The Picts (U02507)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : HCA-4-PICT

In the course of late Antiquity (AD 250-750), the Pictish peoples of lowland Scotland knitted themselves together to form a nation, and their high kings achieved dominion across the north of Britain. By the 8th century, the Picts had become a powerful and influential force in Insular politics, religion and culture. The diplomatic and military reach of their high kings extended across Britain and Ireland. Rarely in its history has Scotland been so prominent on the Insular international stage.

This full-year Special Subject (4MA) course involves students in a detailed examination of this success story, obscured since the Middle Ages by the gaelicisation of the Pictish realm in the last quarter of the 1st millennium. Students are introduced to a range of key issues and challenges involved in the study and evaluation of different categories of primary textual and material evidence, the close handling of which is a feature of the course. The Autumn Semester covers the origins and rise of the Picts, including such topics as the origins of ethnic and political Pictishness; the Pictish language; nation- and kingdom-building; and christianisation. The Spring Semester covers the 8th- and 9th-century kingdom of Pictavia in detail, including such topics as expansion and imperialism; ecclesiastical developments; elite, non-elite and ecclesiastical material culture; and the nature of the obsolescence of ethnic and political Pictishness.

Despite its focus on a single significant group, the course is something of a case study in the Antique/Medieval transition. As such, it may be taken profitably by students with broader interests in that phenomenon.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Pre-requisites : A pass in a third level historical course or equivalent.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Scottish History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Other subject areas

History, (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 22 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
23/09/2008	11:10	13:00	Room 3.09 18 Buccleuch Place	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Tuesday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have become familiar with the principal methodologies involved in building up a picture of northern Britain in late Antiquity from the surviving evidence. Upon completion, it is intended that students will be able to:
* produce a sound and competent essay, in accordance with the Common Marking Scale;
* demonstrate, by way of essay and examination, recognition of the potential and limitations of written and material evidence in the study of the Picts;
* demonstrate, by way of essay and examination, critical awareness in the evaluation of primary texts;
* demonstrate, by way of essay and examination, critical awareness in the evaluation of modern scholarship, including work at the fringes of academic study;
* demonstrate the following transferable skills: independent gathering of relevant evidence pertaining to a posed problem; critical consideration of evidence in order to arrive at sound conclusions; evaluating the work of others, including peers; presenting evaluations and conclusions clearly in both written and oral form; independent management of personal timetable, workload and other priorities in order to meet established deadlines.

Assessment Information

2 individual essays of 5000 words each; and 2 two-hour Degree Examinations in the May diet. One final mark will be reported, composed of an essay mark, weighted at one-third of the final mark and an exam mark, weighted at two-thirds of the final mark. In both cases the mark will be the AVERAGE of the two marks earned in each category. The final mark reported to Registry will be DOUBLE-WEIGHTED.