Seamusalba

The theories are just that. Theories. There are sound arguments for doubting that there was any seperate Pictish language from contemporary sources such as the Welsh triads which Robertson didnt write.It should not boldly state the phrase "earlier Brythonic language. katherine Forsythe herself gives evidence of Gaelic terms in Pictish inscriptions. Seamusalba (talk) 16:58, 17 May 2011 (UTC)

It was clear that the Christians needed an interpreter, not that Gaelic wasnt spoken.Pagans wouldnt understand Latin. You cannot claim that there is serious evidence for \a non IndoEuropean language being spoken and then cite someone who dismisses this as outdated and then use the opposite rationale to dismiss clear evidence from contemporaries that the population were Gaels. Why did the Welsh triads refer to them as such?

"At the time when St. Columba was tarrying for some days in the province of the Picts, a certain peasant who, with his whole family, had listened to and learned through an interpreter the word of life preached by the holy man, believed ..."

The word of God was in Latin.

Its the logical conclusion from the word of God being interpreted as opposed to the word of men.

I was deleting them after replying. The Triads refer to the Picts as Gaels. This is not controversial. There is nothing anti Irish about pointing out their definition. Seamusalba (talk) 07:12, 18 May 2011 (UTC)

MacBain

" How can we account for Macbain’s bias against Skene? It is only possible to guess at the reasons. In part, it may have been the result of a clash of generations, for Macbain was nearly 50 years younger than Skene. In part, it may have been the Highlander reacting against the Edinburgh establishment. There may have been an added social dimension as well, given Skene’s rather grand background. In part no doubt, Macbain’s stance also reflects the difference in temperament between two types of scholar, the one precise and careful to a fault, the other of a more speculative disposition. But this cannot be the whole explanation. The answer, I suggest, lies not in the history of the medieval, but of the 19th-century Highlands. Is treasa tuath na tighearna — the people are mightier than a lord — was the rallying cry of the Highland Land League. Macbain would have agreed with this, but Skene, I think, would not. In Highland eyes Skene was doubly suspect. Firstly, he was suspect as Secretary of the Board of Management for Highland Relief from 1847–50. The Board’s policy that relief should only be granted in return for work, save in cases of destitution — the so-called ‘destitution test’ — had been widely viewed as harsh and oppressive (Devine 1994, 170–5; Cowan 2000, 4). As Secretary of the Board, Skene was naturally identified with this policy, fairly or otherwise, and his reputation suffered accordingly. Secondly, Skene must have been suspect — indeed, more than suspect — as the founder and head of the Edinburgh legal firm which acted for many landowners, including Lady Gordon Cathcart, absentee proprietrix of South Uist and Barra, and daughter-in-law of Gordon of Cluny, one of the most notorious of Highland evicters. Here, surely, is the extra dimension which explains Macbain’s animus towards Skene. Sellar 2001 "

It seemed to take up a large part of your response in the discussion you started so I thought it should be shared. Seamusalba (talk) 11:18, 20 May 2011 (UTC)

Friendly suggestion

Hallo seamus,

I just wanted to say that you might want to consider leaving other peoples posts on your talk page there instead of blanking them, it can help other users see discussions that have gone on about a certain article. You can archive old discussions, there are several ways of doing it. Of course, you can do what you like, I'm just saying it's worth considering! :) JoshuaJohnLee ^{talk softly, please} 14:07, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

Hello Joshua and thanks for the suggestion, however, I am sure that if anyone feels strongly enough about a point they've made they would be able to remember why they made it in the first place and what it was, now wouldn't you? :-) Seamusalba (talk) 15:20, 21 May 2011 (UTC)

As Joshua pointed out, its my talk page :-) Seamusalba (talk) 16:23, 21 May 2011 (UTC)