Customer Reviews

The Picts and the Scots (Illustrated History Paperback Series)

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In recent years there has been a great deal of work done on the Picts and the Scots, but you won't learn anything about that work here. There's nothing much wrong with the book, it is short and readable, but it is seriously outdated. The consensus of opinion on many questions has changed a great deal since the early 1990s, and much that was taken for granted is now rejected or questioned.

For a more up-to-date picture, the 2004 edition of Sally Foster's Picts, Gaels and Scots is worth considering.

excellent up-to-date work on the Picts and the Scots of ancient Scotland. For many centuries the Picts have remained shrouded in myth and legend for the only written records - their Pictish stones - have been undecipherable. In 1958 with the discovering of the St. Ninan's Isle Treasure, a new focus has been applied to interpreting what we know. Written record mostly comes from people viewing the Pictish Nation from the outside, which often leads to misunderstanding, if not exaggeration...possibly slander.
In this highly readable account, they present the latest archaeological discovers, and discusses how these two difference races co-existed and ultimately merged of a nation of one through the slaughter of the Pict royal houses. Again, that is the only slight aggravation (as with nearly all books on this Picts) is the ignoring the importance of this and how it was the foundation of the Scottish Highlands.

Otherwise, an excellent work full of photographs, with recommended reading, and is a must for anyone wanting to more about the two races that formed the spine of Scotland.