Posted on 09/22/2009 7:10:57 PM PDT by Arec Barrwin
Vikings 'were warned to avoid Scotland'
Scotland is full of dangerous natives who speak an incomprehensible language and the is weather awful. That was the verdict of a series of 13th century Viking travel guides that warned voyagers to visit at their peril.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Well, if you’re true to your screen name and especially hirsute (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and a bit dark complected I’d lean toward the Pictish Nation.
It was “barbarians” in general that the Romans were worried about, but the fact remains that the real border with Scotland is not all that far North of what remains of Hadrian’s Wall. We can argue about who they were, but they sure came from the same territory.
I’m betting that some of the crazier Picts painted themselves blue too...
Viagra can give you blue blindness BTW. No idea what those ol'boys in Scotland were using.
I’m waiting for mine too! Waiting, waiting... expected arrival is the 29th. Jesuis prest. ;) I’m finishing A Breath of Snow and Ashes just to pass the time.
Screen name is sarcastic. Really white with little skin hair. The Pictish dark skin is a bit of a historical argument based on one Roman I believe who referred to them as dark. The Scottish people do not exhibit that trait, prior to the recent Muslim invasion anyway. Now the mother of the Dal Riada (Scoti) was according to legend an Egyptian Princess and she apparently was not all that dark skinned either.
The Scottish used the Woad Plant, while the Roman Julius Caesar thought the Picts used some type of metal. Here is some interesting info from Wikipedia.
Woad (or glastum) is the common name of the flowering plant Isatis tinctoria in the family Brassicaceae. It is commonly called dyer's woad, and sometimes incorrectly listed as Isatis indigotica (a newer and invalid name for the same plant). It is occasionally known as Asp of Jerusalem. Woad is also the name of a blue dye produced from the plant. Woad is pronounced /ˈwoʊd/, to rhyme with road.
In Europe, woad was the only source for blue dye available until the end of the sixteenth century when trade routes began bringing indigo from the far east.[citation needed]
The first archaeological finds of woad seeds date to the Neolithic and have been found in the French cave of l'Audoste, Bouches du Rhone (France). Named Färberwaid (Isatis tinctoria L.) or German Indigo of the plant family (Brassicaceae), in the Iron Age settlement of the Heuneburg, Germany, impressions of the seeds have been found on pottery.
Julius Caesar tells us (in De Bello Gallico) that the Britanni used to colour their bodies blue with vitrum, a word that roughly translates to "glass". While many have assumed vitrum or vitro refers to woad, and this misconception was probably repeated for political reasons,[1] it is probable that Caesar was describing some form of copper- or iron-based pigment.[1] The northern inhabitants of Britain came to be known as Picts (Picti), which means "painted ones" in Latin, due to these accounts of them painting or tattooing their bodies.
In Viking age levels at York, a dye shop with remains of both woad and madder dating from the tenth century have been excavated.
Those are my McNutts! lol But...when the jobs dried up, my grandfather moved to Indiana (as did my father’s family) and my father joined the Navy. I managed to be born on Guam. I’ve never lived within 200 miles of a genuine mountain. :(
Woad and health
Recently, scientists have discovered woad might be used to prevent cancer, having more than 20 times the amount of glucobrassicin contained in broccoli.[7] Young leaves when damaged can produce more glucobrassicin, up to 65 times as much.[8]
Indigowoad Root (Chinese: 板藍根; pinyin: bǎn lán gēn) is a traditional Chinese medicine herb that comes from the roots of woad, but often incorrectly listed under the synonymic name, Isatis indigotica. It is also known as Radix isatidis. The herb is cultivated in various regions of northern China, namely Hebei, Beijing, Heilongjiang, Henan, Jiangsu, and Gansu. The roots are harvested during the autumn and dried. The dried root is then processed into granules, which are most commonly consumed dissolved in hot water or tea. The product, called Banlangen Keli, is very popular throughout China, and used to remove toxic heat, soothe sore throat and to treat influenza, measles, mumps, syphilis, or scarlet fever. It is also used for pharyngitis, laryngitis, erysipelas, and carbuncle, and to prevent hepatitis A, epidemic meningitis, cancer and inflammation. Possible minor side effects include allergic reactions and dizziness; only large dosages or long term usage can be toxic to the kidneys. These treatments have not generally been evaluated clinically.
“I had to look up the word “haggis” in a dictionary. Here’s what I found:”
Actually, you are close but not quite. The word is actually “haggard”, from which comes old hag.
Re: Vikings being scared of Scots, Sorta reminds me of the story of Black Bart, a bad man in the old West.
He rides into a cattle drive camp one night, stalks over to the fire and picks up the coffee pot full of boiling coffee and drinks it down without stopping. The cowboys are stunned.
Then he grabs the pot of beans, bubbling on the fire, picks it up and slurps down the whole pot. Cowboys cower togethter.
Bart steps back up on his horse and says, “Boys, I hate to eat and run, but there’s a mean sumbitch on my trail.”
I’m mostly Saxon descended...at least in my surname.
You Scots smell bad and were wuttle
/s
My wife’s folks are Scots....clan even!
Keith (Harvey surname)
they have a red plaid....she even has some ...with a bear claw or something
we have a home at Grnadfather Mt, when they have the games she flushes
Being adventurous, I had to try haggis when we went to Scotland. It's actually very good, at least at the restaurant where I ate some.
I like Scotland. They make great whiskey.
Ladies from Hell
term coined by German soldiers during WWI
No wonder we’re so cantankerous!
I claymore related.
LOL!
Vikings: Journey to New Worlds
FYI- Someone also needs to tell our resident Viking that he needs to drop the horns. The Germanic Teutonic Knights made the horn helmet ornaments famous.
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