Of course, some of the same problems as before still existed. It was his great victory at the Battle of Bannockburn which truly consolidated Scotland's sense of National identity, even though by then the majority of its ruling class was of Norman blood. The Clans of Scotland, however, in their true and unique context, did not come about until after Robert the Bruce, himself of Norman descent, had beaten back the English invasion which began in 1296, thus unifying Scottish interests against those of English imperialism.
It might seem improbable in this present age, but between the 10th and 12th centuries, Scotland was THE place in Europe where younger sons of the English and continental hierarchy came to seek advancement from the Scottish monarchy, to acquire land and to breed new dynasties. As trade with mainland Europe increased, merchants from Germany and Flanders appeared in the estuaries of the Forth and Tay. Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, waves of fortune hunters arrived to make their mark. To the South, Strathclyde Britons, Saxons and Northumbrians made rapid inroads into Berwickshire, Dumfriesshire, Galloway and the Lothians. Pictorial carvings and standing stones exist from their time, but by the 7th century their cultural identity had largely disappeared.įrom the far North came Viking hoards from Scandinavia, hungry for land until finally stopped at the Battle of Largs in 1263. From their West Coast kingdom they of necessity engaged with the Picts, the indigenous inhabitants of the East Coast. The early Scots, who journeyed across the Irish Sea to settle in what was then called Dalriada, were a Celtic people whose distant origins lay in the Middle East. The Scottish Nation, which came together between the 6th and 14th centuries, was to absorb many immigrants in the process of its creation. Throughout time, individuals with distinct ancestral bonds have banded together for social and defensive reasons. The Holy Bible tells us that we are all of us members of the family of Adam. The tribal instinct is as old as mankind.
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