LOTHIAN. This name was formerly applied to a considerably larger extent
of country than the three counties of Linlithgow, Edinburgh and
Haddington. Roxburghshire and Berwickshire at all events were included
in it, probably also the upper part of Tweeddale (at least Selkirk). It
would thus embrace the eastern part of the Lowlands from the Forth to
the Cheviots, i.e. all the English part of Scotland in the 11th century.
This region formed from the 7th century onward part of the kingdoms of
Bernicia and Northumbria, though we have no definite information as to
the date or events by which it came into English hands. In Roman times,
according to Ptolemy, it was occupied by a people called Otadini, whose
name is thought to have been preserved in Manaw Gododin, the home of the
British king Cunedda before he migrated to North Wales. There is no
reason to doubt that the district remained in Welsh hands until towards
the close of the 6th century; for in the _Historia Brittonum_ the
Bernician king Theodoric, whose traditional date is 572-579, is said to
have been engaged in war with four Welsh kings. One of these was
Rhydderch Hen who, as we know from Adamnan, reigned at Dumbarton, while
another named Urien is said to have besieged Theodoric in Lindisfarne.
If this statement is to be believed it is hardly likely that the English
had by this time obtained a firm footing beyond the Tweed. At all events
there can be little doubt that the whole region was conquered within the
next fifty years. Most probably the greater part of it was conquered by
the Northumbrian king Æthelfrith, who, according to Bede, ravaged the
territory of the Britons more often than any other English king, in some
places reducing the natives to dependence, in others exterminating them
and replacing them by English settlers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account