Who Were the Picts?

The Picts were people living in what is now Scotland during the Late Iron Age and Ear Medieval or Dark Ages. Linguistically, they are similar to the Celts. Hadrian’s Wall protected Romanized Britain from the Picts. The Picts eventually merged with the Gaelic kingdom of Dai Riata. This became known as the Kingdom of Alba and this became known as Scotland. The word Picts derives from the Latin word, Picti, which means to paint. Apparently, the Picts painted themselves, usually in blue, before battle. The Picts competed with the Gaels. There was a struggle to assert dominance over the Britions. The Picts came to the throne of the Dai Riata. When the Vikings began their raids of Britain, the Picts were in the front lines and struggled to protect not only the Picts but the Kingdom of Alba. The Picts also set up various kingdoms in throughout modern day Scotland and Orkney.

The Venerable Bede suggested that the Picts had matrilineal kingship. The Picts practiced farming and lived in small communities. They had livestock and grew cereal crops and vegetables. One such vegetable was skirret, which is now uncommon. The Picts also had wool for clothing and flax.

The Picts did not have a good relationship with the Romans and the raided Roman British encampments. The Picts practiced polytheism but the Pictish nobles eventually converted to Christianity. Pictish art and writing appears on stones that exist in the modern era. The Pictish language is extinct. It is believed it is closely related to the Brittonic language, which predate the Anglo-Saxons. It became replaced by Gaelic. At one point in the Dark Ages, all people of Alba adopted a form of Gaelic, they became known as Scots and the Pictish culture became forgotten. Pictish is not a German language similar to Old English. It is also not believed to be an Indo-European language. Pictish is believed to be an influence on on modern Scottish Gaelic.

So why do we need to know who the Picts were? The Picts are relevant to the King Arthur myth or reality. The Romans built Hadrian’s Wall, in part, to keep the Picts away. When the Romans left, after the sacking on Rome, the Romanized Britons were in danger of being attacked by the Picts and the Saxons. Not to mention the Scots in Ireland (confusing, right?). King Arthur was the charismatic leader who could cull forces and defeat all the threats to a Romanized England. The Picts were seen as barbarians just like the Saxons. The Picts were fierce warriors who were defeated by King Arthur. That is, if King Arthur actually existed.