From the 5th to the 10th century AD, Scotland was home to a variety of peoples and cultures competing for land and supremacy, yet by the 11th century it had become a single, unified kingdom, known as Alba, under a stable and successful monarchy. At the heart of this mystery lies the extraordinary influence of the Picts and their neighbours, the Gaels, who were originally immigrants from Ireland. Drawing on recent archaeological evidence and historical research, this book examines the origins of the Picts and the Dal Riata (Gaels), and how they became Scots. It explores the significance of the remarkable Pictish symbols and other early sculpture, and looks at other aspects of this period of Scottish history such as the art of the war and role of kingship, religion and the impact of Christianity, and settlement, agriculture, industry and trade.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Dr Sally Foster is an Inspector of Ancient Monuments with Historic Scotland, prior to which she was an Investigator with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland. She is an Associate of the Institute of Field Archaeologists and author of a number of publications. She lives in Edinburgh.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
By A Customer
This review is from: Picts, Gaels and Scots (Historic Scotland) (Hardcover)
Considering so little is known about the Picts and the formation of the the early Scottish kingdom, this book give a great overview of what can be known about Pictish society from the available evidence in archaeology and literary sources. The chapter on the influence of the Church on the conglomeration of the Scottish tribes is particulary helpful. The book has great pictures and maps of Pictish stones and where they are found (from which much information on Pictish society is drawn) in addition to pictures of arial views of Pictish sites. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in early Scottish History, especially the Picts.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Who are the Scots?,
By cèile (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Picts, Gaels and Scots (Historic Scotland) (Paperback)
Evidently this book was written by a Scottish nationalist who abhors any connection to the English. Some of early peoples of Scotland were the Picts, Gaels, and Angles. 'Angles' isn't used by this author --note the title--and is replaced by 'Scots'.
The Scoti were a Gaelic speaking people who migrated from Ireland in the first centuries of the Christian era. In Latin the Gaels were called Scoti. In the Middle Ages their language, Gaelic, was the language of most Scots although a half dozen languages were spoken in Scotland. The Angles were a Germanic people who invaded what is now the north of England and established the Kingdom of Northumbria. In the seventh century they invaded Lothian, the Edinburgh region. Their language, variously called Anglian, Inglishe or English, was adopted by the Scottish monarchs, and spread with the establishment of burghs through much of Scotland. In the modern period English-speaking Scots began to call their language 'Scots'. Some historians and archaeologists now use the term 'Scots' for Angles; not only is it anachronistic, it is misleading. Better books for the early history of Scotland are: Stephen Driscoll, Alba: The Gaelic Kingdom of Scotland AD 800-1124 E.J.Cowan & R.A. McDonald, Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Medieval Era W.A. Cummins, The Picts and their Symbols Anna Ritchie, Picts: An Introduction to the Life... Alfred P. Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book. very informative. the maps really helped me understand where my Clan originated.,
By piccrazed "piccrazed" (NY/FL) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Historic Scotland: Picts (Paperback)
Great book. very informative. The maps really helped me understand or origin of my Clan.
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