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. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals
or rulers of small kingdoms. Later, after the Romans departed, the
initiative was seized by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond
their own borders. Armies of Picts, Scots, Vikings, Britons and
Anglo-Saxons fought each other for supremacy.
From Lothian to Orkney, from Fife to the Isle of Skye, fierce battles
were won and lost. By AD 1000 the political situation had changed for
ever. Led by a dynasty of Gaelic-speaking kings the Picts and Scots
began to forge a single, unified nation which transcended past enmities.
In this book the remarkable story of how ancient North Britain became
the medieval kingdom of Scotland is told.