Picts, << pihkts, >> were a people of ancient and medieval Scotland. Their ancestors were the Caledonians, Maeatae, and Verturiones, who lived north of Roman Britain. A Roman orator made the first historical reference to the Picts in A.D. 297. The Romans probably named them Picts because they painted or tattooed their skin. The Latin word pictor means painter. Pictish tribes fought the Romans for many years. Some of the tribes enjoyed long periods of peace with Rome. In the A.D. 500’s, most of the Picts adopted Christianity. By the mid-700’s, they had established a unified kingdom across northeastern Scotland. Impressive examples of Pictish sculpture survive today. The Picts disappeared as a people about 900.
