Who Were the Mysterious Pictish People of Ancient Scotland? Full Documentary
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-09-16

Who Were the Mysterious Pictish People of Ancient Scotland? Full Documentary - 

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The Pictish people of ancient Scotland are both intriguing and somewhat unknown. The Picts occupied the northern and eastern part of ancient Scotland over one thousand years ago, with their Latin name, Picti, found in documents between the 3rd and 10 centuries AD. They spoke the Pictish language (surprisingly enough), a now extinct language thought to have been an insular Celtic language, related to the Brittonic language.

Archaeological research has found that the Picts drank wine, practised elaborate metal working, and were connected to ancient European trading routes, after discoveries in Rhynie in Aberdeenshire. Tableware and storage vessels from Gaul in ancient France and Belgium have been found in Pictland. 

One of the first references to the Picts in the historical record is in 297AD, when a Roman writer spoke of the “Picts and Irish [meaning Scots] attacking” Hadrian’s Wall. It is thought that the Picts are the descendants of the Caledonians. However, as the Picti – meaning painted people – was also a name the Romans gave to the northern people of modern-day Scotland, the Caledonians and the Picts may have been essentially been the same people. The Romans reference to painted people may refer to the fact that the Picts seemed to have a strong tradition of tattoos. The Picts were known as Cruithni in Old Irish and Prydyn in Old Welsh.

That is one of the issues when researching the Picts: they themselves did not leave vast written records detailing their lives. The Picts however left us numerous carved stones, which display patterns, animals and other insights into their mysterious world. Many Pictish stones were discovered in the village of Aberlemno, Angus, in eastern Scotland, with these stones taking the name of the village. 

Common symbols used by the Picts include double discs and mirrors. Aberlemno 1 is probably one of the best preserved Pictish stones we have. 

Originally, the Picts were thought to have practised a form of Celtic polytheism, where they worshipped various Celtic gods, perhaps including Lugus. The Picts eventually converted to Christianity, although the date of this transition is unknown.  

The Picts fought against many peoples during their time, including the Romans and the Angles. In 685, the Pictish King Bridei won an important battle in Pictish history against the Northumbrians, who were led by his cousin, King Ecgfrith, at the Battle of Dun Nechtain.

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 

Creative Commons Imagery:

GrandEscogriffe https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scythes_et_Parthes_100_av_JC.png Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Scythes_et_Parthes_100_av_JC.png 

Kim Traynor https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saint_Columba_converting_the_Picts.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

Catfish Jim and the soapdish at English Wikipedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Serpent_stone.JPG  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

Johnbod https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RogartDSCF6220.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RogartDSCF6220.jpg 

#Pictish #History #ScottishHistory