747 St Andrews

St Andrews (Scottish Gaelic: Cill Rìmhinn) is a former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, named after Saint Andrew the Apostle. The town is home to the University of St Andrews, the third oldest university in the English-speaking world and the oldest in Scotland. The University is an integral part of the burgh, and during term time students make up approximately one third of the town's population. St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife. There has been an important church in St Andrews since at least the 8th century, and a bishopric since at least the 11th century.

685 Battle of Dun Nechtain

The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere (Scottish Gaelic: Blàr Dhùn Neachdain) was fought between the Picts, led by King Bridei Mac Bili, and the Northumbrians, led by King Ecgfrith on 20 May 685. The battle site has long been thought to have been near the present-day village of Dunnichen in Angus. Recent research, however, has suggested a more northerly location near Dunachton, on the shores of Loch Insh in Badenoch and Strathspey. The battle ended with a decisive Pictish victory which severely weakened Northumbria's power in northern Britain. Ecgfrith was killed in battle, along with the greater part of his army. The Pictish victory marked their independence from Northumbria, who never regained their dominance in the north.

604 The kingdom of Northumbria

Æthelfrith, son of Æthelric and grandson of Ida, apparently succeeded Hussa as king of the Bernicians around the year 592 or 593. He was King of Bernicia 593-616 and beginning 604, the first Bernician king to also rule Deira, to the south of Bernicia. Since Deira and Bernicia were the two basic components of what would later be defined as Northumbria, Æthelfrith can be considered, in historical terms, the first Northumbrian king. He was especially notable for his successes against the Britons and his victory over the Gaels of Dál Riata. Æthelfrith was the real founder of the historic Northumbrian kingdom, and he was remembered as the first great leader who had arisen among the northern Angles.

584 Bridei son of Maelchon dies

Bridei son of Maelchon, was king of the Picts from 554 to 584. It is a matter of record that Bridei was not the only king in Pictland. The death of Galam - called "Cennalath, king of the Picts" - is recorded in 580 by the Annals of Ulster, four years before Bridei's death. In addition, Adomnán mentions the presence of the "under-king of Orkney" at Bridei's court. Bridei's death is reported in the 580s, perhaps in battle against Pictish rivals in Circinn, an area thought to correspond with the Mearns. The king lists of the Pictish Chronicle agree that Bridei was followed by one Gartnait son of Domelch.

547 Kingdom of Bernicia

Bernicia (Old English: Bernice, Beornice) was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England.  In the early 7th century, it merged with its southern neighbour, Deira, to form the kingdom of Northumbria and its borders subsequently expanded considerably. The first Anglian king in the historical record is Ida, who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547. His sons spent many years fighting a united force from the surrounding Brythonic kingdoms until their alliance collapsed into civil war.

470 Votadini peoples form the kingdom of Gododdin

The Gododdin were a Brittonic people of north-eastern Britannia, the area known as the Hen Ogledd or Old North (modern south-east Scotland and north-east England), in the sub-Roman period. The name Gododdin is the Modern Welsh form, but the name appeared in Old Welsh as Guotodin and derived from the tribal name Votadini recorded in Classical sources, such as in Greek texts from the Roman period. It is not known exactly how far the kingdom of the Gododdin extended, possibly from the Stirling area to the kingdom of Bryneich (Bernicia), and including what are now the Lothian and Borders regions of eastern Scotland. It was bounded on the west by the Brythonic Kingdom of Strathclyde, and to the north by the Picts. Those living around Clackmannanshire were known as the Manaw Gododdin.

397 Christian mission at Whithorn

Whithorn is a former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about ten miles south of Wigtown. The town was the location of the first recorded Christian church in Scotland, built by Saint Ninian about 397. Whithorn was first known (in Latin) as Candida Casa: the "White or Shining House". Saint Ninian (360 AD - 432 AD) is a Christian saint first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts. In Scotland, Ninian is also known as Ringan, and as Trynnian in Northern England.