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The Picts: A History
Drawing together the remaining historical fragments of the Picts - an ancient nation who ruled most of northern and eastern Scotland during the Early Historic period - this account relates the story of this mysterious people from their emergence in Roman times to their eventual disappearance. Considering their unique identity, language, and vibrant artistic culture, this chronicle examines the Picts’ legacy, including the monuments that still survive in modern Scotland’s landscape: standing stones decorated with incredible skill and covered with enigmatic symbols. Despite being absorbed by the kingdom of the Scots in the ninth century, the impact of the Picts is still evident today.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2008
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753 people want to read
About the author
Tim Clarkson
14 books68 followersAn independent historian writing (and blogging) about early medieval Scotland.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
January 6, 2018
This is the second book I've read by Tim Clarkson (the first being The Men of the North a few years ago) and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. I fully intend to read his other books, too, on the subjects of Columba, the kings of Strathclyde, and the legend of Merlin. Why? Because I'm a Scottish Dark Ages Junkie and because Tim's books are well researched, well written, and chart a clear course through the muddy waters of this period, while still showing us the path others guides have taken.
The Picts is, largely, about the people who inhabited the northern half of Scotland from the earliest records during the roman period to the last mentions of them c.900AD. If you've read anything about the Picts before, you'll know there's a lot of confusion around who they are, where they came from, what they called themselves, and even where they lived. Clarkson cuts through this and presents a logical and concise chronological history of pretty much everything we know, and lays it out clearly for the layman to understand.
This is a very different treatment from Chadwick's Early Scotland, for example which busies itself with the primary sources and tries to figure just what we know, and to justify his opinion. Clarkson just cuts to the chase. It's a summary of 50 years of scholarship presented in clear language, without the need to justify, pontificate, or try to distinguish itself with a new angle.
If you want to learn about the Picts, then start here. Chances are, you'll end here, too - it has everything you need. Highly recommended.
Tim, if you see this, please write an Early History of Galloway (to the end of the Lordship) and a comprehensive Scottish Saints in History and Legend. Thanks!
The Picts is, largely, about the people who inhabited the northern half of Scotland from the earliest records during the roman period to the last mentions of them c.900AD. If you've read anything about the Picts before, you'll know there's a lot of confusion around who they are, where they came from, what they called themselves, and even where they lived. Clarkson cuts through this and presents a logical and concise chronological history of pretty much everything we know, and lays it out clearly for the layman to understand.
This is a very different treatment from Chadwick's Early Scotland, for example which busies itself with the primary sources and tries to figure just what we know, and to justify his opinion. Clarkson just cuts to the chase. It's a summary of 50 years of scholarship presented in clear language, without the need to justify, pontificate, or try to distinguish itself with a new angle.
If you want to learn about the Picts, then start here. Chances are, you'll end here, too - it has everything you need. Highly recommended.
Tim, if you see this, please write an Early History of Galloway (to the end of the Lordship) and a comprehensive Scottish Saints in History and Legend. Thanks!
October 19, 2011
I have to commend the author for putting together a chronological, narrative(ish) history of the Picts. I've learned a fair amount about them as an amateur with an interest in the period, but this is the first book I've found that attempts to lay out Pictish history in sequence.
The book seems aimed at a general readership, although readers with some knowledge about northern Britain in the early Middle Ages will no doubt have an easier time navigating the references to Northumbria, Bede, the Dalriata Scots, and others. I can't say that I came away with a lot of new information, but then I don't think that was Clarkson's aim: What he's done here, I gather, is collated material from various sources, done some interpretive (and at times quite ingenious) speculation, and put it all together from the Pictish perspective. This last point is probably the best thing about the book: Even if you've read about the Picts elsewhere, you get the feeling in this book that you're encountering them on their own terms.
The author is careful to give an even, sober account - part of seeing the Picts on their own terms is shedding any fanciful ideas about their language, culture or origins. I'm fine with that, and the interpretation of the Picts as an essentially Celtic people seems very reasonable.
Where the book disappoints, slightly, is in its organization and writing style. I'm used to historical works being "dry"; as an essentially popular history of a subject that has become more widely-known, though, it would have been nice for the author to have painted a more vivid picture of the Picts in places, or to have mustered some more enthusiasm for the topic. Some of the chapters and paragraphs seemed to double-back or change topic unexpectedly, often to discuss some archaeological finds or the origin of a place-name. Sometimes these are valuable asides, but sometimes they distracted.
This is not a narrative history in the strict sense, simply because there are so many gaps in what we know about the Picts. They left no written records, only the famous crosses and symbol-stones, so anyone wanting to know what was happening in Pictavia around 700 AD must refer to the records of their neighbors. At times, therefore, the "story" seems a little thin, and moves into a discussion of these exterior sources, but that is to be expected. I'm thankful that the author has pulled together all of this information to give a better picture of these powerful and important people.
The book seems aimed at a general readership, although readers with some knowledge about northern Britain in the early Middle Ages will no doubt have an easier time navigating the references to Northumbria, Bede, the Dalriata Scots, and others. I can't say that I came away with a lot of new information, but then I don't think that was Clarkson's aim: What he's done here, I gather, is collated material from various sources, done some interpretive (and at times quite ingenious) speculation, and put it all together from the Pictish perspective. This last point is probably the best thing about the book: Even if you've read about the Picts elsewhere, you get the feeling in this book that you're encountering them on their own terms.
The author is careful to give an even, sober account - part of seeing the Picts on their own terms is shedding any fanciful ideas about their language, culture or origins. I'm fine with that, and the interpretation of the Picts as an essentially Celtic people seems very reasonable.
Where the book disappoints, slightly, is in its organization and writing style. I'm used to historical works being "dry"; as an essentially popular history of a subject that has become more widely-known, though, it would have been nice for the author to have painted a more vivid picture of the Picts in places, or to have mustered some more enthusiasm for the topic. Some of the chapters and paragraphs seemed to double-back or change topic unexpectedly, often to discuss some archaeological finds or the origin of a place-name. Sometimes these are valuable asides, but sometimes they distracted.
This is not a narrative history in the strict sense, simply because there are so many gaps in what we know about the Picts. They left no written records, only the famous crosses and symbol-stones, so anyone wanting to know what was happening in Pictavia around 700 AD must refer to the records of their neighbors. At times, therefore, the "story" seems a little thin, and moves into a discussion of these exterior sources, but that is to be expected. I'm thankful that the author has pulled together all of this information to give a better picture of these powerful and important people.
August 24, 2023
The matrilineal succession of the Picts – unique in Europe – is a curiosity indeed. Bede accounts for it by saying the Picts came from Scythia without their womenfolk, and were given wives by the Irish on condition they adopted kingly succession through the female line. Matriliny, of course, does not equal matriarchy: very few Pictish women are even mentioned in the sources. As to the real origins and meaning of this intriguing feature, we will probably never know.
The two most significant events in Pictish history were the Battle of Dunnichen in 685, when the Anglo Saxon warriors of the Northumbrian King Ecgfrith were decisively defeated. Another was the decision of King Nechtan, in 712, to bring the Pictish church in line with Rome. (The “Celtic” church had numerous differences of custom and practice, but not of faith). Kenneth MacAlpin united the Picts and the Scots and after his death in 858 the Picts disappear from history as a separate people. But I am sure they (or rather their descendants) are with us still, and still living where they always did – the most northerly and north easterly parts of the island of Britain.
This is a good introduction to the subject. However, it is lacking in scholarly footnotes. The language of the Picts, and the key to the mysteries of their carved stones, may well be lost forever. But discoveries continue – such as the wonderful Conan Stone, dug up as recently as 2019. There is also an academic called Kelly Kilpatrick who has written some excellent scholarly articles on Pictish studies. And DNA studies continue to push the boundaries. So I am hopeful that there is more to be uncovered, and this book whetted my appetite to read more.
The two most significant events in Pictish history were the Battle of Dunnichen in 685, when the Anglo Saxon warriors of the Northumbrian King Ecgfrith were decisively defeated. Another was the decision of King Nechtan, in 712, to bring the Pictish church in line with Rome. (The “Celtic” church had numerous differences of custom and practice, but not of faith). Kenneth MacAlpin united the Picts and the Scots and after his death in 858 the Picts disappear from history as a separate people. But I am sure they (or rather their descendants) are with us still, and still living where they always did – the most northerly and north easterly parts of the island of Britain.
This is a good introduction to the subject. However, it is lacking in scholarly footnotes. The language of the Picts, and the key to the mysteries of their carved stones, may well be lost forever. But discoveries continue – such as the wonderful Conan Stone, dug up as recently as 2019. There is also an academic called Kelly Kilpatrick who has written some excellent scholarly articles on Pictish studies. And DNA studies continue to push the boundaries. So I am hopeful that there is more to be uncovered, and this book whetted my appetite to read more.
March 19, 2022
Tim Clarkson’s work on the the Picts is a terrifically executed history. It’s comprehensive and detailed, yet concise. Considering that serious studies of the Picts as a historic, rather than mythical, people did not take off until the 1950s, what has been pieced together about their culture, their history, their kings, their obscure and mysterious stones, and their wars is impressive.
My copy of the book is the 2017 version, which provides a postscript to the original 2008 publication, detailing recent Pictish archaeology and discoveries that impact a few of the things discussed earlier in the book. These are things such as findings on their centers of power, recently uncovered strongholds, hypotheses on the meanings of the symbols found on Pictish standing stones, and an excavation in the realm of the “Galloway Picts”, a region where, according to legend and history, the Picts resided despite being far to the south of their usual territory. The discovery suggests the Pictish symbols in this area are authentic and from the period, rather than later fabrications. Whether these were created by Picts, though, is still a matter of debate.
Clarkson covers the earliest written history mentioning the Picts and their ancestors, the Caledonians, through Bede’s somewhat contemporary writings on the Pictish people, and later times, to the coming of the Vikings. All outsider views, we get a picture of the people as an exotic, alien Barbarian race, strange and unknowable, dangerous and primitive and warlike. Like Stuart McHardy in his A New History of the Picts, Clarkson points to bias, propaganda, and questionable veracity in these sources, but picks them apart to leave us with what scholars tend to believe are nuggets of truth.
Along with the Irish annals, the Pictish king-lists, various works of hagiography, legends, biographical pieces, monastic sources of authentic history, and archaeological evidence, Clarkson presents a pleasantly coherent and organized narrative of the Picts. Around the year 550 AD the written documents concerning the Picts become more reliable and clear. Before this is mostly legend, propaganda, and pseudohistory. After this we get many reliable records.
He is careful about how to interpret the evidence, what data is available and what it is able to say, and makes no pretension of being able to provide a wholly consistent picture of a people who were all but lost to history.
From their early Roman encounters we get faithful reconstructions of the battles and events that shaped the early Pictish civilization. The place of the Picts in the broader context of sub-Roman Britain is discussed at length, as well as their activity long after the fall of the Roman Empire, and their emergence into what are commonly called the Dark Ages. Clarkson sees this era better described as the Early Historic period. He uses this term because it better represents the character of Europe after the departure of the Romans, as the distinct peoples began developing their own written histories and cultures in the absence of Roman control.
Setting out from here we get an analysis of Pictish society, their mysterious and legendary kings, the saints who missioned to their lands and established churches and cults, like Ninnian and Columba, and the centuries of development and conflict with neighboring peoples. The hypothesis of matrilineal succession in Pictish nobility is looked at closely. It is still not known if the Picts followed matrilineal or patrilineal succession but the king-list seems to suggest the former. Over time, however, the Pict kings became more evidently decided by fathers and sons and brothers instead of mothers and nephews and cousins.
How the Picts interacted with the Scots, their closest neighbors, and how the ruling of both people sometimes seemed to fall under a single ruler is a problem still being unraveled. There is a fog and a complexity to this period that resists easy interpretation.
Regardless, historians have made progress and our understanding of the extremely dynamic and confusing king-list, which is replete with contradictions, frequently recurring names belonging to different people, vague reports, and other complicating factors is getting better.
The strife of these pre-medieval lands is put under the microscope, and Clarkson does an excellent job portraying all the vicious drama and battle and confusion and shifting of power that plays out from the late fifth century to the early tenth century. Some of the most remarkable Pictish kings are examined closely, their reigns explained, showing their parts in major historic events. There is great attention given to Brude Son of Maelchon, whose thirty year reign saw the coming of Columba and the first recorded war between the Scots and Picts. Maelchon is a man who doesn’t appear in the king list, but his name and existence is a great mystery that takes a few pages of fascinating discussion to try to sort out.
Other kings given significant space here are men who share similar names, but very different reigns and fates: Talorc, Talorcan, Drust, Brude, Gartnait, Nechtan, Oengus, and Constantine, ending with the infamous Cináed Mac Ailpín, better known as Kenneth MacAlpin, ruler of the Scots (and last ruler of the Picts) under whom the Picts and Scots united as one to fend off the Vikings.
Brutal wars with Northumbria, the Britons, the Scots, as well as delicate treaties and unifications against greater enemies, like the Vikings and the Danes, make for fantastic stories. The final century of the Pictish society as a society independent of the Scots is a turbulent time. Something called the Treachery of Scone is a semi-legendary event said to be undertaken by Cináed Mac Ailpín, in which he invited the Picts to a lavish feast, got them drunk, and then had them slaughtered while they were inebriated.
This, according to medieval Scottish legend, was how the Picts disappeared from history. This never happened, and we know that the Picts and Scots became one people, with the Pictish language and customs and culture slowly diminishing and being supplanted by the Scottish ways. It is thought that if the dynamic of the Viking raids had been different, it might have been the Scot, instead of Pictish customs and language that disappeared.
The Picts became little more than legends and myths for centuries. Their small underground dwellings discovered by later Scottish people were taken to imply the Picts were tiny pygmies, giving rise to Scottish folklore of the ancient pygmies. The book closes with a great breakdown of how our understanding of the Picts has evolved from myth to fact, how it continues to grow, and Clarkson supplements the work with multiple maps, king lists, historical event summaries, and important genealogies.
My copy of the book is the 2017 version, which provides a postscript to the original 2008 publication, detailing recent Pictish archaeology and discoveries that impact a few of the things discussed earlier in the book. These are things such as findings on their centers of power, recently uncovered strongholds, hypotheses on the meanings of the symbols found on Pictish standing stones, and an excavation in the realm of the “Galloway Picts”, a region where, according to legend and history, the Picts resided despite being far to the south of their usual territory. The discovery suggests the Pictish symbols in this area are authentic and from the period, rather than later fabrications. Whether these were created by Picts, though, is still a matter of debate.
Clarkson covers the earliest written history mentioning the Picts and their ancestors, the Caledonians, through Bede’s somewhat contemporary writings on the Pictish people, and later times, to the coming of the Vikings. All outsider views, we get a picture of the people as an exotic, alien Barbarian race, strange and unknowable, dangerous and primitive and warlike. Like Stuart McHardy in his A New History of the Picts, Clarkson points to bias, propaganda, and questionable veracity in these sources, but picks them apart to leave us with what scholars tend to believe are nuggets of truth.
Along with the Irish annals, the Pictish king-lists, various works of hagiography, legends, biographical pieces, monastic sources of authentic history, and archaeological evidence, Clarkson presents a pleasantly coherent and organized narrative of the Picts. Around the year 550 AD the written documents concerning the Picts become more reliable and clear. Before this is mostly legend, propaganda, and pseudohistory. After this we get many reliable records.
He is careful about how to interpret the evidence, what data is available and what it is able to say, and makes no pretension of being able to provide a wholly consistent picture of a people who were all but lost to history.
From their early Roman encounters we get faithful reconstructions of the battles and events that shaped the early Pictish civilization. The place of the Picts in the broader context of sub-Roman Britain is discussed at length, as well as their activity long after the fall of the Roman Empire, and their emergence into what are commonly called the Dark Ages. Clarkson sees this era better described as the Early Historic period. He uses this term because it better represents the character of Europe after the departure of the Romans, as the distinct peoples began developing their own written histories and cultures in the absence of Roman control.
Setting out from here we get an analysis of Pictish society, their mysterious and legendary kings, the saints who missioned to their lands and established churches and cults, like Ninnian and Columba, and the centuries of development and conflict with neighboring peoples. The hypothesis of matrilineal succession in Pictish nobility is looked at closely. It is still not known if the Picts followed matrilineal or patrilineal succession but the king-list seems to suggest the former. Over time, however, the Pict kings became more evidently decided by fathers and sons and brothers instead of mothers and nephews and cousins.
How the Picts interacted with the Scots, their closest neighbors, and how the ruling of both people sometimes seemed to fall under a single ruler is a problem still being unraveled. There is a fog and a complexity to this period that resists easy interpretation.
Regardless, historians have made progress and our understanding of the extremely dynamic and confusing king-list, which is replete with contradictions, frequently recurring names belonging to different people, vague reports, and other complicating factors is getting better.
The strife of these pre-medieval lands is put under the microscope, and Clarkson does an excellent job portraying all the vicious drama and battle and confusion and shifting of power that plays out from the late fifth century to the early tenth century. Some of the most remarkable Pictish kings are examined closely, their reigns explained, showing their parts in major historic events. There is great attention given to Brude Son of Maelchon, whose thirty year reign saw the coming of Columba and the first recorded war between the Scots and Picts. Maelchon is a man who doesn’t appear in the king list, but his name and existence is a great mystery that takes a few pages of fascinating discussion to try to sort out.
Other kings given significant space here are men who share similar names, but very different reigns and fates: Talorc, Talorcan, Drust, Brude, Gartnait, Nechtan, Oengus, and Constantine, ending with the infamous Cináed Mac Ailpín, better known as Kenneth MacAlpin, ruler of the Scots (and last ruler of the Picts) under whom the Picts and Scots united as one to fend off the Vikings.
Brutal wars with Northumbria, the Britons, the Scots, as well as delicate treaties and unifications against greater enemies, like the Vikings and the Danes, make for fantastic stories. The final century of the Pictish society as a society independent of the Scots is a turbulent time. Something called the Treachery of Scone is a semi-legendary event said to be undertaken by Cináed Mac Ailpín, in which he invited the Picts to a lavish feast, got them drunk, and then had them slaughtered while they were inebriated.
This, according to medieval Scottish legend, was how the Picts disappeared from history. This never happened, and we know that the Picts and Scots became one people, with the Pictish language and customs and culture slowly diminishing and being supplanted by the Scottish ways. It is thought that if the dynamic of the Viking raids had been different, it might have been the Scot, instead of Pictish customs and language that disappeared.
The Picts became little more than legends and myths for centuries. Their small underground dwellings discovered by later Scottish people were taken to imply the Picts were tiny pygmies, giving rise to Scottish folklore of the ancient pygmies. The book closes with a great breakdown of how our understanding of the Picts has evolved from myth to fact, how it continues to grow, and Clarkson supplements the work with multiple maps, king lists, historical event summaries, and important genealogies.
August 3, 2012
Too many names, too many dates. No good for someone like me who has no memory for unadorned facts and an inability to remember proper nouns. I wanted a sense of who the Picts were, how they differed culturally from their contemporaries, how they lived, what they believed. None the wiser on any of these, though that may well be because, frustratingly, no-one has really figured this out. Left with the question with which I started: how can an apparently complex and advanced civilization leave so little trace?
June 28, 2022
Anyone interested in the history of the Picts should stay away from this book. The first red flag is that this text has no footnotes. That is a huge problem with anything claiming to be a contribution to the study of history. Without footnotes, we have to just take his word for it, and folks I hate to say it, but that's not worth much.
Clarkson contradicts himself repeatedly and many of his claims are problematic. He is far too quick to accept some early medieval sources as fact while he views others with skepticism; all medieval sources should be treated with skepticism.
I don't understand how someone with a PhD could produce a book like this in good conscience. I understand what he has attempted to do, but the single fact remains that we cannot know exactly what the Picts were like because we do not have any written sources aside from the king list. It's not enough to make sweeping claims as Clarkson does.
I urge you to pick up something more reputable.
Clarkson contradicts himself repeatedly and many of his claims are problematic. He is far too quick to accept some early medieval sources as fact while he views others with skepticism; all medieval sources should be treated with skepticism.
I don't understand how someone with a PhD could produce a book like this in good conscience. I understand what he has attempted to do, but the single fact remains that we cannot know exactly what the Picts were like because we do not have any written sources aside from the king list. It's not enough to make sweeping claims as Clarkson does.
I urge you to pick up something more reputable.
August 9, 2024
Learned a lot about a little known race
This book gives an interesting and informative history of the Picts. The Picts were a people that predated the Scots or Celts and were eventually absorbed by them. This was an enjoyable account and I learned a lot.
This book gives an interesting and informative history of the Picts. The Picts were a people that predated the Scots or Celts and were eventually absorbed by them. This was an enjoyable account and I learned a lot.
March 21, 2024
Wenn sich jemand für die geheimnisvollen Pikten interessiert, so ist dieses Buch eine wirklich gute Empfehlung. Interessierte Personen sollten jedoch ein grosses Interesse an Geschichte und gewisse Leseerfahrung mitbringen, da Clarkson einige Namen vorweist (viele oft gleichlautend), viele Kriege erzählt und auch ein wenig trocken schreibt.
Nichtsdestotrotz ist es ein empfehlenswertes Buch, das mit vielen Informationen und unterschiedlichen Ansichten und Theorien aufwartet. Es gibt noch viel zu lernen über die Pikten, weswegen wahrscheinlich auch das Leben der einfachen Menschen nur im Nachwort zur 2016er Auflage aufgegriffen wird. Darüber hätte ich eigentlich gerne mehr erfahren, aber natürlich ist es schwierig, über diese Lebensbereiche mehr in Erfahrung zu bringen.
Ich bin beeindruckt und habe einiges Neues gelernt, was meine Faszination für die Pikten nur noch weiter angestachelt hat. Deshalb könnte es auch sein, dass ich bereits eines der anderen Bücher Tim Clarksons bestellt habe... ;)
Nichtsdestotrotz ist es ein empfehlenswertes Buch, das mit vielen Informationen und unterschiedlichen Ansichten und Theorien aufwartet. Es gibt noch viel zu lernen über die Pikten, weswegen wahrscheinlich auch das Leben der einfachen Menschen nur im Nachwort zur 2016er Auflage aufgegriffen wird. Darüber hätte ich eigentlich gerne mehr erfahren, aber natürlich ist es schwierig, über diese Lebensbereiche mehr in Erfahrung zu bringen.
Ich bin beeindruckt und habe einiges Neues gelernt, was meine Faszination für die Pikten nur noch weiter angestachelt hat. Deshalb könnte es auch sein, dass ich bereits eines der anderen Bücher Tim Clarksons bestellt habe... ;)
October 26, 2024
Listened to the audio version which was very well read.
Great book, a fabulous, detailed introduction to the Picts and their history for me. Realized on a trip to Scotland how little I knew of them so looked for some books and found this one. Fascinating read, easy to follow, gave me much to think about. Highly recommended
Great book, a fabulous, detailed introduction to the Picts and their history for me. Realized on a trip to Scotland how little I knew of them so looked for some books and found this one. Fascinating read, easy to follow, gave me much to think about. Highly recommended
Read
May 29, 2022If, like me, you're planning to go to Scotland and you're interested in Pictish stones and Pictish history, this is a good book for you. If you're not interested in Pictish history, battles, lineage, Scottish locations and geography, Early Historical culture, etc., you can probably skip it. It's dense (with LOTS of names), but I really enjoyed learning more about locations of events/monasteries/forts/castles and about the movement of early cultural groups in Scotland. Luckily there are drawings (and some photos) of Pictish carvings and some possible explanations, which I'm especially interested in. I appreciated Clarkson's discussions of common beliefs about early history vs. what is more likely reality.
Hard to rate. It really depends on your interest in the Picts.
Hard to rate. It really depends on your interest in the Picts.
August 5, 2022
This was a great concise history of the Picts. Clarkson uses all of scholarship available to give a clear timeline of what we know of the Picts from earliest times to the last mention of them in records. He is honest about what is still unclear of their history, but doesn’t spend too much time with theories or guesses that would otherwise clog up the narrative. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it and loved getting to learn more about a peoples who are usually not talked about.
January 24, 2021
Fascinating book about a people who have been mostly erased from history. All I was taught at school was that they were warlike and disappeared. In fact they were a major power in Scotland, running most of it from time to time and trading and making alliances throughout northern England, the Midlands, Ireland and Scotland. I'd recommend a visit to the caves at East Wemyss too.
June 7, 2018
This was an interesting read, if not compelling. I particularly liked the summaries of some of the debates around Pictish history and the brief descriptions of the arguments on each side. Actually, I'd have liked a bit more detail on some of that stuff! I also really liked the blending of written history and archaeology to come to conclusions about some of the debates; I always enjoy it when all of the sources are taken into account, not just one type.
This is really a whistle-stop tour of Pictish kings and how Pictish kingship manifested and changed throughout the Early Historic period, and the book itself doesn't pretend to be more than that. The title and description, however, did lead me to think that this was a book about the Picts as a whole, not just their kings, and it's not. I think "The Pictish Kings" would have been a more accurate title. I would have loved Clarkson to have gone into more detail about how ordinary Picts lived; how they built, what they did, how their society was structured.
If you want a swift tour of Pictish kingship and, as it were, the political history of the Picts, this is the book for you. If you're more into how people lived and the ordinary folk, it's not. I personally was a bit disappointed, but that was mainly because the title and description weren't especially accurate and misled me as to what to expect.
This is really a whistle-stop tour of Pictish kings and how Pictish kingship manifested and changed throughout the Early Historic period, and the book itself doesn't pretend to be more than that. The title and description, however, did lead me to think that this was a book about the Picts as a whole, not just their kings, and it's not. I think "The Pictish Kings" would have been a more accurate title. I would have loved Clarkson to have gone into more detail about how ordinary Picts lived; how they built, what they did, how their society was structured.
If you want a swift tour of Pictish kingship and, as it were, the political history of the Picts, this is the book for you. If you're more into how people lived and the ordinary folk, it's not. I personally was a bit disappointed, but that was mainly because the title and description weren't especially accurate and misled me as to what to expect.
August 6, 2020
Review #37 of my 52 week book challenge: The Picts.
The Picts, a people who ruled over modern-day Scotland for nearly 900 years, are all but forgotten by history. I first learned of them on a drive through western Scotland. Off a small dirt road in the middle of nowhere lie ancient stone tablets with symbols still indecipherable. This was the heart of Pictland.
Clarkson, while dry, does a methodical job at recreating the history of a long-lost people. Theirs is the story of warfare and strife synonymous with the European Dark Ages. It's also a warning, in these times of geopolitical upheaval, that seemingly impenetrable empires can and do fall.
To find out why I started my 52 week book challenge, what I've been reading, and how you can get involved, check out my original LinkedIn Publisher article or follow me.
The Picts, a people who ruled over modern-day Scotland for nearly 900 years, are all but forgotten by history. I first learned of them on a drive through western Scotland. Off a small dirt road in the middle of nowhere lie ancient stone tablets with symbols still indecipherable. This was the heart of Pictland.
Clarkson, while dry, does a methodical job at recreating the history of a long-lost people. Theirs is the story of warfare and strife synonymous with the European Dark Ages. It's also a warning, in these times of geopolitical upheaval, that seemingly impenetrable empires can and do fall.
To find out why I started my 52 week book challenge, what I've been reading, and how you can get involved, check out my original LinkedIn Publisher article or follow me.
October 23, 2022
I knew only a little about the Picts, as probably is the case of most. This author takes this group from the mists of the past and brings a lively discussion about who they were. He is a scholar, but has access to little more information than the rest of us, yet presents us with the myths and facts that are known about the Picts to present a reasonable view as to what can be reasonably concluded. Fascinating study of both this enigmatic people and the process of gathering and processing information.
July 11, 2025
I know nothing about the Picts other than pictures of woad painted screaming berserkers from children's history books, but I now live in Pict country so it was time to get educated.
As is usual for me I got lost in names, but overall this was really clear and helped me get both chronology and myth/hypothesis straight. It has a modern take on ethno nationalism/tribalism that works very well, distinguishing ethnic groups from political groupings and exploring the overlaps and also does a good job of exploring what matrilinealism in a patriarchal society looks like.
All in all a good read.
As is usual for me I got lost in names, but overall this was really clear and helped me get both chronology and myth/hypothesis straight. It has a modern take on ethno nationalism/tribalism that works very well, distinguishing ethnic groups from political groupings and exploring the overlaps and also does a good job of exploring what matrilinealism in a patriarchal society looks like.
All in all a good read.
May 14, 2024
Informative but not exciting
This is a solid, well-researched look at the Picts as a historical people. The role played by the influence of the Celtic church vs the Roman church was especially interesting, particularly with the archeology backing it up.
I do wish the author had spent more time on the transformation from a real Celtic tribe into the mythical people we're more familiar with.
This is a solid, well-researched look at the Picts as a historical people. The role played by the influence of the Celtic church vs the Roman church was especially interesting, particularly with the archeology backing it up.
I do wish the author had spent more time on the transformation from a real Celtic tribe into the mythical people we're more familiar with.
April 14, 2025
There are a number of theories here that buck the conventional wisdom and I'm not sure about all of them.
However, the (fairly) clear explanations of the history are good. Turning the Picts from the long-ago myths of cosmic weirdo non-Indo-European people who kept to themselves and had nothing to do with the rest of Britain back into the actual Celtic people who had settlements and influence all across Scotland for centuries makes this a must-read for those who like history instead of myth.
However, the (fairly) clear explanations of the history are good. Turning the Picts from the long-ago myths of cosmic weirdo non-Indo-European people who kept to themselves and had nothing to do with the rest of Britain back into the actual Celtic people who had settlements and influence all across Scotland for centuries makes this a must-read for those who like history instead of myth.
March 24, 2022
This is a good, but not a great history of the Picts. It's not necessarily the author's fault; he provides a fairly comprehensive listing of known facts and informed speculation, but there just isn't much known about the Picts. I would have liked a chapter on DNA that's been identified as Pictish and what it means to what we might know about them.
May 15, 2023
audiobook
Great coverage of the topic. You do not need to be a historian to appreciate this history. It is well researched and presented. I especially liked the linguistic component. For those who want to learn about the Picts, this book will give you a great introduction and general understanding of the topic.
Great coverage of the topic. You do not need to be a historian to appreciate this history. It is well researched and presented. I especially liked the linguistic component. For those who want to learn about the Picts, this book will give you a great introduction and general understanding of the topic.
April 6, 2025
This book was very informative. It covered the important places, battles and leaders of the Picts. It had several pictures of historical artifacts. The author also clarified what happened to the Picts through time as there has been a lot of speculation about how the Picts ceased to exist. I really learned a lot by reading it.
August 10, 2017
This was a really fascinating, clear and accessible book about a people and culture who are often glossed over as unknowable. Obviously there were still many questions that couldn't be answered, but it was a great overview.
January 11, 2019
A good introduction to the Picts, about whom there is still much to discover. The lack of footnotes bothered me but there is a bibliography which suggests further reading. Unfortunately it includes very few references to recent (ie post 2011) publications.
April 16, 2022
View through them Caledonian mist
Very well written and presented. This book brings substance and well based understanding, of a people , to often associated with myth and legend. A well developed chronology and insight to a historical period.
Very well written and presented. This book brings substance and well based understanding, of a people , to often associated with myth and legend. A well developed chronology and insight to a historical period.
August 8, 2018
Informative book about the Picts. Links into the Roman occupation of Scotland and the progression of Christianity. If you haven't read bout the Picts before then this book is a good place to start.
November 16, 2018
Fascinating
If you love the history of Scotland and all to do with it then this book is a must read.
If you love the history of Scotland and all to do with it then this book is a must read.
December 19, 2018
Very readable
N excellent study, short on padding and gets straight to the information. Clear and balanced with a mention of alternative views on relevant issues.
N excellent study, short on padding and gets straight to the information. Clear and balanced with a mention of alternative views on relevant issues.
July 17, 2019
Considering we have like 3 reliable sources on the Picts, it's actually pretty impressive that Tim Clarkson can spin that out for 200 scholarly, balanced pages.
May 21, 2021
Clarkson uses the scant sources to offer a surprisingly complete picture of the Pictish peoples: their rulers, place in history and geography, and their eventual absorption by the Scots.
May 1, 2022
Misleading description
What little I got from this outline was promising, but it contained very little information, it was not a book, as advertised, and I felt cheated.
What little I got from this outline was promising, but it contained very little information, it was not a book, as advertised, and I felt cheated.
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