The Faded Map: The Lost Kingdoms of Scotland

by Alistair Moffat

Modern communications have driven motorways and pylons through the countryside, dwarfed us with TV and telephone masts and drastically altered the way in which we move around, see and understand Scotland. Recent politics and logistics have established borders and jurisdictions which now seem permanent and impervious. The Faded Map sees past these and remembers a land that was once quiet and green. It brings to vivid life the half-forgotten kings and kingdoms of two thousand years ago, of the time of the Romans, the Dark Ages and into the early medieval period. In this fascinating account, Alistair Moffat describes the landscape these men and women moved through and talks of a Celtic society which spoke to itself in Old Welsh, where the Sons of Prophesy ruled, and the time when the English kings of Bernicia held sway over vast swathes of what is now Scotland. Heroes rode out of the mists to challenge them and then join with them. The faint echo of the din of ancient battles can be heard.

Genres: History, Scotland, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Geography, Travel, Historical

379 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2010

About the author

Alistair Moffat is an award winning writer, historian and former Director of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Director of Programmes at Scottish Television.

Moffat was educated at the University of St Andrews, graduating in 1972 with a degree in Medieval History. He is the founder of the Borders Book Festival and Co-Chairman of The Great Tapestry of Scotland.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Dalriada, Gododdin, Bernicia, Strathclyde, Manau, Rheged - all lost kingdoms of Scotland and England. Moffat takes us on an engrossing journey through history from Roman occupation to the 10th century. It's not a very focused account much of the time, going off at tangents to explore the lives of saints, Arthur (was Carlisle Camelot?) and the druid/warrior Myrddin (reinvented by Geoffrey of Monmouth several centuries later as Merlin and later united with King Arthur). Even Earl Uhtred makes an appearance.

If I have an issue with this book, it's that I wasn't expecting it to be so focused on the Borders. Nor was I expecting so much about England, although I appreciate that quite a lot of its history was relevant. The last chapter is on Strathclyde and is such a pivotal part of the story of Scotland that I was disappointed in the almost cursory attention it was given. I was left feeling that surely there must be a sequel. Finally, although the photographs were good, there was a lack of helpful illustrations. For all these reasons, 4.5 instead of 5 stars.

Moffat is a very good writer who is clearly fascinated by history and I'll look forward to reading some more of his work.

[Kenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

"History, it's just one thing after another."

This is exactly what the title says (and I'd probably have bought any book called "The Faded Map"). It's the history of the components of what became Scotland from Roman times till Medieval. Which is a fascinating and lesser known period. But there's a reason it's called the dark ages as there's not much left written down. It's a good piece, sometimes a little speculative, but it doesn't have a unifying theme and with the shopping list of names and dates throughout, sometimes dry reading. There are some great vignettes (usually explaining a single individual or event) - a few more of these, or integrating that more into the book would have made this more compelling and less of one to dip into for me.

[Philip Chaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moffat's popular historical romp substantively proves that there is no Scotland until the eleventh century. I learned that the Old Welsh kingdoms were far more important than other narratives have emphasised: e.g. Carlisle is the real capital of Cumbria/Galloway and Northumbria stretched up to the Central Belt. History turns another way and the English border may have run up to the Highlands or sat south of the Tyne.

Moffat focuses on written sources. These are excellent on the intertwining of Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish histories. Move to Archaeology and the Picts in the Highlands and Islands become quiet bit Pict players, shadows at the scene.

[Bridget Weller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting period, but for someone with no memory for proper names and dates, it all becomes a bit of a blurred jumble. This is exacerbated in this case by a fairly strong assumption that you will know where all the places actually are, as only one very cursory map is provided. Not great for an Incomer.

[Gabby Proice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda confusing at points but interesting nevertheless. Basically just a whole bunch of war and colonisation.

[Andy Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moffat presents his research on lesser knows aspects of Scottis history prior to the 11th century.
Having just read George Mackay Brown's Magnus it was the last third of the book that interested me most.
In those days, the Scottish border was about a couple of miles north of where I now live. Strathclyde and Cumbria basically had interchangable names in the ninth and tenth centuries. Those many villages between Penrith and Carlisle whose names end in 'BY' (Langwathby, Harraby, Aglionby, Scotby, etc), all had Viking influence, meaning close to the main farm.
Dunmail Raise, between Thirlmere and Grasmere, was the scene of a battle in 945, the large cairn marking the spot, and fought between the aristocrats to the south and the last King of Cumbria, Dunmail, also called Dyfnwal III of Strathclyde.
Then follows the violent subjugation of the border region, and it became fragmented, between the Norse Earls of Orkney, Cumberland under King Malcolm, and the aristocrats to the south.
Fascinating stuff.

[Catherine Kesseler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was hard to read, a lot of names and places. The best parts of the book were the quotations from primary sources. I liked the quotes from Tacitus and 'The Age of Bede'. This book contains no footnotes so it is impossible to relate some of the ideas back to the sources. I have no idea if some of information is fact or fantasy.

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and obviously very well researched. There were sections that weren't as interesting to me personally, but I got a much better handle on the ancient history of the British Isles, Scotland and Wales especially. One can certainly feel sympathy for a people faced with constant invasions, warfare, plundering, and enslavement.

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating history told in the style of a AA gazetteer: no unifying theme to pull together the complex history of the Welsh-speaking kingdoms of Southern Scotland that survived until 1016

[Jo Bennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for curious historians about the unrecorded history of Scotland

[Steven Shook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alistair Moffat's The Faded Map: Lost Kingdoms of Scotland pulls together information from numerous disparate sources to provide a sweeping overview of the history of the area that would geopolitically be known as Scotland prior to 1000 AD. Like other books written by Moffat, The Faded Map is well written and easy to follow.

I found the early Roman history as it pertains to Scotland fascinating, as well as the intermix of early Christianity with ancient belief structures. I also very much appreciated the inclusion of word origins as they related to the history of Wales, northern England, and Scotland, as they generally refer to historical events, kingdoms, and locations.

Ironically, the major criticism I have of The Faded Map is the lack of the inclusion of maps . In the entire book the author provides a single map. This one map is overly broad in context and leaves out the locations of 80+ percent (my rough estimate) of the places mentioned by Moffat. I am not a native of the United Kingdom, so many locations discussed in the book are not at all familiar to me. Thus, I had to consult maps from other sources several times to understand clearly what Moffat was referring to in his text. Adding several maps to the book, especially when the text was referring to a very specific region, would have added tremendous value and improved the readability of the book.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive tour through lesser-known kingdoms in an obscure time. There's a lot to keep track of in this narration, but the overall narrative puts down layers in one's understanding of the roots of modern Scotland. I found it both connected with things I already knew and added depth and dimension as well. Particularly notable is Moffat's exploration of place names and the deep linguistic and historical significance behind them. Now it makes me curious to explore the history of every place name I encounter! He does an excellent job of showing the complexity of interactions between Celts, Pict, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Norse, and the many others that weave into the tapestry of Scotland.

[Pam Shelton-Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author provides some background of the various sources he used in compiling this history. I found the info on the Roman historians particularly interesting, though it did seem to drift off course a bit. There was also a lot of detail at times and again felt like it meandered a bit. Still, this book provided a lot of interesting history on these ancient kingdoms of northern England and Scotland. I enjoyed the photos at the back, but some maps included as these kingdoms and people were discussed would have been very helpful.

[Lissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of Scotland; I found I needed a map open for much of the book. It would have helped to have information about the current cities/towns compared with the information of the historic era. It was not a quick read, but I did learn interesting tidbits about Scottish and Welsh history.

[Verity Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing look at northern Celtic Britain

Moffat has a gift for engaging the imagination, making a period of history which consists mainly of the names of kings, saints, and battles in forgotten places more interesting than it would otherwise be.

Still, it would help to have more maps and photos inserted at relevant places in the text.

[Amanda B · Rating 5 out of 5]

As I was due to visit Scotland for the first time I realised how woefully inadequate my knowledge of early pre Scotland history was. Definitely recommend. It makes what can seem a complicated subject with lots of unpronounceable plzce & people's names in it understandable & fun to read.

[Erling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and easy reading. The story is easy to follow and interesting to read. Recomended to those who is historicaly interested above average.

[Kirsten Cummins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only things that could have made this better would be more maps and photos. Otherwise, it was quite engaging and fascinating.

[Christine Goodnough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, well researched, informative. I learned a lot of my own ethnic history from reading this.

[Jennifer Stoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic, writing a bit dry but still of interest

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alistair Moffat has written an entertaining and informative history of Scotland and its adjacent territories. In particular he draws upon sources too often ignored and dismissed by academic historians - the recorded oral histories created by bards and storytellers - and uses them to illuminate and explain at times the academically accepted sources. This is a technique especially valuable for the period between the Roman occupation of Britain and the late medieval emergence of the kingdoms that would become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This is a great read as the author draws on a wide range of sources and fields of studies to tell a story that would otherwise be lost.

[Stacie Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this author, but some of his books are better than others. I listened to the audiobook of this book, which is why some of this was confusing. Also I am not a Scot, though I have some ancestry, so some of the modern place names I didn't know. If you don't have a lot of experience with Scottish history and geography, you may want to try one of his many other books on Scottish history.

[William Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Faded Map: A scholarly treatment of ancient times.

This book by Alistair Moffat is an in-depth recording of the people (Kings and others) who contributed to the shaping of the political area of what is now northern England/southern Scotland. The time frame starts after the last ice age until early eleventh century. Moffat ties some of the old place names to modern names but the overall geographical locations are difficult for me as a non-British reader. The map provided is of little use because of its small size and location in the front of the book.

[Patrick S Kelso]

good read

[David Comerford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Interesting speculative history about a period for which the evidence is sparse.

[Gordon MacLellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, tangled, some intriguing information about places where I grew up that i need to revisit...

[Grand Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting examination of forgotten kingdoms. Brilliant.