distribution map
Seat
Artair
Oven
- – Picts; – Strathclyde Britons; – Goddodin (Britonnic); Name
Arthurs seat, Edinburgh 55.943653 -3.162342 Suidhe Artair, Arthurs seat dumbarton 55.940665 -4.595351 Beinn Artair, head of Loch Long 56.212902 -4.805663 Aghaidh Artair Arthurs Face West side Glenkinglas 56.230751 -4.889269 Struth Artair Struarthour Glassary Argyll
Arthurstone Cupar Angus 56.574305 -3.203612 Arthurs Cairn Arthouriscairne south side Bennachie, Aberdeenshire 56.383652 -2.552204 Arthurseat Aberdeenshire 57.429626 -1.926710 Suidhe Artair Suiarthour 1638 now Suidhe Glenlivet Banffshire 57.318677 -3.215374 Arthurs Oven Furnus Arthuri between house of Stenhouse (Larbert) and water of Carron 56.018213 -3.830368
Sellar (2001), in his biography of Skene, outlines MacBain's (1897) criticism of Skene's position on Pictish as a Q-Celtic language and states that posterity has sided with MacBain. He claims that a consensus still does not exist as to the classification of Pictish, but the sources he cites to illustrate this all deal with the argument as to whether a non-Indo European language co-existed with a P-Celtic elite (Jackson 1955; Smyth 1984; Sellar 1985; Forsyth 1997)
| “ | The Editor has, besides, taken advantage of this occasion to emphasise and make clear the one great disservice which Dr. Skene has done to the history of his country; and that is his theory that the Picts, in language and race, were Gaelic. In the preface to the present work Skene warns his readers that the system of history developed in it is "diametrically opposed to all the generally received opinions on the subject, and that it is itself of a nature so startling as to require a very rigid and attentive examination before it can be received." This is very true; Skene had reversed all that the Scottish Chronicles told of the Picts and of the Scottic Conquest, and had rejected the testimony of contemporaries that the Picts spoke a language of their own, and had manners and customs peculiar to themselves. Few now, even of those that write histories, seem to know that Skene's views of Scottish ethnology and early history are entirely revolutionary. His "uniformi-tarian" theory of Gaelic-speaking Picts seems so natural that people forget to look at the original authorities and see for themselves how extraordinarily Skene has dealt with these. County histories, Clan histories, and general Scottish histories presently in course of publication, accept Skene's views, either without doubt or with little demur, or even with a jocose gaiety that makes the latest of them "go one better." And yet no present-day Celtic scholar—and many have written on the subject—holds Skene's views that the Picts spoke Gaelic. It is full time now that this should be recognised, and that the old position of the Chronicles should be once more reverted to. | ” |
Preface to 2nd edition of Highlanders of Scotland (MacBain)
Skene, William Forbes (1837), The Highlanders of Scotland
MacBain, A. (1897), "Mr Skene versus Dr Skene", Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, 21: 191–214
Sellar, W.D.H. (2001), "William Forbes Skene (1809–92): historian of Celtic Scotland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 131: 3–21
Sellar, W. David H. (1985), "Warlords, Holy Men and Matrilineal Succession", The Innes Review, 36: 26–43
Watson, William J. (1926), Celtic Place Names of Scotland, Birlinn (2004 reprint)
Jackson, Kenneth (1955), "The Pictish Language", in Wainwright, F.T. (ed.), THe Problem of the Picts, Perth: Melven Press
Smyth, Alfred P. (1984), Warlords and holy men AD 80–1000, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press pp. 58–59
Forsyth, Katherine (1997), Language in Pictland, Munster: Nodus
Fraser, James (2009), From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press pp.52–53
distribution map
Seat
Artair
Oven
- – Picts; – Strathclyde Britons; – Goddodin (Britonnic); Name
Arthurs seat, Edinburgh 55.943653 -3.162342 Suidhe Artair, Arthurs seat dumbarton 55.940665 -4.595351 Beinn Artair, head of Loch Long 56.212902 -4.805663 Aghaidh Artair Arthurs Face West side Glenkinglas 56.230751 -4.889269 Struth Artair Struarthour Glassary Argyll
Arthurstone Cupar Angus 56.574305 -3.203612 Arthurs Cairn Arthouriscairne south side Bennachie, Aberdeenshire 56.383652 -2.552204 Arthurseat Aberdeenshire 57.429626 -1.926710 Suidhe Artair Suiarthour 1638 now Suidhe Glenlivet Banffshire 57.318677 -3.215374 Arthurs Oven Furnus Arthuri between house of Stenhouse (Larbert) and water of Carron 56.018213 -3.830368
Sellar (2001), in his biography of Skene, outlines MacBain's (1897) criticism of Skene's position on Pictish as a Q-Celtic language and states that posterity has sided with MacBain. He claims that a consensus still does not exist as to the classification of Pictish, but the sources he cites to illustrate this all deal with the argument as to whether a non-Indo European language co-existed with a P-Celtic elite (Jackson 1955; Smyth 1984; Sellar 1985; Forsyth 1997)
| “ | The Editor has, besides, taken advantage of this occasion to emphasise and make clear the one great disservice which Dr. Skene has done to the history of his country; and that is his theory that the Picts, in language and race, were Gaelic. In the preface to the present work Skene warns his readers that the system of history developed in it is "diametrically opposed to all the generally received opinions on the subject, and that it is itself of a nature so startling as to require a very rigid and attentive examination before it can be received." This is very true; Skene had reversed all that the Scottish Chronicles told of the Picts and of the Scottic Conquest, and had rejected the testimony of contemporaries that the Picts spoke a language of their own, and had manners and customs peculiar to themselves. Few now, even of those that write histories, seem to know that Skene's views of Scottish ethnology and early history are entirely revolutionary. His "uniformi-tarian" theory of Gaelic-speaking Picts seems so natural that people forget to look at the original authorities and see for themselves how extraordinarily Skene has dealt with these. County histories, Clan histories, and general Scottish histories presently in course of publication, accept Skene's views, either without doubt or with little demur, or even with a jocose gaiety that makes the latest of them "go one better." And yet no present-day Celtic scholar—and many have written on the subject—holds Skene's views that the Picts spoke Gaelic. It is full time now that this should be recognised, and that the old position of the Chronicles should be once more reverted to. | ” |
Preface to 2nd edition of Highlanders of Scotland (MacBain)
Skene, William Forbes (1837), The Highlanders of Scotland
MacBain, A. (1897), "Mr Skene versus Dr Skene", Transactions of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, 21: 191–214
Sellar, W.D.H. (2001), "William Forbes Skene (1809–92): historian of Celtic Scotland", Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 131: 3–21
Sellar, W. David H. (1985), "Warlords, Holy Men and Matrilineal Succession", The Innes Review, 36: 26–43
Watson, William J. (1926), Celtic Place Names of Scotland, Birlinn (2004 reprint)
Jackson, Kenneth (1955), "The Pictish Language", in Wainwright, F.T. (ed.), THe Problem of the Picts, Perth: Melven Press
Smyth, Alfred P. (1984), Warlords and holy men AD 80–1000, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press pp. 58–59
Forsyth, Katherine (1997), Language in Pictland, Munster: Nodus
Fraser, James (2009), From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press pp.52–53