Picts: Scourge of Rome, Rulers of the North

by Gordon Noble, Nicolas Evans

The Picts have fascinated for centuries. They emerged c. ad 300 to defy the might of the Roman empire only to disappear at the end of the first millennium ad, yet they left major legacies. They laid the foundations for the medieval Scottish kingdom and their captivating carved stones are some of the most eye-catching yet enigmatic monuments in Europe. Until recently the Picts have been difficult to trace due to limited archaeological investigation and documentary sources, but innovative new research has produced critical new insights into the culture of a highly sophisticated society which defied the might of the Roman Empire and forged a powerful realm dominating much of northern Britain.

This is the first dedicated book on the Picts that covers in detail both their archaeology and their history. It examines their kingdoms, culture, beliefs and everyday lives from their origins to their end, not only incorporating current thinking on the subject, but also offering innovative perspectives that transform our understanding of the early history of Scotland.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Scotland, Ancient History, Archaeology, Medieval

612 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2022

About the author

Gordon Noble is Reader and Head of Archaeology at the University of Aberdeen. He is author of Neolithic Scotland: Timber, Stone, Earth and Fire (2006), and Woodland in the Neolithic of Northern Europe: The Forest as Ancestor (2017). He is in receipt of a Leverhulme Research Leadership Award for a project entitled Kingship: The Early Medieval Kingdoms of Britain and Ireland.

Reviews

[Joey]

This is my kind of history book.

It gives an incredibly detailed and reliably sourced account of the Picts, including a timeline of their history; plenty of maps showing important sites in Pictland; details of everyday life; information on religion (including the transition from Paganism to Christianity), death and burial, and their famous stone designs; and how the rise of the Gaelic kingdom Dál Riata, Viking invaders, and increasing cultural diversity most likely culminated in the end of the Pictish overkingdom and Pictish as a language, culture, and identity.

This is one more reminder that our current era follows countless others (some remembered, some forgotten) and that their lives were just as rich, deep, and important to them as ours are to us.

[A Lambie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book. The quintessential book on the current knowledge and theory about the Picts. Highly readable and great for both those with a general interest and academics alike.

[Ross Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really important update on the constantly evolving understanding of the Picts. The work that the authors and the University of Aberdeen have done in this field is truly groundbreaking. The depth of interpretation and understanding of a people and period who were previously considered ‘enigmatic’ is truly impressive. It wasn’t too long ago that studies on the Picts was feeding on scraps, focussed on the wonderful symbol stones, what language they spoke and whether they practiced matrilineal succession. This book brings us much further forward.

Minor criticism is the embedded references which are lengthy and really disrupt the flow.

[Kerree Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good general overall look into Pictish culture, life and death. I felt the book was a little unbalanced in places in terms of information, however this maybe due to our current lack of archaeological discoveries, which, thankfully, is improving. Overall, a pleasant read, which with such nonfiction books, can become very dry, but this was engaging throughout. Great job! 👍

[Commander Law · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting run through of what's known (precious little) from an academic POV. It is very much rooted in the provable with archaeology and scholarships to the front. Consequently that spark of enthusiasm, the thing that interested the authors in the period in the first place, has been dampened and doesn't come through. From unbiased academia it's understandable.
But there are other things that are missing, the people, how they farmed, the sea and ships. This last especially. There was a lot of focus on the northern and western isles, there was talk of sea piracy against the Romans (I'll get back to that), but barely a mention of going down to the sea in boats.
There was mention of artefacts' found in bogs but a fuller run through of the clothing likely given the sottish weather would have been interesting. Likewise a run through of the farming year.
There is play made on the book cover as the Picts being scourge of Rome, a proof on the artefact found in Germany, but what, when, how?
The finding of Pictish site in the low lands seem to be hit n miss depending on crop marks due to the agricultural improvements. There most be known roads/paths whatever between known sites and the sites themselves which could be extrapolated to map out. I find it hard to understand, given the place names, stone distribution etc across Aberdeenshire (as is) that it doesn't feature in the narrative more. This seems to be a reflection of the lack of documentary evidence.
So this is a picture of what's known rather than a rounded picture.

[Tara Lundie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t understand how a topic so interesting can be written in much a boring fashion