Have you ever heard about this language? I'm sure Damian had because it was the language of the first inhabitants of Scotland, long before the Celts came. And some linguists seem to claim it had relations with euskera (basque language), a roman author described the Picts as short and dark haired. Some toponyms of the Shetland Islands look basque.
It is very odd, we know nothing about these "northern Etrusques" (another mysterious people).
http://www.errenteria.net/ediciones/bilduma17/Art_05-Nunez_Euskera.pdf cf. page 181
sorry i dont understand spanish, there's no link in english?
I had read that we europeans have all a basque gene in our blood, the basques are our ancestors. A german linguist Theo Vennemann showed that the toponyms of Europe can be explained and translated by using basque language. So it's not a surprise if the Picts are basque
There are still place names in Scotland and Northern England which are pictish in origin.
We know from history that the Scotti (an Irish tribe from the North East of Ireland, where I am from) or raiders as the Romans referred to them and who gave their name to the whole of Scotland and its people intermarried with the Picts heralding the beginning of the Scottish nation.
Oisin,
how do you explain the ancient name of Ireland (in roman times) was Hibernia?
Hibernia=Iberia
I'm no expert on the Picts as I have just the basic knowledge from school and the little I've read about them. We all know that the Picts were the original inhabitants of the northern part of Scotland (say north of the Forth-Clyde area or the Forth-Clyde Valley as we call it between Glasgow and here in Edinburgh) and more especially in the North East where the people from that region were automatically called Picts.
They seem to be shrouded in mystery as a race of people and nobody is exactly sure where they originated from, but they were pre-Roman inhabitants. Some think they were a form of Celtic tribe, but others that they were Scythian in origin, from the Southern part of Europe, hence the Basque connection. The Basques themselves are supposed to be one of the oldest of European races are they not? Anyway, that would explain the reputed short stature and dark colouring of the Picts, similar to modern day Basques.
As for the Pictish Language that too seems subject to considerable dispute but what is definitely known is that the Language was totally extinct by the 9th century.
I know for a fact that many people in present day North East Scotland are tall and fair haired which is due to a Viking connection. Men in Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty... in that region of Scotland...are supposed to be a good bit taller than the average for the UK, along with the high incidence of blond hair, as I have but unfortunately I'm not tall at all at all...
Two relative links:
http://heritage.scotsman.com/people.cfm?id=505832005
http://www.scotlandforvisitors.co.uk/history/picts.php
Hibernia was the Roman name for Ireland.
Iberia - the peninsula area covering Spain and Portugal.
No connection between the two....except by Aer Lingus, Ryan Airways or Iberian airlines.
Good question! In our ancient mythology there were a people called the Milesians who came from Spain and conquered Ireland. The Irish claim descent from Mil, as the sons and daughters of Mil, one of the Ard Ri (High King's) of Eriu as Eire was known long ago. I am revising my ancient history as it's a wee bit rusty but I think most are agreed that it's this Spanish connection way back then that gives this connection you talk of. I believe the Milesians were Iberian Celts from Galicia!
Slan go foill a Vhincent!
Rinne me dearmad! He was called "Mil Espaine" in Old Irish!
Slan!
Hibernia - the "Winter Island"
Picti - "painted people"
On second thought, I think I'll just be quiet myself.
Did I just say that? What day is it?
Damian and Oisin
thanks for the information and the links ;) I know an Irishwoman who told me there 's a region in Ireland where people are short and dark haired and her opinion is that these people came from the Iberic Peninsula quite long time ago, that would explain why in gaelic they say "luna" and "ri" for "moon" and "king" just like the Spaniards do: "luna" and "rey". Some ethnoarchaelogs speak about a possible "atlantic civilization" during the late neolithic period because find the same architecture for the houses (with whitened walls) all along the western coast of Europe. Also most people of this area have a vigesimal system of computation, ex. french "quatre-vingt", basque "laurhogei", and I'm quite sure there's the same thing in gaelic and danish. It could have some connexions with the megalithic civilization.
sorry, i wanted to say * because WE find the same architecture