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Beginning to A.D. 350 A.D. 350 to 794 THIS SECTION: A.D. 795 to 1200 Viking Raiders Turmoil and Trouble The Alban Kings Tanistry More Strife MacBeth Reformation of the Church Donald III 11th Century Scotland 12th Century Scotland 13th Century Scotland History Main Page Main Home Page Click Here to Search This Site | The Celtic Kings of Alba Alba was the name given to the unified Pictish and Scottish Kingdom, which were ruled by Kenneth McAlpin. In some ways this unified Kingdom offered a better resistance to the invading Norsemen than before but still Alba remained a troubled Kingdom. The raiding parties of the Norsemen had become settlements and whilst the raiding continued, they had distinct bases in Orkney, the Western Isles and perhaps Caithness. However, in addition to fighting the Norsemen, civil war was still raging in the land. McAlpin may have unified (of sorts) the Picts and the Scots but had cause to invade Northumbria at least six times. The Norse aggression countoinued though and the combined armies of Picts and Scots were defeated in A.D. 874 and A.D. 876. In many ways, it was lucky for the inhabitants of Alba that the Norsemen were equally as dis-united.
One positive outcome of these times was the unification of the Picts and the Scots. This was a landmark in the history as McAlpin's rule stretched from the Moray Firth in the North to the Firth of Forth in the South. It was this, that marked these times and led to the establishment of Scotland as a nation for the first time. |
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