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The King in the North: The Pictish Realms of Fortriu and Ce
Some years ago a revolution took place in Early Medieval history in Scotland. The Pictish heartland of Fortriu, previously thought to be centred on Perthshire and the Tay found itself relocated through the forensic work of Alex Woolf to the shores of the Moray Firth. The implications for our understanding of this period and for the formation of Scotland are unprecedented and still being worked through.
This is the first account of this northern heartland of Pictavia for a more general audience to take in the full implications of this and of the substantial recent archaeological work that has been undertaken in recent years. Part of the The Northern Picts project at Aberdeen University, this book represents an exciting cross disciplinary approach to the study of this still too little understood yet formative period in Scotland's history.
This is the first account of this northern heartland of Pictavia for a more general audience to take in the full implications of this and of the substantial recent archaeological work that has been undertaken in recent years. Part of the The Northern Picts project at Aberdeen University, this book represents an exciting cross disciplinary approach to the study of this still too little understood yet formative period in Scotland's history.
208 pages, Paperback
First published May 9, 2019
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About the author
Gordon Noble
11 books4 followersGordon 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.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
May 10, 2024
A lot of interesting material here, although – as always with the Picts – we are tantalised by how little is really known. As for the ethnic origins of the Picts – a much discussed, obscure, and disputed subject – Noble makes the point that as far as the Romans were concerned, they were ethnically the same as other Britons. As the Britons under Roman rule became more “civilised”, the Romans took to calling those in the far north “Picti” – the painted (or tattooed) ones – to emphasise their more “barbaric” nature. Their distinctiveness was in terms of their culture (or lack of it, from a Roman point of view), not their ethnicity.
I was especially interested in the chapter on the religion of the Picts. Their pagan magicians controlled the weather, and were associated with shamanism, springs and wells, decapitation, and bull symbolism. There are obvious commonalities with the pagan religious practices of other Britons, but Pictish paganism was distinct, and not “Celtic” in the way that is commonly understood. The Church could be both positive and negative for royal power: the early missionaries Columba and Ninian may have had their influence overstated by later monkish chroniclers. Later medieval innovations are only gradually being disentangled to give us a better understanding of what early Pictish Christianity might have looked like.
This book is a useful additon to my Pictish studies library, not least because it was published relatively recently (2022). It should be noted that it is a collection of archaeological essays, often heavy on the technical detail, and not a narrative history.
I was especially interested in the chapter on the religion of the Picts. Their pagan magicians controlled the weather, and were associated with shamanism, springs and wells, decapitation, and bull symbolism. There are obvious commonalities with the pagan religious practices of other Britons, but Pictish paganism was distinct, and not “Celtic” in the way that is commonly understood. The Church could be both positive and negative for royal power: the early missionaries Columba and Ninian may have had their influence overstated by later monkish chroniclers. Later medieval innovations are only gradually being disentangled to give us a better understanding of what early Pictish Christianity might have looked like.
This book is a useful additon to my Pictish studies library, not least because it was published relatively recently (2022). It should be noted that it is a collection of archaeological essays, often heavy on the technical detail, and not a narrative history.
July 5, 2019
Gordon Noble writes that it's an exciting time to be an archaeologist. After reading The King in the North, I can add that's also a very exciting time to read about recent archaeological discoveries relating to the Picts and northern Scotland. So many new discoveries with the potential for more. Fascinating, scholarly but not difficult to read, and highly informative!
June 4, 2020
Rather than a general popular book about the Picts, this is a series of essays about the more recent state of studies into the Picts by subject, accompanied by various site diagrams.
In that regards it presents both an interesting catch-up on Pictish studies since Alex Woolf's seminal work the previous decade, but the essays do repeat each other a little and the in-depth explanation of excavation sites means it probably isn't for casual readers.
Overall, a great book about research into the Picts, and it's good to see how much the subject is developing. On the other hand, it's also plain there's not much money going into Pictish archaeology, with major sites still not properly investigated. Also, somewhat annoying that AD and BC are printed in lower case which caused some confusion at first.
In that regards it presents both an interesting catch-up on Pictish studies since Alex Woolf's seminal work the previous decade, but the essays do repeat each other a little and the in-depth explanation of excavation sites means it probably isn't for casual readers.
Overall, a great book about research into the Picts, and it's good to see how much the subject is developing. On the other hand, it's also plain there's not much money going into Pictish archaeology, with major sites still not properly investigated. Also, somewhat annoying that AD and BC are printed in lower case which caused some confusion at first.
May 13, 2023
A good book, though I'm beginning to realize that archeology and pleasure reading do not mix for me. I'm a historian by nature and need narrative.
Though that is not the fault or the authors, which do an exceptional job in producing a thorough synthesis of the most recent work in the field.
A very good read if you want to understand the current state of Pictish studies!
Though that is not the fault or the authors, which do an exceptional job in producing a thorough synthesis of the most recent work in the field.
A very good read if you want to understand the current state of Pictish studies!
July 12, 2021
Highly interesting and I learnt a lot about the picts
January 3, 2025
A wonderful exploration of Pictish archeology in particularly north east Scotland - fascinating to understand what is nearby to Aberdeen and the hidden history of a lost people.
August 17, 2025
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/the-king-in-the-north-the-pictish-realms-of-fortriu-and-ce-eds-gordon-noble-and-nicholas-evans/
A short book of essays about the Picts, more specifically the archaeological remains that exist in the land to the south of the Moray Firth as far as Aberdeenshire, the ancient realms of Fortriu and Ce. I must say it is surprising just how little is known about this culture; there’s a little bit of “No one knows who they were or what they were doing“. They seem to have left no written records of their own at all. One of the few contemporaries to write about their attitude to Christianity was very negative - St Patrick, in his Letter to Coroticus, from the fifth century; though it’s clear that the Picts ended up Christian like everyone else.
The single most fascinating artifact for me is the Rhynie Man, found at what seems to have been a major political/cult centre along with other decorated stones, a life-sized figure carved onto a megalith, now casually sitting in the headquarters of Aberdeen Council. All ancient art is interesting, but human figures are particularly compelling; was the Rhynie Man a portrait? a memorial? a deity? all three? Fourteen centuries on, he is ignoring us and ready to use his axe – on what?
Though the Gaulcross Hoard is fascinating as well, a hundred or so worked silver pieces from the end of the Roman Empire; and the Rhynie Man is but the most striking of many Pictish symbols stones. But it makes you think of the Silurian hypothesis; the Picts had a thriving material culture and presumably everything else that goes with that – yet we do not even know their name for themselves with certainty.
Anyway, well worth a read.
A short book of essays about the Picts, more specifically the archaeological remains that exist in the land to the south of the Moray Firth as far as Aberdeenshire, the ancient realms of Fortriu and Ce. I must say it is surprising just how little is known about this culture; there’s a little bit of “No one knows who they were or what they were doing“. They seem to have left no written records of their own at all. One of the few contemporaries to write about their attitude to Christianity was very negative - St Patrick, in his Letter to Coroticus, from the fifth century; though it’s clear that the Picts ended up Christian like everyone else.
The single most fascinating artifact for me is the Rhynie Man, found at what seems to have been a major political/cult centre along with other decorated stones, a life-sized figure carved onto a megalith, now casually sitting in the headquarters of Aberdeen Council. All ancient art is interesting, but human figures are particularly compelling; was the Rhynie Man a portrait? a memorial? a deity? all three? Fourteen centuries on, he is ignoring us and ready to use his axe – on what?
Though the Gaulcross Hoard is fascinating as well, a hundred or so worked silver pieces from the end of the Roman Empire; and the Rhynie Man is but the most striking of many Pictish symbols stones. But it makes you think of the Silurian hypothesis; the Picts had a thriving material culture and presumably everything else that goes with that – yet we do not even know their name for themselves with certainty.
Anyway, well worth a read.
January 8, 2022
If this was the current knowledge of the Pictish kingdoms it demonstrates how little is actually known. Would have benefitted from an overview and maps of extent of influence etc.
August 28, 2022
Learning more about the Picts of early Scotland makes me more than happy. A very good resource on where knowledge about them is today.
November 25, 2024
An interesting read about the Picts as people, highlighting both continuity and change.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews