Pipland Research Paper

Pictland was a unified kingdom, however, it was divided into several provinces ruled by their own provincial kings. Examples of Pictish provinces include Fife, Fortriu, Almond and Atholl. The many small kingdoms could be evidence of Roman influence because Roman Britain was also home to hundreds of small, competing kingdoms. The major subdivision of the Picts was between the northern and southern regions: “Roman writers from the fourth century onwards regularly refer to two major groupings within the Picts, though not always by the same names.” Evidence shows significant differences in material culture between the two regions, the southern Picts being similar to that of the neighboring British people. Barbara Yorke suggests that the “creation of the Picts can be seen as a product of the Roman period and a coming together of different tribal groupings of northern Scotland.” 5
The ability to locate and name Pictish …show more content…
There are two versions, dating after the 14th century, one of which is in Gaelic. The list contains the names of more than sixty kings of which an estimated thirty can be accounted for from other sources. The Pictish regnal lists describe Pictland as a single monarchy, meaning there are no separate lists of kings for Atholl or Fortriu. However, this does not disprove that there were Pictish provincial kings, but rather that there must have been one monarch that reigned over Pictland as one nation, and which all other kings were subordinate to. It was believed at one time that Pictish kings took the throne by means of matrilineal succession, which was distinct to Pictland. However this idea has been refuted by modern research. In Ireland and England, there are two pieces of evidence for royal lines and successions: regnal lists and genealogies. By c 800, Britain and Ireland were divided into several regional, competing dynastic