This new edition for the New History of Scotland series, replacing Alfred Smyth's Warlords and Holy Men (1984), covers the history of Scotland in the period up to 1000 AD. A great deal has changed in the historiography of this period in the intervening three decades: an entire Pictish kingdom has moved nearly a hundred miles to the north; new archaeological finds have forced us to rethink old assumptions; and the writing of early medieval history is beginning to struggle out of the shadow of later medieval sources. Gilbert Markus brings a stimulating approach to studying this elusive period, analysing both its litter of physical evidence as well as its literary sources - what he calls'luminous debris'-as a method of shedding light on the reality of the period. In doing so, he reforms our historical perceptions of what has often been dismissed as a 'dark age'.

Updated edition in classic series. New approach to'dark age'history. Draws together new historiography on contentious theories. Utilises artefacts and archaeology to enlighten the period.

About the Author
Gilbert Markus is Affiliate Researcher (Celtic and Gaelic) at the University of Glasgow.


Book Information
ISBN 9780748678990
Author Gilbert Markus
Format Hardback
Page Count 280
Imprint Edinburgh University Press
Publisher Edinburgh University Press