Picts And Ancient Britons

Few problems in British history have proved as intractable as that of the origin and ethnic associations of the Picts. For although we may find numerous references to them within Roman and Celtic sources they have left us no historical texts of their own. So often we find the early Picts mentioned within histories of Roman Britain as mere opponents of Roman arms -- but who these tattooed barbarians were remains a mystery.Modern opinion holds that the Picts were Celts, like the Scots and Welsh. This book seeks to demonstrate the scarcity of evidence for this common assumption and follows instead the evidence of native tradition.In a stimulating new study the author offers a view of the Picts that is certainly not the current text book standard. It concentrates on the very oldest traditions of Pictish origins, which together with early historical sources, would suggest that the Picts were not Celts at all, but 'Scythians'. It will put an alternative case that the Picts were Finno-Ugrian immigrants from the Baltic coast.The author provides an investigation which subjects the traditions of Pictish origin to thorough scrutiny and by offering a viewpoint that does not commence from a Celtic bias, thereby offers some new ideas on a much neglected subject. Originally published in 1998 and for some years out of physical print, this new edition will make this unique research available once again to researchers who are looking both for a source book of the earliest literary references to the people of Scotland and wish to take the research further. Equally interesting to Scots who just want to understand their own past.

The Picts is a survey of the historical and cultural developments in northern Britain between AD 300 and AD 900. Discarding the popular view of the Picts as savages, they are revealed to have been politically successful and culturally adaptive members of the medieval European world. Re-interprets our definition of ‘Pict’ and provides a vivid depiction of their political and military organization Offers an up-to-date overview of Pictish life within the environment of northern Britain Explains how art such as the ‘symbol stones’ are historical records as well as evidence of creative inspiration. Draws on a range of transnational and comparative scholarship to place the Picts in their European context

Few problems in British history have proved as intractable as that of the origin and ethnic associations of the Picts. For although we may find numerous references to them within Roman and Celtic sources they have left us no historical texts of their own. So often we find the early Picts mentioned within histories of Roman Britain as mere opponents of Roman arms -- but who these tattooed barbarians were remains a mystery. First published in hardback 1998 now also available in Kindle hard and soft editions Modern opinion holds that the Picts were Celts, like the Scots and Welsh. This book seeks to demonstrate the scarcity of evidence for this common assumption and follows instead the evidence of native tradition. In a stimulating new study the author offers a view of the Picts that is certainly not the current text book standard. It concentrates on the very oldest traditions of Pictish origins, which together with early historical sources, would suggest that the Picts were not Celts at all, but ‘Scythians’. It will put an alternative case that the Picts were Finno-Ugrian immigrants from the Baltic coast. The author provides an investigation which subjects the traditions of Pictish origin to thorough scrutiny and by offering a viewpoint that does not commence from a Celtic bias, thereby offers some new ideas on a much neglected subject.

L. A. Waddell’s captivating volume explores Britain’s origins and presents new historical evidence from ancient Phoenician and Sumerian civilisations. First published in 1924, this work is an exploration of the early history of Britain’s ancestry. Exploring the Britons, Scots, and Anglo-Saxons in the pre-Roman periods, L. A. Waddell transports his readers back to 3000 BC with new historical evidence. The writer presents his historic interpretation of the Newton Stone inscription, found in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in this fascinating analysis of Anglo-Saxon origin. Despite being a well-known archaeologist, Waddell’s various works on the history of civilisation have caused much controversy and he never gained recognition as a Sumerologist.

Ancient history.