Brosc of the Deisi and a contingent of his people as foederati,
settling them among the Demetae in what is now southwest Wales, to help repel
further raids.
Maximus also assigned praefecti gentium to
commands in the north among the peoples “between the Walls”: Quintilius
son of Clemens at Dinas y Brython
(Alt Clut/Dunbarton); Paternus son of Tacitus at Din Paladur (Traprain
Law); Catellius Decianus at Din Gefron (Yeavering Bell); and Antonius
Donatus Gregorius (son of Magnus Maximus) in Novant; he later transfers to
Demetia in Wales. Ruling dynasties later traced their descent back to
these praefecti.
Revolt of Maximus, 383-388
In 383, the general’s troops proclaimed him
Imperator Flavius Magnus Maximus
Augustus against the then current emperor of the West, Imperator Flavius
Valentinianus Augustus, who at the time was 12 years old. Intervention by the emperor of the East,
Imperator Flavius Theodosius Augustus, stopped Maximus for gaining the entire
West but won agreement for him to rule what amounted to the Prefecture of
Galliae.
Unlike
Magnentius, Maximus was quite harsh towards religious dissenters of all
stripes, and is responsible to the first executions of Christians on grounds of
heresy, Priscillian and six of his companions, over the strenuous objections of
St. Martin of Tours. On the other hands,
he issued an edict censuring Christians of Rome for burning down a synagogue in
387, for which he was rebuked by Aurelius Ambrosius, bishop of Rome, known to
history as St. Ambrose.
That same
year, Maximus, known to the Welsh as Macsen Wledig, had violated his treaty
with Theodosius I by pushing out Valentinus II from Milan, then the imperial
capital of the West which provoked a response that led to his ouster.
Dominatus Interruptus
In 406, responding to the invasion of Galliae by
the Suebi, Alani, Vandali, and Burgundi, the legions of Britain revolt and
nominate a usurper named Marcus as emperor.
Marcus was killed by his troops the next year because of hesitation and
replaced with Gratian. Gratian was
killed because he also would not cross over to Galliae by troops who then proclaimed
Flavius Claudius Constantinus as Constantine III. This general then crossed over with the three
legions, each of leaving behind a skeleton crew along with the nonlegionary limitanei.
In 409, the Saxonici began raiding the shores of
Britanniae and Armorica in large numbers, and there were Irish incursions into
Venedotia, Cornovia, Siluria, Demetia, and the Gower Peninsula.
Cut off by the chaos, the people of those regions
appealed to Ravenna (then the capital) for assistance, but Imperator Caesar
Flavius Honorius Augustus, who had his hands full with the Huns and Constantine
III, told them to attend their own affairs.
Therefore, they expelled their remaining imperial officials and declared
independence.
In 411, Imperator Caesar Flavius Claudius
Constantinus Augustus, last emperor from
Britanniae, was captured at Arles and executed at Ravenna soon afterward.
By 417, the revolts in Armorica and Britanniae were
suppressed, and some level of imperial presence returned to both regions.
A few medieval sources list 448 as the last year
in which there is any Roman presence in Britanniae, but to what that might be
referring is hazy. However, since other
sources report for this year that, “Civil war and plague ravage Britain”, it is
plausible some degree of imperial government still existed up to that time. Also, it’s hard to imagine Romanized Britons
not maintaining some sort of contact with the Kingdom of Soissons (457-486) in
northern Gaul, as we know they were doing with Armorica, which considered
itself an exclave of the empire.
Birth of the Old North
The beginning of the collection of kingdoms known
to the Welsh as “Hen Ogledd” (literally, “the Old North”) was in 410, when Coelistius,
last Dux Limitum Britanniarum, assumed political as well as military control of
Britannia Secunda, possibly with some influence in Valentia, effectively becoming
King of the North, if you will.
Coelistius is the person upon whom the medieval Welsh legends of Coel
Hen, “Old King Cole”, are based.
According to histories compiled by Rhodri Mawr ap
Merfyn of Gwynedd (820-878), Coel Hen died in battle against the Dal Riata and
the Picts near the Water of Coyl in the later Ayrshire in the year 420. This demonstrates both the reach of Coel’s
authority to the territory “between the Walls” and the colonization by the
later Argyll by the Dal Riata early in the 5th century.
In the meantime, the Council of Britanniae
continued to govern in the south. This
was the likely point at which the fortunes of the north and the south of Roman
Britain parted ways.
Previously the thought had been that The Wall was
abandoned with the withdrawal of the legions, but archaeology has since proven
this was not the case, though at this writing no one knows how long it was able
to be maintained. The Wall was the
border between the two provinces over which the “king of the North” asserted
his authority.
Tribes of Valentia
Damnonii
were the biggest in the north after the Brigantes, taking up the later Ayrshire,
Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire, Dunbartonshire, and Stirlingshire, and the districts
of Menteith, Strathearn, Fothriff.
Novantae
occupied the later Wigtonshire.
Anavionenses
lived in the district of Annandale.
Selgovae
took up the later Kirkcudbrightshire and western Dumfriesshire.
Gadeni
lived in the later Roxburghshire.
Votadini
occupied the Lothians, Peeblesshire, and Berwickshire.
Tribes of Maxima Caesariensis
Carvetii
held Cumbria, or at least Cumberland.
Textoverdi
lived in the upper South Tyne Valley and may have been at one time a subtribe
of the Brigantes.
Lopocares
lived along the River Tyne and may have been at one time a subtribe of the
Brigantes.
Brigantes,
by far the largest group in Britannia, held the Yorkshires, County Durham, Tyne
and Wear, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Westmoreland, and south
Northumberland.
Setantii
took up Lancashire and may have been at one time a subtribe of the Brigantes.
Parisii
occupied the East Riding of Yorkshire.
Gabrantovices lived on the Yorkshire coast of the Oceanus Germanicus.
Kingdoms of the Old North
In 420, Coelistius, first (and last) “King of the
North” died, and the lands of his office, were divided between his “descendants”,
probably subordinate officers, but they may have included actual sons as well. Three of those below preexisted Coelisitius’
death, one of them by centuries. The two
German lands (Beornicia and Deira) included in the list were not part of “the
Old North”, but they did exist at the time.
Manaw –
Identification in Irish annals of this kingdom with the Miathi, almost
certainly an Irish corruption of Maeatae, leads to the conclusion that it was
the same group or the lead group within a broader coalition that outsiders
dubbed with its name, as in the case of the Caledones dubbed for the Caledonii. This kingdom lay about the head of the Firth
of Forth, at least from the parish of Clackmannan in the north to the parish of
Slamannan in the south. If it did not
fall in 638 along with Eidyn and Goddodin, it certainly fell in 663 when Oswiu
conquered southern Alba. In the records,
it is often called Manaw Goddodin to distinguish it from Yns Manaw, the Isle of
Mann.
Alt
Clut/Ystrad Clud/Cumbria - Around 410, the Damnonii or their descendents established
the kingdom that became known as Alt Clut, with the capital at Dinas y Brython
(Dunbarton). It was under serious
pressure after the fall of Rheged then Caer Gwenddoleu from the advance of Northumbria, with Eadberht conquering
Kyle in 752. Generally known as Alt Clut
until Vikings destroyed its seat in 870, when the capital moved to Govan and
the land became known as Ystrad Clud, or Srath Cluid (Strathclyde) to its
neighbors (restricted as it was to the later county of Lanarkshire, which was
known as Clydesdale before the county was erected). Just a few years later, however, conquest of
Northumbria by the Danes in 867 enabled Ystrad Clud to expand southward to
include the later English counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, hence the
change of annalists and chroniclers to the term Cumbria. It became a dependency of Alba in the latter
11th century. Cumbria was incorporated
into Alba in 1124.
Novant/Wyr
Enouant – Called Novant in the poems of the Old North and Wyr Enouant in
later Welsh, this kingdom arose in 418 among the Novantae, ruled by descendents
of Antonius Donatus Gregorius. In 683,
Wyr Enouant fell to Beornicia. That was
the end of Novant, but the region later gained quasi-independence in another
guise as Galloway. The country is not
heard of again until the appearance of “Jacob of Galwegia” at the Chester council
in 973.
Caer Ebrauc
– Also seen as just Ebrauc, from
Eboracum, this kingdom based in what became York was by far the dominant among
the states of the Old North, at least in its early decades. Strictly speaking, its direct power was
limited to the region south of the Wall and only became a distinct entity after
Bryneich and Deifr broke away in 420 after the death of Coelistius. It fell to the armies of Deira in 580 in the
aftermath of a disastrous expedition against Beornicia.
Goddodin
- Founded about the time Coelistius’ death (420), this kingdom of the Votadini
lay between the eastern border of Manaw and the northern border of Bryneich,
taking in everything east of Slamannan south to Hadrian’s Wall, later
restricted to the north of River Tweed.
It was conquered by Northumbria in 638.
In 671, Northumbria established a sub-kingdom
called Din Baer north of River Tweed
and east of River Avon which may have lasted until the fall of Northumbria to
the Danes in 867, at which time the north of that kingdom became the province
of Beornicia (its rulers being first called earldormen, then high reeves, and
finally eorls).
Bryneich
- Straddling the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall, it began as the kingdom of the
southern Votadini just after the death of Coelistius (420). Its north border was River Tweed, its south
border equidistant from the Wall. Its
king was expelled from Din Guardi (Bamburgh) in 547 by Ida of Bernicia, who
subsequently occupied it, but Bryneich itself continued at least to the end of
the 6th century, the period of its last known king, Morcant Bulc.
Gwynedd
– Became associated with the Old North when the governor or ruler of Goddodin,
Cunedda ap Aeternus, was transferred to what is now northwest Wales to deal
with the influx of Irish immigrants who left their name as Venedotia (from
Feni) in 452. Gwynedd was cut off from
the rest of the Old North when Argoed fell to Mercia in 613. It eventually became the dominant region of
the Kingdom of Wales.
Rheged
– Running from the Solway Firth south to border Powys and Gwynedd, this kingdom
rose to become powerfull enough to rival, then eclipse Ebrauc. It broke away from the greater northern
kingdom around 450 with its capital as Caer Ligualid, the former Luguvalium and later Carlisle. In 535, its southern region broke away as
Argoed. The decline of its fortunes began to decline
when its king, Urien ap Cynfarch (whose son was Owen), was assassinated at
the behest of Morcant Bulc in 590. It
finally assimilated into Beornicia by peaceful means about 643, due to the
marriage in 638 to Rieinmellt, heiress of Rheged, to Oswiu, the future king.
Elmet –
Occupying South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and eastern Derbyshire, this little
known kingdom lay south of Ebrauc, east of the Pennines, and west of
Deifr. It was carved out of the Northern
Kingdom about 470 and conquered by Edwin of Deira in 617.
Pennines
– This is the name given to the kingdom known to have occupied the entire chain
of the Pennine Mountain beginning about 470.
It divided into three around 525.
Calchfynydd
– Mentioned in one single poem in the Book of Taliesen, its name also survives
in the name of one of its rulers, Cadrawd
Calchfynydd, to whom Welsh sources refer as one of the Men of the North (Gwyr y
Ogledd). It was probably founded under
the name Cynwidion by Cynfelyn ap Arthwys, youngest son of the king of the
Pennines, in Northamptionshire and the vicinity around 480. That’s outside the geographic area of Hen
Ogledd but is included here, like Gwynedd, because of the family
connection. Cuthwulf of the Gewissae
conquered the kingdom in 571 and absorbed it into his own.
Arfderydd – Better known by the name of its capital, Caer Gwenddoleu (Carwinley), it occupied what is now the
parish of Arthuret in the former county of Cumberland. It was carved out of Rheged around 505 and
conquered by the joint forces of Ebrauc, Dent, and Alt Clut in 573 over possession
of Caerlaverock. Afterwards, it
was dependent on Rheged, though it remained separate until both were conquered by the Northumbrians.
Dunoting – Also known as Dent, was the northern of the three kingdoms into which the Pennines divided in
525. It was overrun by Beornicia in 591.
Craven
– Only recently recognized to have existed and given this name by historians,
this was the central of the three kingdoms into which the Pennines divided in
525. Bernicia conquered it along with
its southern sister in 590.
Peak –
With a named based on conjecture from the Anglian people who later occupied it
(the Pecaestan), this third of the three kingdoms into which the Pennines
divided in 525 was conquered by Bernicia in 590, like its sister to the
immediate north.
Argoed
– More often called South Rheged, this kingdom split from Rheged in 535 and remained
independent until 613, when it was conquered by Mercia. Even then, Mercia allowed its king, Llywarch
Hen, to remain on the throne as a subordinate until 620, when they expelled him
to Powys, where he becames a bard of the rank of Aneirin, Taleisin, and Myrddin.
Eidyn –
This kingdom, a division from Goddodin, arose in about the year 545. It spread at least from Din Eidyn (Edinburgh)
to Caer Eidyn (Carriden) but may have included all of Mid Lothian. It fell in 638 along with Goddodin.
Bernicia
– Beginning as a coastal settlement on the island of Medcaut in the late 530s
or early 540s, this kingdom may have been built on a foundation of a laeti
colony under Ochta and Ebissa in 452, expanding into a kingdom that eventually
swallowed its host by the end of the century.
Deira –
In the late 550s, an Anglish leader named Aelle landed with his followers on
the coast of Deifr and rapidly spead inland.
Aeron –
Was not part of the Hen Ogledd, though it is known from many of the same
sources as Manaw and plays a cameo role in several places in Northern British
literature, and was not in the vicinity of Ayr.
It lay in the valley of the River Earn, or Strath Eireann, Gaelic for “Valley of the Irish”,
which in old Brythonic (as well as modern Welsh) is Ystrad Aeron.
Timeline of the Old North
297 – Caesar
Marcus Flavius Valerius Constantius Herculius (Constantius Chlorus) divides
Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior into four new provinces: Maxima
Caesariensis (Eboracum); Britannia Prima (Londinium); Britannia
Secunda (Corinium); and Flavia Caesariensis (Lindum).
369 –
An additional province, Valentia, is added in the north, probably in southern
Scotland between the Walls, with its seat at Luguvalium. Its governor is a consularis.
382 –
Fourth wave of raiding by Scotti, Pictii, and Saxonici. After their defeat, Flavius Magnus Maximus,
Magister Militum per Britanniae, assigns praefecti gentium to commands in the
north:
Quintilius son of Clemens at Alt Clut (Dinas y
Brython/Dunbarton); Paternus son of Tacitus at Din Paladur (Traprain Law);
Catellius Decianus at Din Gefron (Yeavering Bell); Antonius Donatus
Gregorius (son of Magnus Maximus) in Novant. Ruling dynasties later trace
their descent back to these praefecti.
405 –
Fourth wave of raiding by Scotti, Pictii, and Saxonici.
409 –
The people of Britanniae and of Armorica appeal to Rome for assistance with
marauders. emperor Honorius tells them to attend their own affairs;
therefore, they expel their imperial officials and declare independence.
410-650 - Sub-Roman Britain’s
Heroic Age.
410 -
Coelistius, the Coel Hen of Welsh legend, assumes control of the North, the
area known to the Cymry as Hen Ogledd, its people as the Gwyr y Gogledd, most
likely as the last official Dux Limitum Britanniarum. His authority covers the provinces of
Britannia Secunda and Valentia.
411-429
– Raiding of Britanniae by Pictii, Scotti, and Saxonici.
417 –
The revolts in Armorica and Britanniae are suppressed, followed by the return
of some level of imperial presence in both regions.
418 –
Descendants of Antonius Donatus establish a Sub-Roman kingdom in Wyr Enouant
(Novant), the area that eventually becomes Galloway.
420 -
Death of Coel Hen in battle against the Picts and Dal Riata invading Alt Clut
near the Water of Coyl in the later county of Ayrshire. The lands of his office are divided between
his descendants, known as the Coelingas, becoming Ebrauc, Bryneich (Din Guardi/Bamburgh), Deifr, Rheged,
Argoed, Peak, Elmet, and Calchfynydd.
446 –
The Britonici appeal to Patricius Aetius for military assistance against the
Pictii and the Scotti, but he has his hands full with Attila the Hun.
448 –
According to some chronicles and annals, the end of Roman presence in
Britanniae was in this year, plausible given that others note for this year
that “civil war and plague ravage Britain”, implying a serious disruption.
450 -
Rheged is formed out of Northern Britain.
The new domain reaches from the southern border of Alt Clud to the
northern border of Gwynedd.
452 -
According to the Historia Brittonum,
Cunedda Wledig ap Aeternus and his retinue are transferred from Manaw to
Gwynedd, called Venedotia in Latin (from Feni, the Irish); Germanius ap
Coelistius is transferred from Gododdin to Manaw; and the Frisian foederati
Ochta and Ebissa are sent to replace Germanius.
470 –
Establishment of the kingdom of Peak in the southern Pennines.
471 -
Ceretic of Alt Clut raids the Irish Coast and carries off some of St. Patrick’s
new flock and sells them into slavery, receiving a written reprimand from the
Irish evangelist.
520 -
Pabo Post Prydain of Peak abdicates his throne and retires, as a hermit, to
Ynys Mon.
525 -
The kingdom of Dent is established in the Pennines.
Gabran mac Domangairt of Dal Riata, marries
Lleian, daughter of Brychan of Manaw and niece of Cedric of Alt Clut, and
settles with his men and their families in the region.
535 -
Sawyl Penuchel of Peak is expelled from his kingdom by Bernicia and flees to
Powys.
Death of Meirchion Gul of Rheged; the southern
part of the kingdom breaks away as Argoed.
537 –
According to the Annales Cambriae,
the Battle of Camlann where “Arthur and Medraut fell” was fought this
year. Camlann is Scottish Gaelic for
Camelon, the Roman fort north of the Antonine Wall two miles west of Falkirk.
547 -
The king of Bryneich is expelled from his fortress of Din Guardi (Bamburgh) by the Angles and Frisians,
whose leader, Ida, becomes king of Beornicia.
550 -
War between Alt Clut and Gwynedd.
558 –
Bridei mac Maelchon (ap Maelgwn) of Fortrenn defeats Gabran mac Domangairt.
559 –
Deifr falls to the Angles and Frisians under Aelle of the Angeln dynasty
Icelingas, who renames it Deira.
560 –
Elidyr of Alt Clut invades Gwynedd in right of his wife, trying to expel
brother-in-law, Rhun Hir ap Maelgwn, but dies at the Battle of the
Cadnant.
565 –
Riderch Hael of Alt Clut mounts a revenge attack on Rhun Hir of Gwynedd. Rhun marches on Alt Clut and reinforces the
armies of his half-brother, Bridei, in Pictavia.
569 -
Aedan mac Gabrain of the Dal Riata establishes himself as king of Manaw by
right through his mother; he is married to Demlech, daughter of Maelgwn Wledig
of Gwynedd.
570 -
The kingdom of Elmet founded.
570-575
- The Northern British Alliance is forged between kingdoms of Rheged, Alt Clut,
Bryneich, and Elmet. They fight the
Beornicians at the Battles of Gwen Ystrad and the Cells of Berwyn.
573 -
Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc ally themselves with Dunod Fawr of Dent and Riderch
Hael of Alt Clut. They march north to
claim the fort at Caerlaverock from Gwendoleu of Caer Gwendoleu. The latter is killed in the Battle of
Arthuret and his bard, Myrddin Wyllt, flees into the Coed Celyddon, where he
goes mad and becomes a prophet.
575 -
Owein of Rheged kills Theodoric of Bernicia at the Battle of Leeming Lane.
580 -
The army of Peredur and Gwrgi of Ebrauc marches north to fight Bernicia. Both are killed by Adda’s forces at Caer
Greu.
The Deirans rise up under Aelle, and move on the
city of Ebrauc. Peredur’s son Gwrgant
Gwron is forced to flee; Ebrauc falls, with Catraeth going to Rheged.
586 –
Battle of Circinn and death of Bridei ap Maelgwn; accession of Garnait mac
Dornelch (or mac Aedan). He is succeeded
by Garnait son of Damelach.
588 -
Aedan mac Gabhrain wins the Battle of Leithri.
590 -
Siege of Lindisfarne. The Northern British Alliance (Rheged, Alt Clut,
Bryneich, Elmet) lays siege to Hussa of Beornicia and almost exterminates the
Beornicians. Urien Rheged is assassinated
at the behest of his jealous ally Morcant Bulc of Bryneich. Beornicians recover while internal squabbles
tear the British Alliance apart.
Peak falls to Beornicia.
591 -
Dunod Mawr of Dent mounts an invasion of Rheged, but is repulsed by its king,
Owein, and his brother, Pasgen. Elffin
of Rheged is simultaneously attacked by Gwallawc Marchawc Trin of Elmet.
593 -
Morcant Bulc of Bryneich invades Rheged and kills Owein in battle. Pasgen of Rheged flees to the Gower
Peninsula. A greatly diminished Rheged
continues under the rule of their brother, Rhun.
594 - Battle of Manaw, which
Adomnan calls the Battle of Miathi, in which Aedan mac Gabhrain of
the Dal Riata is victorious, but with the loss of his sons Eochaid Finn and
Artur.
595 -
The aging Donud Mawr of Dent dies fighting off a Bernician invasion. His kingdom is overrun and his family flees
to join his grandson in Gwynedd.
598 -
Mynyddog Mwynfawr of Din Eidyn and Cynan of Gododdin ride south to fight
Beornicia against enormous odds at the Battle of Catterick, seat of
Rheged. The British are victorious,
though Geraint of Dyfneint (Dumnonia) is killed in the fighting.
599 - Death of Taliesin, poet for
Urien map Cynfarch of Rheged, great-great-great-grandson of Coel Hen, and for
Owain map Urien. His works are collected in the Llyfr Taliesin.
600 -
Aneirin of Dent writes the poem Y
Gododdin recording the events of the Battle of Catterick.
603 -
Battle of Degastan between Aethelfrith of Bernicia and Aedan of the Dal Riata,
with support from Mael Umai mac Baetain of Cenel nEogain and Fiachnae mac
Baetain of Dal nAraidi, king of Ulster, resulting in a devasting defeat for the
Scotti in which Domangart mac Aedan dies, along with Aethelfrith’s brothers
Theodbald and Eanfirth.
604 –
Aethelfrith of Bernicia conquers Deira and unites the two kingdoms as
Northumbria.
605 –
Beornicia conquers Rheged and penetrates of Galloway.
608 -
Death of Aedan mac Gabhrain of the Dal Riata.
Argoed falls to Mercia.
616 –
Rheged falls to Mercia.
Aethelfrith of Bernicia is killed by Edwin of
Deira at the Battle of the River Idle and his children escape north; his heir, Eanfrith,
flees to Fortrenn and the rest to Eochaid Buide of Dal Riata.
617 -
Edwin of Deira conquers Elmet. Ceretic
of Elmet is killed in the fighting.
620 -
Llywarch Hen is expelled from Argoed, probably by Edwin of Deira, and flees to
Powys to become a famous bard.
623 -
Edwin of Deira is baptised by Rhun of Rheged.
630 –
Calchwynedd falls to the Middle Angles and the Chiltern Saxons.
633 -
Death of the great bard, Llywarch Hen of Argoed, supposedly aged one hundred.
His works include Canu Hedledd and Geraint son
of Erbin.
635 –
St. Aidan is sent out from Iona to the Angles of Northhumbria, where he founds
a monastery on the island of Medcaut (Lindisfarena).
638 –
Din Eidyn and and Gododdin fall to Northumbria, their aristocracy escaping to Alt
Clut.
Rhianfelt, heiress of Rheged, marries Oswiu of
Northumbria. Northumbria embraces Rheged
in a peaceful takeover, and also becomes overlord of Circinn.
642 -
Owen ap Beli of Alt Clut kills Domnall Brecc at the Battle of Strathcarron.
653 –
Talorgan ap Eanfrith becomes king of Fortrenn.
654 –
Oswiu is the first to assume the title king of Northumbria as supreme ruler of
the united realms of Beornicia and Deira.
663 –
Oswiu of Northumbria invades the southern Picts and establishes overlordship
over Fibh, Circinn, and Strath Eireann.
664 -
The Synod of Whitby.
671 –
Northumbria establishes the sub-kingdom of Din Baer in the former territory of
the Gododdin, also called Lleuddiniawn (Lothian).
672
–Ecgfrith of Northumbria conquers Cumberland (English Cumbria) and Dumfries.
683 –
The kingdom of Wyr Enouant ruled by the line of Antonius Donatus falls to
invasion from Beornicia.
685 -
Ecgfrith of Northumbria marches his army north to engage the Picts at the
Battle of Nechtansmere. The Dal Riata
and Alt Clut Britons join the Picts in a thorough defeat of the Anglish
forces. The latter lose much land south
of the Forth to Dumnagual II of Alt Clut in the process.
697 –
Bridei mac Der-Ilei subjugates Caitt.
706 –
Death of Bridei mac Dargart of Fortrenn; Nechtan mac Dargart of the Cenel
Comgaill ascends the throne.
711 –
Northumbria invades Pictavia and is defeated in Manaw.
722 -
Death of Beli of Alt Clut; Teudebur ap Beli succeeds to the throne.
729 –
The Picts invade Manaw and are defeated.
750 –
The Alt Clut Britons under Teudebur defeat Talorcan mac Oengusa at the Battle
of Mugdock. Decline of the power of
Oengus I of Fortrenn.
Elidyr ap Sandde moves the exiled royal house of
Argoed from Powys to the Isle of Man.
Eadbert of Northumbria conquers the plain of Kyle
756 -
Oengus I of Fortrenn and Eadberht of Northumbria successfully attack Dumnagual
of Alt Clut at Dinas y Brython; however, Alt Clut subsequently wipes out
Eadberht's entire force at the Battle of Newburgh-on-Tyne.
793 - Lindisfarne is destroyed by the
Norse.
844 –
The Battle of the Plains of Manaw is fought between River Avon and River
Carron.
871 – Dinas
y Brython, seat of Alt Clut and its king, Artgal, is destroyed by Olaf of the
Norse kingdom of Dublin and his Viking warriors. The capital of Alt Clut
is moved to Govan and the kingdom becomes known as Ystrad Clud.
872 -
Artgal of Ystrad Clud is slain through the connivance of Causantin mac Cinaeda,
Ri Cruithintuath, and his Viking allies.
Artgal's son, Rhun, succeeds to the throne.
878 –
Death of Rhun of Ystrad Clud. Succession
of his son, Eochaid, who also attempts to assert his claims to the throne of
all Picts through his mother.
889 -
Eochaid of Ystrad Clud and Giric Mac Rath of the Picts are deposed by Viking
invaders. Domnall mac Caustantin becomes
Ri Cruithintuath, the last to be so called.
890 -
Domnall Ri Cruithintuath expels the Briton aristocracy of Ystrad Clud. They flee south to North Cymru (Gwenydd).
927 –
Ystrad Clud extends its southern border to River Eamont, close to Penrith, upon
which it becomes known as Cumbria.
945 –
Edmund I cedes Cumberland to Malcolm I.
960 –
Alba captures Edinburgh/Dunedin, the former Din Eidyn.
973 –
Maccus mac Arailt of the Isles, Kenneth III of Alba, and Malcolm of Strathclyde
form a defensive alliance.
John, Lord of Galwegia (Galloway), Malcolm of the
Cumbrians, Dyfnwal, Kenneth of Alba, Maccus mac Arailt of the Isles, Iago of
Gwynedd, and others meet with Edgar I the Peaceful at Chesterfield, where he
recognizes Alba’s possession of Lothian.
1014 –
Battle of Clontarf
1018 –
Mael Coluim mac Cinaeda brings Bernicia north of the Tweed under his control.
1054 –
Siward of Northumbria defeats Macbeth in battle, places Malcolm ap Owain Foel
(“Malcolm, son of the king of the Cumbrians”) on the throne of Cumbria.
1072 –
Gospatric, formerly Earl of Northumbria, is expelled to the north, where he
recieves vast lands as Earl of Lothian, essentially the lands of the former
Dinbaer.
1092 –
William Rufus conquers Cumberland and incorporates it into England as the
Earldom of Carlisle
1124 –
David I mac Malcolm, Prince of the Cumbrians, usurps the throne of his nephew
Malcolm mac Alexander (I) and assumes the throne, uniting Alba with Cumbria and
Lothian into the Kingdom of the Brets and the Scots.
Scotland in the Middle Ages
Beginning with Malcolm III Ceannmor mac Duncan,
monarchs in the north began using the Latin title “rex Scottorum” along with
“ri Albann”.
In 1124, David I united Alba (the north), Cumbria,
and Lothian as one nation under a single set of laws called the Law of the
Brets and Scots. From his reign through that
of Alexander III, that royal title was also written as “rex Brettorum et
Scottorum”, as in the seal of the latter.
With the accession of John I Balliol, the sole official title became
“rex Scottorum”.
Moray frequently reasserted its claims to
leadership or independence in the next few centuries, most notably during the
reign of Macbethad mac Findlaeich, noted as both king of Moray and king of
Fortrenn, who defeated Duncan I to become king of Alba. The Fortrenn-Caledon rivalry continued on in
the struggles of the MacHeths and MacWilliams, whose strength lay in Moray and
Ross, against the main line of the Cenel Connaill (or Kindred of St. Columba)
in Scotland that lasted until 1215 and 1230 respectively. Both families, frequently allied in
“rebellion”, are disinherited branches of the main royal line but had
intermarried with the local dynasty of Moray and Ross that traced back to both
Cenel Loairn and the Pictish kings of Fortrenn.
No comments:
Post a Comment