The monastic community founded by St. Columba on the tiny island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland was attacked by the Vikings. The Vikings returned in 806 killing over sixty of the people living there.

The Vikings laid siege to Dumbarton Rock. The siege lasted for four months after which the defences fell and the Vikings took prisoners and treasures to Dublin.

Constantine claimed the throne of Scotland when Donald II was killed in battle.

Athelstan put together a large army and invaded Scotland destroying it as he advanced north.

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Canute travelled to Scotland where he forced the Scottish Kings into submission.

Crinan, the Abbot of Dunkfeld, led an uprising against Macbeth in an attempt to put his grandson Malcolm (III) on the Scottish throne. Malcolm was living at the court of Edward the Confessor at the time. Crinian was killed and the uprising failed.

Malcolm, the Scottish king attacked towns in the north of England.

In response to the earlier Scottish raid into northern England, King William took an army into Scotland. At the Treaty of Abernethy between William the Conqueror and Malcolm III of Scotland, Malcolm agreed to pay homage to William and gave his eldest son as hostage.

It is possible that William the Conqueror was planning to attack King Malcolm to prevent him protecting Edgar the Aetheling and to stop him advancing into the north of England. The treaty 'Peace of Abernethy' brought a solution to the situation where Malcolm agreed to become William's vassal and to expel Edgar.

The fourth major invasion into the north of England by Malcolm III started when the Scots began a siege of Durham.

The Normans, led by William Rufus, went north to deal with the Scots but a conflict was averted and a renewal of the treaty of Abernethy was agreed.

A meeting was arranged between Malcolm III of Scotland and William II of England at Gloucester. It was here that William demanded that the failing peace between the two nations should be judged by the barons. Malcolm refused, returning to Scotland and raising an army.

Malcolm III, the king of Scotland, and his son Edward were both killed at the battle of Alnwick in Northumberland. Malcolm had invaded England after William II had made moves to take more control over Cumbria and had fortified Carlisle. The bodies of the Scottish king and his son where buried at Tynemouth Priory.

After Malcolm III and his eldest son Edward by his second marriage were killed near Alnwick Donald, Malcolm's brother, became the king of Scotland. Malcolm's family were forced into exiled in England. Malcolm had another son, Duncan, by his first wife. But Duncan was being held hostage at the court of William Rufus.

Assisted by Norman knights and his half-brother Edmund, Duncan invaded Scotland to unseat his uncle Donald from the Scottish throne. The invasion succeeded and he became king in May. His reign only lasted until November when he was killed in battle and Donald retook the Scottish throne. Edmund sided with Donald at this time and was named as heir to the throne as the King had no children. It is possible that Edmund shared the rule of Scotland with Donald from 1094.

Donald III was restored to the Scottish throne after the death of Duncan II. He shared the Scottish rule with his nephew Edmund.

A peace treaty signed by King David of Scotland and King Stephen. The Scottish King had invaded northern England in January and had captured many of the major towns including Carlisle and Newcastle. In response, Stephen had raised a large army and marched north to Durham. King David agreed to talk rather than fight and an arrangement was agreed allowing the Scots to keep Carlisle in return for stopping their advance. David refused to do homage to the English King as his loyalties rested with Matilda, King Henry's daughter. King David's son did pay homage to Stephen and received the Earldom of Huntingdon in return.

After King Stephen gave up the rights to Cumberland after the Treaty of Durham to the Scots, King David made Carlisle his southern capital. The Scottish king made large improvements to the defences of the castle at Carlisle and built a keep.

King David of Scotland took an army across the border and attacked Northumbria. He wanted Northumbria for his son Henry.

In response to the Scottish attack in the north, King Stephen took an army into Scotland but the two kings did not meet and Stephen returned to England.

Led by their king, David I, the Scots invade and destroy Northumberland. The Scots moved south into Lancashire and North Yorkshire. This prompted Steven to mobilize an army to counter the invasion. The Scots captured and destroyed the important castle at Norham.

David I of Scotland was defeated at the battle of 'the Standard' in Yorkshire. The name for the battle came from the banners that were carried into battle by the English.

King William of Scotland targeted several key fortifications in northern England, particularly in Northumberland and Cumberland in an attempt to seize territory while King Henry II was preoccupied with the broader revolt against his son. Castles that he attempted to capture included Carlisle Castle, Newcastle Castle, Prudhoe Castle and Alnwick Castle. All of these castles managed to be defended against the Scottish King's attacks and sieges.

King William of Scotland allied with Henry II's rebellious sons, particularly Henry the Young King, to weaken Henry's hold on England. William crossed the English border with his forces, leading raids into Northumberland and Cumberland attacking English towns and castles, but was bravely pushed back by supporters of the King of England. In the autumn, after causing widespread disruption, William withdrew to regroup for a renewed offensive in spring 1174.

King William of Scotland was held captive at Richmond Castle.

William I, king of Scotland invaded England to help fight in the baronial rebellion against Henry II. The Scottish King attacked the castle at Prudhoe but was unable to capture it. William was captured at the Battle of Alnwick and the rebellion came to an end. He was transported to Falaise in Normandy where he would later sign a peace treaty.

During a tour of the Midlands, John received homage from William 'the Lyon', King of Scotland at Lincoln. William was looking to move into the areas of Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. John on the other hand ensured that those areas were controlled by Barons he could trust.

John mobilized an army with the help of Llywelyn of Gwynedd a Welsh chieftain and moved them up to Norham Castle. William 'the Lyon', the king of Scotland was not ready for conflict and paid John to leave and a treaty was signed.

William, King of the Scots was prepared to give John his eldest son, Alexander as hostage to keep the peace between the two countries. William was also eager that Alexander should become King of the Scots after himself. Earning the trust of John was to be repaid later when John sent an army to Scotland to help William put down a rebellion.

At the Battle of Largs Alexander III of Scotland attacked the Viking army led by King Haakon IV of Norway and took the islands of the Hebrides. Haakon died on Orkney in the middle of December.

Haco of Norway and his troops landed at the mouth of the Clyde after taking a battering from storms. Three days of fighting resulted in a victory for Alexander III. Escaping to Orkney, Haco died (from injuries ?).

The castle on Loch Ness fell to the English. Sir William Fitz Warine was left in charge of the castle as its Constable.

King Edward ordered his army to attack the badly fortified town of Berwick. Many Scots were killed in the two days of the attack and possibly somewhere between 7000 and 17000 men, women and children were slaughtered.

John Balliol was defeated at the battle of Dunbar by King Edward I.

The English had taken many castles and in July 1296 Balliol surrendered to King Edward I and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Edward advanced to Elgin and on his return to England took the Stone of Scone.

William Wallace and Andrew De Moray leaders of the Scottish revolt in the South and North joined forces and defeated the English army led by Surrey at Stirling. The Scots caught the English forces as they crossed a bridge across the Forth.

Sir Andrew de Moray retook the castle from the English.

King Edward I held a Parliament at York to discuss the situation in Scotland. It wasn't long before an English army was prepared to go into Scotland.

Edward's army defeated William Wallace. The battle is dominated by the English and Welsh longbows.

After staying briefly at the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, King Edward I travelled north to Carlisle. His son, Edward (II) of Caernarfon remained at the Abbey for a week longer, living as a monk, before following his father. The king ensured his standard had been blessed by every holy relic that the Abbey possessed.

After a short siege lasting only 5 days Caerlaverock Castle fell, the Scots giving King Edward I little resistance. Prince Edward of Caernarfon took control of the rearguard of the English army and apart from a small skirmish, saw no action.

Pope Boniface sent a letter to King Edward I demanding that he should withdraw from Scotland. Edward ignored the letter, but because the campaign was not a success, the English soon left for England anyway.

Edward arranged a truce and returned to England.

A Scottish army of around 8,000 men, led by John Comyn and Simon Fraser, defeated an English army of 30,000 men. Roslin is located just to the south of Edinburgh.

William Wallace had returned to Scotland from France where he had been in exile and so Edward took an army into Scotland.

As part of Edward's campaign in Scotland he attacked and took control of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. Sir Alexander Comyn was left in change.

King Edward I had reached Perth by June and stayed there until July. In August Edward had besieged Brechin.

Edward spent the winter months at Dunfermline Abbey where he planned the attack on Stirling Castle.

Edward began a siege of Stirling Castle.

The Scots surrendered Stirling Castle to Edward. The constructions of a huge trebuchet was ordered by the English king to bombard the castle into submission. The siege engine was called Warwolf.

William Wallace was betrayed and captured by the English.

William Wallace was tried and executed.

Robert Bruce, the new King of Scotland, was camped on high ground by the River Almond near Methven, west of Perth. An English army led by the Earl of Pembroke attacked the Scots in an early morning raid. Unprepared for the assault, the Scots were defeated but Bruce was able to make his escape.

The English were defeated by the Scots at the battle of Loudoun Hill led by Robert I of Scotland.

Robert Bruce captured Urquhart Castle and placed it in the care of Sir Thomas Ranpolph, the Earl of Moray.

Supported by Earls of Gloucester, Warwick and Cornwall, Edward took an army into Scotland. Edward directed the assaults from Berwick. The campaign was fruitless even though Gaveston managed to reach as far north as Perth.

The conflict within England gave Robert Bruce the opportunity to attack towns and forts in the north of England. He was commonly paid large sums of money by the towns' people to leave them alone. In this way he was able to raise enough money to buy better weapons for his army.

Using stealth and surprise tactics Robert Bruce's army recaptured Perth, Dundee, Edinburgh and Roxburgh from English occupation.

Stirling Castle was still under the control of English forces but was under siege from the Scots led by Edward Bruce. Bruce and the English commander, Sir Philippe de Mowbray, came to an agreement that if English forces had not reached the castle by midsummer 1314, Mowbray would surrender the castle to the Scots. Bruce even let Mowbray leave the castle to inform the English king of the agreement.

King Edward II called upon the earls to provide men and arms and to meet at Berwick on the 10th of June 1314 to attack the Scots.

To prevent Scottish castles falling into English hands, Robert Bruce ordered that the castles at Roxburgh, Linlithgow and Edinburgh should be destroyed.

Edward II and his army left Berwick to march to Stirling Castle which they had to reach before midsummer's day if the castle were to be saved from falling back into the hands of the Scots.

Forces led by Edward II were defeated by Robert I at Bannockburn. Edward was trying to reach Stirling Castle to relieve the English forces there. This was an important battle for the Scots to win and helped them to make some gains of land in northern England even if the success was short-lived.

Edward Bruce was defeated and killed at the Battle of Faughart by the English led by John de Birmingham.

The last Scottish town to be held in English hands had been captured by Robert the Bruce. The loss of Berwick brought Edward and Lancaster together. Their common goal was to recapture the town and together with the Earl of Pembroke and Surrey they marched north.

The two year truce that had been agreed after the failed siege by the English at Berwick expired and Robert the Bruce invaded the north of England.

In response to Robert the Bruce's attacks in the north of England, Edward called for an army and took them into Scotland. The Scots were prepared for the English and had burnt land and supplies in front of Edward's army making it difficult for the English to survive.

After returning from Scotland, Edward and Queen Isabella rested at Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire. The Scots were still nearby and met the English army led by the Earl of Richmond near Old Byland. The Scots defeated the English army and Edward had to flee to escape capture. Isabella too escaped.

Edward and Robert the Bruce began negotiations for a peaceful settlement of their differences. There were difficulties because Robert claimed the title of King of Scotland but Edward initially refused this because he had inherited the title from his father King Edward I. The execution of the Earl of Carlisle had led to the start of negotiations. Carlisle had approached Robert with the intention of preparing the ground for peace talks but had not informed the king of his intentions. His actions were discovered and the king assumed his actions were treasonable. Carlisle was executed as a traitor.

A thirteen year peace was signed at York between Scotland and England.

With help from English archers Edward Balliol forwarded his right to the Scottish throne by defeating the Scots fighting for the young King David II at Dupplin Moor. Many Scots were killed in the battle including the Earl of Mar and King David's uncle Lord Robert Bruce.

Edward Balliol's fortunes changed when he was overthrown and had to flee to England.

Montagu, an English Baron, took control of the Isle of Man from Scotland. From that time the island has been associated with England.

King Edward had positioned his army on Halidon Hill overlooking Berwick which he had under siege. He choose the location because it allowed him to look out for the Scots who may try and relieve the Scottish who were besieged with the town. A Scottish force tried to get to Berwick put were defeated by Edward's army. King Edward III's attacks on Scotland and victory at Halidon Hill put Edward Balliol back on the Scottish throne for four more years. Robert (II), the future King of the Scots, was one of the Scottish commanders at the battle of Halidon Hill.

After the defeat of their relief force at Halidon Hill the day before, the Scots holding out in Berwick had no option but surrender to the English and King Edward III.

Edward Balliol granted England control of parts of southern Scotland.

King Edward III reached Stirling Castle with supplies to assist the English garrison there that was under siege from Sir Andrew Moray.

Edward went north to deal with the threat posed by David's return to Scotland.

King Edward III of England and King David II of Scotland agreed peace terms and Edward returned to London.

During the absence of King Edward III while he was on campaign in France the Scottish king David II was approached by the French King Philippe VI to invade England. David II did so and advanced south. On the way to Corbridge the army captured Aydon Castle, allowing the inhabitants to leave safely if they handed the castle over. At Neville's Cross the Scottish were defeated by a band of monks, priests and land workers led by the archbishop of York, William Zouche. David II was captured and sent to London to be held at the Tower.

After the defeat of David II of Scotland at Neville's Cross Edward Balliol had attempted to claim the Scottish throne but eventually decided to surrender his title as King of the Scots to Edward III and accept a pension in return.

The Treaty of Berwick, signed between King Edward III of England and David II of Scotland, allowed David to go free from prison where he had been kept for the previous 11 years. A ransom of 100,000 marks was the price of his freedom.

With just forty men, Alexander Ramsay approached Berwick Castle and finding no guards on the walls raised ladders and gained entry to the keep. There they killed the castle's commander and took control, The residents of Berwick reacted by destoying the drawbridge to the castle to prevent the Scots from leaving. A larger Scottish army was north of Berwick and Ramsay decided to wait for their arrival, but the Earl of Northumberland with 10,000 men arrived first. They laid siege to the castle and quickly recaptured it, killing all the Scots apart from Ramsay who surrendered.

The Battle of Otterburn took place some thirty miles north west of Newcastle upon Tyne where the tributary called the Otter Burn joins the River Rede. The Scots led by the Earl of Douglas had sent two armies into northern England and had agreed to meet near Newcastle.The Earl of Northumberland, now too old to take part in any fighting, sent his sons Henry Percy, known as Harry Hotspur, and Ralph Percy to deal with the invasion. When the armies met, Douglas and Hotspur agreed to single hand-to-hand combat, Hotspur lost this fight and attacked the Scots at their encampment. Although the Scots were initially surprised by the attack the English were defeated and both of the Percy brothers were captured. The Earl of Douglas was killed in the battle.

An act of Parliament is passed which brings the ownership of Urquhart Castle into the hands of the English King.

To stop the Scots raiding the northern borders of England, Henry took an army into Scotland. The Scottish king Robert III did not concede defeat and Henry had to resort to minor raids of his own without any real outcome for either side.

After accusing the king of not paying his army, Hotspur resigned his guardianship of the king's son in North Wales and he left to resume fighting the Scots.

The armies of the Percies and the Scots met at Homildon Hill near Wooler in Northumberland. The Scots were defeated and the Scots' leader the Earl of Douglas was captured. Henry IV wanted Douglas handed over but Hotspur refused. Hotspur was angry with the English king who had refused to pay a ransom for Edmund Mortimer who had been captured by Owain Glyndwr and who was a friend of Hotspur's.

Robert III of Scotland had fled from the Duke of Albany to Rothesay Castle and had attempted to send his son James to France. English pirates intercepted James and he was sent to London and imprisoned.

Whilst besieging Roxburgh Castle, James II, King of the Scots was killed by one of his own army's bombards. He was succeeded to the throne by his son James III.

Edward IV agreed a truce with Scotland who had lost interest in fighting for the Lancastrians and Queen Margaret. The truce was signed at York and Edward spent Christmas in the city.

Anglo-Scots truce signed at York.

James III king of Scotland was killed at or shortly after the battle of Sauchieburn. Several of his nobles had risen up against the king and James was forced to fight. The king's army was defeated. James fled the battle field but was killed or even murdered shortly afterwards.

Perkin Warbeck arrived in Scotland near the end of November and was greeted by the Scottish king James IV. The King gave the pretender money and arranged a marriage to Lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of the earl of Huntley.

King James IV of Scotland's invasion of England came to an end at the Battle of Flodden where he was killed. The English were led by Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey. King Henry VIII was in France at the time.

King Henry VIII renewed his claim on the Scottish throne and sent his army in the north of England into Scotland. The army was met by a Scottish army led by George Gordon the 4th Earl of Huntley at Haddon Rig in Teviotdale. The Scots defeated the English led by Robert Bowes.

The battle at Solway Moss ended in a terrible defeat for the Scottish when they were overrun by a much smaller force of English troops led by Sir Thomas Wharton. Several high-worth Scottish prisoners were taken and transported to the Tower of London for future ransom. The shock of the defeat is supposed to have been so great for the Scottish king, James V, that he died just a few weeks later.

James V of Scotland died. It is thought that the shock of the defeat of the Scottish army at Solway Moss a few weeks earlier led to his death. His daughter Mary was only a week or so old when he died and she became queen, known as Mary Queen of Scots. James Hamilton, Earl of Arran became regent of Scotland as Mary was too young to rule.

At Greenwich a treaty was signed by the Scots and King Henry VIII swearing firstly peace between the two nations and secondly the agreement that Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, should marry Henry's son Edward. Although these two treaties were initially agreed they had been rejected by the Scots by the end of the year. King Henry at first wanted Mary to be brought to England but two sides agreed that she should remain in Scotland until her tenth birthday.

After the collapse of the Treaties of Greenwich, which were supposed to bring peace between England and Scotland and the marriage of Prince Edward to Mary, King Henry VIII tried to get agreement through force. The King sent the Earl of Hertford (Lord Hertford) with an army to Scotland and in May they attacked and destroyed Edinburgh. This was the first military action in a series of engagements between England and Scotland now known as the Rough Wooing.

After a lengthy siege failed to take the well defended castle at St. Andrews, Mary of Guise asked the French for help. The castle at St. Andrews was captured and the Protestant leaders and John Knox were taken into custody.

A condition of King Henry VIII's will was the marriage of his son Edward to Mary, Queen of Scots. It was his hope to unite the two nations. But the Scottish refused to comply. So Somerset, the Protector of England took an army in Scotland. These events were part of a series known as the 'Rough Wooing'.

Thousands of Scots gathered near the town of Musselburgh, just to the east of Edinburgh. They faced an English army led by the Duke of Somerset. The Scots had a good position on the battle field but wasted it when they attacked. The Scots were heavily defeated. The defeat at Pinkie Cleugh was a threat to Mary, Queen of Scots, and so she was secretly moved from Stirling Castle to the Augustinian Inchmahome Priory located on an island on lake Menteith.

To comply with the agreement to marry Mary Stuart to the French Dauphin, the young queen was moved from Inchmahome Priory to Dumbarton Castle on the banks of the River Clyde on the west of Scotland. It was here that she waited before sailing to France.

The request of the Scottish Regent, Mary of Guise, for help to fight the English was answered by the arrival of an army of several thousand French. The assistance came on condition that her daughter Mary Stuart should marry the French Dauphin, Francis and is known as the Treaty of Haddington.

The war between England and Scotland and France was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Boulogne. The English withdrew from Scotland. This allowed the French king, Henry II to concentrate on his enemy, Charles V, The Holy Roman Emporer.

In Scotland, the regent, Mary of Guise had designs to place put her daughter Mary on the throne of England. There were many Protestants in Scotland and Queen Elizabeth had been secretly helping them in their opposition of the regent and her daughter. There were fears in Scotland that Mary of Guise, a devote Catholic, would secure French assistance and make Scotland a French territory, The Lords of the Congregation, who by now now were a powerful force in Scotland, pushed for an agreement with England that English help would be provided against a French invasion. Queen Elizabeth agreed to this and the treaty was signed at Berwick by the Scots and the Queen's representative, Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk.

Mary Stuart's mother, Mary of Guise, died in Scotland leaving the country in a state of civil war.

George Gordon, the 4th Earl of Huntley rebelled against Queen Mary and at the battle of Corrichie his supporters were defeated by the Earl of Moray. Huntley died at the battle but not from a wound but because he was overweight and the strain of the events was too much for him.

Queen Mary managed to escape from Lochleven Castle and found support from the Hamiltons. A large army was raised.

At the battle of Langside, the Hamiltons' army was defeated and three days later Queen Mary had fled to England. By the 18th of May Mary was at Carlisle Castle.

Charles I gathered an army and moved to the border of Scotland. He had sent the Marquis of Hamilton by sea to negotiate with the Scots while his army gathered. The Scots under the command of Alexander Leslie had prevented Hamilton landing in Scotland and the Scots marched south to meet the King.

The army Charles had put together was no match for the Scottish army under the command of Leslie and so the King signed the Treaty of Berwick. While the Scots returned home happy that they could deal with their own church affairs, Charles had no intensions of abiding by the terms of the treaty and used the treaty as a means of gaining time to plan his next move. This ended the first Bishops' War.

Alexander Leslie, the Scottish Field Marshall, with a force of some 20,000 soldiers marched into northern England.

At Newburn, a crossing on the River Tyne, the Scots met a force of English troops. The English, who were untrained and low on supplies, were easily defeated and the Scots marched on to the nearby town of Newcastle. The town fell to the Scots.

In light the serious Scottish invasion, Charles called a Great Council at York. The Great Council or 'Magnum Concilium' was a meeting of the King's tenants-in-chief and advisors. A Great Council had not been called for several hundred years. Although the meeting agreed to assist the King with a loan it preferred to negotiate with the Scots.

The Treaty of Ripon, signed by Charles I, agreed to pay the Scots £850 a day while they held control of Durham and Northumberland. This ended the second Bishops' War.

A Scottish army Invaded northern England. They captured Warkworth Castle.

Montrose entered Glasgow and a new Parliament was convened in the name of King Charles I. The Convenanting leaders escaped to Berwick.

After his successes in Scotland Montrose decided to go to England to assist the king. As he marched south he met a Parliamentarian army lead by Leslie. Montrose's forces had been greatly reduced as sections of his army had returned home with their spoils of war. Montrose was outnumbered and defeated. Montrose escaped.

Charles agreed to some of the terms specified by the Scots and he ordered the royalist army at Newark surrendered. A few days later Charles ordered Montrose to disband his forces and to leave Scotland. The Scots then marched north with Charles as their prisoner to Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Charles would never submit to the demands for Presbyterianism and so the Scots left the King in the hands of Parliamentarian Commissoners, received the money they were owed by Parliament and marched out of Newcastle.