The Scottish monarchy has a peculiarly bloody history, even more so than its English counterpart. Through the ages before official union with England in 1707 the royal lineage took many a complex turn and survived some unlikely alliances. Few Britons may realize that Scotland's royal history can be traced back farther than England's, and it has provided the modern British monarchy with the longest dynasty in Europe.
Richard Oram begins his study in AD 400 and takes us through to 1707, revealing along the way many startling facts of which the Scots are rightly proud. Some of their rulers performed remarkable feats against great odds, turning their fragile kingdom into a fortress of northern Britain. Indeed, on more than one occasion the Scots came close to conquering and colonising England. Through a series of readable short essays we learn much about the resilient, proud and resourceful Scottish monarchy and its people through the Dark Ages and beyond.
Scottish royal history is studded with such formidable figures as Macbeth, Robert the Bruce and the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots. There were lesser nobles, their names now all but forgotten south of the border, who also came close to toppling the numerically superior English. Causantin mac Aeda, for instance, may not be found in many school history books today, but he almost snatched mastery of Britain from the heirs of King Alfred. Then there was David I, who extended his kingdom almost to the gates of York, while James IV built the finest navy in northern Europe. Because of the scope of this book and its relative brevity, it is able to do little more than scratch the surface of what is a powerful and exciting tale, but the contributors make a good job of it and leave the reader eager to learn more. This work includes numerous black and white photos, maps, genealogies, and an extensive index.
Contents:
Introduction
Part 1: The Early Kings in Scotland CAD84-1058
1. The Earliest Kings
2. The Kings of Strathclyde
3. The Kings of Dal Riata
4. The Pictish Kings
5. The Kings of Alba
Part 2: The House of Canmore 1058-1290
6. Malcolm III
7. Donald III, Duncan II and Edmund
8. Edgar
9. Alexander I
10. David I
11. Malcolm IV
12. William I
13. Alexander II
14. Alexander III
15. Margaret
Part 3: The House Divided, Bruce vs Balliol 1290-1371
16. John I Balliol
17. Robert I Bruce
18. David II and Edward Balliol
Part 4: The House of Stewart 1371-1625
19. Robert II Stewart
20. Robert III
21. James I
22. James II
23. James III
24. James IV
25. James V
26. Mary
27. James VI
Part 5: The British Stewarts, Monarchs of Three Realms 1625-1714
28. Charles I
29. Charles II
30. James VII
31. William II and Mary II
32. Anne
Maps
Genealogies
The Editor and Contributors
Further Reading
List of Illustrations
Index
