Were the Picts of Scotland From Ireland and Scythia (Ukraine/Russia/Eurasia)? #Pictish
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-11-30

Did the Picts of Scotland Come from Ireland and Scythia (Ukraine/Russia/Eurasia)? #Pictish 

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Much has been written about the Pictish people of ancient Scotland, those so-called painted people as named by the Romans. Yet very little has been written about them by authors who lived during the era in which they thrived. 

That is one thing that makes Bede’s account of these people so intriguing. Who on earth is Bede you may asking yourself however? Bede was an English monk born in 673 AD in the Kingdom of Northumbria. He joined the monastery early in life and finished writing his best-known work in 731 AD, called the Ecclesiastical History of the English People. 

In this treasure trove of history, various aspects of English and British Isle history are covered. And yes, you guessed it, he has a lot to say about the Picts. For reference, the Picts appear in history from around the 3rd to the 10th century AD, although this is an approximate timeline. This means that Bede’s 8th century work was written during the time of the Picts. 
  
Another aspect of Bede’s account that is so interesting is the fact that he says that the Picts initially came from the Eurasian area known as Scythia. Known for their equestrian skills, the Scythians existed in various forms from around the 8th century BC to the 2n century AD, occupying a region that stretched from the Black Sea area of eastern Europe through the Russian steppe region and into parts of Afghanistan and other central Asian Republics. The Crimea region was apparently the centre of their powerful empire at points in their history. 

The Greeks referred to Scythia as all lands northeast of the Black Sea, and Scythia refers to both a region and various peoples and nomadic empires that emerged from this culture. The Greek historian Herodotus said that the Scythians name for themselves was the Scoloti. 

But what did Bede actually say about the Picts and Scythia? In order to capture the detail completely, I will quote him in full. Bede writes that:
Yet is there any credence to the fact that the Picts may have sailed from Scythia to settle parts of Scotland? Some interesting points to note are that Scythians were often described as having reddish hair, whilst potentially also having a tradition of tattoos, traits that are arguably similar to the Picts. 

Sources:

The Declaration of Arbroath, National Records of Scotland https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/Declaration 

Introducing the Scythians https://blog.britishmuseum.org/introducing-the-scythians/ 

Scythian https://www.britannica.com/topic/Scythian

Bede - Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Oxford University Press) quote from p.10. 

Bede, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede 

Creative Commons Imagery:

Dbachmann https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scythia-Parthia_100_BC.png  GNU Free Documentation License https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Free_Documentation_License Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scythian_Comb_(6th-5th_Cent._BCE)_-_Regional_History_Museum_-_Zaporozhye_-_Ukraine_(44111668111).jpg  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en 

#ScottishHistory #Scythia