Battle of Dun Nechtain 685
Marker: recorded battle location (no official boundary).
Key facts
| Date (year) | 685 | Wikidata P585 point in time |
|---|---|---|
| Century | 7th century | derived |
| Period | Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking | derived |
| Country | Scotland | derived |
| Participants | Bridei III, Ecgfrith of Northumbria, Kingdom of Northumbria, Picts | Wikidata |
About the battle
The Battle of Dun Nechtain or Battle of Nechtansmere (Old Irish: Cath Dúin Nechtáin; Old Welsh: Gueith Linn Garan) was fought between the Picts, led by King Bridei Mac Bili, and the Northumbrians, led by King Ecgfrith, on 20 May 685.
The Northumbrian hegemony over northern Britain, won by Ecgfrith's predecessors, had begun to disintegrate. Several of Northumbria's subject nations had rebelled in recent years, leading to a number of large-scale battles against the Picts, Mercians and Irish, with varied success. After sieges of neighbouring territories carried out by the Picts, Ecgfrith led his forces against them, despite advice to the contrary, in an effort to reassert his suzerainty over the Pictish nations.
A feigned retreat by the Picts drew the Northumbrians into an ambush at Dun Nechtain near the lake of Linn Garan. 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.
Visiting the battlefield
The site of the battle is uncertain. Until relatively recently the battle was most commonly known by its Northumbrian name, the Battle of Nechtansmere, from the Old English for 'Nechtan's lake', following 12th-century English historian Symeon of Durham. The location of the battle near a lake is reinforced by Nennius' record of the conflict as Gueith Linn Garan, Old Welsh for 'Battle of Crane Lake'. It is likely that Linn Garan was the original Pictish name for the lake.
The most complete narrative of the battle itself is given by Bede, who nevertheless fails to inform us of the location other than his mention that it took place 'in straits of inaccessible mountains'.
Location
- Recorded location (Wikidata; may be approximate): 56.6300, -2.8000
Battlefields are often on private farmland: please keep to public rights of way and respect landowners.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Dun Nechtain (revision 1370439482), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Location”; condensed by selecting paragraphs and trimming at sentence boundaries; citations removed. No text added.
Battle location from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby battlefields
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- Battle of the North Inch 1396 · 46 km
- Battle of Dunkeld 1689 · 49 km
Browse more: battles in Scotland · Early medieval, Anglo-Saxon & Viking · 7th century battles