Select delivery location
See All Buying Options
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Sally M. Foster
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Picts, Gaels and Scots (Historic Scotland) Paperback – September 1, 2004

by Sally Foster (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 90 ratings
See all formats and editions
A fully updated, expanded, and newly illustrated version of a classic text on early Scottish history. In captivating detail, it provides insight into the lives and origins of the Scottish people’s ancestors and explains how the Picts and Gaels ultimately forged a nation. Using the latest archaeological discoveries, this comprehensive overview reveals the significance of Pictish symbols and early sculpture, examines the art of war and the role of kingship in tribal society, and delves into the religious beliefs of these 2 peoples and the impact of Christianity. With coverage of settlement, agriculture, industry, and trade, a full and fascinating picture of developing Scotland emerges.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    128 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Batsford
  4. Publication date
    September 1, 2004
  5. Dimensions
    7.25 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0713488743
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0713488746
  8. See all details
Next page
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Batsford (September 1, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 128 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0713488743
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0713488746
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 0.5 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 90 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Sally M. Foster

Sally M. Foster

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
90 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

pheenawm
5.0 out of 5 stars Picts
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2012
Verified Purchase
I liked the beginning of this book but iI felt this book took me down a path I did not expect to go
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Granny
4.0 out of 5 stars Great book. very informative. the maps really helped me understand where my Clan originated.
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2010
Verified Purchase
Great book. very informative. The maps really helped me understand or origin of my Clan.
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jim in Oakland
3.0 out of 5 stars Narrower and more specialized than I expected
Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is basically a look at the Picts, with some discussion of the Gaels and just passing mention of the others peoples active in the area, the Vikings, Britons, and Angles. The focus on the sixth to early ninth century, the period of increasing centralization around stronger kings and an organizing Christian church. The attention is mostly on the period before MacAlpin and the Vikings. There's not much in terms of chronology. It's more a review of the broader social situation and trends over these centuries. The author takes a topical approach to do so: a chapter on civic organization, one on the economy (mainly husbandry and agriculture), one on role of pagan and Christian belief in society (including a discussion of Pictish symbols, most of which turn out not to be religious in origin), and one on military capabilities. There's a bit of jumping around in time within chapters as the author works though individual sub-topics. There is also only rather limited amount of synthesis on how things connect until the last, fairly short chapter of the book, when the author brings things together. It's a very good chapter. I could have wished for more.

There's a great deal of detail here on individual sites, individual research efforts, and limits of what we do and do not know. I found it a too much so, although certainly some of the bits I picked up along the way were interesting.

So if you are looking for an introductory history of early Scotland or even an introduction to the early Medieval Picts, this is probably the wrong choice. If you know the basic history and want some enriching material and a detailed picture of current scholarship, this may be your book. I was somewhere between the two and found this good enough to finish but limited enough to want another book on the topic.
29 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
David Parker
3.0 out of 5 stars Too scholarly for me
Reviewed in the United States on November 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
Way too much detail for me to consume.
I did the ancient history through the Roman conquest. Interesting that there are still so many sites in studied.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
J. Santee
1.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, But the type front is too small to easily read
Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2005
Verified Purchase
This a very good book, descriptive, well laid out. However, the type is very small, needing a magnifying glass for prolonged reading. The captions under the excellent pictures and diagrams are even smaller. I suspect the small type was done to save on printing costs, as upping the fonts would have required more paper. I would have gladly paid more money for better readibility.
13 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Decatur GA Mom
2.0 out of 5 stars Not for the casually interested reader
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018
I am not enjoying this book as much as I wanted to. I bought it at a Historic Scotland property on a recent trip. The book is written by an expert who does not fully define or identify many of the terms she uses, which is disappointing. I am casually interested in this history, and therefore I have needed to Google so many terms that she uses. Also, either I am just really dense or the book seems to jump all over the place. I just think it is not well organized. This book is not a timeline as you might expect. Bottom line: This is not a book for a novice or casual reader.
9 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
cèile
1.0 out of 5 stars Who are the Scots?
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2006
Evidently this book was written by a Scottish nationalist who abhors any connection to the English. Some of early peoples of Scotland were the Picts, Gaels, and Angles. 'Angles' isn't used by this author --note the title--and is replaced by 'Scots'.

The Scoti were a Gaelic speaking people who migrated from Ireland in the first centuries of the Christian era. In Latin the Gaels were called Scoti. In the Middle Ages their language, Gaelic, was the language of most Scots

although a half dozen languages were spoken in Scotland.

The Angles were a Germanic people who invaded what is now the north of England and established the Kingdom of Northumbria. In the seventh century they invaded Lothian, the Edinburgh region. Their language, variously called Anglian, Inglishe or English, was adopted by the Scottish monarchs, and spread with the establishment of burghs through much of Scotland.

In the modern period English-speaking Scots began to call their language 'Scots'. Some historians and archaeologists now use the term 'Scots' for Angles; not only is it anachronistic, it is misleading.

Better books for the early history of Scotland are:

Stephen Driscoll, Alba: The Gaelic Kingdom of Scotland AD 800-1124

E.J.Cowan & R.A. McDonald, Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Medieval Era

W.A. Cummins, The Picts and their Symbols

Anna Ritchie, Picts: An Introduction to the Life...

Alfred P. Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000
71 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Ashley Callahan-Campbell
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview
Reviewed in Canada on September 27, 2023
Verified Purchase
Easy to read, informative and comprehensive considering the wide breadth of material covered in a short book
Report
Suzane
4.0 out of 5 stars Livro técnico na área de arqueologia
Reviewed in Brazil on November 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
The media could not be loaded.
 O livro é bastante técnico, ilustrado e detalhado, com uma linguagem típica de arqueologia: seca, objetiva, fragmentada, sem a preocupação de montar um texto narrativo pra contar a história e presa somente às evidências encontradas nos sítios de escavação. Por um lado, trata-se de um livro confiável, com informações precisas. Por outro, torna-se uma leitura massante, sem brilho e sem graça. Faltou um historiador na equipe para pegar todas essas evidências fragmentadas e construir uma boa narrativa para contar a história desses povos como se deve.
Report
D.M
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic introduction on the subject!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 8, 2019
Verified Purchase
A fantastic and well worded book for thise who want to learn more about the subject of the early medieval period in what is now Scotland. I would highly recommend!
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Norman - Birchington
5.0 out of 5 stars Pictish research
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2009
Verified Purchase
Very useful when researching origins of the Picts and their relationships with Scots etc. Dispels some "myths" about the so-called disappearance of the Picts - we are still here.
12 people found this helpful
 Report
Brian G Turner
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 15, 2019
Verified Purchase
Fairly interesting and comprehensive, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it was really about an Iron Age British culture that the Romans had simply termed "Picts" for convenience, creating thousands of years of misunderstanding.
4 people found this helpful
 Report