Download or read book A Biographical Dictionary of Dark Age Britain written by Ann Williams and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a unique work of reference cutting across ancient cultural divisions within Dark Age Britain, and it enables the reader to follow the careers of people as far apart in time and place as the early Kentish kings and Viking earls of Orkney. Entries range from well-known characters such as Merlin, Alfred the Great, the historian Bede and the Danish warlord Cnut to the more obscure Pictish kings and abbots of Iona. Each entry is presented in a succinct and compact form in an easily accessible A to Z format. Here experts on a multitude of early historic peoples in Britain have brought together a dossier of scholarly findings on all those whose lives can be reconstructed from an examination of early source material, incorporating the very latest research. Englishmen from Wessex to Northumbria, Welshmen and Cornishmen, Northern Britons, Scots and Picts, Scandinavians from the Danelaw and York as well as from the Viking earldom of Orkney and the Southern Isles, all take their place in this wide-ranging survey of the people of Dark Age Britain. This detailed work of reference, supplemented by chronological and genealogical tables, will be an essential tool for all those with an interest in Dark Age Britain.

Download or read book Scotland in Early Medieval Europe written by Alice E. Blackwell and published by . This book was released on 2019-05-16 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume explores how (what is today) Scotland can be compared with, contrasted to, or was connected with other parts of Early Medieval Europe. Far from a 'dark age', Early Medieval Scotland (AD 300-900) was a crucible of different languages and cultures, the world of the Picts, Scots, Britons and Anglo-Saxons. Though long regarded as somehow peripheral to continental Europe, people in Early Medieval Scotland had mastered complex technologies and were part of sophisticated intellectual networks.This cross-disciplinary volume includes contributions focussing on archaeology, artefacts, art-history and history, and considers themes that connect Scotland with key processes and phenomena happening elsewhere in Europe. Topics explored include the transition from Iron Age to Early Medieval societies and the development of secular power centres, the Early Medieval intervention in prehistoric landscapes, and the management of resources necessary to build kingdoms.

Download or read book Strongholds of the Picts written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Romans withdrew from Britain, the north of the country was ruled by the most mysterious of the ancient British races, the Picts. Much of what is known about these “painted” warriors, comes from the remains of the fortifications that they left scattered around Scotland. Although the Picts are famous as sea raiders, they were also subjected to attacks from a number of opponents. To their south, the Romano-British reoccupied the abandoned Roman fortifications and hired Saxon mercenaries to strike against the Picts. Meanwhile, from the west a new group, the Scoti, attacked from Ireland. This book covers the fortification of the ancient Picts in all their conflicts and discusses the importance of these sites as religious centres and seats of power, while using the latest archeological evidence to help unravel the mystery of this ancient race.

Download or read book Dark Ages written by White Wolf Publishing, Incorporated and published by White Wolf Publishing. This book was released on 2003-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mithras of London fancies the Isles as his domain, but the land is far older than even he. Ancient vampires lurk in the fens and wolf men stalk the moors. The Church has taken hold here, but worshippers of far older gods call upon power that no follower of Christ has ever known. And somewhere beyond the mist the fae laugh, for they were here before any other. Dark Ages: British Isles is the first regional sourcebook for the Dark Ages line. It includes the history of the land, information on the major cities of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and details on how the supernatural denizens of Europe deal with each other and the oldest inhabitants of the Isles.

Download or read book The Lost Dark Age Kingdom of Rheged written by Ronan Toolis and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Trusty's Hill is an early medieval fort at Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway. The hillfort comprises a fortified citadel defined by a vitrified rampart around its summit, with a number of enclosures looping out along lower-lying terraces and crags. The approach to its summit is flanked on one side by a circular rock-cut basin and on the other side by Pictish Symbols carved on to the face of a natural outcrop of bedrock. This Pictish inscribed stone is unique in Dumfries and Galloway, and southern Scotland, and has long puzzled scholars as to why the symbols were carved so far from Pictland and even if they are genuine. The Galloway Picts Project, launched in 2012, aimed to recover evidence for the archaeological context of the inscribed stone, but far from validating the existence of Picts in this southerly region of Scotland, the archaeological context instead suggests that the carvings relate to a royal stronghold and place of inauguration for the local Britons of Galloway around AD 600. Examined in the context of contemporary sites across southern Scotland and northern England, the archaeological evidence from Galloway suggests that this region may have been the heart of the lost Dark Age kingdom of Rheged, a kingdom that was in the late sixth century pre-eminent amongst the kingdoms of the north. The new archaeological evidence from Trusty's Hill enhances our perception of power, politics, economy and culture at a time when the foundations for the kingdoms of Scotland, England and Wales were being laid.

Download or read book Royal Forteviot Excavations at a Pictish Power Centre in Eastern Scotland Serf Vol 2 written by Ewan Campbell and published by CBA Research Report. This book was released on 2021-01-30 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A report on the excavation of early historic features at Forteviot, eastern Scotland as part of the University of Glasgow's SERF Project (Strathearn Environs and Royal Forteviot). Also description and analysis of early medieval sculpture from the Forteviot area.

Download or read book Scotland in Dark Age Britain written by B. E. Crawford and published by State Mutual Book & Periodical Service. This book was released on 1996 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Scotland s Merlin written by Tim Clarkson and published by Birlinn Ltd. This book was released on 2016-05-19 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Who was Merlin? Is the famous wizard of Arthurian legend based on a real person? In this book, Merlin's origins are traced back to the story of Lailoken, a mysterious 'wild man' who is said to have lived in the Scottish Lowlands in the sixth century AD. The book considers the question of whether Lailoken belongs to myth or reality. It looks at the historical background of his story and discusses key characters such as Saint Kentigern of Glasgow and King Rhydderch of Dumbarton, as well as important events such as the Battle of Arfderydd. Lailoken's reappearance in medieval Welsh literature as the fabled prophet Myrddin is also examined. Myrddin himself was eventually transformed into Merlin the wizard, King Arthur's friend and mentor. This is the Merlin we recognise today, not only in art and literature but also on screen. His earlier forms are less familiar, more remote, but can still be found among the lore and legend of the Dark Ages. Behind them we catch fleeting glimpses of an original figure who perhaps really did exist: a solitary fugitive, tormented by his experience of war, who roamed the hills and forests of southern Scotland long ago.

Download or read book The Makers of Scotland written by Tim Clarkson and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2012-09-28 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the first millennium AD the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals or rulers of small kingdoms. Later, after the Romans departed, the initiative was seized by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond their own borders. Armies of Picts, Scots, Vikings, Britons and Anglo-Saxons fought each other for supremacy. From Lothian to Orkney, from Fife to the Isle of Skye, fierce battles were won and lost. By AD 1000 the political situation had changed for ever. Led by a dynasty of Gaelic-speaking kings the Picts and Scots began to forge a single, unified nation which transcended past enmities. In this book the remarkable story of how ancient North Britain became the medieval kingdom of Scotland is told.

Download or read book Strathclyde and the Anglo Saxons in the Viking Age written by Tim Clarkson and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2014-12-21 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the history of relations between the kingdom of Strathclyde and Anglo-Saxon England in the Viking period of the ninth to eleventh centuries AD. It puts the spotlight on the North Britons or 'Cumbrians', an ancient people whose kings ruled from a power-base at Govan on the western side of present-day Glasgow. In the tenth century, these kings extended their rule southward from Clydesdale to the southern shore of the Solway Firth, bringing their language and culture to a region that had been in English hands for more than two hundred years. They played a key role in many of the great political events of the time, whether leading their armies in battle or forging treaties to preserve a fragile peace. Their extensive realm, which was also known as 'Cumbria', was eventually conquered by the Scots, but is still remembered today in the name of an English county. How this county acquired the name of a long-vanished kingdom centred on the River Clyde is one of the topics covered in this book.It is part of a wider history that forms an important chapter in the story of how England and Scotland emerged from the early medieval period or 'Dark Ages' as the countries we know today.

Download or read book The Retreat to Avalon written by Sean Poage and published by Perseid Press. This book was released on 2018-06-08 with total page 544 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fifteen hundred years have turned history into legend...After three generations of struggle against ruthless invaders, Britain has finally clawed its way back within reach of peace and prosperity. Across the sea, Rome is crumbling under an onslaught of barbarian attacks, internal corruption and civil war. Desperate for allies, Rome's last great emperor looks to Britain and the rising fame of her High King, Arthur.Arthur believes the coming war is inevitable, but many are opposed. Dissent, intrigue and betrayal threaten to tear the fragile British alliance apart from within, while the enemies of Britain wait for the first sign of weakness.Meanwhile, Gawain, a young warrior craving fame, is swept up in Arthur's wake as the king raises an army. While Gawain's wife and kin face their own struggles at home, the young warrior finds himself taking on more than he bargained for, and heading into the greatest battle his people have faced in generations.The Retreat to Avalon is the exciting beginning of the historical fiction trilogy The Arthurian Age, introducing readers to the origins of King Arthur and the world he lived and fought for.

Download or read book Ancient Lives written by Fraser Hunter and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ancient Lives provides new perspectives on objects, people and place in early Scotland and beyond.This scholarly and accessible volume provides a show-case of new information and new perspectives on material culture linked, but not limited to, Scotland.

Download or read book The Men of the North written by Tim Clarkson and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2012-09-28 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The North Britons are the least-known among the inhabitants of early medieval Scotland. Like the Picts and Vikings they played an important role in the shaping of Scottish history during the first millennium AD but their part is often neglected or ignored. This book aims to redress the balance by tracing the history of this native Celtic people through the troubled centuries from the departure of the Romans to the arrival of the Normans. The fortunes of Strathclyde, the last-surviving kingdom of the North Britons, are studied from its emergence at Dumbarton in the fifth century to its eventual demise in the eleventh. Other kingdoms, such as the Edinburgh-based realm of Gododdin and the mysterious Rheged, are examined alongside fragments of heroic poetry celebrating the valour of their warriors. Behind the recurrent themes of warfare and political rivalry runs a parallel thread dealing with the growth of Christianity and the influence of the Church in the affairs of kings. Important ecclesiastical figures such as Ninian of Whithorn and Kentigern of Glasgow are discussed, partly in the hope of unearthing their true identities among a tangled web of sources. The closing chapters of the book look at how and why the North Britons lost their distinct identity to join their old enemies the Picts as one of Scotland's vanished nations.

Download or read book Early Medieval Scotland written by D. V. Clarke and published by National Museums of Scotland. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Casts light on a time that saw the creation of some of the most treasured and enigmatic objects in Scotland.

Download or read book Scottish History written by Edward J Cowan and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the power of the past upon the present. It shows how generations of Scots have exploited and reshaped history to meet the needs of a series of presents, from the conquest of the Picts to the refounding of Parliament.Dauvit Broun, Fiona Watson, and Steve Boardman explore the violent manipulations of the past in medieval Scotland. Michael Lynch questions well-entrenched assumptions about the Scottish Reformation. Roger Mason looks at the transformation of 'Highland barbarism' into 'Gaelicism'. Ted Cowan examines the 'Killing Times' of the covenanters, and David Allan the seventeenth century fashion for creative family history. Colin Kidd discovers the victims of Pictomania in Scotland and modern Ulster, and Murray Pittock uncovers the comparable mania driving Jacobitism. Richard Finlay links the cult of Victoria with the queen's idea of herself as the heiress of the Scottish monarchy. Catriona MacDonald considers the neglect of women and the dangers of reconstructing history to suit modern sensitivities. Finally David McCrone provides a sociologist's perspective on the continuing dialogue between the past and the present.By exploring how the people of Scotland have variously understood, used and been inspired by the past this book offers a series of insights into the concerns of previous generations and their understanding of themselves and their times. It throws fresh light on the evolution of history in Scotland and on the actions and ambitions of the Scots who have formed and reformed the nation.

Download or read book The Faded Map written by Alistair Moffat and published by Birlinn. This book was released on 2011-05-23 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this modern age the regional and national boundaries which define Scotland seem fixed and permanent. But of course this has not always been so. In this book Alistair Moffat looks at the shifting political shape of the land long before its modern borders were created. In doing so he brings to vivid life the half-forgotten kingdoms that came and went during Roman times, the Dark Ages and the early medieval period. This is a fascinating journey into a tantalisingly little-known period of our history, yet one which is crucial to our understanding of who we are and where we came from. 'Moffat's tireless reasearch ... and commanding knowledge bring these forgotten peoples to life' – Scottish Field

Download or read book From Caledonia to Pictland written by James E. Fraser and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2009-01-19 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shortlisted for the 2009 Saltire Society History Book of the Yea. rFrom Caledonia to Pictland examines the transformation of Iron Age northern Britain into a land of Christian kingdoms, long before 'Scotland' came into existence. Perched at the edge of the western Roman Empire, northern Britain was not unaffected by the experience, and became swept up in the great tide of processes which gave rise to the early medieval West. Like other places, the country experienced social and ethnic metamorphoses, Christianisation, and colonization by dislocated outsiders, but northern Britain also has its own unique story to tell in the first eight centuries AD.This book is the first detailed political history to treat these centuries as a single period, with due regard for Scotland's position in the bigger story of late Antique transition. From Caledonia to Pictland charts the complex and shadowy processes which saw the familiar Picts, Northumbrians, North Britons and Gaels of early Scottish history become established in the country, the achievements of their foremost political figures, and their ongoing links with the world around them. It is a story that has become much revised through changing trends in scholarly approaches to the challenging evidence, and that transformation too is explained for the benefit of students and general readers.