The last of
the Romans left Scotland in 410AD to return to defend Rome from the barbarous hordes
already overrunning the Empire.
But even while they remained native
peoples, angry because of 350 years of domination and desperate for revenge, hatched a
plan that was one of the most ambitious in history. Although revenge was the principal
aim, the prospect of gathering riches from the southern lands still under Roman control
was also a big attraction. Raiders from the Celtic land of Ireland had begun to plunder
the western edge of south Britain. Now the Irish, the Picts from the north and the Saxons
from Europe were to unite to expel the Romans.
| The Arcani (the Roman
Intelligence Service) was bribed to preserve the secrecy of the operation and the
garrisons never suspected a thing as the warrior chieftains gathered their forces. At the
same time the Irish fleet of curraghs (warships with high covers) left their havens and
sailed eastwards, dreaming of plunder and fame. Another fleet, one manned perhaps by Saxon
seaman or perhaps by Picts attacked Yorkshire. The main Saxon fleet beached further south.
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The allies surged over the Roman
defences with amazing ease; the Romans just did not have time to react or to light the
warning beacons that would raise the alarm. The Picts took Hadrian’s Wall with their
first attack while the Irish and Saxons swept onto the beaches and surged inwards.
Fullofaudes, Commander-in-Chief of the Roman army in Britain, rushed towards the Wall in
an attempt to restore order to the garrison but he was ambushed and killed en route. With
the death of Nectaridus, Commander-in-Chief of the coastal region, in an early engagement
the Romans found themselves without two of their most important generals. |
The Romans were in disarray and
this allowed the allies to surge southwards, pillaging and destroying lands, before they
laid siege to London. They had had their revenge and the Romans had been humbled. By the
time Theodosius arrived with reinforcements the campaign was over and the invaders had
returned northwards.
In the Great Alliance the Irish
forged important links with the Picts, which were later to lead to the crowning of Kenneth
mac Alpin, first King of Picts and Scots. The Irish were given land in Kintyre, which
became the mainland part of the kingdom of Dal Riata. They were given a nickname that
meant ‘sea raiders’. They were called the ‘Scots’. They gave their
name to this nation. The Scots spread in the region so that in 50 years they had control
of what is now Argyll and they were fighting with their former allies, the Picts, and the
British kings of Strathclyde.
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