Battle of Dun Nechtain

The Battle of Dunnichen Mere ( Welsh Linn guaranteed; Gaelic Dúin Nechaín ) or Battle of Nechtansmere was fought on 20 May 685 near Forfar in the Scottish county of Angus between the Picts and the Anglo -Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. It ended with a decisive victory of the Picts and a severely weakened position of power in the northern Kingdom of Northumbria. Except for the description of the battle that gave the Venerable Bede in the 8th century, is little known about them.

Starting position and the end

Northumbria had been gradually extended its territory to the north, the Kingdom of Bernicia had taken the Gododdin Edinburgh to 638. In the next 30 years, the Northumbrians established a supremacy over the kingdom of Strathclyde and Dalriada, as well as the Pictish Fortriu.

Ecgfrith King of Northumbria 685 fell into Pictish country to stop the looting that went out from here to the south. On May 20, the opponents clashed in Dunnichen.

In the battle the Picts feigned a retreat, with whom she lured the Northumbrians in the bog of Dunnichen. The Piktenkönig Bridei III. Ecgfrith killed, destroyed his army and enslaved many of the survivors. After the battle, the influence of Northumbria handed never again over the Firth of Forth beyond.