Customer Reviews

Surviving in Symbols

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This is a comprehensive update on what is known of the Picts. Hitherto an enigmatic race of people, the Picts were romanticised by their warrior qualities, the wearing of blue paint in battle and their espousal of matrilinear inheritance. They left no written records and many puzzles. Where did they go? What were they like? Where did they come from. The only clues are from their elegantly and very competently carved stones, some archeology and occasional glancing references to them in ancient texts. Martin Carver has captured in easily understood language the flavour of this almost forgotten nation.Like other vanquished peoples, their history has not survived in a substantial form but hints, straws in the wind and wispy allusions have been gathered by Prof. Carver and dispassionately evaluated. He makes tantalising predictions that more is waiting for discovery, mainly through archeology. With that and other areas of research when pursued, will give us more than a glimpse of these aboriginal Scots.

A good basic introduction to what we know - or think we know - about the Picts. Carver emphasises the extent to which experts disagree on many areas, especially language and customs.

This thin pub of Historic Scotland is the best summary of the history, culture, and evidence of the Picts and related groups that I have seen. I have traveled to Scotland several times in recent years, exploring all aspects of Scottish history. This Dark Ages culture, with its sparse evidence, mostly in Pictish carvings on standing stones, is the most fasciating aspect to me. Historic Scotland staff, at the sites, and HS pubs are the best: scholarly, accessible, well-written and illustrated.