The Idea of Britain and the Origins of Scottish Independence: From the Picts to Alexander III

This book challenges the belief that the Scots were an ancient nation whose British identity only emerged in the early modern era. In fact, the idea of Scotland as an independent kingdom was older than the age of Wallace and Bruce. Dauvit Broun radically reassesses a range of fundamental issues: the fate of Pictish identity and the origins of Alba, the status of Scottish kingship vis-A-vis England, the papacy's recognition of the independence of the Scottish Church, and the idea of Scottish freedom.