page_title: Scotland in the Late Middle Ages
section_title: Society
hierarchical_section_title: Scotland in the Late Middle Ages / Society
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Scottish highland clans and lowland families. Français&#160;: Carte des clans des highlands et des familles des lowlands écossais.
context_page_description: Scotland in the Late Middle Ages, between the deaths of Alexander III in 1286 and James IV in 1513, established its independence from England under figures including William Wallace in the late 13th century and Robert Bruce in the 14th century. In the 15th century under the Stewart Dynasty, despite a turbulent political history, the Crown gained greater political control at the expense of independent lords and regained most of its lost territory to approximately the modern borders of the country. However, the Auld Alliance with France led to the heavy defeat of a Scottish army at the Battle of Flodden in 1513 and the death of the king James IV, which would be followed by a long minority and a period of political instability.
  The economy of Scotland developed slowly in this period and a population of perhaps a little under a million by the middle of the 14th century began to decline after the arrival of the Black Death, falling to perhaps half a million by the beginning of the 16th century.
caption: Map showing highland clans and lowland surnames.
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