What Language Did the PICTS Speak?

A look into the probable language spoken by the Picts before the 10th century AD.
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[@oneeyedwilly8139]

I imagine they wrote in pict-o-grams... I'll see myself out..

[@elgranlugus7267]

bruh

[@georgiawillis5787]

@@elgranlugus7267 lol

[@AnotherRandom001]

Should have called them the pricks

[@sonofculloden2]

Uh yeah who let you in here?

[@tjmul3381]

Nay . Stay and have a pint...so ..what happened to your eye?

[@TheM41a]

I think Pictish was in all likelihood rather than being Brythonic/Goidelic probably a remnant of Indo-European spoken by the pre Celtic bronze age population of Britain that was pushed north by incoming celts.

[@chauffeurdrivenbimbo5850]

Looking at the Pictish stones and comparing the Ogham text with that around Britain and Ireland, and modern Celtic languages, a lot of the words on the Pictish stones look like a mixture of Brythonic(Brittonic) and Goidelic. It's worth comparing stones from all over Britain and Ireland along with the modern and old languages, I could see similarities, even though the spelling varied.

[@mirzaghalib8659]

I've got 2 Irish stones for ya right here....! I only jest, my friend.

[@chauffeurdrivenbimbo5850]

@@mirzaghalib8659 😳😂

[@oltyret]

Languages can change very rapidly when there's no need to read ancient texts, there's isolation from related groups, and there are no older generations to talk to. The need to communicate with geographically separated cousins, read classics, and/or understand what grandpa is trying to tell you has a dampening effect on language change. If a disaster should occur, all those factors can disappear overnight.

[@linnymaemullins3319]

👍

[@richardbennett4365]

Did the pictish people write words on stones with runic forms? What do those words say?

[@richardbennett4365]

Didn't they write with the what is called Ogham writing system?

[@donnharper8815]

Occams razor applies. Pictish being an older variation or version of Brythonic makes sense. The maritime interaction between Ireland and Scotland, with an interaction with the Q Celtic languages and Brythonic language along with an absence of Latin influence makes sense.

[@kamion53]

Could not also be that Celtic came later to the area now called Scotland then Ireland and England and therefor more of the non_Indoeuropean language spoken was kept in the Celtic language as it developed in Scotland. Acording to Barry Cunliffe Celtic came as a trade language to the Isles from the southern coast of the Atlantic. I would not besurpriced the Atlantic trade also came latest to Scotland. At a certain period the culture that was more or less uniform from Western Ireland to Kent broke up in more regional cultures. That was the period Insular Celtic started to differ from Continental Celtic and started to differ into P_Celtic and Q_Celtic. The Caledonian P-Celtic with its archaic element became a seperate B-Celtic language when is became disconnect from the south.

[@davidgalloway266]

Place names support that hypothesis.

[@kevingriffin1376]

Further application of Occam's Razor (Law of Parsimony): Goidelic was introduced to Britain with the first major wave of Indo-European migration from the continent during the early Bronze Age. Brythonic was introduced to Britain with the second major wave of Indo-European migration from the continent during the middle Bronze Age. The two major waves of Indo-European migration theory is supported by DNA research. Both waves almost certainly came from the continent to Britain via the English Channel. Perhaps there was a historical analog with Pictish being related to southern Brythonic similar to Scots (Doric, etc.) being related to English. In both cases, there would be a clear delineation with the Gàidhealtachd (i.e., no dialect cline).

[@Ezullof]

Occam razor won't really help much here. Pictish could still be: - a pre IE language - an IE language that arrived before celtic languages - a celtic language, belonging to another family than brythonic and goidelic, or to a common ancestor of both - a goidelic language - a brittonic language - some kind of pidging or creole of celtic languages - they didn't speak one united language for the entire time the Picts existed, but instead they started speaking a certain language, later switching to brittonic or gaelic dialects (very similar case to Aquitanians, who used to speak basque dialects, then some switched to celtic languages, then to latin). None of these explanations is more simple than the others (though some are more likely than others). In fact, the real, scientific, occam's razor would be to say: we don't know. Non-scientists often have trouble accepting this as a fact, but if we have no strong evidence, it's always better to say that we don't know, instead of making up hypothesis based on almost nothing. Let's be careful to not confuse Occam's Razor with your intuition.

[@Ezullof]

@@kevingriffin1376 You're making the common mistake to assume that language follow genetics.

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Very interesting. Roman Britain is a time span of about 400-years. There is a similar time span between Shakespearean England and the modern era. That could be enough time for dialects to diverge widely into very different forms. Roman Britain probably had much greater contact with Gaul than Caledonia (?)

[@drraoulmclaughlin7423]

Checkout Professor Mallory’s KZbin Lecture - ‘Origins of the Irish’ (Queen’s University Belfast). About 49 minutes in, he compares Beowulf to modern English. This shows how language can diverge and develop over an extended period.

[@elgranlugus7267]

Wasn't expecting to see you here, Doctor. Glad to have information coming from you.

[@jackholloway1]

Doesn't Tacitus say that people in South eastern Britain spoke the same language as the people on the other side of the channel? Would make sense they were linguistically closer to people just over the sea rather than on the other end of the island up in the mountains

[@Catubrannos]

@@jackholloway1 I think it was Caesar who said that the people of Britain spoke a similar language to the Gauls and that the people of Southern Britain were very close culturally to the Gauls. South west Britain (later Dumnonia) had close ties to Armorica and they're the ones who settle there causing the region to be called Brittany. Most of southern Britain (not including Dumnonia) is Belgic with the Durotriges appearing to be native who adopt some Belgic customs like minting their own coins. The Dumnonians don't appear to have had much to to with their neighbours to the east and they didn't take part in opposing the Roman invasion so were left alone for the most part during the occupation. Caesar also states that the Belgic Gauls spoke a different language to that of the Celtic Gauls. There is debate whether this means another Celtic language sufficiently different for it to be hard to understand by those who knew the Gaulish spoken by the Celtic tribes or whether it was an unrelated language referring to the survival of another (non-Germanic) Indo-European language in Belgic Gaul with only the nobility speaking Celtic.

[@sayyadina8966]

All of these vids are of interest to me. Thank You 🙏

[@michaelmyers3044]

Excellent presentation - very interesting!

[@leornendeealdenglisc]

Very good video. I wondered about this.

[@cyberserk5614]

Taking in account that the celts were literally everywhere between Hungary and Ireland and Denmark and Turkey, differences in language wouldn't suprise me.

[@dubhainoceanntabhail5262]

No evidence of Celts in Ireland

[@silassilas1578]

Celt is a culture

[@lwmaynard5180]

It's not called celt but Cymri, the language Cymru, it's ancient Greek slang for barbarian ? There appears to be a number of migrations of the cymri people's into what is called Scotland today ? The book the Celtic Reader , explains the ancient origin of the cimmerian peoples. The name Picton is Welsh, but the Druids modified the cymri language, the main branch being Brythonic. ? ?

[@sonofculloden2]

I prefer not to use the Celt as a label - too generic- call them what they were - Pict - Scot - etc.

[@internetual7350]

@@dubhainoceanntabhail5262 The Gaels are descended from the ancient Celtiberians.

[@raffles7556]

Excellent video

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Here’s something interesting about Gaelic words for Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba Irish Gaelic: Albain

[@Catubrannos]

Scottish in Gaelic is Albannach so the n still exists. The place name Albany also comes from Alban.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Interesting. They both sound a bit like the modern word “Albion” which I speculate was derived from the same source as the Irish Gaelic word “Albain”.

[@TheWiseSalmon]

There's a really obvious and actually quite mundane explanation for this. In Old Irish, the name for Scotland was "Alba", but this was only the nominative form of the word. The form of the word in the accusative and dative cases was "Albain" (and the genitive was "Alban"). "Alba" and "Albain" were thus just two different grammatical forms of the same word. Scottish Gaelic has kept the form "Alba" whereas Modern Irish has actually replaced it entirely with one of the other grammatical forms. It's a very similar yet opposite situation for the word for Ireland. In Irish it's "Éire" (Genitive: Éireann, Dative: Éirinn) whereas in Scottish Gaelic, it's "Èirinn".

[@landofw56]

@@Catubrannos yes

[@landofw56]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 yes, it means land of mountains

[@peterhoulihan9766]

Interesting as always

[@larrytuft9782]

Thanks!

[@shanegooding4839]

The Cruithin were also settled in Ireland from an early date and were ancestral to (among others) the Ulaid of northern Ireland. While their forefathers spoke P-Celtic they were certainly among the Goidelic settlers of Alba suggesting that the relationship with their ancient homeland was continuous and uninterrupted. The myth of Ulster heroes like Cuchulainn going to Alba for training under the warrior-woman Scathach and the exile of Naoise there likely reflects a tradition of young Gaelic warriors seeking adventure or refuge among their Pictish cousins.

[@theflyingshamanthegreatmin9788]

Incorrect the Ulaid were never Cruthin.... There's no evidence they were among the Goidleic settlers or continuous connection to Scotland both linguistics and archaeology debunks this. No it doesn't.

[@sonofculloden2]

Slainte! Well done presentation. I find the picts interesting and likely a Brythonic or Gaelic language.

[@ChurchInAshes]

Excellent viewing.

[@SionTJobbins]

Pictish could be Brythonic which didn't undergo Latin influence through Roman occupation as Brythonic, becoming Welsh (and Cornish) did. That is, Brythonic could be a more archaic and 'pure' form of Brythonic which would have made it mutually intelligible to Brythonic and also similar in many aspect to Gaelic which also hadn't been influenced so much by Latin.

[@FortressofLugh]

Yes, this is the position which I presently hold

[@SionTJobbins]

@@FortressofLugh yes, sorry if my post wasn't clear. I agree with you. Thanks for the film. Diolch yn fawr.

[@veronicalogotheti5416]

Thank you

[@redwaldcuthberting7195]

9:08 depicts a battle between Picts and the Angles.

[@spacerx]

While Pictish as a divergent Brythonic language is the most probable, there are a number of reasons to suggest it may not have been Celtic, or at least had a pre-Celtic substrate. If so, it is almost certainly a lingering Bell Beaker Indo-European language of some type.

[@billmclaurin6959]

Yes, Pictish could have indeed been a Brythonic Celtic language that developed differently from the Brythonic of the conquered Britons and which later developed into modern Welsh. This would have been due to Scotland's isolation form the Roman world. It is also worth pointing out the similarly to how the Scots Lallands language developed differently from the English language. Both languages had west Germanic origins, but after the Norman conquest the English langage acquired a French influence.

[@brianbyrd3544]

Really interesting video! I have heard theories about the Picts being pushed north by the Romans thus retaining more Germanic influence in their language resulting in a variant, Gaelic influenced, but unique language in Scotland today. Let me know your thoughts! Thank you!

[@sisi2484]

I think a major and important addition is the spread of Christianity and it was brought to the Picts and Anglian Northumbria by the Gaels of DalRiada. The Bases of Christianity being Iona , Columba. Im sure the Gaels scoti came to 'scotland' towards the end of the Roman Occupation. No doubt pictish was more than likely a non latin influenced brittonic language

[@deadgavin4218]

if they are the kings of alba that god refer to the original brythonic speakers as opposed the gualic speaking aristocricy that arrived maybe the 3rd bc although im not certain what the basis for a replacement of aristocracy was

[@jasonwhyte6241]

2:07 don't tell alex Salmond

[@yerma6847]

Nut I'm going the picts are related to the basque

[@thegreenmage6956]

Celtic Irish-Welsh-Scottish alliance essential for the future.

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

Don’t forget the Manx and the Bretons! Or the Cornish, for that matter.

[@johnbrereton5229]

The British have all been in an alliance for centuries.

[@internetual7350]

@@lowlandnobleman6746 We forgetting our Galician kin? I know they lack their Celtic tongue but they're so passionate about the remaining elements of Celtic culture that they *do* possess that I think we should include them as part of any pan-Celtic projects.

[@thebrocialist8300]

I can imagine a parallel scenario surrounding the history of the Lusitanians (as they too were something of an enigmatic proto-Celtic/proto-Indo-Aryans) of Iberia and their relations with neighboring tribes of Celts, Celtibri, Ibero-Aquitani, and various elements of the encroaching Roman imperial sphere.

[@Ezullof]

It's indeed a similar scenario, also with a common starting point of a native non-IE population that seemed to adopt an IE language early on.

[@LynxSouth]

6:00 Just for comparison, can anyone give a Welsh translation of the quotation at 6:00?

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

I always thought it was Brythonic like Breton, Welsh, Gaulish, and Cornish.

[@anonhamster7958]

Pictish had a lot of common with Welsh and Cornish (More so than it did with Gaelic) however the key difference is Pictish lacked the Latinisation of their distant relatives. The reason Pictish died out was a growing need to read Latin to be accepted into the church and the rising number of Scots Gaelic speakers.

[@Ezullof]

Gaulish isn't brythonic. Brittonic languages, just like their names indicate, all originate from the british isles. This is also true for breton and medieval galician, which were brought to continental Europe by briton settlers. Gaulish belongs to the continental celtic group, with iberian celtic, galatian, lepontic, noric, old galician (pre-roman), and maybe lusitanian.

[@stiofanocathmhaoil2318]

Maith thú as an Ghaeilge a úsáid! Scannán an-suimiúil. Very interesting documentary.

[@sonofculloden2]

Love the mythology of my ancestors and my DNA. Where are the pics from of the Pictish people - by chance a movie? Just curious. I have subscribed and thoroughly live your content. Slainte!

[@Svartalf14]

Excuse me, You say that both goidelic and brythonic languages seem to have developed similar differences to mainland celtic. I always thought that Briton (the direct ancestor to Welsh and a generic term for the Celtic languages of Britain south of Scotland) was fairly close to mainland Gaulish. If I'm wrong, could you direct me to a source explaining that?

[@odaviing3871]

10 months late, but if I'm not mistaken it is theorized that ancient Britons absorbed the Gaulish language through trade and a sort-of cultural 'osmosis,' though still maintained some differences from the Gauls - possibly due to influences from language isolates that trace their ancestry back to before the Proto-Indo-Europeans.

[@Svartalf14]

@@odaviing3871 You telling us about the Basque?

[@brucecollins641]

@@odaviing3871 that,s why it's written and pronounced "gallic" in scotland.

[@Countcordeaux]

What was that about Dio Brando at the end?

[@LobertERee]

Sounded Welsh.

[@jacobparry177]

Incoming controversy, but Iolo Morgannwg (Or maybe Forbes kene?) sort of claimed that it was a halfway-point between Goidelic and Brythonic, he lists some words (I'll have to try and find them), and they seem to look like Welsh words spelled in Irish, with a few differences in vowels and consonants (about the same type of difference between Modern Welsh and Revived Cornish). But, obviously if it was Iolo, then take it with a tinie tiny pinch of salt.

[@nodruj8681]

Moronic unsubstantiated claim

[@jacobparry177]

@@nodruj8681 Hence the first two words and the last sentence of my comment. But just so people know: Do not trust Skene or his translations of Welsh or Gaeilge texts.

[@richern2717]

Maybe Pictish split from Proto-Insular-Celtic ? Was Pictish maybe a more conservative Language preserving more of the original Insular Celtic for longer due to its isolation ? Maybe something like Lithuanian is to Balto-Slavic...

[@billmclaurin6959]

IMO it could have been the proto Indio European language introduced into the British Isle by the early Bronze Age invaders.

[@bevdavis4148]

The earth has a small visiting moon named Cruithne

[@Catubrannos]

Good video. Hadrian's Wall wasn't overrun so much as the garrison mutinied and let the Picts through then joined them in looting Roman Britain. There was another Roman military group in the region who are thought to be local Britons recruited as a scouting unit to gather intelligence on the tribes beyond the wall. Their purpose was to provide the Roman government with intel and give warning for any invasions from the north...they also mutinied and were bribed to say nothing. I imagine the government of the time was being slack in paying such people.

[@Ezullof]

It's neither of those scenarii. Hadrian's Wall just stopped being relevant. Its purpose was mostly to control trade and migrations. When Rome stopped projecting its authority in Britain, the wall had no purpose left. People who lived behind the wall weren't savage barbarians waiting to plunder the southern lands. They were also traders and people who wanted to become roman. It's a very similar situation to borders nowadays. Most people don't want to cross the border with a rich country to raid it. They want to immigrate, or sell their goods to rich people.

[@janice506]

I doubt they wanted to become Roman aye trade maybe they were probably a proud people of their traditions etc .

[@christopherellis2663]

Da, Aberdeen, and a few other place names in Perthshire

[@SEKreiver]

Good clip, though I think things were somewhat more complicated.

[@ataozkal8867]

The mixture of the Celtic, Vasconic (Basque) and Hamitic (Berber) languages? / (Some say even Yenisseian!!!)

[@bernardmolloy6241]

The Picts spoke a remnant of a P-Celtic language once spoken in pockets of Scandinavia !!! (Yes, you heard me, Scandinavia once spoke a P-Celtic language!!! ) Scandinavia was once called “Celtica Litarmis”. The Pictish Stones are also connected to the Picture Stones of Scandinavia !!! That same once Scandinavian P-Celtic language was also spoken by the Tuatha Dé Danann elite while were in the North West + Mid-East of Ireland !!!

[@sezwho8561]

I read an old history book that said that the picts were descended from the Asirians.

[@FortressofLugh]

Ya, it was a junk book. There was a lot of that older stuff not worth the paper. Even in its time it was not credible, but there were and still are a lot of fringe conspiracy theories about the Picts, and everything else

[@redwaldcuthberting7195]

Pretty sure the land was named after the people not the other way around, *Pritani 'people of of forms' from *kwritani, from *kwer 'to do.'

[@molecatcher3383]

The Gaelic language spoken by the Irish Christian missionaries to the Picts may have given Gaelic additional prestige amongst the Pictish elites when they accepted Christianity. Also Gaelic was a written language and Gaelic speaking scribes could have become important, and influential, people in the administration of the Pictish rulers. Gaelic may have replaced Pictish in the same way that Latin replaced Gaulish or even how, sadly ironically, English replaced Irish in Ireland.

[@molecatcher3383]

@Celtic Warlord Place-name evidence in Pictland suggest that they spoke a Bythronic Celtic language e.g. Aber...(Aberdeen, Aberlour), Lhan...(Lhanbryde) etc.

[@johnbruce2868]

The Picts spoke, typologically, an isolating language which employed Old Irish as the lexifer. Typical of creole languages (an advanced pidgin) it used the lexicon of another language, Old Irish, with an entirely different morphology and a grammar representative of the earlier (Bronze Age) people. An isolating language has no inflectional morphology and a morpheme to meaning ratio of 1:1. Vowels are frequently reduced to schwa = /ə/, the 'uh' noise voiced between adjacent consonants and the commonest vowel in the English language for which there is no grapheme. Thus, SD = səd = sed (strength) MD = məd = mod (for the purpose of), etc. All alphabets require digraphs to create grapheme combinations for sounds otherwise unrepresented by the graphemes. Ogham was no different. However, the Pictish ogham inscriptions are composed in a distinct epigraphic orthography where, for example HH = /X/ (International phonetic alphabet) = /ch/ = the orthographic comparator with Old Irish literary orthography. Thus NEHHTON = Nechton. BAHH = bach (eternal), EHH = ech (pure), HHTTANN = Chətan = (St.) Chatan. Pictish epigraphic orthography doubled consonants to differentiate lenited forms. Thus, TT = /t/, DD = /d/, BB = /b/ whilst T = /th/, D = /dh/ B = /bh/ = /v/. This enables H = /ɨ/ (IPA) = /í/ as there are no headwords in either Old Irish or Gaelic beginning with /h/. SS, NN, LL are geminate sonorants. Importantly, whilst FF = /f/, the single F ogham represents the long vowel orthographically /ó/ otherwise unrepresented in the ogham alphabet. Variations of F do occur but only where F precedes the middle back vowels /o/ and /u/. So whilst FFDDADD = fədad = fothad (erected), LF = ló = ló (cloak), TALLF = Talló = Tallód (Heaven) and FORRAN = foran (splendid). By this means the ogham inscriptions become intelligible in three tranches of comprehension; 1. Morphemes (words) you can read immediately in Old Irish without orthographic transcription (25% of the lexicon). 2. Morphemes (words) you can read immediately in Old Irish after orthographic transcription (20% of the lexicon). 3. Anisomorphs that are words spelled differently from the Old Irish cognates (55% of the lexicon) Characteristically, middle vowels are reduced to schwa. However, the only consonants to vary are between the dental fricatives and alveolar plosives /t/ /th/ /d/ /dh/ and the velars /c/ /ch/ /cc/. The absence of final /d/ /dh/ is very distinctive (cf talló = tallód = heaven). QQ and Q are the stopped forms of aspirated CC and C, so QQ = cc = /c/ stopped. Q = c, so, QO = co (preposition 'with') when c = /c/ aspirated. This graphotactical and graphometric research demonstrates patterns of graphemes correspondent with the five components of language, thus; PHONEMES (GRAPHEMES) create MORPHEMES with a regular SYNTAX and GRAMMAR that demonstrate SEMANTIC LOGIC and PRAGMATIC CONTEXTS relevant to Pictish culture. For example; GEDEFEMDOS (Weeting Knife Handle) = (Pictish) ged eó em dos = (Old Irish morphemes) géd éó em dos = goose salmon handle protector. Pragmatically, a talisman itself written on a handle erecting the owner with the Pictish icons of the goose and salmon which appear together on the Eastern of Roseisle symbol stone. ETTECUHETTS:AHEHHTTANNN:HCCFFEFF:NEHHTONS (Lunnasting) e tech uíet əs: aí e chətan n': Í cə Fef: Nechton əs (Pictish) a tech uíde ais: aí a chatan na: Í co Fef: Nechton ais (Old Irish morphemes). O house at the extremity here: his O Chatan of the: island (Iona? Colonsay?) as far as Fife: Nechton here. Pragmatically, Lunnasting is in Shetland at the extremity of Pictish dominion. Chatan, the Scottish saint lived in Iona and Colonsay whilst Fife is on the other coast of Scotland. The inscription defines precisely the area of Pictish rule in Scotland. Graphotactically, E = e = o = the vocative case, always preceding a name of place of importance (seen 9 times in 8 inscriptions) and S = əs = ais (a form of foss) = here, set firm, immovable, always in the final position of a phrase (seen 12 times in 10 inscriptions). The orthography carries into the Pictish royal and ecclesiastical names so TALORGAN = Tal o rəgan = Tal ó rígan (Old Irish) = Will of the Queen (note Bede's comment about Pictish matrilineal succession). Pictish place names have deluded academia for years, The prefix aber- is incongruent with Welsh usage understood as "confluence". Over 50% of Scottish aber- place names are either no where near a confluence or beside a river of a different name. In Pictish, the prefix aber- invariably precedes a morpheme with ecclesiastical connotations, In Pictish, aber- means either 1 ab + 1 ér (Old Irish) = river great (Pictish syntax noun precedes adjective) or 2 ab = Lord. So, ABERLEMNO (absurdly translated previously as "the confluence of the Elm stream" when there is neither a confluence nor a river Lemno / Lemnach (12th century spelling) in the whole of Scotland) means Ab + erlam + nach = lord + patron saints + many = Lord of many patron saints or "All Saints". ABERBUTHRIE = ab = er + buth + rie = Lord great creation king = Great Lord King of Creation. ABERDOLLO = ab + er + dolo + rí = lord great + created universe = Great Lord King of Creation. The pattern applies throughout all Pictish place-names. THERE ARE NO BRYTHONIC NAMES. So; Kirkaldy (previously Brythonic "Hard Fort') = kir + kaldy = 4 carr + caladh = mouth harbour = harbour mouth, which is exactly what it is. Brechin (previously Brecon, a personal name) = bre + chin = brí + cine = hill of the tribe.

[@quiricomazarin476]

How do you know all this.

[@ianfhancock1541]

Cos I’m smart

[@quiricomazarin476]

@@ianfhancock1541 ok just don't know how to spell.

[@Drew-ce9ce]

The Pictish word for knife is scrab

[@sanderson9338]

CE of aberdeenshire largest Pictish settlements and home of Kings, Ce Nathan at Footdee and Tap o noth prove this we spoke Brithonic not Gaelic the folk are still here from Dunicairn to Bennachie to Fraserburgh, the home of Nathan matrilinial Fisher folk and warriors.

[@sanderson9338]

Nechtan and Nathan the 2 brothers set the home at Aberdeen the gathering at the dee. Nechtan founded Fortriu and Nathan the Ce. There were many Kings but only 1 CEa and he ruled from Footdee in modern Aberdeen.

[@hankwilliams150]

Dyma fideo ddidderol a ardderchog iawn. Diolch yn fawr!

[@maceain]

good analysis. That is my reading of the topic as well. Físeán maith eile mo chara.

[@jamesbradleysears7188]

I personally think the amount of influence that Latin had on what eventually became Welsh is underestimated.

[@Ezullof]

For political reasons, speakers and linguists of celtic languages often downplay severely the influence of other languages. This includes latin, but also medieval french (for breton) and germanic languages (in the british isles).

[@mirzaghalib8659]

Wait a minute: I thought the ancient people of Britain and Ireland were black.....

[@celtofcanaanesurix2245]

Ha ha that’s enough BBC watching for you

[@lowlandnobleman6746]

No. Picts and Gaels didn’t look like southern Africans, despite what Hollywood and the BBC would have you believe.

[@cahilla54]

Mirza Ghalib 🤦🏻

[@sillyname6808]

Stay woke my negus

[@funkmaster2258]

Thats why they call it the BBC .

[@deadgavin4218]

very odd but they actually spoke medieval monastic sign

[@patrickduffy5413]

Irish connections seem strong - Lugh is also in Gaelic, the promontory fort depicted at beginning resembles e.g. the Fort of Dún Aonghusa in Ireland.

[@gigieinaudi24]

Picts were celtic people as The britons right?

[@billmclaurin6959]

Maybe they still spoke the proto Indio European language introduced into the British Isle by the early Bronze Age invaders. Place name evidence does indeed tell us that they also spoke the ancient British of Byrthonic language listed by Bede. Nevertheless it begs the question as to why Bede listed Pictish as a separate language from that of British. So I threfore expect that during the time of Bede the Picts would have been the only people in Britain still speaking the same language as the early Bronze Age invaders alonside that of British and that this language of the early Bronze Age folk would have been classed as being 'Pictish'. Since their conversion to Christianity in 563AD by the Irish many of them would aslo have been speaking Gaelic, while some of the southern Picts may also have been speaking the langaugeof the Bernician Angles. Of course anyone with a knowledge of Scottish history will know that there is nothing unusual about Scotland being a multi lingual nation. Up until about 350 years ago Scotland was still using three of its indigenuous languages: Scottish Gaelic, Lallands and Norn.

[@georgeoldsterd8994]

What if pictish was a language or dialect of mainland celts, as opposed to the celts inhabiting the British Isles?

[@nigelsheppard625]

Bede was a Monk, he's never been Cannonised. He's referred to as the Venerable Bede.

[@bartholomewtott3812]

Do we have any Pictish dna?

[@toni5543]

I've not been able to find a test that has a reference population for it yet. Hopefully in time.

[@Nemetona225]

According to DNA testing the Picts were R1b - S530) scotlandinmyheartsite.wordpress.com/2016/01/10/who-are-the-picts-scotlands-dna-at-last-finds-an-answer/

[@toni5543]

@@Nemetona225 thank you for this link! 😁

[@Nemetona225]

@@toni5543 Your welcome. IF you Google search (Picts Of Scotland DNA) there's a few interesting links.

[@MalcolmJCowie]

I’m a Pictish descendant, Moray bred and raised

[@thomaskovacs4942]

The pictures of the Picts and various tribes wielding stone axes and looking like cave men is laughable.

[@camulodunon]

TRUE

[@veronicalogotheti1162]

They were fighting the Romans and anglosaxons

[@veronicalogotheti1162]

Did they speak

[@caseymcpoet]

I liked your vid & agree with your assessment that the Picts were more than likely the Cruithne (pro.: Krittannee)or Pritani or Brittani from my research over the past 50 yrs & that their language was an older variation or relative of early Gaelic. My DNA indicates 97.8% Irish of the original WHGs with 2.2% “Pictish” original WHGs from Scotland. So my 2.2% agrees with my 97.8% also, lol.

[@danielnielsen1977]

I understand the scythians called themselves the 'Skoloti' skol-otee. Maybe possible connection with 'Scotti'. And I absolutely believe the Picts. descended from Scandinavians as well.🔥

[@Ezullof]

The scythians didn't call themselves skoloti. The closest word to scythian in scythian would be skudat, which means bowman, but that's not how they called themselves. They instead used different names depending on the clan/tribe. The Sacae are probably the most famous. Scythians is an exonym given to them by the greeks, probably because they interacted mostly with scythian archers, who also became the police force in cities like Athens.

[@danielnielsen1977]

@Ezullof I'm not familiar with the languages the scythians used. I know there are two or three that were distinct. Think I heard the skoloti from a KZbin video about them. I've not heard it anywhere else. The sacae I've heard. It's always associated with western Asia. It makes sense how they would be called accordingly. Similar to Native American tribal clans. Comanche means roughly 'those who like to fight'

[@mango2005]

In my opinion, Pictish is a Brittonic language that was less influenced by Latin. Welsh has a lot of loanwords from Latin. I think the traditional theory that they were conquered by the Gaels of Dal Riada may be true. But I also think there is evidence that the Picts were starting to switch to Gaelic before then. Evidence could include the placename Atholl", which has traditionally been translated as "Ath Fhotla" (New Ireland). This name is first attested in the 8th century. Some others like James E Fraser argue for a different translation though. suggesting it may means "way to the north", from ath, meaning 'ford, way through', and the second fochla, 'north', If so then Ath-fochla may have represented a Gaelic equivalent of a Pictish name (c.f. Welsh Ad[wy] Gogledd). Another interesting fact is that Bede says that St.Columba needed a translator on his mission to King Bridei I in the 6th century,

[@billmclaurin6959]

The Picts were never conquered by Dalraida. It is ridiculous to make such a clain when considering the fact that Dalriada was dissolved by the Norweagian Viking invasions of the 9th century. the Dalriadian king Keneth MacAlpin acquired the Pictish throne due to his mother being a Pictish princess. Yes you are right about the Picts switching to Gaelic. This started after the Irish converted them to Christianity in 563AD. There was very little migration of Gaeles into Scotland during the medieval period. Read Ewan Campbell's (Were the Scots Irish?) essay which debunks this claim by pointing out the lack of evidence to it. BTW the only reason why Scots and Irish have similar DNA signatures is due to their isolation from later Continental migrations and therefore represent that of the early Bronze Age invaders who overwhelmed the Neolithic population to 10% of its original level. www.academia.edu/1368926/Were_the_Scots_Irish?email_work_card=view-paper

[@Lightcode]

Anyone else here because they wanted to know what it sounds like? I’m still hunting

[@nutyyyy]

No one actually knows.

[@j1bc]

There was no such thing as the "picts". This was a name given by the Romans to the tribes (of various names) in the northernmost part of Britain who were less touched by the conquest. These tribes spoke the same language as was spoken from the top to the bottom of the British Isles at this time, ie a language akin to modern day cornish or welsh. It is possible there were influences of an earlier non celtic language incorporated into particularly the language of these more isolated northern British tribes. The Gaels did not arrive in Britain (mainly the part of Britain which later became Scotland) in any numbers until after 500AD. As they gained power and territory and their cheiftans became dominant the language spread among the native British population ie the "picts".

[@FortressofLugh]

Initially given by Romans, it was adopted by the people themselves and used as a title for their kings, and the early kings of Scotland. They didn't speak identical languages anymore than British and Gaelic were identical languages. There were no previous non-Indo-Europen languages or people since the Bronze Age, but they may have reflected a non-Celtic Indo-European language of the Beaker Folk.

[@rasalgooch8204]

bruh...dont tell me you subscribe to that scando pictish origin story lmao

[@FortressofLugh]

Who said that? I am reporting a myth which does seem to have been believed by people at the time, bruh, I'm not saying it is accurate

[@rasalgooch8204]

@@FortressofLugh oh okay mb i misunderstood. seems irish-biased. really like alot of ur vids. recently the halstatt sword vid was great

[@FortressofLugh]

This entire channel is fairly Gael centered in fact, including the name.

[@rasalgooch8204]

@@FortressofLugh yah i gathered and fair play just dont let it cloud ur judgement. keep up the good work buddy

[@deaganachomarunacathasaigh4344]

I think Pictish is related to Irish. My view on this is because as an Irish speaker I can understand and speak a low level of Goidleic or Old Irish. Pictish looks like a borrowed language of Old Irish and Old Brythonic. Just a gawk. I would love if the Picts still spoke their language

[@omerfarukcelebi1663]

Picts were Proto Turkish people just like Iceland people. Place names are Turkish. Symbols are Turkish. İt is not Picts true name is Bekt. Ogham is same word with Turkish Orkun . Which are the mother of German Runic language .

[@xxjoeyladxx]

Good video, but I don’t think your analysis on the language is accurate. The current consensus on Pictish comes from linguist Guto Rhys’s 2015 thesis surrounding the subject, which suggests a significant degree of linguistic co-evolution with Brittonic, and demonstrates theories that Pictish diverged significantly from this language to be without basis.

[@FortressofLugh]

His guess is just that, as is anyone's without a solid degree of evidence. Yet historical sources who lived in the area "Bede" identified them as speaking a seperate language. Why would he make such a claim if they were not distinct?

[@xxjoeyladxx]

@@FortressofLugh A strong regional accent could have influenced Bede’s opinion perhaps? For instance, English speakers in the North of England have been likened for centuries by those from the South to speakers of a foreign language, because they have such a harsh regional accent.

[@LynxSouth]

Aren't the later samples of Pictish very different from the earliest ones? There is 800-1000 years between them. How much of the evidence is language other than proper nouns?

[@xxjoeyladxx]

@@LynxSouth Other than proper nouns, there are a few verbs on Pictish monuments, one is ‘urract’ which may be a form cognate with Old Welsh ‘guract’ meaning “he made”. There’s also possibly an adjective ‘cuhett’ which Koch thinks may be a Pictish form of Welsh ‘cyhyd’ meaning “as far as”. You’re right, later Pictish was a distinct language from the form that preceded it.

[@LynxSouth]

@@xxjoeyladxx Thank you. Is there a name for this preceding language? Proto-Pictish? Or is it too different for that?

[@callumbush1]

No it was a language isolate.

[@ovrair6340]

I'll bet their alphabet was pictographic lol

[@Albanach-je1nk]

The name of the language is Ga leek not Gay lick and the name of the country is pronounced Ala puh not Alba. You have an Irish bias .soar alba

[@gwynwilliams4222]

Welsh they spoke Welsh because of the place names the place names are Welsh check it out

[@sanderson9338]

No but Welsh is the oldest language it was spoken all over britian we lost the tongue but it wasn't founded in Wales just kept in Wales the original people were not celts or gaels but Britons Wales just keeping it alive

[@luketracey3269]

DNA tests have proven the Picts were closely related to the Basques of northern Spain. The connections between northern Britain and Celtic Spain are supported by many myths and legends. Linguistically, Basque is unrelated to the other languages of Europe and is a language isolate in relation to any other known living language. "Champlain and a few of the early explorers of the New World like Cartier and Cabot, they observe meeting Indigenous people who were speaking Basque words. The origin of the name "Pictou" is obscure. Possible Mi'kmaq derivations include "Piktook" meaning an explosion of gas, and "Bucto" meaning fire, possibly related to the coal fields in the area. It might also be a corruption of Poictou, an old province in France. Poitou is a historic region in west central France. Basque, Lesparre-Médoc, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France...formerly known as Poictou;) I live in "Pict"ou Nova Scotia (New Scotland). The name Pictou predates all known european settlement. Love your Vids btw:)

[@nubeirothropic]

It also has been proposed that all of western Europe, from the north all the way to the south had the same language (but of course, it varied due to the location and neighbours of other cultures and languages to the east and more south) during the Bronze Age and maybe before that. Like my homeland, Gallaecia, used to be closely linked to the British Isles, Ireland and parts of Gaul even after the migration of Celts. Because it was way more faster to sail by boat from Gallaecia to Gaul and the British Isles (and vice-versa), to trade and possibly, but not excluded, to migrate; than travelling in land with horses and carriages. And even after the downfall of the Roman Empire the Britons also migrated to here to seek refuge from the Anglo-Saxons. Just a glimpse of how Western Europe used to be so connected.

[@luketracey3269]

@@nubeirothropic According to the few surviving historical references relating to the Pictish language, the Picts spoke a language of their own - different to the languages spoken by the other people of Britain. In his A History of the English Church and People, the venerable Bede wrote that at the time (early eighth century) there were five languages in Britain - English, British, Scots (Gaelic) and Pictish. Basque language, also called Euskara or Euskera, language isolate, the only remnant of the languages spoken in southwestern Europe before the region was Romanized in the 2nd through 1st century bce. I feel this is most certainly the mystery language of the Picts.

[@nubeirothropic]

@@luketracey3269 what if the language of the Picts is actually akin to Euskera? I think it would revolutionise history and this would give a mass support to the theory of Western Europe speaking the same language, before the Iron Age or the migration of Indo-Europeans

[@luketracey3269]

@@nubeirothropic What if? If you look up Pictou or Poictou as a surname it gives a vague description and makes note of red hair. I've seen this many times before in my studies . Pictou Name Meaning Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. Bedford basin in Halifax Nova Scotia was formerly called Torrington Bay. If you look up Torrington as a surname it gives the exact same vague description concerning red hair. This stuff seems to be forbidden history...or as I like to call it "actual history";) if you search "Torrington red hair" you will see the description reading : Torrington Name Meaning Historically, surnames evolved as a way to sort people into groups - by occupation, place of origin, clan affiliation, patronage, parentage, adoption, and even physical characteristics (like red hair). Many of the modern surnames in the dictionary can be traced back to Britain and Ireland. The alternate surname descriptions for Torrington have only recently been added behind my trail;) Seems there's an agenda to keep this secret. Wonder why? lol..Any suggestions?

[@luketracey3269]

@@nubeirothropic See here : uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091209161332AAJnkAq

[@Louisianish]

I wonder if the Picts had any connection to the Pictones in Gaul (modern Western France).

[@nesavidic1547]

Serbian

[@kenhankin5073]

so they were originally scandinavian on the male side according to legend most likely Norway explains a lot

[@TreforTreforgan]

There really should be no mystery as to what language the Picts. They were simply the unconquered Britons. The ethnonyms Pict and Briton have the same meaning; one being Latin and the other Veltic respectively

[@Ezullof]

There's no strong scientific evidence of the language spoken by the Picts. It can be frustrating. But that's how science works. It doesn't prevent us from making hypothesis.

[@TreforTreforgan]

@@Ezullof there are place names, for one. It’s irrefutable that they spoke a, probably localised, version of Brythonic. Same language as their neighbours the Gododdin/Votadini

[@TreforTreforgan]

@@ConanMcMillan Celts, or rather Celtic cultures, didn’t come to Britain. They were born and formed here thousands of years ago. Briton and pict are synonyms. They both mean the same thing. Briton is what the Celts called themselves because they painted their bodies blue. Pict is what the Romans called Celts that still painted themselves blue after much of the island of Britain had been conquered.

[@TreforTreforgan]

@@ConanMcMillan I don’t think the language was that distinct. The word Aber, meaning river mouth is thus in the language of Pictland as it is in modern Welsh. Apart from the odd Northern European incursion the Picts weren’t distinct from the rest of Britain. Picland = unconquered Britain really. Pict is a cultural term and not a racial one. The whole of Britain was pictland before the coming of the Romans.

[@TreforTreforgan]

@@ConanMcMillan also, the northern tribe of Gododdin’s territory was shorn in half by Hadrian’s wall, although the territory was still called Manau Gododdin despite being very much in what the Romans were to call Pictland. When the Romans left Britain and the Wall became defunct the Picts soon thereafter joined their Roman British neighbours once more.

[@theroidragedtrex7908]

What's that story of the Scythians and marrying the daughters of scoti kings? Or something like that. Tuatha de dannan had something to do with it i think.

[@malcolmbond3596]

These video's are excellent, but my one complaint is the narrator's need to talk to the British people regarding pronunciation of some words, for example. it is PAYGAN not PAARGAN, in all of my 81 years I have never heard the word Pagan (Payygan) pronounced before as Paargan, please do some further research, your pronunciation spoils the content, thank you.

[@ninobelov4153]

Scots were named after Skiti/Skoti/Scythians, Walesh were named after serbian-slavic pagan god Veles and the PICTS/PIKTI were named after PIKO BELOV the brother of Nino Belov the leader of first ARYAN CAMPAGNE in 2100b.c. to east asia while PIKO BELOV was leading ARYAN CAMPAGNE TO WEST EUROPE where Old Europeans/PROTO-SERBS/"indo-europeans" lived before mongoloid R1B people invaded europe from 2500b.c. to 2000b.c. Leader of SECOND ARYAN CAMPAGNE in 1400b.c. was SERBO MAKERIDOV And after old europeans/white people/Serbs of I2a and R1a haplogroup mixed with MONGOLOID R1B, and the SERBIAN-SLAVIC warrior class named GRETI/GETI/GALI (named after serb.word Greti-to go; as warriors who go to war) in time changed their name GETI into word KETI/KELTI/CELTS. The other tribes named after PIKO BELOV were PICARDI in Galia ("france"&"portugal"). With Roman ocupation the LATINIZATION of GALIC/PIKTIC LANGUAGE started. Than also the oldest town in england named SORBI GRAD was renamed into SORBIO DUNUM/OLD SARUM (Salisbury). That is why english languahe has more than 2000 words of SERBIAN-SLAVIC ORIGIN, because all up to 10th century a.c. all Slavic people were calling themself SERBS/SARBATI/SARMATI/SORBI/SERBI/SIRBI/SARBI/SARDI/SERBETII/SERVETII/SUEVI/SUEBI/SREBLI/SRBI...

[@benmacdui9328]

Stay off the drugs

[@deangelojermaine4112]

I'm single 😥😥😥😥😥