ABSTRACT
Medieval Scotland The evolution of the rural landscape in general and its settlement pattern in particular must be linked with territorial issues. Scotland was now substantially larger than the state of Alba considered in the previous chapter. Expansion was facilitated by Norse pressure in prising Lothian away from a Northumbria weakened by internal dissension; and the Norse attack on Dumbarton in 870 weakened Strathclyde, thus paving the way for union with Alba which was completed in 1034.1 Meanwhile, a southern border along the Tweed and the Cheviots was established after the Battle of Carham in 1018.2 This success tends to be taken for granted all too easily; yet given the cultural differences it was remarkable by any standards. Recognizing the enigma G. Donaldson has suggested that the different groups 'adopted as their heritage the history and mythology of the original Scots [so that] the acceptance of a single history made one nation'.3
