Edinburgh Midlothian United Kingdom

The Scots raid Great Britain from Ireland in the west.

The name “Picts” first appears in Roman sources in 296 in reference to all the northern tribes that raid Roman Britannica.

A people of obscure origin, these ancient inhabitants of northern Scotland apparently speak a form of “p”-Celtic related to Welsh but incorporating pre-Celtic elements.

King Oswald and his Northumbrian army besiege and conquer Edinburgh.

His half-brother, Oswiu of Bernicia, marries princess Rhiainfelt, heiress of North Rheged ("Old North").

Northumbria embraces North Rheged in a peaceful takeover and Oswiu becomes a sub-king.

Oswald devotes his energies to securing the borders of his united Northumbrian kingdom and extending his authority southward.

Lothian, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills, had in the seventh century become the northern part of the Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria.

Sometime in the reign of king Idulb (954-62), the Scots had captured the fortress called oppidum Eden, i.e., almost certainly Edinburgh.

It was the first Scottish foothold in Lothian.

Completing their conquest of Scotland, the Scots annex Lothian in 973.

Notable in Scotland for being the only part of the nation to have been mainly Anglo-Saxon throughout the history of the Kingdom of Scotland, Lothian was described by Adam of Dryburgh as "The land of the English in the Kingdom of the Scots".

Duncan invades in May 1094 at the head of an army of Anglo-Normans and Northumbrians, aided by his half-brother Edmund and his father-in-law Gospatric, Earl of Northumbria.

This invasion succeeds in placing Duncan on the throne as Duncan II, but an uprising defeats his allies and he is compelled to send away his foreign troops.

Duncan is then killed on November 12, 1094 by Máel Petair, Mormaer of Mearns, a supporter of Donald III.

The Annals of Ulster say that Duncan was killed on the orders of Donald (incorrectly called his brother) and Edmund.

Donald resumes power, probably with Edmund as his designated heir.

Donald is an elderly man by the standards of the day, approaching sixty years old, and without any known sons, so that an heir is clearly required.

William of Malmesbury says that Edmund bargained "for half the kingdom", suggesting that Donald granted his nephew an appanage to rule.

William has had some successes in external affairs.

He had in 1091 repulsed an invasion by King Malcolm III of Scotland, forcing Malcolm to pay homage.

He built Carlisle Castle in 1092, taking control of Cumberland and Wed over Malcolm's possessions in England, and Malcolm had again invaded, ravaging Northumbria.

At the Battle of Alnwick, on November 13, 1093, Malcolm had been ambushed by Norman forces led by Robert de Mowbray.

Malcolm and his son Edward were killed and Malcolm III's brother Donald had seized the throne.

William had supported Malcolm's son Duncan II, who had held power for a short time, and then another of Malcolm's sons, Edgar.

Edgar had conquered Lothian in 1094 and in 1097, with William's aid in a campaign led by Edgar Ætheling, eventually removes Donald III.

Blinding and imprisoning his brother, he assumes the Scottish throne.

Edgar recognizes William's authority over Lothian and attends William's court.

Legend relates that King David I of Scotland, while hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross in 1127, was thrown from his horse after it had been startled by a hart.

According to variations of the story, the king was saved from being gored by the charging animal when it was startled either by the miraculous appearance of a holy cross descending from the skies, or by sunlight reflected from a crucifix which suddenly appeared between the hart's antlers while the king attempted to grasp them in self-defense.

As an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founds Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128.

The abbey is originally served by a community of Augustinian Canons Regular from Merton Priory and the layout of the original church at Holyrood, now known only from excavations, probably came from the 1125 church at the priory.

David constructs numerous castles as centers of royal authority and creates a number of towns.

David of Alba, king of the Scots, has created a rudimentary central administration, issued the first Scottish royal coinage, and built or rebuilt the castles around which are to grow the first Scottish burghs: Edinburgh, …

…Edinburgh and …

Both King John and the English barons had agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, but neither side has complied with its conditions.

Civil war had broken out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France, who has sent siege guns.

John in January 1216 marches against Alexander II of Scotland, who has allied himself with the rebel cause.

John takes back Alexander's possessions in northern England in a rapid campaign and pushes up towards Edinburgh over a ten-day period.

The rebel barons, supported by thousands of English subjects, respond by inviting Prince Louis of France to lead them: Louis has a claim to the English throne by virtue of his marriage to Blanche of Castile, a granddaughter of Henry II.

Philip may have provided him with private support but refuses to openly support Louis, who is excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for taking part in the war against John.

Louis's planned arrival in England presents a significant problem for John, as the prince will bring with him naval vessels and siege engines essential to the rebel cause.

John upon containing Alexander in Scotland marches south to deal with the challenge of the coming invasion.

…take Edinburgh, …