Only a few fragmentary remains of Pictish military equipment have survived, from which very little can be concluded. The most complete find was the Norries Law Horde, a rich grave of a 5th-century Pictish warrior discovered in Fife in the early 19th century, which contained a large amount of silver: it was sadly destroyed for its bullion value. Fortunately, the visual records of Picts on their carved stones have left a detailed record of their appearance.
Clothing generally consisted of knee-length tunics, made from wool, linen or flax, often with a mantle, hood or cloak over the upper body. Bare legs seem to have been the norm, and Bede referred to the Picts as ‘redshanks’, an insult still used centuries later against bare-limbed 17th-century Highlanders. Bare feet were also common, although several leather shoes have been recovered. Several carvings appear to show belted plaids, or robes of deeply pleated material. No doubt a variety of colours were used, and woollen tartan was available, as shown by the ‘Falkirk tartan’, a fragment of material found near Falkirk and carbon-dated to AD 235. The Irish legend, The Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel, contains a brief description of three exiled warriors from Pictland, and describes their costume as ‘three short black cowls about them reaching to their elbows: long hoods were on the cowls’. One such hood has been preserved on Orkney, and they are depicted on several Pictish stones.
A rare Pictish hood from Orkney. (National Museums of Scotland)
Fragmentary remains of Pictish swords.
(a) Possibly Pictish blade, 3rd century.
(b) Bone quillon and pommel from South Uist, perhaps 4th century.
(c) Silver pommel from the Norries Law horde, 5th-6th century.
(d) Bronze sword pommel from Cubin Sands, Moray, 6th-7th century.
(e) Possibly Pictish hilt, 9th century.
(f) Possibly Pictish sword, 9th-10th century.
Hairstyles among the Celts were often important outward marks of rank. Welsh warriors wore moustaches and short or even shaved heads ‘for ease of running through thickets’, while the Irish cut, outlawed by Henry VIIII, was ‘shorn or shaven above the ears’ with ‘long hair (vulgarly called glibs) which hang down to the shoulders hiding the face… and this hair being exceedingly long they have no use of cap or hat’, and a style of thick moustache called a ‘crommeal’. Pictish effigies generally indicate long hair, sometimes with moustaches and pointed beards, and the 6th-century Romano-British historian Gildas stated ‘they were readier to cover their villainous countenances with hair than their private parts and neighbouring regions with clothes’.
No armour can be discerned on Pictish carvings, except for one or two figures who might be wearing a quilted leather tunic. Archaeologically there are a few examples; there is a fragment of iron scale armour from Carpow in Perthshire, and the Norries Law Horde contained mail and a ‘rich coat of scale armour…of small-sized lozenge-shaped plates’, with hooks for Roman-style lorica squamata, both of which were probably looted Roman gear. Even helmets are rare; the Aberlemno Stone shows horsemen wearing fairly typical Dark Age helmets with long nasals and cheek-plates, similar to the Coppergate, Benty Grange or Burgh Castle finds, but these are worn by the enemy, not the Picts. The Mortlach Stone shows a strange figure who appears to be wearing a helmet with a horn crest, but only one fragment of a spangenhelm has ever been found, apart from the lost ‘silver’ helmet of the Norries Law Horde.
Also in the lost horde was a long sword with a wide, round guard backed by a long quillon, and a small spherical pommel: this is often dismissed as ‘fanciful’. Only a few fragments of Pictish swords have otherwise been found, including some globular ‘Ultimate La Tene’-style bone and antler fittings associated with the brochs, and two decorated pommels similar to Anglo-Saxon ones. Pictish effigies show parallel-sided, broad-bladed swords with distinctly rounded tips, though length is hard to judge. The round ends are confirmed by the shape of surviving Pictish chapes, and indicates that Pictish swordsmanship was based on broad cutting strokes rather than thrusts.
Spears, both single- and two-handed, have broad heads; spear shafts were probably harvested directly from the forest, as the Life of St Columba records one Scot ‘shaving the bark off a spear shaft with his own knife’. Other weapons depicted include distinctive single-handed axes, a two-handed battle-axe, and a short sax or knife. For most Celtic societies thrown spears or ‘darts’ were the primary offensive weapons, and are shown in the hands of Pictish horsemen on the Aberlemno stone – there is a clear parallel with the horsemen of Y Gododdin, who held ‘spear shafts…aloft with sharp points’ and ‘cast spears of holly’. These were sometimes launched with the use of a thong, described as ‘darts with variegated silken strings, thick set with bright, dazzling shining nails, to be violently cast at the heroes of valour and bravery’. Overall, the arms of the Pictish warrior would thus appear to match closely with the description of the North British heroes from Y Gododdin, where ‘they did not arm for battle, vigorous with spear and shield, sword and knife, any man who was better’.
The curious ‘Norries Law’ sword, which was drawn from memory, may have originally been a spatha-like weapon, like this example from Gotland (a). (b) is a possible reconstruction.
Picts armed with bows are shown on the reverse side of the Dupplin Cross, the lost Meigle No.10 and on Sueno’s Stone, indicating a long history to the strong tradition of Highland archery. The Roman crossbow is also depicted on Shandwick and St Vigeans, and several 7th-8th century crossbow bolts and remains have been recovered. This weapon had a slow rate of fire and is only depicted in hunting scenes, but it is reasonable to presume that it would have occasionally found its way onto the battlefield as well. Some bows, such as the one on the Glenferness Stone, could be either type. The Picts are also said to have used packs of war dogs, which could inflict massive damage on an unarmoured opponent, and are depicted accompanying a Pictish war band on a carving from Dull.
Pictish horsemen carried round shields with circular bosses, held with a punch-grip, while the unarmoured Pictish infantry used small round or square bucklers. Contemporary Irish and British shields are described as ‘lime-white’, but some Pictish carvings show decorated shields that may indicate tooled leatherwork, like later Highland targes, and circular marks that may be decorations, rivets, or secondary bosses, a feature also found on Highland targes. In the Irish tale, The Destruction of Da Dergas Hostel, the equipment of the Pictish champions includes, ‘Three black, huge swords they had, and three black shields they bore, with three dark broadgreen javelins above them; thick as the spit of a cauldron was the shaft of each.’
The black shields may indicate they were ‘tarred’ (widely used for both waterproofing and strengthening material by later Highlanders), while the swords and spearheads may have been left blue from the forge rather than polished, perhaps as protection against the Scottish weather; Dark Age north British poetry talks of ‘blue blades’, and Highland claymores were also described as ‘great black blades’.
The Picts maintained a large number of hill forts, and some, like the ‘royal fortress’ at Burghead, contained structures such as a large well and a church, suggesting a large resident community. Most forts, however, were relatively small, built on rocky sites where a stone wall could follow the contours of the land and link natural outcrops together, a defensive strategy also popular with medieval Highlanders. Battles at such sites were commonly recorded and were important parts of Pictish warfare, although we know nothing about the methods used.
A selection of fantastic beasts. The commonly used ‘sea elephant’ (top left) is probably a dolphin.
The most striking aspect of Pictish appearance was the famous tattooing. The most direct references to Pictish tattoos come from the Roman poet Claudian, who spoke of ‘this Legion, which curbs the savage Scot and studies the iron-wrought designs on the face of the dying Pict’, and Tertullian, who implied that stigmata Britonum were the custom of both Britons and Picts. In 600 Isidore of Seville wrote, ‘The race of Picts have a name derived from their bodies. These are played upon by a needle working with small pricks and by the squeezed-out sap of a native plant, so that they bear the resultant marks according to the personal rank of the individual, their painted limbs being marked to show their high birth’.
The Iron Age Scythian burials at Pazyryk have revealed tattooed warriors that give us an idea what Pictish tattoos may have been like.
Because of the late date, Isidore’s comments have often been dismissed as repetition of hearsay, but this is unlikely. Isidore did not have a word for ‘tattoo’, but his description is remarkably detailed and the use of the word punctum (‘pricked’) shows an understanding of the process. Spain was a favoured refuge for Britons fleeing their war-torn homeland, and in Isidore’s day there was still an identifiable British community there, so it is entirely possible he had the process explained to him first hand by Britons familiar with Pictish practices.
Even more interestingly, in 787 all forms of tattooing or diabolo instinctu (the same ‘diabolical marks’ worn by the fianna and condemned by the Irish church) were explicitly forbidden by the Synod of Calcuth in Northumberland. The Pictish church joined with the Northumbrian church in 717, and from 768 the Picts fought a losing war against the Scottish king Causantin mac Fergus, who finally claimed the Pictish crown in 789. Northumbria was the only possible refuge for the defeated Pictish aristocracy, and an influx of tattooed warriors must have prompted the church to pass an edict against the practice, presumably because of its pagan associations. It thus seems likely that the Picts were a ‘painted’ people for their entire historical existence.
Interestingly, none of the authors mention a colouring agent, though Isidore comes closest. Woad is certainly possible, but ‘Lindow Man’ (the preserved remains of a 6th-century man, now in the British Museum) suggests that blue skin colouring could also be achieved by using a copper rich clay containing malachite or azurite. The 3rd-century historian, Herodian, implies that the Caledonians were painted with various colours, so blue may not have been the only colour achievable.
Animals appear to have been commonly used for personal decoration. ‘They tattoo their bodies not only with likenesses of animals of all kinds, but with all sorts of drawings’, wrote Herodian, and the 17th-century historian Duald MacFirbin, working from a now lost Gaelic source, stated ‘the Cruithneach is one who takes the cruths or forms of beasts, birds and fishes on his face; and not on it only, but on his whole body’. Animals could provide tribal significance, a view supported by sites such as Burghead, which contains some 30 bull images. They could also be personal totems, where individual warriors might revere particular beasts for their speed or strength, fierceness or cunning.
The best clue as to what Pictish tattoos looked like are obviously the famous symbol-stones, which contain many depictions of animals and symbols. Pictish symbols are rich and varied, and the fact that they are complex and abstract, yet obviously had an instantly recognisable meaning for their audience, makes it certain they had a history of use and development long before they were first carved onto stone in the 6th century AD. It is possible that the symbols on Pictish stones started as personal decoration, and served much the same purposes. There is, however, no agreement as to the original purpose.
A selection of Pictish abstract symbols. While there are many theories, their meaning is unknown.
The earliest symbol-stones appear around the Moray Firth in the 6th century, and appear to be associated with the arrival of Christianity. While some symbol-stones may well be pre-Christian, the symbols continue in use in Christian cross-slabs from the early 8th century onwards. The symbol-stones themselves may have been proto-heraldic statements to impose a king’s authority, memorials to the dead, or perhaps territorial boundary markers, or clan badges used to create unity between the Pictish dynasties. They may have expressed a combination of these things.
At least 50 different Pictish symbols have been recognised, although what the individual symbols mean is a matter of speculation. The ‘serpent’, for example, was symbolic of Druidic wisdom, but it also meant ‘new life’, due to its ability to shed its skin, and is used as such in the Book of Kells. The Pictish snakes could represent wisdom, the Druids, new life in the afterworld, or a ‘new beginning’ of marriage or peace between tribes.
Pictish sculptors clearly had some access to illuminated manuscripts from Europe and the Middle East depicting a range of exotic beasts. Many Pictish ‘monsters’ appear to be North African creatures, either copied from Church manuscripts or based on the reports of Pictish pilgrims. Perhaps here (a) elephant, (b) ostrich, (c) crocodile, (d) camel, (e) perhaps a hippo, and (f) a gnu?
Pictish tattoos were obviously of great cultural importance, and other tattooed societies may serve as models. Maori tattoos, for example, conveyed a great deal of information. One side of the face indicated the father’s rank and bloodline, the other the mother’s. Their tribe, the chiefs they had served, and their status and position within the tribe were also symbolised, as were their own achievements. The displaying of such information was vital for smooth inter-tribal relations, and has parallels in Celtic society, where rank and clan was indicated by clothing and hairstyle.
One controversial question about Pictish warriors is whether or not they fought naked. The popular perception is that this was the case, although many modern authorities, at pains to distance the Picts from their barbarian reputation, are more sceptical. There are certainly many Roman references to early Celts and Britons fighting naked, particularly the Caledonians, who are pictured naked on several Roman carved slabs, and of whom Herodian wrote, ‘They are ignorant of the use of clothes…they tattoo their bodies not only with likenesses of animals of all kinds, but with all sorts of drawings. And this is the reason why they do not wear clothes, to avoid hiding the drawings on their bodies’.
None of this necessarily applies to the Picts, but Gildas, a 6th-century contemporary of the Picts, makes several direct references to the continuation of the habit, such as ‘there was no respite from the barbed grappling irons flung by their naked opponents’.
While Gildas might not have portrayed the Picts in the most favourable terms, the Picts also seem to depict themselves naked on a number of stones. Those from Collessie, Balgavies and Rhynie closely resemble the ancient Caledonians shown by the Romans on the nearby Antonine Wall, and probably do not depict contemporary Picts. However, those from Eassie, Shandwick and St Andrews are Picts, and appear to be naked; although weathering may have removed details of clothing, it could not have removed their tunics to reveal the bare legs underneath.
These images would support Gildas’ claim that the Picts did, after all, fight naked, although it is equally probable that it was the exception rather than the rule. Celtic societies generally frowned on public nakedness, and the Romans wrote of the Galatians (the Celts who inhabited Southern Turkey) that ‘their wounds were plain to see because they fight naked and their bodies are plump and white since they are never exposed except in battle’.
Fighting naked was not an act of wanton bravery, but an invocation to divine protection, perhaps connected with the magical symbols painted on their bodies. There were also some practical reasons for fighting unencumbered with clothing, as naked bodies were harder to grapple in close combat, and a wound on bare skin was less likely to become infected than a wound rubbed by a dirty cloth. For such reasons many cultures around the world have traditions of duelling bare-skinned, and even Roman gladiators fought wearing only a helmet, vambrace and loin-cloth. It is interesting to note that the ‘naked’ Picts from Shandwick and St Andrews appear to be involved in duels, and it could well be that nakedness was – or became – restricted to such formal encounters.
It is also worth remembering that the psychological aspects of warfare were extremely important to all Celts, and the effect of a startling physical appearance, particularly on a more reserved enemy civilisation, was well understood. Naked warriors were intimidating in their abandon, and an army of naked, heavily tattooed Picts would certainly have been an arresting sight.