Product Description
When the Romans came north to what is now modern Scotland they encountered the fierce and proud warrior society known as the Picts, who despite their lack of discipline and arms, managed to prevent the undefeated Roman Army from conquering the northern part of Britain, just as they later repulsed the Angles and the Vikings. "A History of the Picts" is an accessible true history of the Picts, who are so often misunderstood. New historical analysis, recently discovered evidence and an innovative Scottish perspective will expose long held assumptions about the native people. This controversial text contests that Scottish history has long since been dominated and distorted by misleading perspectives."A History of the Picts" will discredit the idea that the Picts were a strange historical anomaly and show them to be the descendants of the original inhabitants of the land, living in a series of loose tribal confederations gradually brought together by external forces to create one of the earliest states in Europe: a people, who after repulsing all invaders, merged with their cousins, the Scots of Argyll, to create modern Scotland. All of Scotland descends from the fierce Picts. ... Read more

Product Description
Cummings tackles the task of interpreting the symbol stones and explores their use to reconstruct history and society. Using the Irish Ogham stones, Hiberno-Saxon inscriptions and both archaeological and historical clues, he weaves many strands of Pictish and Celtic history into this linguistic detective story. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Remarkable analysis of 1,000+ year old mystery
Marvelously thought through analysis of Pictish symbols, primarily those on stone monuments. Cummins draws together a number of Pictish sources and historical records of related cultures to create compelling conclusions from rather sketchy evidence. He recognizes the limitations of the source material and usually admits that future scholars will need to confirm or disprove his guesswork. Occasionally, Cummins asserts unsupported conclusions, but these minor leaps don't detract from his remarkable thesis, which is often brilliant.

Picts and Their Symbols
One of the best books on deciphering the Pict symbols I've encountered in recent years.He is systematic in his approach and very clear when he proposes a 'guess' for an interpretation.Several very clear photos anddrawings help you understand his conclusions.

Read this AFTER you readThe Age of the Picts, also by W.A. Cummins ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (4)

Great book. very informative. the maps really helped me understand where my Clan originated.
Great book. very informative. The maps really helped me understand or origin of my Clan.

Who are the Scots?
Evidently this book was written by a Scottish nationalist who abhors any connection to the English. Some of early peoples of Scotland were the Picts, Gaels, and Angles. 'Angles' isn't used by this author --note the title--and is replaced by 'Scots'.

The Scoti were a Gaelic speaking people who migrated from Ireland in the first centuries of the Christian era. In Latin the Gaels were called Scoti. In the Middle Ages their language, Gaelic, was the language of most Scots
although a half dozen languages were spoken in Scotland.

The Angles were a Germanic people who invaded what is now the north of England and established the Kingdom of Northumbria. In the seventh century they invaded Lothian, the Edinburgh region. Their language, variously called Anglian, Inglishe or English, was adopted by the Scottish monarchs, and spread with the establishment of burghs through much of Scotland.

In the modern period English-speaking Scots began to call their language 'Scots'. Some historians and archaeologists now use the term 'Scots' for Angles; not only is it anachronistic, it is misleading.

Better books for the early history of Scotland are:
Stephen Driscoll, Alba: The Gaelic Kingdom of Scotland AD 800-1124
E.J.Cowan & R.A. McDonald, Alba: Celtic Scotland in the Medieval Era
W.A. Cummins, The Picts and their Symbols
Anna Ritchie, Picts: An Introduction to the Life...
Alfred P. Smyth, Warlords and Holy Men: Scotland AD 80-1000

Great Book, But the type front is too small to easily read
This a very good book, descriptive, well laid out. However, the type is very small, needing a magnifying glass for prolonged reading. The captions under the excellent pictures and diagrams are even smaller. I suspect the small type was done to save on printing costs, as upping the fonts would have required more paper. I would have gladly paid more money for better readibility.

Great Book
Considering so little is known about the Picts and the formation of the the early Scottish kingdom, this book give a great overview of what can be known about Pictish society from the available evidence in archaeology and literary sources.The chapter on the influence of the Church on the conglomeration of the Scottish tribes is particulary helpful.The book has great pictures and maps of Pictish stones and where they are found (from which much information on Pictish society is drawn) in addition to pictures of arial views of Pictish sites.I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in early Scottish History, especially the Picts. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
Rich in titles on English life and social history, this collection spans the world as it was known to eighteenth-century historians and explorers. Titles include a wealth of travel accounts and diaries, histories of nations from throughout the world, and maps and charts of a world that was still being discovered. Students of the War of American Independence will find fascinating accounts from the British side of conflict.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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British Library

T096376

With a final advertisement leaf.

London : printed for T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt; and J. Balfour, in Edinburgh, 1768. xxiv,[2],382,[2]p. ; 4° ... Read more

Product Description
The Picts were an ancient nation who ruled most of northern and eastern Scotland during the Dark Ages. Despite their importance inScottish history they remain shrouded in an aura of myth and misconception. IN the ninth century they were absorbed by the kingdom of the Scots and lost their unique identity, their language and their vibrant artistic culture. The Pictish nation seemingly vanished, leaving few traces but many unanswered questions. The most puzzling of these questions surround the great monuments that still survive in the landscape of modern Scotland: standing stones decorated with incredible skill and covered with enigmatic symbols. These stones are the vivid memorials of a powerful and gifted people who have bequeathed no chronicles to tell their story, no sagas to describe the deed of their kings and heroes.Pictish history is recorded only in fragments presented by writers whose lords and masters were often bitter enemies of the Picts. Here, the various fragments are drawn together to tell the story of this mysterious people from their emergence in Roman times to their eventual disappearance. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (3)

Intriguing Subject.
The author does a fine job in the first 6 chapters considering the paucity of information on this somewhat mysterious people. In chapter 7 he briefly discusses their origins. This was where I found the book wanting. There appears to be no definitive answers or agreement among scholars of the various disciplines. Was Tacitus right about their Germanic origin? Are they a pre-Brittonic people, or Celtic? Can archaeology and DNA testing ever provide us with some certitudes?

Note, John King in his book "Kingdoms Of The Celts," stated that the Picts clearly were not Celts.The remainder of the book is about the Picts often hostile relations with their numerous neighbors. The photographs and maps were somewhat helpful. This book posed as many questions as it answered. For that it was worth the price.

A wonderful book, and an excellent resource!
In this wonderful book, Professor W. A. Cummins collects all of the information known (as of 1995) about the Picts, the people of ancient Scotland. In the first eight chapters, the author examines what is known about the Picts, taking each subject one at a time to produce a clear and concise analysis of the data. The remaining ten chapters examine the Picts through a historical prism, showing how they interacted with neighboring peoples, and what those interactions tell us about the Picts. The crème de la crème, though, are the three appendices. The first two deal with the lists of Pictish kings, while the third analyzes the 30 Pictish "kings" who all have the name Brude.

This is a wonderful book, and an excellent resource! The author does speculate, drawing inferences carvings and so forth, but he does leap out into transoceanic empires and so forth that are presently so popular in some books. Instead, this book is a wonderfully readable book, which covers its subject in a scholarly manner. I highly recommend this book!

I must add, though, that the author clearly states, "Their language was sufficiently different from Scottish (Gaelic) and British (Welsh) to be considered a quite distinct language." What this language was, he does not speculate, but he does show how it dropped by some of the Picts in favor of British, and by the rest in favor of Scottish. Get this book!

And yet another Pictish theory enters the ring

Terrific new entry into the nebulous world of Pictish studies. Without a challenge, it has the BEST chronology of Pictish events and clearly the most clearly researched list of Pictish kings (which can be confusing at times in most books).

The author's theory as to the Britannic origin of the Scottish peoples in relation to the Picts is interesting and highly provocative.

Brilliant new entry into this debated bit of ancient Britannic history! ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

Product Description
The Picts have long been known for their mysterious symbol stones, but our understanding of their links with the Scots remains unresolved. This highly readable account presents the latest archaeological discoveries and discusses the evidence for the relationship between these two peoples, tracing their development from raids on Roman Britain to the formation of rival Dark Age kingdoms that produced a unique artistic inheritance. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Outdated
In recent years there has been a great deal of work done on the Picts and the Scots, but you won't learn anything about that work here. There's nothing much wrong with the book, it is short and readable, but it is seriously outdated. The consensus of opinion on many questions has changed a great deal since the early 1990s, and much that was taken for granted is now rejected or questioned.

For a more up-to-date picture, the 2004 edition of Sally Foster's Picts, Gaels and Scots is worth considering.

excellent work on the Picts and Scots
excellent up-to-date work on the Picts and the Scots of ancient Scotland. For many centuries the Picts have remained shrouded in myth and legend for the only written records - their Pictish stones - have been undecipherable. In 1958 with the discovering of the St. Ninan's Isle Treasure, a new focus has been applied to interpreting what we know. Written record mostly comes from people viewing the Pictish Nation from the outside, which often leads to misunderstanding, if not exaggeration...possibly slander.
In this highly readable account, they present the latest archaeological discovers, and discusses how these two difference races co-existed and ultimately merged of a nation of one through the slaughter of the Pict royal houses. Again, that is the only slight aggravation (as with nearly all books on this Picts) is the ignoring the importance of this and how it was the foundation of the Scottish Highlands.

Otherwise, an excellent work full of photographs, with recommended reading, and is a must for anyone wanting to more about the two races that formed the spine of Scotland. ... Read more

Product Description
When the Romans left Britain around AD 410 the island had not been fully subjugated. In the Celtic fringe of Caledonia - now Northern Scotland - these unconquered native peoples were presented with the opportunity to pillage what remained of Roman Britain. By way of response the Post-Roman Britons of what is now Scotland did their best to defend themselves from attack, and to preserve what they could of the economic and administrative systems left behind by the Romans. While some old Roman forts were maintained, the Post-Roman Britons in the area created new strongholds, or re-occupied some of the long-abandoned hill-forts first built by their ancestors before the coming of the Romans. Meanwhile the Caledonians - who evolved into the Picts - relied on fortifications to maintain control over their land.

Then a new wave of invaders arrived from across the Irish Sea. The Scots came first to conquer, then to settle. In their wake came the Angles and Saxons, driving north to occupy most of Scotland as far as the Firth of Forth, and later the Vikings arrived from the north and east. During the variety of ensuing struggles, the Picts, Scots, Vikings, Northumbrians and North Britons made extensive use of fortifications, the remains of which still dot the modern landscape.

This book traces the origins and development of these North British forts. It also touches on the way they served as secular or religious centers, seats of power, or as barriers against invasion. It will also discuss the mystery surrounding the Picts, and show how modern archaeology has done much to reveal the way these enigmatic people waged war, and defended their strongholds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

The strongest wall that could be built with poor foundations
Angus Konstam done a very good job with extremely fragmented archeological remains and written contemporary (or near contemporary) material. That is the reason of the title of the review - with the amount of evidence available to historians in 2010 it would be impossible (in my humble opinion) to make a stronger and more solid work.

But speaking of the content of the book: it describes the several types of strongholds, from small fortified farms to the huge promontory forts or the nuclear fortifications; how they were built; descriptions of several individual fortifications and their history, etc.

Compared to classical era fortifications, those of the Picts and their neighbours are extremely simple; this is somewhat compensated by the extreme care where they were chosen to be built - in very easily defensible sites like steep hills, rocks, promontories, etc. Useful for the purposes that they were built for, but clearly weak against a determined invader.

Some aspects directly or indirectly related to the fortresses themselves are also mentioned, like their importance in war and peace, the endemic wars between de Scoti from Dal Riata, the Picts and the Northumbrians; the devastating invasions and raids from Viking marauders, etc.

Curious that the British peoples of the dark ages saw the roman rule as a golden era of peace, safety and prosperity, considering roman remains with awe and respect (it's particularly paradoxal because they fought the romans for so long).

The illustrations of Peter Dennis are absolutely fabulous. Great reconstructions of fortifications and sieges.

Contains chronology, glossary and a quite complete list of strongholds and a guide on how to visit them.

Note: this is a book about Pict strongholds. Not about their society, culture, art or battle tactics except in the matters that these subjects relate to their fortifications. If you want to know more about Pictish civilization you might want to read: "In Search of the Picts: A Celtic Dark Age People"; "The Picts and Their Symbols " or "Age of the Picts".

Specialized study
which spans the era roughly from the 6th to the 9th century. The analysis includes small ring forts (duns), reoccupied hill forts (Craig Phadrig, Clatchard Craig), promontory forts close to the sea (Burghead), citadel forts and nuclear fortifications.
Strictly speaking, the discussion touches upon not only Pictish strongholds but on those of their neighbours: to the west the Dal Riatan Scots (originally from Ireland), with their centre at Dunadd; to the southwest the Britons (read Celts) of Strathclyde (Alt Clut : Dumbarton); to the southeast the Britons of Goddodin (Dun Eidin : Edinburgh) whose territory fell to the invading Germanic Angles from Northumbria around 638 CE.

"The Early Historic strongholds...were nothing compared to the Roman legionary camps...or even to the great Celtic hill forts [of the Iron Age]...However, for the most part they were compact...and they made the best possible use of natural defensive qualities of the terrain" (p. 41).

As is characteristic of the Osprey booklets, the present volume is lavishly illustrated with full colour artwork, photographs and maps. At times, however, the written material tends to be exceedingly repetitious as, for instance, on page 21 where the same information given in the main text appears in the smaller typeset description of Portknockie. The same happens in regard to Dunadd (pp. 36-41).
Aside from a mention of Viking raids starting at the very end of the 8th century, we are left pretty much in the dark as to the fate of the enigmatic Picts.

Picts and Saxon Forts
My title essentially sums up the book--the emphasis is more on certain fortresses such as promontory forts and hill forts as opposed to looking at the situation from a variety of angles (military, political, cultural, technological, etc).

Konstam does an admirable job of packing in a lot of information, and Peter Dennis' illustrations are great, but I still felt a gnawing sense that the book didn't live up to what it's blurb said it would. I was expecting an analysis of Pictish, Saxon, and Gaelic forms of warfare, but no cigar.

The focus for nearly all the pages is on the various forts and an example from different regions in Northern Britain.

To be fair, this is all the archaeological evidence really supplies at the moment, but I still heard a little voice in my head that cried out: "More!"

If you are interested in forts and fortifications, this is an excellent complement to Konstam's British Forts in the Age of Arthur.

However, if you are more interested in tactics, weaponry, and clothing, this book, while its illustrations allude to such cultural elements, do not go in depth at all. No explanation is offered of the illustrations except their fortifications, and strictly that.

So, the book achieves what it set it out to do--provided you didn't read the "It will also discuss the mystery surrounding the Picts, and show how modern archaeology has done much to reveal the way these enigmatic people waged war, and defended their strongholds," blurb.

Because the simple truth is that it doesn't discuss how they waged war in any serious detail, and I felt most let down by that. That said, this is still a great book, and useful to those wondering about the fortifications in Dark Age north Britain.

On a side note, I would really like to see some follow up Men-at-Arms titles discussing the various warriors of Britain in-depth (I know about Osprey's Arthur and the Anglo-Saxon Wars, but it's a bit dated). ... Read more

Product Description
This volume is concerned with the investigation of three complexes of prehistoric ceremonial monuments in the immediate environs of Dumfries in the south-west of Scotland, conducted between 1994 and 1998. These were the Pict's Knowe henge, the Holywood cursus complex, and the post alignments/cursus at Holm. The field research was designed in such a way as to recognise that prehistoric monuments often have complex and individual sequences of construction and use, while also acknowledging that detailed studies of particular sites and local contexts will ultimately advance our understanding of monumentality in prehistoric Europe. The three sites of the Pict's Knowe, Holywood and Holm have proved especially helpful in addressing questions of how particular places maintained their importance over long periods of time. In each instance the location was characterised by features which possess a high degree of archaeological visibility. In the former case it was the upstanding earthwork of the bank and ditch that identified the site as a henge monument, while Holywood and Holm were discovered through aerial photography. Each of the sites investigated had complex sequences of development, in which the structural elements that were recognised prior to fieldwork were not necessarily the most important or the most long-lived. This book considers the details of the excavated features, environmental and artefactual evidence, as well as more general concerns. The first part of the volume concentrates on the Pict's Knowe, while the second looks at the more spatially and typologically related sites of Holywood and Holm. ... Read more

Product Description
Elizabeth Sutherland has recreated the lives, social customs and religious aspirations of the Picts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Another superb work from Sutherland
Elizabeth Sutherland, former curator of Groam House in Rosemarkie, Rose-shire, was responsible for establishing the museum as a Pictish Centre. She had published several novels, a guidebook for the Highland life, and other books on the Picts.
There are excellent photographs, maps and drawing to help illustrate her text presentation.
She begins by tracing the origins fo the picts from the neolithic nomad-farmer, coming of bronze age, moving into the invaders from Rome, covering Mons Graupius. The next part of the text goes into the 'foundation myths', the Kings List, St Columba. Also it covers the forts and palaces. She dedications a section to the stones and symbols, especially Pictish-Christian interaction. The 5th sections covers the important people in a Pictish tribe, the warlocks, hunters, monks and touches on Pictish Lore. Section Six dealing with what has been left behind, Language, writing, jewellery. Seventh section dealing with the everyday life in a Pictich Settlement. Finally the last section deals with the Viking invaders, later Viking settlers and the Rise of Kenneth mac Alpin.

The Only fault I find in the work was she lightly skipped over Kenneth's slaughter of the Pictish royal houses in order to cement his matriarchal claim to rule the Picts. Other than that, I found the work very well done and would be of interest for someone wanting a bit more detail about these fascinating people that formed the backbone of the Highlands.

In Search of the Picts
A very readable book that responsibly explores the questions about the Picts, without getting too much into the egg-head stuff that usually makes books on these subjects dreadfully dull. The Picts were the inhabitants ofNorthern Scotland whose unique culture prior to 800 AD contributed greatlyto our wealth of Celtic Art, mainly in the form of stone carvings. I wishmore books were written in this style as it assumes a popular readershipwithout dumbing down the subject or wafting off into New-Age fantasies. ... Read more

Product Description
The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. In its determination to preserve the century of revolution, Gale initiated a revolution of its own: digitization of epic proportions to preserve these invaluable works in the largest archive of its kind. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars.
The Age of Enlightenment profoundly enriched religious and philosophical understanding and continues to influence present-day thinking. Works collected here include masterpieces by David Hume, Immanuel Kant, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as well as religious sermons and moral debates on the issues of the day, such as the slave trade. The Age of Reason saw conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism transformed into one between faith and logic -- a debate that continues in the twenty-first century.
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The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification:
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British Library

T098769

The final ten pages which are part of the main register consist of a List of books printed for Mundell & Son, Edinburgh, and J. Mundell, College, Glasgow.

Edinburgh : printed for Mundell & son, and J. Mundell, Glasgow; sold in London by John Wright, 1798. ix,[3],168,10p. ; 8° ... Read more

Product Description
For many centuries the people of Scotland have told stories of their ancestors, a mysterious tribe called the Picts. This ancient Celtic-speaking people, who fought off the might of the Roman Empire, are perhaps best known for their Symbol Stones ? images carved into standing stones left scattered across Scotland, many of which have their own stories. Here for the first time these tales are gathered together with folk memories of bloody battles, chronicles of warriors and priestesses, saints and supernatural beings. From Shetland to the Border with England, these ancient memories of Scotland?s original inhabitants have flourished since the nation?s earliest days and now are told afresh, shedding new light on our ancient past. ... Read more

Product Description
First mentioned by name in AD 297, the Picts inhabited Northern Britain from the end of the 3rd century AD to the 9th. They rose to power in the devastation following Emperor Septimus Severus's repression of the Caledonians in AD 208, and dominated Northern Britain for over 500 years, before vanishing mysteriously. The Picts represent a high point of Celtic civilisation, remaining free and unconquered beyond the borders of the Roman world, and rising to become the first barbarians to form a recognisable 'nation'. This title takes a detailed look at their origins, and examines Pictish heroic and warrior society, covering education and training, appearance and equipment, the status of women, and the experience of battle. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not much written on the Picts
This is a typical Osprey book - a primer to a niche subject. In this case, the coverage is nigh perfect. The text states that there is not much written on the Picts because not much is known about them. Thus there is a lot of cross-referencing to Celtic and other sources just to get an idea about the Picts.
The illustrations are terrible. There is a great divide beween text and illustrations. The Picts disavowed the use of armour to flaunt their courage and loved to fight naked to show off their tattoos. The illustrations all depict clothed and armoured Picts. The line drawings hint at the missed opportunity to depict some truly magnificent paintings based on the abstract animal motifs.

The important things are all here. But the art work...
As with all of osprey's Men-at-Arms books, this one is well written and jam packed with useful information. The only problem I see is the art work. Every Osprey book I've read so far has amazing illustrations.This one however seems as though it was thown to a random staff member who likes to draw. The illustrations seem much more like japanese anime than anything else. It doesnt seem like any of the images were taken seriously and it was hard for me to take them seriously seeing as I felt like I was watching an episode of Pokeman.This aside, its still a great booklet and I highly recommend it.

Woad Warriors
A fine book.The author uses a combination of Roman historians, Welsh and Gaelic mythology, and archaeology to paint a believable picture of the fearsome warrior culture today called 'Picts'.He examines their origins as a people, the origin of their name (it may well be a tribal name in their own tongue, rather than from Latin 'painted'), and their history with the late Romans, the Anglo-Saxons, the Gaels, the Norse, and the Scots who finally assimilated them.The text also details the daily life of the noble warrior, the warband on campaign, and the philosophies by which the Celtic warrior in general lived.What little is known of Pictish armor, costume, weaponry, and battle tactics is also detailed.The plates, by Wayne Reynolds are excellent and do a fine job of supporting the text.
Plate A shows a Caledonian warrior at the time of Septimius Severus' Scottish campaigns of the beginning of the 3rd Century.The Caledonians are often said to be the same as the Picts, but appear to have been a Brythonic-speaking people (similar to the southern Britons) that were assimilated by the Picts
Plate B shows characters from Irish myth recreated as Pictish warriors.These are Chulainn and Scathach training at the latter's School of War, while other champions and students look on.
Plate C shows a Pictish boat, like they may have used to carry out piratical raids
Plate D shows a Pictish raid on Hadrian's wall in the 4th Century AD.Several heavily tattooed Picts are shown in combat with Romano-British soldiers.Some of the Celts are also shown fighting naked in the traditional manner, and one is using a lasso to pull a defender off the wall.
Plate E shows different Pictish weapons, swords, bucklers, axes, and a spear.
Plate F gives us two warriors of the later Pictish period, a noble horse-warrior in scale armor, and a common warrior with a pike and buckler.The illustrator illustrated most of his Picts, even the later ones, with swirling tatooes on at least their lower legs.
Plate G shows the 'Law of the Innocents'; a Pictish warrior-woman was killed in battle with Northumbrians, and upon the sight of her child sobbing at her breast, the mother of the Abbot of Iona forced him to pass a law in which women were forbidden from going to war-a custom that had been very common in northern Britain.
Plate H shows Pictish pikemen in combat with the horsemen of Strathclyde, while some Pictish horse-warriors ride around the left flank throwing spears at the enemy.
Both the text and plates in this book are highly detailed and exciting, and are highly recommended for anyone interested in this fierce warrior society.

Fast and Easy to Read
This is a typical Osprey book.A great introduction to a specific topic.It has many color illustrations and maps.Not many books written about the Picts.This is a good introduction to the style of warfare in Great Britain toward the end of the Roman Empire.I like these books because they give you a general background and then suggestions for further reading.The book is only 64 pages so it will only take an afternoon to read it.Very little detail, but enough info to get you started and give you the ability to talk about the subject.The following is an "About This Book" quote from the Osprey website which is not included on the Amazon.com site.It is helpful."First mentioned by name in AD 297, the Picts inhabited Northern Britain from the end of the 3rd century AD to the 9th. They rose to power in the devastation following Emperor Septimus Severus's repression of the Caledonians in AD 208, and dominated Northern Britain for over 500 years, before vanishing mysteriously. The Picts represent a high point of Celtic civilisation, remaining free and unconquered beyond the borders of the Roman world, and rising to become the first barbarians to form a recognisable 'nation'. This title takes a detailed look at their origins, and examines Pictish heroic and warrior society, covering education and training, appearance and equipment, the status of women, and the experience of battle." ... Read more

Product Description

Covering the general fields of mathematics, astronomy, mathematical geography, physics, chemistry and chemical technology, geology and meteorology, biology, medicine, and physiological psychology, the present collection surveys the field of Greek scientific achievement over a thousand-year period. Many Greek scientific treatises were written and read by cultivated people who did not regard themselves as specialists. These works should appeal today to those readers who wish to understand not only the foundations of modern science, but also a vital element of the humanistic tradition.

Customer Reviews (1)

An invaluable informant
When first released most contributions that dealt with the history of Greek science had been written primarily for the specialist and few scholarly works were available that gave a panoramic picture of the whole field of ancient scientific thought and achievement. Furthermore, much of the vast literature on the ancient Greek scientific efforts was dispersed among philological books and periodicals not readily available to the average student. There was a definite need for a book giving a range of primary sources in the various disciplines of the natural sciences for which more precise references could have been found. This contribution of Morris Cohen and I.E. Drabkin filled such a need, and it should even today have a special appeal not only to the biologist and other students of the natural sciences but to the cultured layman as well.

The main effort of this volume is to achieve comprehensive coverage of topics, which have been grouped under the following modern categories: Mathematics, Astronomy, Mathematical Geography, Physics, Chemistry, Geology and Meteorology, Biology, Medicine, and Physiological Psychology. This arrangement facilitates finding material that may be of particular interest to various specialists. There are excluded from this work the myths, superstition, and astrology of the soberest Hellenic chroniclers of science. In 558 pages of text, it is the rare selection that takes up more than five pages, and a great many occupy only a half-page or page of print. Although the passages are abstracted from their contexts, the authors have overcome this disadvantage by a generous use of explanatory footnotes, and the authors have shown commendable asceticism in confining their notes and footnotes to the essential task of clarifying their texts and putting them in their historical setting, and have refrained from overexercising their philosophic erudition.

The general idea that the scientific method began only three or four hundred years ago, and that the ancient Greeks were mere armchair speculators or philosophers given only to qualitative thinking, is certainly in error. If we consider the collected works going under the name of Hippocrates of Cos, the treatises of Galen, or the writings of Oribasius or Theophrastus, there is much evidence that the scientific method of inquiry began at least in the 5th century B.C., and probably earlier. Fragmentary data seem to reveal that Praxagoras, Erasistratus, and Herophilus certainly used the experimental method in their studies on brain, spinal cord, eye, and vascular system. Erasistratus of Ceos, a contemporary of Herophilus at Alexandria (around 300 years B.C.), apparently distinguished between motor and sensory nerves. There are also indications that he employed quantitative experimentation on metabolism almost 2,000 years before Sanctorius. Still later, Galen (A.D. 130- 200) reported his observations on the results of sectioning the spinal cord at various levels.

It appears that Cohen and Drabkin have been concerned in trying to draw a fine line between what may be considered truly representative of ancient Greek scientific observation and what is folklore. Future historians who wade through specialized scientific journals of today will doubtless be beset by similar difficulties of discrimination and so probably will be their historians. The difference between sense and nonsense in such matters is a relative one. The now seemingly absurd conclusions sometimes arrived at by even such scholars as Aristotle, Theophrastus, Ptolemy, and Galen are not quite so ridiculous when it is borne in mind that they were made on the basis of the information available at the time. It is a simple matter today to classify the work of the ancients into science or superstition, with the 2,000 or more years of accumulated information we have at our disposal. The amazing thing is that they did so well on so little. Viewed in this perspective, there is little indication that man's capacity to interpret data has increased, and what appears today as an improvement in this function is only an apparent one. Man simply has more factual information to work with.

Readers who desire to gain broader or more intensive insights can, however, consult the valuable 10-page bibliography at the end. This book is unhesitatingly recommended as an addition to the personal libraries of all those interested in the progress of the natural sciences. It undoubtedly should be on the shelves of all modern libraries
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