battle of Nechtansmere

Nechtansmere, battle of, 685. Fought at Dunnichen, near Forfar, it was a disaster for Northumbria, which probably held the territory south of the Forth and had established overlordship of the Picts to the north. King Ecgfrith fiercely attacked the Picts against all advice, including that of Cuthbert, bishop of Lindisfarne, who had foreseen the king's early death. Lured into a mountain pass, Ecgfrith and his army were slain. The defeat marked the beginning of decline in Northumbrian power.