Celtic Scotland

W.F. Skenes 3 volume history of Celtic Scotland is one of singular scholarship arguably the most influential Scottish historical work of the 19th century. Each volume stands alone and can be read separately rather than sequentially. After a general introduction to the complete work Volume I commences with the Romans in Scotland and leads us to the four kingdoms i.e. of Dalriada of the Picts of the Britons of Alclyde and of Bernicia. From there onwards the kingdoms of Scone Alban and Scotia are discussed respectively concluding in the late 13th century by which time the kingdom of Scotia has passed into feudal Scotland. . Many of the footnotes gathered in this ebook as endnotes are in Latin as many of the early sources to which Skene refers were written in Latin. So some knowledge of Latin would help in fully appreciating the erudition of this work. To a markedly lesser extent some knowledge of classical Greek would also be advantageous. An interest in and familiarity with Celtic languages viz. Welsh Irish and Scottish Gaelic would be helpful. However readers should not be dismayed if they lack a working knowledge of these languages since a great deal of information can still be garnered and learned from this work.. The index of searchable keywords & phrases greatly facilitates the garnering experience. Note that the index in the original work was only in vol. III. The logical table of contents or navigational control file (NCX) built from the summaries of key events and dates in the Table of Contents and margins throughout the original text provides ease of access to specific areas of interest and adds a new dimension to the reading and learning experience.. Along with the original map illustrations a few engravings from Billings'' work and a selection of recent photographs are included to add ambience and help with the process of visualisation.