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New Edinburgh History of Scotland #2
From Pictland to Alba, 789 - 1070
In the 780s northern Britain was dominated by two great kingdoms; Pictavia, centred in north-eastern Scotland and Northumbria which straddled the modern Anglo-Scottish border. Within a hundred years both of these kingdoms had been thrown into chaos by the onslaught of the Vikings and within two hundred years they had become distant memories.
This book charts the transformation of the political landscape of northern Britain between the eighth and the eleventh centuries. Central to this narrative is the mysterious disappearance of the Picts and their language and the sudden rise to prominence of the Gaelic-speaking Scots who would replace them as the rulers of the North. From Pictland to Alba uses fragmentary sources which survive from this darkest period in Scottish history to guide the reader past the pitfalls which beset the unwary traveller in these dangerous times. Important sources are presented in full and their value as evidence is thoroughly explored and evaluated.
This book charts the transformation of the political landscape of northern Britain between the eighth and the eleventh centuries. Central to this narrative is the mysterious disappearance of the Picts and their language and the sudden rise to prominence of the Gaelic-speaking Scots who would replace them as the rulers of the North. From Pictland to Alba uses fragmentary sources which survive from this darkest period in Scottish history to guide the reader past the pitfalls which beset the unwary traveller in these dangerous times. Important sources are presented in full and their value as evidence is thoroughly explored and evaluated.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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340 people want to read
About the author
Alex Woolf
20 books6 followersAlex Woolf, FSA Scot (born 1963) is a medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of the British Isles and Scandinavia in the Early Middle Ages, especially in relation to the peoples of Wales and Scotland. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University of St Andrews.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 22, 2021
From Pictland to Alba 789-1070, by A Woolf, 2007, 350 pages, 384 all in,
This is a solid book that's well worth reading. It's always useful to learn something about the neighbours of the Anglo-Saxons, as this gives a better context for their history. Although this book obviously concentrates on Pictavia/Alba, owing to the Irish and English bias of the sources, much of this work discusses the occasions when the various polities came into contact. Also, as parts of what is now Scotland were part of Northumbria and Cumbria during this period, there is much to get your teeth into.
The introduction is a superb guide to the socio-economic structure of Britain during this period and is well worth reading just in itself. The vibrancy of Scottish nature came as a nice surprise, as I'd erroneously assumed it was pretty much as it is now, open and barren.
The middle section is where the meat is and this is a very good chronological history of the area. There was a lot to enjoy here. In particular, there is a fascinating and logical suggestion that the vikings had insular bases earlier than is usually thought. Regarding the dating of Northumbrian kings, the contrast between chronicle dates and those suggested by the numismatic evidence is striking. The St Hildulf link a fascinating little piece of detective work.
The final part deals with themes, developments and other aspects that are interesting and relevant, but hard to fit into the wider chronological narrative of the main body.
As a relative beginner to much of Scottish history I found it a little tricky at times to keep on top of who was who, but I think if I'd read a bit more prior to this, then I'd have gotten on famously with all of that. As it is, I feel that I have gained a better understanding of the whole period through reading this.
This is a solid book that's well worth reading. It's always useful to learn something about the neighbours of the Anglo-Saxons, as this gives a better context for their history. Although this book obviously concentrates on Pictavia/Alba, owing to the Irish and English bias of the sources, much of this work discusses the occasions when the various polities came into contact. Also, as parts of what is now Scotland were part of Northumbria and Cumbria during this period, there is much to get your teeth into.
The introduction is a superb guide to the socio-economic structure of Britain during this period and is well worth reading just in itself. The vibrancy of Scottish nature came as a nice surprise, as I'd erroneously assumed it was pretty much as it is now, open and barren.
The middle section is where the meat is and this is a very good chronological history of the area. There was a lot to enjoy here. In particular, there is a fascinating and logical suggestion that the vikings had insular bases earlier than is usually thought. Regarding the dating of Northumbrian kings, the contrast between chronicle dates and those suggested by the numismatic evidence is striking. The St Hildulf link a fascinating little piece of detective work.
The final part deals with themes, developments and other aspects that are interesting and relevant, but hard to fit into the wider chronological narrative of the main body.
As a relative beginner to much of Scottish history I found it a little tricky at times to keep on top of who was who, but I think if I'd read a bit more prior to this, then I'd have gotten on famously with all of that. As it is, I feel that I have gained a better understanding of the whole period through reading this.
January 26, 2020
From Pictland to Alba, 789 - 1070 by Alex Woolf is the second book in The New Edinburgh History of Scotland ten-book series published by the University of Edinburgh Press. Woolf starts where James E. Fraser finishes his book From Caledonia to Pictland Scotland to 795. Similar to the first book in the series, Woolf's work is extremely dense with history presented in a chronological order. The book is not targeted toward casual readers simply wanting to dip their toe into learn about Picts, Pictland, and Alba, rather its primary audience is more likely to be individuals immersed in Scottish history, university students, and academics.
Woolf relies on three primary sources of information to weave together the history between the late eighth and mid-eleventh centuries. Ironically, none of these three sources were written in Pictland/Alba/Scotland. However, triangulating between these three primary sources, as well as several other sources, Woolf presents a fairly smooth-reading history of the time period. Where conflicts arise, Woolf goes into great detail concerning the merits and weaknesses of each source to arrive at the likely historical context and facts.
I very much enjoyed the coverage of language and culture in the last chapter. It was simply fascinating to learn how language can -- and cannot -- be used to detect cultural change in a society. Woolf's use of language change in England by the Normans as a comparative for understanding the cultural shift in Alba/Scotland is simply outstanding.
Editorially, I would have included several additional maps. I found myself hopping online to look up several locations. Perhaps this should not be viewed as a negative since I often remained on the web reviewing other written material directly related to what Woolf was describing in his text.
In comparison to the first book in the series, I much prefer Woolf's style of writing. It was less convoluted than Fraser and Woolf's ability to construct a solid hypothesis when information is absent is quite compelling.
Woolf relies on three primary sources of information to weave together the history between the late eighth and mid-eleventh centuries. Ironically, none of these three sources were written in Pictland/Alba/Scotland. However, triangulating between these three primary sources, as well as several other sources, Woolf presents a fairly smooth-reading history of the time period. Where conflicts arise, Woolf goes into great detail concerning the merits and weaknesses of each source to arrive at the likely historical context and facts.
I very much enjoyed the coverage of language and culture in the last chapter. It was simply fascinating to learn how language can -- and cannot -- be used to detect cultural change in a society. Woolf's use of language change in England by the Normans as a comparative for understanding the cultural shift in Alba/Scotland is simply outstanding.
Editorially, I would have included several additional maps. I found myself hopping online to look up several locations. Perhaps this should not be viewed as a negative since I often remained on the web reviewing other written material directly related to what Woolf was describing in his text.
In comparison to the first book in the series, I much prefer Woolf's style of writing. It was less convoluted than Fraser and Woolf's ability to construct a solid hypothesis when information is absent is quite compelling.
March 7, 2013
I come into this topic with a relatively low level of knowledge - just broad strokes and generalization, with no focused study. Certainly, I consider myself more knowledgable than the average American, but likely significantly less than the average Britain or Scots in particular. That said, Woolf has managed to make the information terrifically accessible, easily grounding the reader in the material and the voice of his presentation.
Granted, it is a history book, and not many people are going to pick this up to read for fun, as I did, but I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment of getting to explore and better understand what we know of this largely undocumented period in the Northern British Isles. Woolf works to help connect Irishs, Saxon, Scottish, and Icelandic records in a way that attempts to reconcile and sort their stories to present a focused whole. Sorting through the cultural biases, language differences (and drift), and individual personalities of those involved must be fun work, and Woolf is clear to present when something is a theory, and most particularly when it is his personal interpretation.
The structure is a tad choppy - he makes a point of mentioning something, even starting to explore it, and then "more on that in a later chapter". As the final section falls into place, it is a collection of the various hanging details in a stew of disconnected tangents. I was quite pleased until then, and felt that it left the book flat. I also would have appreciated a final, total regnal summary of the different regions, rather than the small snapshots mid-material. These are just quibbles though, in a work I am quite pleased to have picked up and read.
If you are interested in Gaelic history, Scotland, the Picts, or even just enjoy history reading this is an excellent book.
Granted, it is a history book, and not many people are going to pick this up to read for fun, as I did, but I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment of getting to explore and better understand what we know of this largely undocumented period in the Northern British Isles. Woolf works to help connect Irishs, Saxon, Scottish, and Icelandic records in a way that attempts to reconcile and sort their stories to present a focused whole. Sorting through the cultural biases, language differences (and drift), and individual personalities of those involved must be fun work, and Woolf is clear to present when something is a theory, and most particularly when it is his personal interpretation.
The structure is a tad choppy - he makes a point of mentioning something, even starting to explore it, and then "more on that in a later chapter". As the final section falls into place, it is a collection of the various hanging details in a stew of disconnected tangents. I was quite pleased until then, and felt that it left the book flat. I also would have appreciated a final, total regnal summary of the different regions, rather than the small snapshots mid-material. These are just quibbles though, in a work I am quite pleased to have picked up and read.
If you are interested in Gaelic history, Scotland, the Picts, or even just enjoy history reading this is an excellent book.
February 25, 2017
I'm giving this 3 stars for the breadth of material but it deserves less than that for readability. I've read numerous histories, much of it scholarly work, and found this book to be completely useless. Useless because the author fails to present the information in digestible context. From the outset, he rattles off dates, names, anthropological minutae, and cites endless previous studies before he even frames the scope of the discussion. The book may work for people already steeped in the material but those with a more casual acquaintance will find themselves awash in waves of authorial excess. History, imparted correctly, is a story with meaning and characters. This book lacks all such cohesion.
May 12, 2022
Alex Woolf's ability to piece together clues from few, vague, difficult, and sometimes contradictory sources to construct a narrative and propose convincing hypotheses is really quite incredible.
The only criticism I'd have of this book is that it is fairly often in quite bad need of a decent proofreader. But that doesn't detract from its quality as a work of history.
The only criticism I'd have of this book is that it is fairly often in quite bad need of a decent proofreader. But that doesn't detract from its quality as a work of history.
July 8, 2020
I was surprised at how readable this book turned out to be. I love reading about the early history of the British Isles anyway, but many books on this subject are a bit dry, best taken a few pages at a time in between more exciting books. This one, on the other hand, I read almost straight through and spent hours online looking up more information and photos afterwards because I was not ready yet to move on to the next book.
April 14, 2012
I do not agree with some linguistic-related statements concerning the Balkans or with the perspective applied in analysing Scottish history based on Icelandic sagas, but it's a great work and it certainly raises a lot of questions!
March 3, 2015
An excellent up to date account of the emergence of the Scottish kingdom and the quite strange transition from the apparently stronger and more secure Pictish polity to a gaelic monarchy.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews