Pictland Revealed! The 7 Pictish Kingdoms of Ancient Scotland
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-09-11

Pictland Revealed! The 7 Pictish Kingdoms of Ancient Scotland

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The ancient kingdom of Pictland is often referred to as just that: a unified kingdom of the Picts. However, as the mysteries of the Picts continue to reveal themselves, it appears as though Pictland was actually comprised of 7 different but connected Pictish kingdoms, who shared many linguistic and cultural characteristics.  

The Pictish kingdoms of ancient Scotland were: Fib, in modern Fife, Cait to the, in northern Caithness and Sutherland, Cé, on the east coast around Aberdeenshire, Circin, in the Angus region, Fidach, around the Inverness region, and Fotla, around the Perth and Kinross region. The 7th Pictish kingdom was Fortriu, which is thought to have been situated around Moray in the north-east of ancient Scotland. Fortriu however is often used interchangeably with Pictland, perhaps suggesting that it was one of the most powerful kingdoms.  

Exactly when these kingdoms arose and for how long they survived is largely unknown. The first reference to Fortriu however came from a Roman writer in the 4th century AD, who referred to them as the Verturiones. It is thought that Verturione came from the Brittonic root vertebra, indicating that Fortress People is how they were referred too. In Old England, Anglo-Saxon records refer to these Pictish people as Wærteras. 

In the Pictish Chronicle, a loose historical account of Pictish Kings, the seven Pictish kingdoms were said to have been founded by the seven sons of the Cruithne. The Cruithne or Cruthin refers to a people of early medieval Ireland who occupied a territory centered around Ulster. This has led some to argue that the Picts of ancient Scotland and the Cruthin of ancient Ireland was connected in some way, although this is debated. We do know that Cruithne was an Irish name for the Picts. 

In a religious book written between 697 and 700 AD, called the Life of Columba, the author records how the Columba baptised a man called Artbranan, who was described as the "chief commander of the warband of the region of Cé." There are still references to the Cé in Scotland today. The Bennachie mountain range in Aberdeenshire for instance means the “Mountain of the People of Cé.”

In Irish sources, the seven Pictish kingdoms were said to have been ruled by hereditary chiefs or kings. It has been documented from various sources that the Picts most likely traced the hereditary line of kingship through the female line.  

In the early 6th century, the seven kingdoms are said to have merged into two larger kingdoms, the southern and the northern Picts. 

Sources:

Picts – Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picts 

Scots and Picts https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/sysm/scots/teachers/noflash/symbols/index.shtml 

Aberlemno Sculptured Stones  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberlemno_Sculptured_Stones#Aberlemno_1 

Pictish language, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pictish_language 

Rosemarkie Stone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemarkie_Stone 

Scotsman - The Picts: How their mysterious world is being illuminated like never before https://www.scotsman.com/heritage-and-retro/heritage/picts-how-their-mysterious-world-being-illuminated-never-1402409 

Scotsman - A brief history of the ancient Pict Kingdoms of Scotland https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/brief-history-ancient-pict-kingdoms-scotland-1479792 

Kingdom of Cat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Cat 

Cé (Pictish territory) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9_(Pictish_territory) 

Cruthin https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095651737 

#Pictish #ScottishHistory #AncientHistory