The Picts

[CrazyDonkey]

Qruithin (Q-Celtic) = Pritane (P-Celtic) = Britania (Latin)

 

[MOESAN]

Qruithin (Q-Celtic) = Pritane (P-Celtic) = Britania (Latin)

the filiation Pritane > Britannia is debated by someones; a theory proposes a crossing between two origines, Pritane/i on a side and Brittia > Brittone (= Briktia: in link with the tatooing concept? today Welsh brith, breton brizh : freckled, spotted, mixed...); no exclusion of one by another, just a crossing/mistake?

 

[MOESAN]

Before Dal Riata expanded its kingdom into western Scotland, there was a Caledonian tribe located in Argyle called the Epidii, who were already speaking Gaelic.

'Epidi' doesn't sound too much Gaelic at first hearing. something like 'ep(-os)' root? not 'ec' ('each': horse).
Concerning old ethnies descriptions by ancients, let's be sceptical a bit. But at IA it seems some continental Celtic tribes o sets of tribes migrated to Britains, rather in East, from Switzerland or SouthGermany periphery, and they had some 'alpine (short brachycephalic brunet types) with them, maybe by exogamy system of mating with women of previous pop's, if I remember well. And we cannot exclude totally ancient Neolithic pockets of dark people (but Neolithic 'Longbarrows' 'atlanto-mediter' people were not so short, in reality).

 

[lynxbythetv]

'Epidi' doesn't sound too much Gaelic at first hearing. something like 'ep(-os)' root? not 'ec' ('each': horse).
Concerning old ethnies descriptions by ancients, let's be sceptical a bit. But at IA it seems some continental Celtic tribes o sets of tribes migrated to Britains, rather in East, from Switzerland or SouthGermany periphery, and they had some 'alpine (short brachycephalic brunet types) with them, maybe by exogamy system of mating with women of previous pop's, if I remember well. And we cannot exclude totally ancient Neolithic pockets of dark people (but Neolithic 'Longbarrows' 'atlanto-mediter' people were not so short, in reality).

The ancient Roman description of Scots or Brits is quite fitting. Other groups not so much but I think the description of Picts is just describing a group of people with slightly higher CHG admixture.

 

[lynxbythetv]

The Romans greatly feared the Picts so much so that they built a wall and fabricated a battle. It's too bad we don't have more concrete descriptions. I mean a desolate place like Scotland hardly warrants a wall if they were just tattooed savages in a sparsely populated region. I sometimes wonder if far more legions were lost its just they were purposely ignored.

 

[lynxbythetv]

The term 'Pict' was never used before 297AD. Prior to that time the Romans refered to the peoples of northern Scotland as the Caledonians. I expect the reason for this was because by 297AD the Caledonains may have been the only northern tribal group encounted by the Romans who still painted their bodies

In his book 'Britain and Germany' - Tacitus described the Caledonains as: 'red haired and large limbed, which he considered features of Germanic origin: “The reddish (rutilae) hair and large limbs of the Caledonians proclaim a German origin'. Of course the Germanic origin is false, because all the placenames are Brythonic. Nevertheless, I am a bit bewildered as to how the weird story about the Picts being a short and dark skinned race originated.

This dark look is still seen among the Scots infact I know some people who have Scottish surnames who display a phenotype that you would not expect from the British isles. It doesn't look Mediterranean either infact its a bit unusual and not all that common. One guy in particular fits the dark look that Romans described. Frankly I think it was just mixed with the Irish & germanics so it's not quite as evident these days.

 

[MOESAN]

We cannot rely too much on Ancients (and nowaday people!) depictions of other people. Too much stereotypes.
BTW the little Picts DNA we have at hand today show some differences within them and between them and other Britain Celts, but these differences are very tiny. Respectively to other ancient pop's they clustered with other insular Celts.