Scotland

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Agriculture
  - Forestry
  - Fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Services
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Ancient times
  - Roman penetration
  - Christianity
  - The Norse influence
- The unification of the kingdom
  - The development of the monarchy
  - David I (1124–53)
  - Medieval economy and society
  - David I’s successors
- The Wars of Independence
  - Competition for the throne
  - Robert I (1306–29)
  - David II (1329–71)
- Scotland in the 15th century
  - The early Stewart kings
  - 15th-century society
- Scotland in the 16th and early 17th centuries
  - James IV (1488–1513) and James V (1513–42)
  - Mary (1542–67) and the Scottish Reformation
  - James VI (1567–1625)
- The Age of Revolution (1625–89)
  - Charles I (1625–49)
  - Cromwell
  - The Restoration monarchy
- The era of union
  - The revolution settlement
  - The Act of Union and its results
  - Jacobitism in the Highlands
  - The Scottish Enlightenment
- 19th-century Scotland
  - The Industrial Revolution
  - Politics and religion
  - The Highlands
- Scotland since World War I
  - World War I and after
  - World War II and after
  - North Sea oil and the rise of Scottish nationalism
  - The establishment of a Scottish Parliament
  - Scottish independence referendum
  - Scotland under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
Sovereigns of Scotland

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images & Videos

For Students

Scotland summary

Sovereigns of Scotland

in Scotland

Written by Iseabail C. Macleod, Ewen A. Cameron•All

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 26, 2025 • Article History

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The table provides a chronological list of the sovereigns of Scotland.

Sovereigns of Scotland¹
	name	reign
¹Knowledge about the early Scottish kings, until Malcolm II, is slim and is partly based on traditional lists of kings. The dating of reigns is thus inexact.
²Eochaid may have been a minor and Giric his guardian, or Giric may have been a usurper. Both appear in the lists of kings for the period.
³"Stewart" was the original spelling for the Scottish family, but, during the 16th century, French influence led to the adoption of the spelling Stuart (or Steuart), because of the absence of the letter "w" in the French alphabet.
⁴James VI of Scotland became also James I of England in 1603. Upon accession to the English throne, he styled himself "King of Great Britain" and was so proclaimed. Legally, however, he and his successors held separate English and Scottish kingships until the Act of Union of 1707, when the two kingdoms were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain.
	Kenneth I MacAlpin	843–858
	Donald I	858–862
	Constantine I	862–877
	Aed (Aodh)	877–878
	Eochaid (Eocha) and Giric (Ciric)²	878–889
	Donald II	889–900
	Constantine II	900–943
	Malcolm I	943–954
	Indulf	954–962
	Dub	962–966
	Culen	966–971
	Kenneth II	971–995
	Constantine III	995–997
	Kenneth III	997–1005
	Malcolm II	1005–34
	Duncan I	1034–40
	Macbeth	1040–57
	Lulach	1057–58
	Malcolm III Canmore	1058–93
	Donald Bane (Donalbane)	1093–94
	Duncan II	1093–94
	Donald Bane (restored)	1094–97
	Edgar	1097–1107
	Alexander I	1107–24
	David I	1124–53
	Malcolm IV	1153–65
	William I the Lion	1165–1214
	Alexander II	1214–49
	Alexander III	1249–86
	Margaret, Maid of Norway	1286–90
	Interregnum	1290–92
	John de Balliol	1292–96
	Interregnum	1296–1306
	Robert I the Bruce	1306–29
	David II	1329–71
House of Stewart (Stuart)³
	Robert II	1371–90
	Robert III	1390–1406
	James I	1406–37
	James II	1437–60
	James III	1460–88
	James IV	1488–1513
	James V	1513–42
	Mary, Queen of Scots	1542–67
	James VI⁴	1567–1625