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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Origins of the PICTS & SCOTS

PrologueThe Picts were definitely not Gaels, they spo e a different language and had different custo!s" Their origins are un nown, although there are !any theories, and the Picts the!sel#es had their !yths and traditions which co!pounded their !ystery" One theory is that they were an earlier for! of Celt, others contend they were a hy$ridi%ation of the $ea er people and the earlier a$original peoples" Still others feel they ca!e fro! &orway, which would account for their pale s in" 'nother theory is that they were the early (Chaldees( or Galat( of )astern 'sia *inor" Their western ele!ents see! to ha#e retained their title of (+haltis ( or (Galati( or (Gal,( when in the Old Stone 'ge, they penetrated westward into Gaul on the 'tlantic and for!ed there the +elts or Celt of Gaul, and the Gauls and Gaul are actually called (Galat( and (Galat( $y Stra$o" ,istory records- 't a later period, the Sar!atians in#aded Gaul fro! the Rhine and Swit%erland and dro#e out the Picts" The na!e (Celt( does not appear in the frag!entary sur#i#ing history of ancient .ritain under that exact spelling, it, ne#ertheless, is represented in its dialectic #ariant of (Caled( and (Culdees,( coincidently the title of the Pictish !ission of Colu!$a" Recent dna tests ha#e pro#en the Picts were closely related to the .as/ues of northern Spain" If it is deter!ined so!e day where the .as/ues ca!e fro!, then we will now where the Picts ca!e fro! also" This relationship had $een suspected for so!e ti!e as it was nown that the two groups were uni/uely non Indo)uropean" 0hat is in a na!e1 The north of .riton 2today3s Scotland4 was called Caledonia $y the Ro!ans" This na!e was deri#ed fro! the Celtic (Caoillaoin(, signifying (the !en of the forest(, a na!e which was gi#en to the northern inha$itants $y their !ore southerly neigh$ours, on account of the forest nature of the north" 5ater, Scotland was referred to as ('l$ann"( In Celtic, 'l or 'l$a !eans high, whereas (Inn( !eans large island" The Pictish and later Scottish ings referred to the!sel#es as (+ings of 'l$a( up until the &or!an usurpation of the Scottish throne after *ac.eth" 's for the inha$itants, the Ro!ans first called the! (Caledonians,( then (Picti"( Pict referred to the ha$it of the Picts to paint the!sel#es in ti!es of $attle to present a !ore fearso!e i!age to their ene!ies" 0hen the Ro!ans first #entured to .riton, this painting ha$it was also widespread a!ongst the !ore southern Celts $ut as they $eca!e do!iciled into the Ro!an culture, this cultural acti#ity was extinguished" It re!ained pre#alent in the north" The ter! no dou$t !eans (painted people( in 5atin" Ro!ans reported the Picts called the!sel#es (+altis(" 0hen the Picts $eca!e Christians, they adopted the Ro!an ter! (Pict"(

The Scots, on the other hand, were a $ranch of the Irish Celts or Gaels" Ireland was di#ided $etween the earlier Cruithne 2Picts, who !igrated fro! Scotland around 677'84 and later arri#ing Goidels 2Gaels4, who were constantly at each others3 throats" 's Ireland ne#er experienced a Ro!an in#asion, it was a safe ha#en for raiders who plundered Ro!an pro#inces in )ngland and 0ales" 'll Celts in western continental )urope were su$dued $y the Ro!ans" ,owe#er, the Irish $ranch !aintained their cultural de#elop!ent free of the Ro!an yo e" 'fter the Ro!ans left .ritain in a$out '89:;, the Ro!ani%ed 2su$dued4 Gaels of )ngland $eca!e easy targets for the fierce Scotic sea raiders" Scotic is related to the ter! Scythic and was pronounced the sa!e in so!e areas of .ritain" It is an interesting o$ser#ation that the Ger!an word for $oth Scottish and Scythian is (Scutten(, as the <th century Saxon in#aders of 'l$a spo e a for! of lower Ger!an" Recent dna tests ha#e pro#en the Scots are closely related to the .er$ers of &orth 'frica, whose own ancestry is still also un nown" It is theori%ed that the heartland of the Celts was transalpine area in what is now 'ustria in the forth and fifth centuries ."C", when they achie#ed their greatest prosperity and expansion across )urope" They su$=ugated all those $efore the! fro! Spain to the eastern Steppes, and certainly en=oyed the !ore te!perate cli!ate of western )urope, co!pared to the !ore se#ere cli!ate of their 'siatic fatherland" They pillaged Ro!e, in#aded Persia and *acedonia, and de#eloped contacts with Gree s, and ha#e $een> officially recorded $y !any distinguished historians as ha#ing originated fro! westward flowing Scythians, either through !erchants or entire clans fleeing the !arauding Sar!atians, the!sel#es an eastern fringe ele!ent of the Scythian culture"

T,) SC?T,I'&S )*)RG) O& T,) ST)PP)S O@ )'ST)R& )AROP) '$out B:7 .C, a warli e *ongoloid people were expelled fro! their ho!e territory in the north of China and !o#ed westward" The pressure they exerted on other peoples $egan a !ass !o#e!ent westwards of scores of tri$es" *uch li e the wa#es of the inco!ing tide pounding on a $each, each tri$e arri#ing in )urope was followed $y another, usually !ore fierce and #iolent than the one $efore" 'rri#ing with dust and thunder, fierce horse!en fro! the east $urst upon the )uropean steppe around B77 .C" In#inci$le for four centuries, these proud !arauders grew rich on the di#idends of con/uest, dec ing e#en their horses with gold" Then, !ysteriously, they #anished, lea#ing only tales of their courage and cruelty - and i!posing to!$s la#ishly pro#isioned for eternity" These were the Scythians In their ti!e, they were in#inci$le"

*igrating fro! eastern 'sia, the Scythians were !asters of the steppe for 977 years" They plundered their way across 'sia until they settled in the area north of the .lac Sea" Their e!pire reached fro! the 8anu$e east across A raine all the way to the 8on Ri#er and the Caucasus *ountains"

They introduced )urope to oriental ad#ances in horse e/uip!ent and influenced the e!erging Celts in !any ways not yet understood or appreciated" They were a pastoral people, not inclined to esta$lish large ur$an areas" This feature alone affected the Celts so !uch that they too de#eloped into a self sufficient pastoralC agricultural culture"

The Scythians sold cereals grown $y their sedentary non-e/uestrian su$=ects to the Gree !erchants who had set up shop in strategic locations around the .lac Sea" They soon $eca!e the pri!e source of grains for the Gree city states of the 'driatic" 0e now that in the fourth century .C, the Sar!atians, a latere!erging $ranch of the Scythian people encroached on the eastern Scythian lands" It is suggested that in the west, Scythians warred with *acedonians" ,istorians disagree why their )!pire suddenly collapsed, it is nown that for D77 years after they disappeared, their heartland was de#oid of any hu!an occupation" It !ay ha#e $een due to a se#ere cli!atic change, se#ere drought, o#er-gra%ing, or si!ply an i!plosion fro! within" &otwithstanding, !any of the present day peoples of the Caucasus identify with the Scythians, and !aintain !any of those ancient tales and !yths, also referred to $y early Gree historians, such as Eason and the Golden fleece" 2It is recorded in $oth their histories that Eason too a Scythian wo!an as his wife"4 The Gree historian Stra$o, wrote that, at the sunset of their e!pire, so!e Scythians !igrated to the !outh of the 8anu$e and dispersed with other peoples in that #icinity, which would ha#e $een the coincidentally e!erging Celts"

Clai!s of Ossetians to ha#e $een the founding race of .ritain &ote> This section is written fro! the Ossetian #iewpoint of history,undreds of years ago, Ossetians 2Sar!atians4 roa!ed all o#er 0estern )urope, fro! the Caucasus to Scotland" The fol !e!ories of these wanderings ha#e lingered down the centuries, so that it can $e hard to tell where !yth ends and history $egins" 0hen the nights draw in in the high Caucasus, when the floc s are gathered in the shadow of the ancient stone towers that dot the wooded hillsides, and there is no sound outside $ut the chattering of the fast strea!s that run down fro! Ossetia towards Georgia, there is nothing the people li e $etter than to settle down on the settee to watch an old 8F8 of .ra#eheart" Centuries ago, possi$ly during the great !igrations of the 8ar 'ges, so!e of their ancestors went down fro! the Caucasus and set sail through the .lac Sea, the *editerranean, the 'tlantic, and arri#ed e#entually in a landscape they recogni%ed> Caledonia" In fact, though, they did not =ust occupy Scotland" They occupied the whole of 0estern )urope on their fast horses, spreading the chi#alrous respect for wo!en that is originally an Ossetian concept" 'nd how do we now they reached .ritain1 )asy> place na!es" 5ondon, In Ossetian, 5ondon !eans (standing water(" .elfast, in Ossetian, !eans ($ro en spade("

2+ing4 'rthur in Ossetian !eans (solar fire(" place(, $ecause the Ossetians stopped there"

Orleans in @rance is (stopping

Ossetian children now all a$out their forefathers3 wanderings around )urope and how e#entually their territory di!inished again to those two little poc ets on either side of the great Caucasian watershed" .ut the Ossetians, in their glory days of continental !astery, were not nown $y that na!e" They were pre#iously called Sar!atians, and so!eti!es 'lans" )#ery third Ossetian you !eet now see!s to $e called 'lan, and the north Ossetian repu$lic, within Russia, is officially ('lania(" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------'uthor3s note> The a$o#e !ay $e a case of popular Ossetian fol -lure, $ut there certainly was a connection $etween the Sar!atians and the early Celts" It was #erified $y the horse gear of the Celts which was definitely of eastern origin 2ScythianCSar!atian4, not western )uropean nor *editerranean" There are !any other ScythianCSar!atian influences on CelticCPict culture, which are explained in this chapter" 'lan was a popular CornishC.reton na!e, !eaning (roc ("

C)5TS 'RIS) I& T,) 0)ST The oldest sur#i#ing references to the Celts are $y ,ecataeus and ,erodotus, writing in the fifth century .C" Therein, the Celts were reported to ha#e $een esta$lished in southern @rance and around Styria in 'ustria" In ;G7 .C, the Celtic Gauls of present day @rance in#aded )truscan territory and sac ed Ro!e" Three Celtic Tri$es, called the Galati in#aded 'sia *inor and settled there" 'nother tri$e in#aded *acedonia" Contacts were !ade with the Scythians, Persians, Gree s and Ro!ans" 'll these contacts resulted in ad#ances in Celtic culture and sophistication" 5inguistic si!ilarities $etween Gaulish 2early Celt4 and 5atin 2the parent race of the Ro!ans4 exist that pro#e the Celts and the Ro!ans were the sa!e people <7 generations $efore the ti!e of Caesar"

PICTS @lourish in ('l$a( They are recorded to ha#e reached Scotland $y the first !illenniu! .C, and chose the $est areas for the!sel#es" They called the!sel#es (+aldis( or (+altis"( 2The later .ritish Celts had to ta e second $est"4 They a$sor$ed the earlier tri$es!en who were nown as Orcades 2who were definitely Celtic4, and soon do!inated the northern half of Scotland" The first to record their existence in 'l$a were sea-faring Gree !erchant, who called the! ('l$iones( 2pale-s inned ones4" 0hen the Ro!ans #entured into their do!ain, these warrior people were called (Caledonii(, then (Picti( 2painted or tattooed ones"4 They were well organi%ed,

fierce warriors, and had se#eral uni/ue characteristics which differentiated the! fro! other Celts, so so!e historians ha#e not considered the! Celts at all" .edes reported they recorded their fa!ily genealogies along their fe!ale lines, si!ilar to the Scythians" They also included fe!ale warriors in their standing ar!ies as did the Scythians, $ut not the Scottish or Ger!anic peoples" They were not as /uarrelso!e a!ongst the!sel#es as were the Scoti" They painted their $odies $lue for $attle, as was the ancient custo! of the Celts" 2This practice had died out in the !ore central areas of Celtic ci#ili%ation"4 They constructed huge hill forts of ti!$er and stone" Their language was not identical with other Celts and, so!e scholars $elie#e that the Picts were not Celts at all"" Picts had a tradition their ancestors were fro! Scythia" There are se#eral confir!ing clues as to this clai!> Relief3s of Pictish warriors on Or ney gra#estones ha#e a decidedly 3'ssyrian3 appearance" Celtic art drew its inspiration fro! Scythia, especially a$out ani!al representation- i"e" Styli%ed $easts, a$stract geo!etric decorations" The Pictish wood-$uilt $urial cha!$er under a $arrow was si!ilar to that of the Scythians" 'fter the Scythians were o#erwhel!ed $y the no!adic Sar!atians, !any !igrated into ,allstatt 2early Celtic4 territory in Styria in present day 'ustria" .oth Scythians and Picts had an extre!e e/uestrian culture, 2!ore so than other Celtic tri$es"4 Trousers and woolen cloa s were worn $y Picts and other Celts, which were especially con#enient when riding horses" They were not deri#ed fro! the *editerranean nor fro! te!perate )urope" They were o$#iously fro! horse!en of the cold eastern steppes, pro$a$ly the Scythians" .oth Pict and Scythian ar!ies used wo!en warriors, other Celts did not" Celtic, and Scythian societies were agricultural-pastoral as each tri$e was engaged in its own food production" Therefore no large ur$an centres were reali%ed" The Celts achie#ed a standard in arts and crafts unparalleled a!ongst the ancient inha$itants of transC'lpine )urope, ri#aled only $y their )urasiatic neigh$ours and !entors, the Scythians" 't a$out B77.C, there appeared in the #icinities of Celtic ,ungary, .a#aria, and 'ustria, $ron%e horse-$its, and $ridle !ounts, which were identical to types found in Scythia" 0ho were these early ,allstatt Iron age Chieftains1 ela$oration of their predecessors fro! the east" 2/uote fro! 3The Celts( $y T"G")" Powell4" Their horse-gear is an

Pict Society The Picts, including the Irish Cruithne, put !ore e!phasis on fe!ale ancestry than on the !ale line, though they did not allow a Hueen to rule o#er the! as did the

I eni and .rigantes of .ritain, whose /ueens were al!ost de!i-goddesses" The 3practical3 Picts reali%ed that a $oy3s $est friend was his !other, and his father so!eti!es only a #ery fitful factor" ' great Pict +ing, Onnist, was fighting the Saxons, who were encroaching on Pict territory, when he had a drea! of Saint 'ndrew $earing his cross in a saltern !anner against a $lue s y" The next day he $eat the Saxons in a !ighty $attle and in gratitude proclai!ed the Saltern cross 2white on a $lue $ac ground4 as his national $anner" It still is the national flag of Scotland" *ost of the na!es we now associate with $eing Scottish were in fact Pictish, i"e" 'ngus, .ili, +enneth, 8onald, 8uncan, ,ugh, *alco!, Ronald, .ryden, and !any others which are unpronouncea$le in )nglish" The surna!e 'lpin is Pictish and !eans !ountain" It $egan as 3'ilphin3, then 3)lphin3, then 3'lpin"3 Si!ilarly, the ('lps( in )urope were originally na!ed $y the +elts" In today3s )nglish, the ter! ('lpine( is synony!ous to (!ountainous(" The Picts !aintained a syste! of succession where$y the crown was passed down to a $rother or a nephew through the !other3s line" The Picts fa#oured two for!s of execution> 8rowning was reser#ed for unwanted +ings" .eheading was reser#ed for the !ost sha!eful of deaths and was used in a cere!ony of retri$ution" The Picts co!pared #ery fa#ora$ly with later peoples and their dia$olical execution !ethods" )nter the Scots The 3Scoti3 #entured across the north Irish sea to 'rgyll in the '8977s and called it (8alriada( after their Royal ,ouse of (8al Riata( in Alster" They were afterwards referred to derisi#ely $y the )nglish as (Irish( for o#er one thousand years"4 This !ar ed the first ti!e that Gaelic was spo en in what is now Scotland" The Picts were already esta$lished throughout northern Scotland and were not a!used with these lateco!ers" @or the next 977 years, Picts and Scots inter!ittently !ingled and fought it out" Scottish ings arose in 8alriada where they existed with the tolerance of local Pictish Go#ernors" 0hen threatened $y outside forces, the Scots and Picts had no /ual!s re co-operating to $eat off a co!!on foe" The Picts were $etter organi%ed, !ore unified, and had a !ore powerful ar!y" The Scots, on the other hand, were unruly, untrustworthy, cunning, $ut fierce fighters" 0hen the 3heathen3 &orse $egan pillaging northern Scotland, they hit the Picts harder as they had populated the north, and the western & northern islands, which were the pri!e targets of Fi ing plunder" The Picts outnu!$ered the Scots and left to their own de#ices would ha#e eli!inated the!" ,owe#er, de#astated $y the Giant &orse raiders, the Picts $eca!e suscepti$le to infiltration $y the Scots" This resulted in !any inter!arriages and a $lurring of racial lines" In a ScotCPict !arriage, the Pict line went on through the !other and the Scot line was carried on down through the !ales" In this way, the Picts were e#entually 3!arried3 out of existence, as official go#ern!ent records were patriarchal, the wife considered property of the hus$and"

The Role of the .ritons The Ro!ans had de#eloped an effecti#e way of dealing with P-Celts after their horrific wars with the Gauls on the )uropean continent" The (.ritons( of southern Caledonia pro#ed no exception, and the Ro!ans e#entually used the! as a $uffer to eep the Picts at $ay" 8espite this arrange!ent, the 'ntonnine 0all was a$andoned as a line to far, and a retreat was ordered $ac to the ,adrian 0all, lea#ing the .ritons exposed to Pict reprisals" The .ritons continued for a ti!e to $e Ro!an allies, $ut could not contain the Picts in their thirst for re#enge on the Ro!ans" In this degenerating situation, so!e .ritons were suscepti$le to an ingenious Ro!an !anoeu#re" The Ro!ans had earlier de#eloped an effecti#e counter!easure to external threats to their e!pire, $y transferring loyal su$=ects of one area to a threatened area to defend it fro! assault" They i!ple!ented this extraordinary !easure a$out 677 '8 $y the wholesale #oluntary !o#e!ent of loyal .ritons in southern Scotland, called the (Goddodin(, to the territory of the (Gwynedd(, !odern (0ales"( This !ass !o#e!ent created a new elite in Gwynedd, since the pre#ious 8ruids were ruthlessly annihilated $y the Ro!ans as part of their strategy to $rea the $ac of any possi$le future insurrection" This fa#oured new elite i!planted their uni/ue .riton language on the (0elsh(, which re!ains in a so!ewhat !odified #ersion today"

Picts 0in The .attles .ut - 5ose The 0ar

8uring the '8I77s, the Picts constituted a$out G7J of the population of northern Scotland, 2the Scots only a$out D7J4" ,owe#er they were constantly harried and were under hea#y pressure $y &orse in the north, Scots in the south-west, and $y Ger!anic tri$es of 'ngles in the south" In $attle after $attle, they succeeded in repulsing all antagonists" This land was defended !any ti!es after Ro!e3s departure" The Picts fought in#asions $y the Irish-Gaelic Scots in the west, the 0elsh .ritons in the southwest, and Ger!an Saxons in the southeast, and the sea $orne &orse and 8anish Fi ings in the north, northwest, and northeast" They so!eti!es lost great $attles and huge chun s of land, only to regain the! later through perse#erance in the #icious warfare of the dar ages" In the Bth century, Scots pushed their frontier far north, and a #ictorious Gaelic ar!y ca!e within a half-day !arch of the Pict capital of In#erness $efore it was crushed" In the south, the Saxons !arched their Teutonic ar!ies north and held Pict lands for ;7 years $efore they were $utchered and sent fleeing south $y an a#enging Pict ar!y" ,owe#er, in '8I;B, the Picts suffered their !ost de#astating !ilitary defeat - $y the &orse!en" They lost their +ing and !ost of their leaders" This one e#ent !ar ed the $eginning of the end of Pict do!ination of 'l$an" Their western and northern territories, including their island e!pire of the

,e$ridies, Or neys, Shetland, and @aroes gone, they lost control of their own people and fell into a long period of ci#il wars and anarchy, and $eca!e fatally infiltrated $y the Scots" 's in a dying fire, they flic ered $ac to life $riefly through the DD year rule of the last Pictish +ing of 'l$a, Grig the Great, Con/ueror of all 'l$a, ,i$ernia 2Ireland4, 'nglia 25othian4, and &orthu!$ria" .ut $y '8D777, their culture was gone, replaced through assi!ilation $y the Scots, !uch of it through inter-!arriage, fro! sla#e raids $y the Fi ings, and the rest through a state-sponsored genocide, !uch si!ilar to the fate later designated for the Clan Gregor" ,istorical records of that ti!e tell of large 8u$lin and .elfast, that owed their existence sla#es ta en fro! Scotland, who, due to their their long history of Christiani%ation, were Fi ing centres in Ireland such as to the trade in #ast nu!$ers of Pict white s in, nowledge of 5atin, and in great de!and $y the Ro!ans"

8erided inaccurately $y !any historians as (a$originals(, they esta$lished a hierarchal society, an island )!pire, defeated the $est Ro!an 5egions, and sent the! scurrying south $ehind (,adrian3s 0all(, fought off successi#e in#aders fro! all corners of their country, and traded extensi#ely with !ainland )urope" Thus a sad end ca!e to a !agnificent people 2and their $elo#ed ponies4 on the fringe of north-western )urope, a people who had $eco!e a shining light of Christianity, sent !issionaries into a hostile northern )urope for :77 years, and helped prepare the groundwor for the 5utheran refor!ation" To read the story of the last Pictish +ings, #isit> Origins of the Clan Gregor Return to Index ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------