Who Were the Scots? Egyptian, Scottish, Irish…? A History of Scotland (The Gaels)
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-08-19

Who Were the Scots? Egyptian, Scottish, Irish…? A History of Scotland (The Gaels)

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The term Scot is not as straightforward as it may sound. To many, Scot simply refers to anyone from Scotland. Although this may be true, Scot was also the name given to a cultural and territorial group that occupied the western part of ancient Scotland.  

Historically, Scotland was made up of numerous peoples, including the Picts, the Britons, the Angles, and the Scots (also known as the Gaels). In fact, it was the merger of two of these groups, the western Scots and the northern Picts, that created the first early Scottish kingdom in the 9th century AD, known as the Kingdom of Alba. The Picts and the Scots had previously fought on the same side, including in 297AD, when a Roman writer spoke of the “Picts and Irish [meaning Scots] attacking” the Roman forces at Hadrian’s Wall.

The Scots inhabited the western region of modern Scotland, known as Argyll (meaning Coast of the Gaels). A Gaelic kingdom ruled this region of ancient Scotland and parts of ancient Ireland for centuries, known as Dál Riata. This kingdom speaks to the connections that have existed for centuries between parts of Scotland and Ireland.

In fact, when you hear Gael, you may think of Ireland, and for good reason. Those history buffs out there will also know that for centuries, Ireland was also commonly referred to as Scotia. This was because Scoti was originally the Latin name used by the Romans for the Gaels in general, whether in Ireland or Scotland. As well as Hibernia, the Romans referred to Ireland as Scotia. This make things quite confusing, as early Ireland and Scotland were both referred to as Scotia for centuries.
 
It seems that somewhere around the 10th and 11th centuries AD, Scotia began to refer mostly to what we today call Scotland. However, Ireland was still called Scotia, or a variation of Scotia, at times. At one point around the Scottish Wars of Independence in the 14th century, Ireland was referred to as Scotia Major (greater Scotia), and Scotland as Scotia Minor (lesser Scotia).

References to Scotia can also be found in various mythological stories of Ireland and Scotland, mainly in reference to Scota. In one mythological account, Scota, the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, is said to have married Nel, who was the son of a Scythian king, Fénius Farsaid. Scota and Nel then had a son, called Goídel Glas, who is said to have created the Goidelic languages, three of which still exist today: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx from the Isle of Man. 

This family and their descendants are said to have spend time in Egypt, before fleeing to the Iberian region of Spain and Portugal, to then finally settle in Ireland. Therefore, in certain mythological accounts, Scota and her ancestors are said to be the ancient ancestors of the Scots or Gaels. 
As with many origin stories, the question always becomes: where does mythology end and history begin?

 Sources:

Pict - The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pict 

Dál Riata – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A1l_Riata 

Scoti https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoti 

Gaels https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaels 

#Scots #Gaels #ScottishHistory