What can written sources, sculpture and archaeology tell us about Pictish identity and how this might have changed between the sixth and ninth centuries?
Arguably one of the biggest changes in how the Picts portrayed themselves is understood through their use of sculpture. The earliest is thought to date to around the fifth century (Historic Scotland, 2012) lending itself to the Class I typology.
The Stamford and Peterborough mints
The Stamford mint has received considerable attention from several numismatists and historians, some of whom, including the Rev. Rogers Ruding, Francis Peck, the Stamford annalist, and Samuel Sharp, a Northamptonshire numismatist and antiquary, located the mint at Stamford Baron, Northamptonshire.
How late were Pictish symbols employed?
It is suggested that certain features enable particular relief-decorated stones displaying Pictish symbols to be dated within chronological horizons, and that this indicates that Pictish symbols continued to be employed in Scotland into the 10th century or beyond, survival perhaps lasting longer in the north.
Placenames and the settlement pattern of dark-age Scotland
This study will examine some placename evidence for features of settlement in E Scotland, that zone which lies of the Firth of Forth and E of the main Scottish mountain mass. In this areaat least four different languages have been spoken with differing temporal and spatial extents: one non-Indo-European tongue, Celtic, Norse and English.
The Pictish Tattoo: Origins of a Myth
By tracing the extant literary references based on Caesar’s remark it is possible to see just how the innocent observation came to apply to a totally different people—how the myth was born.
Philosopher-king: Nechtan mac Der Ilei
Like so much of the history of the early church in Scotland, it is bound up with modern political and religious factionalism. Was Naiton an English imperialist flunky? A Romanist stooge, allowing the authority of the Pope and St Peter into his realm?
Scandinavian Influences on the English Language
The Viking Age lasted roughly from the eighth century to the eleventh, with the Viking attacks on Europe beginning around 750 AD. The Scandinavians were excellent sailors, and they had impressive ships and navigational skills that carried them as far as North America (‘Vinland’) long before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.
Christianity and burial in late Iron Age Scotland, AD 400-650
In the period after the fall of Rome and before the Vikings, Scotland became a Christian society, but there are few historical documents to help understand how this happened.
Archaeologists discover major Pictish site
An excavation has revealed a fortified early medieval settlement and unearthed significant artefacts which position a tiny Scottish village as a seat of major political power and influence.
Some thoughts on Pictish symbols as a formal writing system
Some thoughts on Pictish symbols as a formal writing system By Katherine Forsyth The Worm, the Germ and the Thorn: Pictish and Related…
Draconic Creatures in Pictish Art
Draconic Creatures in Pictish Art By Alastair McBeath Dragon Chronicle: The International Journal Of Dragons and Dragonlore, No.22 (2002) Introduction: When I examined…
A Pictish burial and Late Norse/Medieval settlement at Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland
A Pictish burial and Late Norse/Medieval settlement at Sangobeg, Durness, Sutherland By Keven Brady, Olivia Lelong and Colleen Batey Scottish Archaeological Journal, Vol.29:1…
Dozens of medieval finds reported in Scotland’s treasure trove
The government of Scotland has issued its annual Treasure Trove Report today, which lists the archaeological discoveries made between April 2009 and March…
The Social Context of Norse Jarlshof
The Social Context of Norse Jarlshof By Marcie Anne Kimball Master’s Thesis, Louisiana State University, 2003 Abstract: A series of excavations from 1897…
Iona in the kingdom of the Picts: a note
In his poem on the martyrdom of the cleric Blathmac mac Flainn in a raid by Vikings on the island of Iona in 825, the Rhineland poet Walahfrid Strabo describes that island as insula Pictorum, or perhaps more accurately, as being off the shore of the Picts: insula Pictorum quaedam monstratur in oris
THE PICTISH ANIMALS OBSERVED
THE PICTISH ANIMALS OBSERVED Gordon, C. A., F.S.A.SGOT. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Vol.98 (1964-6) Abstract The animals to be examined are those…
Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Picts
Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Picts By Alex Woolf Bile ós Chrannaibh: A Festschrift for Willliam Gillies, edited by Wilson McLeod et al.…
The First Battle for Scottish Independence: The Battle of Dunnichen, A.D. 685
The First Battle for Scottish Independence: The Battle of Dunnichen, A.D. 685 By Julie Parsons Master’s Thesis, East Tennessee State University, 2002 Abstract: This…
The Politics of Exile in Early Northumbria
The politics of exile in early Bernicia and Deira between c. 592 and 635 can tell us a great deal about the political environment and orientation of their kingdoms in the early seventh century.
The Columban Church in northern Britain, 664-717: a reassessment
This paper challenges the accepted view that the Columban Church in northern Britain underwent a period of decline during the late seventh and early eighth centuries.