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The Disappearance of the Picts

© Matthew White

One of history's greatest mysteries is the disappearance of the Picts. They had been the dominant force in the north of Britain for hundreds of years but nobody is sure exactly what caused their demise. The Picts seem to have had matrilinear succession and this may have partly contributed to their fading from the records, at least as the ruling class. If a Scots king married a Pictish 'queen', their children would be the rightful rulers of both the Scots and Pictish tribes, but were probably identified as Scots. Some of the legends bear this out.

Not only were the Picts facing encroachments on their territory by the Scots, they also had to contest with the Angles, Britons and Welsh. Life sure was tough in those days! The Angles, Jutes and Saxons had arrived in England from Northern Germany around 450 AD. The Angles took control in Northumbria which bordered much of the territory of the Picts. They conquered the area of Scotland now known as the Lothians and were determined to advance further north. This led to the Battle of Nechtansmere in 685 AD.

The Pictish King Bredei (or Brude) reigned from around 681 AD. He led successful campaigns against the inhabitants of Orkney in 682 AD and the Scots in 683 AD. His rule must have extended over much of the area of present-day Scotland.

The Angles had been undefeated in battle since their arrival in Britain. In early 685 AD, their King Ecgfrith led an invasion into Pictish lands. Bredei and his forces appeared to retreat under this onslaught until they reached the district near Forfar, Angus on May 20th. They made their stand in an area between the hill fort of Dun Nechtan and a swamp known as Nechtans Mire. This was a predetermined tactic. The Angles were trapped in a narrow region and were no match for the men who suddenly ambushed them. King Ecgfrith and most of his army were killed.

Bredei then forced the rest of the Angles to forsake their lands in the south of Scotland and retreat further into what is now England (named, of course, after the Angles).

This left the Scots and the Picts to contest for the control of Scotland, with the occasional Viking raid thrown in. But the Picts themselves were subject to internal squabbling. Various battles between contentious Pictish princes took place over the next hundred years. In addition in 795 AD the Vikings made their first attack on Scotland, on the sacred island of Iona, where St Columba had established his monastery. See The Scottish Saints - Ninian and Columba.

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