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168-502: Lossiemouth ( Scottish Gaelic : Inbhir Losaidh ) is a town in Moray , Scotland . Originally the port belonging to Elgin , it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that eventually merged into one. From 1890 to 1975, it was a police burgh as Lossiemouth and Branderburgh . Stotfield,
336-442: A 19% fall in bilingual speakers between the 1911 and 1921 Censuses. Michelle MacLeod of Aberdeen University has said that there was no other period with such a high fall in the number of monolingual Gaelic speakers: "Gaelic speakers became increasingly the exception from that point forward with bilingualism replacing monolingualism as the norm for Gaelic speakers." The Linguistic Survey of Scotland (1949–1997) surveyed both
504-515: A central feature of court life there. The semi-independent Lordship of the Isles in the Hebrides and western coastal mainland remained thoroughly Gaelic since the language's recovery there in the 12th century, providing a political foundation for cultural prestige down to the end of the 15th century. By the mid-14th century what eventually came to be called Scots (at that time termed Inglis ) emerged as
672-403: A certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of northern Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity was forgotten. Henry of Huntingdon was one of the first (surviving) historians to note this disappearance in the mid-12th century Historia Anglorum . Later, the idea of Picts as a tribe was revived in myth and legend . The early history of Pictland
840-805: A challenge to revitalization efforts which occur outside the home. Positive engagements between language learners and native speakers of Gaelic through mentorship has proven to be productive in socializing new learners into fluency. In the 2022 census, 3,551 people claimed Gaelic as their 'main language.' Of these, 1,761 (49.6%) were in Na h-Eileanan Siar, 682 (19.2%) were in Highland, 369 were in Glasgow City and 120 were in City of Edinburgh; no other council area had as many as 80 such respondents. Gaelic has long suffered from its lack of use in educational and administrative contexts and
1008-753: A counterbalance to the Royal Burgh of Forres 's trading port of Findhorn . The dispute with the Earl of Moray went further. That same year of 1383, the Earl wrote to the Elgin burgesses offering them the use of his port at the mouth of the River Spey with no duties, in an attempt to take trade from the Bishop. The port and fishery was mentioned again in 1551. The loch and the river became separated around 1600. A succession of storms built banks of sand and boulders that eventually closed off
1176-528: A descriptive term continued to the formation of the Alpínid dynasty in the ninth century, and the merging of the Pictish Kingdom with that of Dál Riata. The Latin word Picti first occurs in a panegyric , a formal eulogising speech from 297 and is most commonly explained as meaning 'painted' (from Latin pingere 'to paint'; pictus , 'painted', cf. Greek πυκτίς pyktis , 'picture' ). This
1344-565: A dialect known as Canadian Gaelic has been spoken in Canada since the 18th century. In the 2021 census , 2,170 Canadian residents claimed knowledge of Scottish Gaelic, a decline from 3,980 speakers in the 2016 census . There exists a particular concentration of speakers in Nova Scotia , with historic communities in other parts of North America , including North Carolina and Glengarry County, Ontario having largely disappeared. Scottish Gaelic
1512-515: A dialect of the Scots language – closely related to the Doric dialect that was prevalent in nearby Aberdeenshire – which became dominant before being almost entirely displaced by standard Scottish English . Scottish Gaelic language Scottish Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / , GAL -ik ; endonym : Gàidhlig [ˈkaːlɪkʲ] ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic ,
1680-520: A distinctive form of the general Celtic Early Medieval development of La Tène style with increasing influences from the Insular art of 7th and 8th century Ireland and Northumbria , and then Anglo-Saxon and Irish art as the Early Medieval period continues. The most well-known surviving examples are the many Pictish stones located across Pictland. The symbols and patterns consist of animals including
1848-469: A few decades until it was abandoned during the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda . Pictish society was typical of many early medieval societies in northern Europe and had parallels with neighbouring groups. Archaeology gives some impression of their culture. Medieval sources report the existence of a Pictish language , and evidence shows that it was an Insular Celtic language related to the Brittonic spoken by
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#17328522307572016-519: A flaming torch to warn ships away from the dangerous rocks. Even today the Halliman Skerries retain the reference to St Gervadius. He died in 934 and his cave was a place of pilgrimage right up to the 16th century. The cave was eventually quarried out. The settlement at the river mouth is significant particularly in its relationship with the royal burgh of Elgin. An argument between Alexander Bur, Bishop of Moray and John Dunbar, 4th Earl of Moray
2184-540: A full range of language skills: speaking, understanding, reading and writing Gaelic. 40.2% of Scotland's Gaelic speakers said that they used Gaelic at home. To put this in context, the most common language spoken at home in Scotland after English and Scots is Polish, with about 1.1% of the population, or 54,000 people. The 2011 UK Census showed a total of 57,375 Gaelic speakers in Scotland (1.1% of population over three years old), of whom only 32,400 could also read and write
2352-579: A group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth , in the Early Middle Ages . Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pictish stones . The name Picti appears in written records as an exonym from the late third century AD. They are assumed to have been descendants of the Caledonii and other northern Iron Age tribes. Their territory
2520-577: A language ideology at odds with revitalization efforts on behalf of new speakers, state policies (such as the Gaelic Language Act), and family members reclaiming their lost mother tongue. New learners of Gaelic often have a positive affective stance to their language learning, and connect this learning journey towards Gaelic language revitalization. The mismatch of these language ideologies, and differences in affective stance, has led to fewer speaking opportunities for adult language learners and therefore
2688-507: A long history. St Gervadius , a Celtic hermit, inhabited a cave overlooking the entrance to the sea loch, Loch Spynie. In his time, the River Lossie entered the loch further to the south, near Inchbroom. The rocky promontory is recorded in the Chartulary of Moray as Holyman's Head and it is said that Gervadius (St Gerardine as he became known in later times) would walk around the headland with
2856-516: A major part of the diet of ordinary people, while the elite would have eaten a diet rich in meat from farming and hunting. No Pictish counterparts to the areas of denser settlement around important fortresses in Gaul and southern Britain, or any other significant urban settlements, are known. Larger, but not large, settlements existed around royal forts, such as at Burghead Fort , or associated with religious foundations. No towns are known in Scotland until
3024-564: A much longer period. Pictland was not solely influenced by Iona and Ireland. It also had ties to churches in Northumbria, as seen in the reign of Nechtan mac Der Ilei . The reported expulsion of Ionan monks and clergy by Nechtan in 717 may have been related to the controversy over the dating of Easter , and the manner of tonsure , where Nechtan appears to have supported the Roman usages, but may equally have been intended to increase royal power over
3192-786: A national centre for Gaelic Language and Culture, based in Sleat , on the Isle of Skye . This institution is the only source for higher education which is conducted entirely in Scottish Gaelic. They offer courses for Gaelic learners from beginners into fluency. They also offer regular bachelors and graduate programs delivered entirely in Gaelic. Concerns have been raised around the fluency achieved by learners within these language programs because they are disconnected from vernacular speech communities. In regard to language revitalization planning efforts, many feel that
3360-502: A new harbour that could berth larger trading vessels at the river mouth was required. The fishermen did not use the new pier, however, but continued to sail their boats up to the beach at the Seatown. Seatown is called The Toonie by its inhabitants and sometimes referred to as the Dogwall . This was a reference to dog-skins that were dried here before being turned into floats for nets. In 1685,
3528-562: A plain promenade street from which the East Beach Bridge leads onto the sands. Ringed plover , grey heron , black-headed gull , oystercatcher , curlew , mallard and other waders feed under the bridge and are easy to watch from the street, and there are vast numbers of water birds in the more rural area further east. A large part of the town is built on the Coulard Hill which consists of pale grey and yellow sandstones and with these
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#17328522307573696-600: A proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 65% (the highest value is in Barvas , Lewis , with 64.1%). In addition, no civil parish on mainland Scotland has a proportion of Gaelic speakers greater than 20% (the highest is in Ardnamurchan , Highland , with 19.3%). Out of a total of 871 civil parishes in Scotland, the proportion of Gaelic speakers exceeds 50% in seven parishes, 25% in 14 parishes, and 10% in 35 parishes. Decline in traditional areas has recently been balanced by growth in
3864-722: A rebellion by the Mormaer of Moray in 1130 and it is possible that Stotfield dated from shortly after this event. The English-speaking inhabitants of the Lothians would most likely have been the chosen settlers. It is notable that the people inhabiting the Lothians were Angles (formally part of the Kingdom of Northumbria ). In the Middle Ages , Stotfield was primarily a farm hamlet with small-scale fishing. The fishing gradually became more important and
4032-469: A relatively small form. The beginning of the building process was marked by a ceremony and reported in the Inverness Courier as follows, "The ceremony of laying the foundation stone of the inner basin of the new harbour at Stotfield Point, Lossiemouth, took place on the 15th inst [June]. The stone was laid by Lieut. Colonel James Brander of Pitgaveny, the proprietor of the site, with the assistance of
4200-536: A situation where new learners struggle to find opportunities to speak Gaelic with fluent speakers. Affect is the way people feel about something, or the emotional response to a particular situation or experience. For Gaelic speakers, there is a conditioned and socialized negative affect through a long history of negative Scottish media portrayal and public disrespect, state mandated restrictions on Gaelic usage, and highland clearances . This negative affect towards speaking openly with non-native Gaelic speakers has led to
4368-605: A translation of the New Testament. In 1798, four tracts in Gaelic were published by the Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home, with 5,000 copies of each printed. Other publications followed, with a full Gaelic Bible in 1801. The influential and effective Gaelic Schools Society was founded in 1811. Their purpose was to teach Gaels to read the Bible in their own language. In the first quarter of
4536-581: A useful guide, these extend across a very large area. Relying on knowledge of pre-Roman Gaul , or 13th-century Ireland, as a guide to the Picts of the 6th century may be misleading if the analogy is pursued too far. Like most northern European people in Late Antiquity , the Picts were farmers living in small communities. Cattle and horses were an obvious sign of wealth and prestige. Sheep and pigs were kept in large numbers, and place names suggest that transhumance
4704-465: A wide following in the north in earlier times, although he was all but forgotten by the 12th century. Saint Serf of Culross was associated with Nechtan's brother Bridei. It appears, as is well known in later times, that noble kin groups had their own patron saints, and their own churches or abbeys. Pictish art is primarily associated with monumental stones , but also includes smaller objects of stone and bone, and metalwork such as brooches . It uses
4872-586: Is Lossiemouth F.C. , nicknamed "The Coasters", who play in the Highland Football League . The club play their home games at Grant Park. They have won several trophies in recent seasons, including the Highland League Cup and several North of Scotland Cups. The local derby had been against Elgin City FC ; however their promotion to the higher Scottish leagues in recent years has reduced the frequency of
5040-694: Is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family ) native to the Gaels of Scotland . As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as both Irish and Manx , developed out of Old Irish . It became a distinct spoken language sometime in the 13th century in the Middle Irish period, although a common literary language was shared by the Gaels of both Ireland and Scotland until well into
5208-490: Is a significant step forward for the recognition of Gaelic both at home and abroad and I look forward to addressing the council in Gaelic very soon. Seeing Gaelic spoken in such a forum raises the profile of the language as we drive forward our commitment to creating a new generation of Gaelic speakers in Scotland." Bilingual road signs, street names, business and advertisement signage (in both Gaelic and English) are gradually being introduced throughout Gaelic-speaking regions in
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5376-462: Is associated a cherty and calcareous band, known as 'the cherty rock of Stotfield' . This rock is a form of silica that contains micro-crystalline quartz. Also in the calcareous band of the Stotfield rock there is limestone with nodular masses of flint, crystals of galena (lead ore) and iron pyrites. The quarry on the east side of the town that produced the stone for the building of Branderburgh produced
5544-445: Is at Elgin and offers services every 90 to 120 minutes to both Inverness (about 50 minutes travel time) and Aberdeen (about 90 minutes travel time), and onwards to the rest of the UK. The former Morayshire Railway line to Elgin was closed to passenger traffic in 1964 and goods in 1966. The former railway route has been turned into a footpath, and the edge of the station platform is visible in
5712-607: Is classed as an indigenous language under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , which the UK Government has ratified, and the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 established a language-development body, Bòrd na Gàidhlig . The Scottish Parliament is considering a Scottish Languages Bill which proposes to give the Gaelic and Scots languages official status in Scotland. Aside from "Scottish Gaelic",
5880-588: Is extinct. Evidence is limited to place-names , personal names , and contemporary records in other languages. The evidence of place and personal names appears to indicate that the Picts spoke an Insular Celtic language related to the Brittonic languages of the south. It is possible that Pictish diverged significantly from the Southern Neo-Brittonic dialects due to the lack of influence of Latin. The absence of surviving written material in Pictish, discounting
6048-462: Is generally understood to be a reference to the practice of tattooing. Claudian , in his account of the Roman commander Stilicho , written around 404, speaks of designs on the bodies of dying Picts, presumably referring to tattoos or body paint. Isidore of Seville reports in the early seventh century that the practice was continued by the Picts. An alternative suggestion is that the Latin Picti
6216-439: Is interesting because it shows that the power to fine parishioners had by then been removed and put in the hands of magistrates. Parish records from Duffus Kirk show that similar events were happening at Brughsea (Burghead). It is apparent, therefore, that Clavie burning was carried out in the three fisher towns of Brughsea, Causie (Covesea) and Stotefold (Stotfield). It is unlikely that this practice would have been restricted to
6384-469: Is likely that the Pictish language influenced the development, grammar and vocabulary of Scottish Gaelic , which has some characteristics unique among the Goidelic languages and which, in certain cases, are more reminiscent of Brittonic languages. Toponymic evidence indicates the advance of Gaelic into Pictland; Atholl , meaning New Ireland , is attested in the early 8th century. This may be an indication of
6552-598: Is limited. Naturalistic depictions of Pictish nobles, hunters and warriors, male and female, without obvious tattoos, are found on monumental stones . These include inscriptions in Latin and ogham script, not all of which have been deciphered. The well-known Pictish symbols found on standing stones and other artefacts have defied attempts at translation over the centuries. Pictish art can be classed as " Celtic " and later as Insular . Irish poets portrayed their Pictish counterparts as very much like themselves. Early Pictish religion
6720-411: Is no evidence that Gaelic was ever widely spoken. Many historians mark the reign of King Malcolm Canmore ( Malcolm III ) between 1058 and 1093 as the beginning of Gaelic's eclipse in Scotland. His wife Margaret of Wessex spoke no Gaelic, gave her children Anglo-Saxon rather than Gaelic names, and brought many English bishops, priests, and monastics to Scotland. When Malcolm and Margaret died in 1093,
6888-461: Is presumed to have resembled Celtic polytheism in general, although only place names remain from the pre-Christian era. When the Pictish elite converted to Christianity is uncertain, but traditions place Saint Palladius in Pictland after he left Ireland , and link Abernethy with Saint Brigid of Kildare . Saint Patrick refers to "apostate Picts", while the poem Y Gododdin does not remark on
Lossiemouth - Misplaced Pages Continue
7056-491: Is referred to as "Pictland" by modern historians. Initially made up of several chiefdoms , it came to be dominated by the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu from the seventh century. During this Verturian hegemony , Picti was adopted as an endonym. This lasted around 160 years until the Pictish kingdom merged with that of Dál Riata to form the Kingdom of Alba , ruled by the House of Alpin . The concept of "Pictish kingship" continued for
7224-619: Is similar to the situation with the Gaelic name of Scotland, Alba , which originally seems to have been a generalised term for Britain. It has been proposed that the Picts may have called themselves Albidosi , a name found in the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba during the reign of Máel Coluim mac Domnaill . The origin myth presented in Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People describes
7392-476: Is the town's golf club and has two courses, the "Old Course" established in 1889, designed by Old Tom Morris who predicted that it would become the best in the north, and the 18 hole "New Course", designed by Sir Henry Cotton , opened in 1979. Lossiemouth, as with all of Moray and almost the entirety of Scotland, was previously Scottish Gaelic speaking. Following the 19th century, the process of Anglicization which had advanced for centuries saw it briefly adopt
7560-602: Is thought to be of Pictish origin, composed around 700. Its structure is similar to the origin myths of other peoples and its main purpose appears to have been to legitimise the annexation of Pictish territories by Fortriu and the creation of a wider Pictland. A study published in 2023 sequenced the whole genomes from eight individuals associated with the Pictish period, excavated from cemeteries at Lundin Links in Fife and Balintore, Easter Ross . The study observed "broad affinities" between
7728-578: Is unclear whether the Mormaers were originally former kings, royal officials, or local nobles, or some combination of these. Likewise, the Pictish shires and thanages , traces of which are found in later times, are thought to have been adopted from their southern neighbours. The archaeological record gives insight into the Picts' material culture , and suggest a society not readily distinguishable from its British, Gaelic, or Anglo-Saxon neighbours. Although analogy and knowledge of other Celtic societies may be
7896-581: Is unclear. In later periods, multiple kings ruled over separate kingdoms, with one king, sometimes two, more or less dominating their lesser neighbours. De Situ Albanie , a 13th century document, the Pictish Chronicle , the 11th century Duan Albanach , along with Irish legends, have been used to argue the existence of seven Pictish kingdoms. These are: Cait , or Cat, situated in modern Caithness and Sutherland ; Ce , situated in modern Mar and Buchan ; Circin , perhaps situated in modern Angus and
8064-589: The 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (9 km) between Lossie and Elgin, but it was later extended south to Craigellachie. The Lossie–Elgin section had three intermediate stops: the Rifle Range Halt, Greens of Drainie and Linksfield. The Great North of Scotland Railway took over the working of the line in 1863 and bought the company in 1881 following the Morayshire Railway's return from crippling debt back to solvency. The railway and harbour became very important to
8232-541: The Celtic Britons to the south. Pictish was gradually displaced by Middle Gaelic as part of the wider Gaelicisation from the late ninth century. Much of their history is known from outside sources, including Bede , hagiographies of saints such as that of Columba by Adomnán , and the Irish annals . There has been substantial critical reappraisal of the concept of "Pictishness" over recent decades. The popular view at
8400-603: The Irish Sea , have been found. This trade may have been controlled from Dunadd in Dál Riata, where such goods appear to have been common. While long-distance travel was unusual in Pictish times, it was far from unknown as stories of missionaries, travelling clerics and exiles show. Brochs are popularly associated with the Picts. Although built earlier in the Iron Age , with construction ending around 100 AD, they remained in use beyond
8568-504: The Kingdom of York . In a major battle in 839 , the Vikings killed the King of Fortriu , Eógan mac Óengusa , the King of Dál Riata Áed mac Boanta , and many others. In the aftermath, in the 840s, Kenneth MacAlpin ( Medieval Gaelic : Cináed mac Ailpín ) became king of the Picts. During the reign of Cínaed's grandson, Caustantín mac Áeda (900–943), outsiders began to refer to the region as
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#17328522307578736-548: The Outer Hebrides , accommodation ethics exist amongst native or local Gaelic speakers when engaging with new learners or non-locals. Accommodation ethics, or ethics of accommodation, is a social practice where local or native speakers of Gaelic shift to speaking English when in the presence of non-Gaelic speakers out of a sense of courtesy or politeness. This accommodation ethic persists even in situations where new learners attempt to speak Gaelic with native speakers. This creates
8904-476: The Pictish Beast , the "rectangle", the "mirror and comb", "double-disc and Z-rod" and the "crescent and V-rod", among many others. There are also bosses and lenses with pelta and spiral designs. The patterns are curvilinear with hatchings. The cross-slabs are carved with Pictish symbols, Insular-derived interlace and Christian imagery, though interpretation is often difficult due to wear and obscurity. Several of
9072-562: The Royal Air Force station, RAF Lossiemouth . Lossie Forest is a large pine forest that starts on the town's south-east boundary and the river splits it into two sections. The south side of the town is joined by the fertile plains of the Laich o' Moray. Lossiemouth Beach is a large strip of dunes separated from the rest of the town by the River Lossie, creating a useful sheltered expanse of water. The town looks down onto this natural harbour with
9240-659: The Scottish Lowlands . Between the 2001 and 2011 censuses, the number of Gaelic speakers rose in nineteen of the country's 32 council areas. The largest absolute gains were in Aberdeenshire (+526), North Lanarkshire (+305), the Aberdeen City council area (+216), and East Ayrshire (+208). The largest relative gains were in Aberdeenshire (+0.19%), East Ayrshire (+0.18%), Moray (+0.16%), and Orkney (+0.13%). In 2018,
9408-759: The significant increase in pupils in Gaelic-medium education since that time is unknown. Gaelic Medium Education is one of the primary ways that the Scottish Government is addressing Gaelic language shift. Along with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig policies, preschool and daycare environments are also being used to create more opportunities for intergenerational language transmission in the Outer Hebrides. However, revitalization efforts are not unified within Scotland or Nova Scotia, Canada. One can attend Sabhal Mòr Ostaig ,
9576-417: The 12th century. The technology of everyday life is not well recorded, but archaeological evidence shows it to have been similar to that in Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England. Recently evidence has been found of watermills in Pictland. Kilns were used for drying kernels of wheat or barley, not otherwise easy in the changeable, temperate climate. The early Picts are associated with piracy and raiding along
9744-421: The 17th century. Most of modern Scotland was once Gaelic-speaking, as evidenced especially by Gaelic-language place names. In the 2011 census of Scotland , 57,375 people (1.1% of the Scottish population aged over three years old) reported being able to speak Gaelic, 1,275 fewer than in 2001. The highest percentages of Gaelic speakers were in the Outer Hebrides . Nevertheless, there is a language revival , and
9912-437: The 19th century, the SSPCK (despite their anti-Gaelic attitude in prior years) and the British and Foreign Bible Society distributed 60,000 Gaelic Bibles and 80,000 New Testaments. It is estimated that this overall schooling and publishing effort gave about 300,000 people in the Highlands some basic literacy. Very few European languages have made the transition to a modern literary language without an early modern translation of
10080-404: The 2011 Census. The 2011 total population figure comes from table KS101SC. The numbers of Gaelic speakers relate to the numbers aged 3 and over, and the percentages are calculated using those and the number of the total population aged 3 and over. Across the whole of Scotland, the 2011 census showed that 25,000 people (0.49% of the population) used Gaelic at home. Of these, 63.3% said that they had
10248-399: The 7th century Northumbria was the most powerful kingdom in Britain. The Picts were probably tributary to Northumbria until the reign of Bridei mac Beli , when, in 685, the Anglians suffered a defeat at the Battle of Dun Nechtain that halted their northward expansion. The Northumbrians continued to dominate southern Scotland for the remainder of the Pictish period. Dál Riata was subject to
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#173285223075710416-646: The 8th and 9th centuries, after Christianization, the Pictish elite adopted a particular form of the Irish Celtic brooch , preferring true penannular brooches with lobed terminals. Some older Irish brooches were adapted to the Pictish style, for example, the c. 8th century Breadalbane Brooch now in the British Museum . The St Ninian's Isle Treasure (c. 750–825 AD) contains the best collection of Pictish forms. Other characteristics of Pictish metalwork are dotted backgrounds or designs and animal forms influenced by Insular art. The 8th century Monymusk Reliquary has elements of Pictish and Irish styles. The Pictish language
10584-494: The Bible; the lack of a well known translation may have contributed to the decline of Scottish Gaelic. Counterintuitively, access to schooling in Gaelic increased knowledge of English. In 1829, the Gaelic Schools Society reported that parents were unconcerned about their children learning Gaelic, but were anxious to have them taught English. The SSPCK also found Highlanders to have significant prejudice against Gaelic. T. M. Devine attributes this to an association between English and
10752-419: The Christian images carved on various stones, such as David the harpist, Daniel and the lion, or scenes of St Paul and St Anthony meeting in the desert, have been influenced by the Insular manuscript tradition. Pictish metalwork is found throughout Pictland (modern-day Scotland) and also further south; the Picts appeared to have a considerable amount of silver available, probably from raiding further south, or
10920-498: The EU's institutions. The Scottish government had to pay for the translation from Gaelic to other European languages . The deal was received positively in Scotland; Secretary of State for Scotland Jim Murphy said the move was a strong sign of the UK government's support for Gaelic. He said; "Allowing Gaelic speakers to communicate with European institutions in their mother tongue is a progressive step forward and one which should be welcomed". Culture Minister Mike Russell said; "this
11088-414: The Elgin burgh council called upon a German engineer, Peter Brauss, to look at the viability of providing a harbour at the mouth of the River Lossie; he decided that a harbour could be established. The first efforts at the beginning of the 18th century looked to have failed but by 1764, the new jetty had been built at a cost of £1200. At the time that the new river mouth harbour was being constructed, so too
11256-484: The Forth–Clyde line and along the northeastern coastal plain as far north as Moray. Norman French completely displaced Gaelic at court. The establishment of royal burghs throughout the same area, particularly under David I , attracted large numbers of foreigners speaking Old English. This was the beginning of Gaelic's status as a predominantly rural language in Scotland. Clan chiefs in the northern and western parts of Scotland continued to support Gaelic bards who remained
11424-415: The Gaelic Act falls so far short of the status accorded to Welsh that one would be foolish or naïve to believe that any substantial change will occur in the fortunes of the language as a result of Bòrd na Gàidhlig 's efforts. On 10 December 2008, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Scottish Human Rights Commission had the UDHR translated into Gaelic for
11592-582: The Gaelic aristocracy rejected their anglicised sons and instead backed Malcolm's brother Domnall Bán ( Donald III ). Donald had spent 17 years in Gaelic Ireland and his power base was in the thoroughly Gaelic west of Scotland. He was the last Scottish monarch to be buried on Iona , the traditional burial place of the Gaelic Kings of Dàl Riada and the Kingdom of Alba. However, during the reigns of Malcolm Canmore's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I (their successive reigns lasting 1097–1153), Anglo-Norman names and practices spread throughout Scotland south of
11760-442: The Highland and Island region. In 1616, the Privy Council proclaimed that schools teaching in English should be established. Gaelic was seen, at this time, as one of the causes of the instability of the region. It was also associated with Catholicism. The Society in Scotland for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge (SSPCK) was founded in 1709. They met in 1716, immediately after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715 , to consider
11928-416: The Highlands and Islands, including Argyll. In many cases, this has simply meant re-adopting the traditional spelling of a name (such as Ràtagan or Loch Ailleart rather than the anglicised forms Ratagan or Lochailort respectively). Some monolingual Gaelic road signs, particularly direction signs, are used on the Outer Hebrides , where a majority of the population can have a working knowledge of
12096-695: The Inner Hebridean dialects of Tiree and Islay, and even a few native speakers from Western Highland areas including Wester Ross , northwest Sutherland , Lochaber and Argyll . Dialects on both sides of the Straits of Moyle (the North Channel ) linking Scottish Gaelic with Irish are now extinct, though native speakers were still to be found on the Mull of Kintyre , on Rathlin and in North East Ireland as late as
12264-848: The Joges two dayes, Wm Innes Wm Hesbein Thomas Edward & John Thome all of þm (them) to testify þr (their) Repentance by standing at þe pillar And ilk ane of þm to pay 20s. Alexr Innes owner of þe Boats of Stotefold, Wm Young owner of þe boats of Cousea each of þm are ordained to pay 4 libs (pounds). In regard that they had not restrained this abuse Conform to þr (their) engagement before þe Presbetry in Ano 66 (year 1666) The fors (four) psons (persons) all of þ snd Compeiring þr sentence being intimated unto þm they accepting & submitting to disciplin were sharpely rebuked exhorted to serious Repentance & enjoyned to satisfy conform to þe ordinance The next Lords day." But
12432-475: The Kingdom of Alba rather than the Kingdom of the Picts, but it is not known whether this was because a new kingdom was established or Alba was simply a closer approximation of the Pictish name for the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly underway during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By
12600-607: The Mearns ; Fib, the modern Fife ; Fidach, location unknown, but possibly near Inverness ; Fotla, modern Atholl ( Ath-Fotla ); and Fortriu , cognate with the Verturiones of the Romans, recently shown to be centred on Moray . More small kingdoms may have existed. Some evidence suggests that a Pictish kingdom also existed in Orkney . De Situ Albanie is not the most reliable of sources, and
12768-554: The Moray Firth coast. Suspected Roman forts have been discovered at Thomshill , near Elgin and at Easter Galcantray, Cawdor , Nairnshire as well as a suspected marching camp at Wester Alves, Moray . The Greco-Roman astronomer and geographer Ptolemy (c. 90 – c. 168), describes in chapter two of his Geographa entitled Albion Island of Britannia the mouth of the River Lossie as ostium Loxa Fluvius . Settlement in this area has
12936-589: The Pictish king Óengus mac Fergusa (reigned 729–761), and although it had its own kings beginning in the 760s, does not appear to have recovered its political independence from the Picts. A later Pictish king, Caustantín mac Fergusa (793–820), placed his son Domnall on the throne of Dál Riata (811–835). Pictish attempts to achieve a similar dominance over the Britons of Alt Clut ( Strathclyde ) were not successful. The Viking Age brought significant change to Britain and Ireland, no less in Scotland than elsewhere, with
13104-500: The Pictish period. Crannogs , which may originate in Neolithic Scotland, may have been rebuilt, and some were still in use in the time of the Picts. The most common sort of buildings would have been roundhouses and rectangular timbered halls. While many churches were built in wood, from the early 8th century, if not earlier, some were built in stone. The Picts are often said to have tattooed themselves, but evidence for this
13272-478: The Picts as pagans. Bede wrote that Saint Ninian (confused by some with Saint Finnian of Moville , who died c. 589), had converted the southern Picts. Recent archaeological work at Portmahomack places the foundation of the monastery there, an area once assumed to be among the last converted, in the late 6th century. This is contemporary with Bridei mac Maelchon and Columba, but the process of establishing Christianity throughout Pictland will have extended over
13440-580: The Picts as settlers from Scythia who arrived on the northern coast of Ireland by chance. Local Scoti leaders redirected them to northern Britain where they settled, taking Scoti wives. The Pictish Chronicle , repeating this story, further names the mythical founding leader Cruithne (the Gaelic word for Pict ), followed by his sons, whose names correspond with the seven provinces of Pictland: Circin , Fidach , Fortriu , Fotla ( Atholl ), Cat , Ce and Fib . Bede's account has long been recognised as pseudohistorical literary invention, and
13608-539: The Picts practised matrilineal succession, but because they were usually followed by their own brothers or cousins ( agnatic seniority ), more likely to be experienced men with the authority and the support necessary to be king. This was similar to tanistry . The nature of kingship changed considerably during the centuries of Pictish history. While earlier kings had to be successful war leaders to maintain their authority, kingship became rather less personalised and more institutionalised during this time. Bureaucratic kingship
13776-571: The Trinity Lodge of Freemasons, and in presence of the Chairman and shareholders of the Harbour Company, and representatives of the burgh of Elgin." This was the beginning of the final phase of building that was to become Branderburgh. However, by 1858, the basin had been enlarged further and deepened to 16 ft (4.9 m) at spring tides. This encouraged many fishing families from up and down
13944-591: The UK Government as Welsh . With the advent of devolution , however, Scottish matters have begun to receive greater attention, and it achieved a degree of official recognition when the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act was enacted by the Scottish Parliament on 21 April 2005. The key provisions of the Act are: After its creation, Bòrd na Gàidhlig required a Gaelic Language Plan from the Scottish Government. This plan
14112-410: The Vikings conquering and settling the islands and various mainland areas, including Caithness , Sutherland and Galloway . In the middle of the 9th century Ketil Flatnose is said to have founded the Kingdom of the Isles , governing many of these territories, and by the end of that century the Vikings had destroyed the Kingdom of Northumbria, greatly weakened the Kingdom of Strathclyde , and founded
14280-800: The Western Isles (−1,745), Argyll & Bute (−694), and Highland (−634). The drop in Stornoway , the largest parish in the Western Isles by population, was especially acute, from 57.5% of the population in 1991 to 43.4% in 2011. The only parish outside the Western Isles over 40% Gaelic-speaking is Kilmuir in Northern Skye at 46%. The islands in the Inner Hebrides with significant percentages of Gaelic speakers are Tiree (38.3%), Raasay (30.4%), Skye (29.4%), Lismore (26.9%), Colonsay (20.2%), and Islay (19.0%). Today, no civil parish in Scotland has
14448-639: The Western Isles. The Scottish Qualifications Authority offer two streams of Gaelic examination across all levels of the syllabus: Gaelic for learners (equivalent to the modern foreign languages syllabus) and Gaelic for native speakers (equivalent to the English syllabus). An Comunn Gàidhealach performs assessment of spoken Gaelic, resulting in the issue of a Bronze Card, Silver Card or Gold Card. Syllabus details are available on An Comunn's website. These are not widely recognised as qualifications, but are required for those taking part in certain competitions at
14616-571: The advance of Gaelic. Fortriu also contains place names suggesting Gaelic settlement, or Gaelic influences. A pre-Gaelic interpretation of the name as Athfocla meaning 'north pass' or 'north way', as in gateway to Moray, suggests that the Gaelic Athfotla may be a Gaelic misreading of the minuscule c for t. Ogham inscriptions on Pictish stones and other Pictish archaeological objects survive. These were argued by influential linguist Kenneth Jackson to be unintelligible as Celtic and evidence for
14784-503: The annual mods . In October 2009, a new agreement allowed Scottish Gaelic to be formally used between Scottish Government ministers and European Union officials. The deal was signed by Britain's representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch , and the Scottish government . This did not give Scottish Gaelic official status in the EU but gave it the right to be a means of formal communications in
14952-435: The area, including Verturiones , Taexali and Venicones . Written history relating to the Picts as a people emerges in the Early Middle Ages . At that time, the Gaels of Dál Riata controlled what is now Argyll , as part of a kingdom straddling the sea between Britain and Ireland. The Angles of Bernicia , which merged with Deira to form Northumbria , overwhelmed the adjacent British kingdoms, and for much of
15120-512: The area. Before the RAF, fishing was almost the sole industrialised process in Lossiemouth, but it now contributes very little to the overall economy; in 2001, fishing accounted for 1.62% (55 individuals) of the full-time employment of Lossiemouth. However, some engineering businesses once associated with fishing still exist in the town. Unlike other sizable towns in the area, Lossiemouth has not attracted
15288-431: The basis of Irish legends and a statement in Bede 's history. The kings of the Picts when Bede was writing were Bridei and Nechtan, sons of Der Ilei, who indeed claimed the throne through their mother Der Ilei, daughter of an earlier Pictish king. In Ireland, kings were expected to come from among those who had a great-grandfather who had been king. Kingly fathers were not frequently succeeded by their sons, not because
15456-422: The beginning of the twentieth century was that they were exotic "lost people". It was noted in the highly influential work of 1955, The Problem of the Picts , that the subject area was difficult, with the archaeological and historical records frequently being at odds with the conventional essentialist expectations about historical peoples. Since then, the culture-historical paradigm of archaeology dominant since
15624-581: The bill be strengthened, a revised bill was published; the main alteration was that the guidance of the Bòrd is now statutory (rather than advisory). In the committee stages in the Scottish Parliament, there was much debate over whether Gaelic should be given 'equal validity' with English. Due to executive concerns about resourcing implications if this wording was used, the Education Committee settled on
15792-433: The burgh went on behalf of the town to Lossiemouth to meet the gentlemen appointed to stake off the ground for a proposed new harbour. The worthy Magistrates walked the whole distance, five miles out and five miles home, and only spent one shilling! This expenditure consisted of sixpence for whisky and the other sixpence to the waiter." The construction of the new harbour was carried out between 1837 and 1839 but initially in
15960-579: The castle at Kinneddar, along with those at Elgin and Duffus, was left under the control of English garrisons. In 1308, Robert the Bruce , taking advantage of King Edward II 's preoccupation with matters in England and France, started capturing and usually destroying castles that were either English garrisoned or controlled throughout Scotland. Joined by an army provided by David de Moravia, the Bishop of Moray , Bruce burned
16128-400: The castles of Inverness and Nairn before seizing and burning Kinneddar castle. He attacked Elgin castle only to be twice repulsed before finally succeeding. King Edward had the Bishop ex-communicated causing him to flee to Norway only to return after Edward's death. Kinneddar village was still sizeable in the early 19th century but dwindled away with the building of the new Lossiemouth, just to
16296-414: The cemetery and indicate the presence of a Christian establishment. Early documented references to the settlement refer to it as Kenedor dating it to the 10th century; it may, of course, have been a continuation of the original Pictish religious community. Saint Gervadius (Gerardine) is referred to as "Gervadius of Kenedor" and may have been part of this community, establishing his cell in the cave just to
16464-625: The census of pupils in Scotland showed 520 students in publicly funded schools had Gaelic as the main language at home, an increase of 5% from 497 in 2014. During the same period, Gaelic medium education in Scotland has grown, with 4,343 pupils (6.3 per 1000) being educated in a Gaelic-immersion environment in 2018, up from 3,583 pupils (5.3 per 1000) in 2014. Data collected in 2007–2008 indicated that even among pupils enrolled in Gaelic medium schools, 81% of primary students and 74% of secondary students report using English more often than Gaelic when speaking with their mothers at home. The effect on this of
16632-506: The church. Nonetheless, the evidence of place names suggests a wide area of Ionan influence in Pictland. Likewise, the Cáin Adomnáin (Law of Adomnán , Lex Innocentium ) counts Nechtan's brother Bridei among its guarantors. The importance of monastic centres in Pictland was not as great as in Ireland. In areas that have been studied, such as Strathspey and Perthshire , it appears that
16800-549: The cities and professors of Celtic from universities who sought to preserve the language. The Education (Scotland) Act 1872 provided universal education in Scotland, but completely ignored Gaelic in its plans. The mechanism for supporting Gaelic through the Education Codes issued by the Scottish Education Department were steadily used to overcome this omission, with many concessions in place by 1918. However,
16968-432: The coast to move to the town. The harbour as well as having a large herring fleet by now, also shared the available space with trading ships. This prompted the now renamed Elgin and Lossiemouth Harbour Company to build a new second basin at a cost of £18,000. This basin was intended solely for fishing boats and opened in 1860. Branderburgh, with its characteristic wide streets, continued to push its boundaries westward and by
17136-534: The coasts of Roman Britain . Even in the Late Middle Ages , the line between traders and pirates was unclear, so that Pictish pirates were probably merchants on other occasions. It is generally assumed that trade collapsed with the Roman Empire, but this is to overstate the case. There is only limited evidence of long-distance trade with Pictland, but tableware and storage vessels from Gaul, probably transported up
17304-501: The concept of 'equal respect'. It is not clear what the legal force of this wording is. The Act was passed by the Scottish Parliament unanimously, with support from all sectors of the Scottish political spectrum, on 21 April 2005. Under the provisions of the Act, it will ultimately fall to BnG to secure the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland. Some commentators, such as Éamonn Ó Gribín (2006) argue that
17472-638: The country; the most likely explanation is that the early cartographers took the local pronunciation of Kinneddar as King Edward and recorded it as such. He is known to have stayed in Elgin for four days in late July 1296 and it was during this sojourn into Scotland that he removed the Stone of Scone (Stone of Destiny) from Scone Palace and had it placed in a wooden chair at Westminster Abbey . He again stayed in Elgin for two days in September 1303 and then camped at Kinloss Abbey from 13 September to 4 October. At that time
17640-546: The dialect of the Scottish Gaelic language, and also mixed use of English and Gaelic across the Highlands and Islands. Dialects of Lowland Gaelic have been defunct since the 18th century. Gaelic in the Eastern and Southern Scottish Highlands, although alive until the mid-20th century, is now largely defunct. Although modern Scottish Gaelic is dominated by the dialects of the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Skye, there remain some speakers of
17808-480: The early modern era . Prior to the 15th century, this language was known as Inglis ("English") by its own speakers, with Gaelic being called Scottis ("Scottish"). Beginning in the late 15th century, it became increasingly common for such speakers to refer to Scottish Gaelic as Erse ("Irish") and the Lowland vernacular as Scottis . Today, Scottish Gaelic is recognised as a separate language from Irish, so
17976-450: The early 19th century, the river harbour was busy but its long-term future was unsustainable and meant that a new solution was sought. In 1834, a Stotfield and Lossiemouth Harbour Company was formed to look into building a new harbour at Stotfield Point. That same year, The Inverness Courier carried the following: "A paragraph is quoted from an Elgin paper under the heading "unexampled economy worthy of imitation." The two senior bailies of
18144-412: The early 20th century finally joined with Stotfield. A substantial amount of sandstone was quarried from the east side of the town to accommodate this rapid house building project. After Lossiemouth and Branderburgh became a police burgh in 1863, the town evolved to become known as Lossiemouth. Lossiemouth Town Hall was completed in 1885. The boats used at Stotfield, Seatown and finally Branderburgh were
18312-496: The early dating of the traditional accounts and arguing for other interpretations of the archaeological evidence. Regardless of how it came to be spoken in the region, Gaelic in Scotland was mostly confined to Dál Riata until the eighth century, when it began expanding into Pictish areas north of the Firth of Forth and the Firth of Clyde. During the reign of Caustantín mac Áeda (Constantine II, 900–943), outsiders began to refer to
18480-473: The east. The early maps, some dating back to the early 16th century, clearly show Stotfield; some maps name the settlement as Stotfold or Stodfauld. The name Stotfold comes from the Middle Scots meaning, 'horse fold'. King David I introduced settlers from other parts of the kingdom as a way of reducing the powers of the lords who had ruled large territories as independent provinces. Indeed, King David put down
18648-455: The economy of both Lossie and Moray. It was the Morayshire Railway that persuaded Col Brander, of Pitgaveny, to build the bridge from the Seatown to the east beach to encourage more day tripping in the summer months. The town is located on the most northerly point of the south coast of the Moray Firth , at the mouth of the River Lossie . To the west of the town are a sandy beach, golf links and
18816-560: The eighth century. For the first time, the entire region of modern-day Scotland was called Scotia in Latin, and Gaelic was the lingua Scotica . In southern Scotland , Gaelic was strong in Galloway , adjoining areas to the north and west, West Lothian , and parts of western Midlothian . It was spoken to a lesser degree in north Ayrshire , Renfrewshire , the Clyde Valley and eastern Dumfriesshire . In south-eastern Scotland, there
18984-464: The enigmatic Ogham inscriptions, does not indicate a pre-literate society. The church certainly required literacy in Latin, and could not function without copyists to produce liturgical documents. Pictish iconography shows books being read and carried, and its naturalistic style gives every reason to suppose that such images were of real life. Literacy was not widespread, but among the senior clergy, and in monasteries, it would have been common enough. It
19152-400: The first significant settlement (discounting Kinneddar which has now disappeared), lies to the north west of the town. Next was the Seatown – a small area between the river and the canal inholding of 52 houses, 51 of which are the historic fisher cottages. When the new harbour was built on the River Lossie , the 18th-century planned town of Lossiemouth, built on a grid system, was established on
19320-545: The first time. However, given there are no longer any monolingual Gaelic speakers, following an appeal in the court case of Taylor v Haughney (1982), involving the status of Gaelic in judicial proceedings, the High Court ruled against a general right to use Gaelic in court proceedings. While the goal of the Gaelic Language Act was to aid in revitalization efforts through government mandated official language status,
19488-823: The fishers of Stotefold & Cousea being remitted from þe Presbetry to this Church discipline for satisfaction of þr (their) great & gross scandall & Idolatrous custome in burning torches on þe new years even The Presbetry having ordained þ' (that) those psons mor in accession in this transgression þn (than) oþrs (others) satisfy þe discipline in Sacco And oyra according to the arbitrement of þe Sessione. The Session do þrfore (therefore) ordain John Edward in Stotefold to satisfy in Sacco on day & to pay 20s James Jafray in Cousea to satisfy in
19656-639: The fourth century. The bulk of written history dates from the seventh century onwards. The Irish annalists and contemporary scholars like Bede use "Picts" to describe the peoples under the Verturian hegemony . This encompassed most of Scotland north of the Forth-Clyde isthmus and to the exclusion of territory occupied by Dál Riata in the west. To the south lay the Brittonic kingdom of Strathclyde , with Lothian occupied by Northumbrian Angles. The use of "Picts" as
19824-464: The hoard has a "Z-rod", one of the Pictish symbols, in a particularly well-preserved and elegant form; unfortunately few comparable pieces have survived. Over ten heavy silver chains, some over 0.5m long, have been found from this period; the double-linked Whitecleuch Chain is one of only two that have a penannular linking piece for the ends, with symbol decoration including enamel, which shows how these were probably used as "choker" necklaces. In
19992-479: The initiatives must come from within Gaelic speaking communities, be led by Gaelic speakers, and be designed to serve and increase fluency within the vernacular communities as the first and most viable resistance to total language shift from Gaelic to English. Currently, language policies are focused on creating new language speakers through education, instead of focused on how to strengthen intergenerational transmission within existing Gaelic speaking communities. In
20160-670: The language may also be referred to simply as "Gaelic", pronounced / ˈ ɡ æ l ɪ k / GAL -ik in English . However, "Gaelic" / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik also refers to the Irish language ( Gaeilge ) and the Manx language ( Gaelg ). Scottish Gaelic is distinct from Scots , the Middle English -derived language which had come to be spoken in most of the Lowlands of Scotland by
20328-495: The language. Compared with the 2001 Census, there has been a diminution of about 1300 people. This is the smallest drop between censuses since the Gaelic-language question was first asked in 1881. The Scottish government's language minister and Bòrd na Gàidhlig took this as evidence that Gaelic's long decline has slowed. The main stronghold of the language continues to be the Outer Hebrides ( Na h-Eileanan Siar ), where
20496-463: The language. These omit the English translation entirely. Bilingual railway station signs are now more frequent than they used to be. Practically all the stations in the Highland area use both English and Gaelic, and the use of bilingual station signs has become more frequent in the Lowlands of Scotland, including areas where Gaelic has not been spoken for a long time. Picts The Picts were
20664-601: The large supermarket groups due to its proximity to Elgin, which also provides employment to a significant proportion of the working population. Three roads converge on the town. The A941 connects to Elgin, while the B9103 joins the A96 (main Inverness to Aberdeen route) and the B9040 connects to Hopeman and Burghead . There is a regular bus service to and from Elgin. The nearest railway station
20832-401: The largest variety and total numbers of fossil reptiles from the late Triassic Period to have been found in the UK. This was a total of eight species and 97 individuals; five of the species are unique to Lossiemouth, one of which is an early form of dinosaur . This quarry is ranked as one of Britain's most important fossil bearing locations of this period. Lossiemouth's population in 1901
21000-512: The late nineteenth century gave way to the processual archaeology (formerly known as the New Archaeology ) theory. Moreover, there has been significant reappraisal of textual sources written, for example by Bede and Adomnán in the seventh and eighth centuries. These works relate events of previous centuries, but current scholarship recognises their often allegorical, pseudo-historical nature, and their true value often lies in an appraisal of
21168-460: The low ground below the Coulard Hill. Branderburgh formed the final development during the 19th century. This part of the town developed entirely as a result of the new harbour with its two basins, and eventually covered the entire Coulard Hill; it has an impressive profile when seen from a distance. Although the Romans never conquered the peoples of the north of Scotland, they made several journeys to
21336-535: The main car park near the harbour. There is a frequent bus service from Lossiemouth to Elgin. Inverness Airport (36 miles / 58 km) and Aberdeen Airport (62 miles / 100 km) offer a wide range of destinations. The following religious denominations have places of worship in Lossiemouth: Church of Scotland United Free Church of Scotland Baptist Plymouth Brethren Scottish Episcopal Roman Catholic The town's main football club
21504-531: The mainland Pictish genomes, Iron Age Britons and the present-day people living in western Scotland, Wales , Northern Ireland and Northumbria , but less with the rest of England, supporting the current archaeological theories of a "local origin" of the Pictish people. The area occupied by the Picts had previously been described by Roman writers and geographers as the home of the Caledonii . These Romans also used other names to refer to Britannic tribes living in
21672-533: The matches. The town's junior football club is Lossiemouth United. RAF Lossiemouth also has a junior football club. In addition, the station has a rugby union and a cricket club that play in their respective North of Scotland leagues and a rugby league side that plays in the Scotland Rugby League as the Moray Eels; most station teams also play in their respective RAF competitions. The Moray Golf Club
21840-453: The members of Highland school boards tended to have anti-Gaelic attitudes and served as an obstacle to Gaelic education in the late 19th and early 20th century. Loss of life due to World War I and the 1919 sinking of the HMY Iolaire , combined with emigration, resulted in the 1910s seeing unprecedented damage to the use of Scottish Gaelic, with a 46% fall in monolingual speakers and
22008-723: The mid-20th century. Records of their speech show that Irish and Scottish Gaelic existed in a dialect chain with no clear language boundary. Some features of moribund dialects have been preserved in Nova Scotia, including the pronunciation of the broad or velarised l ( l̪ˠ ) as [w] , as in the Lochaber dialect. The Endangered Languages Project lists Gaelic's status as "threatened", with "20,000 to 30,000 active users". UNESCO classifies Gaelic as " definitely endangered ". The 1755–2001 figures are census data quoted by MacAulay. The 2011 Gaelic speakers figures come from table KS206SC of
22176-532: The modern era. Some of this was driven by policy decisions by government or other organisations, while some originated from social changes. In the last quarter of the 20th century, efforts began to encourage use of the language. The Statutes of Iona , enacted by James VI in 1609, was one piece of legislation that addressed, among other things, the Gaelic language. It required the heirs of clan chiefs to be educated in lowland, Protestant, English-speaking schools. James VI took several such measures to impose his rule on
22344-483: The most ancient of these are Kinneddar and Stotfield. Kinneddar (Gaelic: Cinn Eadar ) has now disappeared as a ferm toun , however an old farmhouse still retains its name and is probably its location. A Pictish settlement occupied the area and large numbers of carved stones, now held in Elgin Museum, were found. These stones date the settlement to around the 8th or 9th century. Pictish crosses were found in or near
22512-408: The name, in terms of language, culture, religion and politics. The term "Pict" is found in Roman sources from the end of the third century AD, when it was used to describe unromanised people in northern Britain. The term is most likely to have been pejorative, emphasising their supposed barbarism in contrast to the Britons under Roman rule. It has been argued, most notably by James Fraser , that
22680-480: The northeast. Bishop Richard is known to have resided at Kinneddar and for that period, it became the cathedral church of the diocese. However maps dating from the early 16th century clearly show this farming community as King Edward. It is unlikely, though, that this community took its name from King Edward I of England, The Hammer of the Scots , even though Edward travelled twice to this area to demonstrate his grip over
22848-407: The number of kingdoms, one for each of the seven sons of Cruithne , the eponymous founder of the Picts, may well be grounds enough for disbelief. Regardless of the exact number of kingdoms and their names, the Pictish nation was not a united one. For most of Pictish recorded history, the kingdom of Fortriu appears dominant, so much so that king of Fortriu and king of the Picts may mean one and
23016-434: The number of speakers of the language under age 20 did not decrease between the 2001 and 2011 censuses. In the 2022 census of Scotland , it was found that 2.5% of the Scottish population had some skills in Gaelic, or 130,161 persons. Of these, 69,701 people reported speaking the language, with a further 46,404 people reporting that they understood the language, but did not speak, read, or write in it. Outside of Scotland,
23184-639: The official language of government and law. Scotland's emergent nationalism in the era following the conclusion of the Wars of Scottish Independence was organized using Scots as well. For example, the nation's great patriotic literature including John Barbour's The Brus (1375) and Blind Harry's The Wallace (before 1488) was written in Scots, not Gaelic. By the end of the 15th century, English/Scots speakers referred to Gaelic instead as 'Yrisch' or 'Erse', i.e. Irish and their own language as 'Scottis'. A steady shift away from Scottish Gaelic continued into and through
23352-459: The outcome of the act is distanced from the actual minority language communities. It helps to create visibility of the minority language in civil structures, but does not impact or address the lived experiences of the Gaelic speaker communities wherein the revitalization efforts may have a higher return of new Gaelic speakers. Efforts are being made to concentrate resources, language planning, and revitalization efforts towards vernacular communities in
23520-551: The overall proportion of speakers is 52.2%. Important pockets of the language also exist in the Highlands (5.4%) and in Argyll and Bute (4.0%) and Inverness (4.9%). The locality with the largest absolute number is Glasgow with 5,878 such persons, who make up over 10% of all of Scotland's Gaelic speakers. Gaelic continues to decline in its traditional heartland. Between 2001 and 2011, the absolute number of Gaelic speakers fell sharply in
23688-466: The parochial structure of the High Middle Ages existed in early medieval times. Among the major religious sites of eastern Pictland were Portmahomack, Cennrígmonaid (later St Andrews ), Dunkeld , Abernethy and Rosemarkie . It appears that these are associated with Pictish kings, which argue for a considerable degree of royal patronage and control of the church. Portmahomack in particular has been
23856-476: The payment of subsidies to keep them from doing so. The very large hoard of late Roman hacksilver found at Traprain Law may have originated in either way. The largest hoard of early Pictish metalwork was found in 1819 at Norrie's Law in Fife, but unfortunately much was dispersed and melted down ( Scots law on treasure finds has always been unhelpful to preservation). A famous 7th century silver and enamel plaque from
24024-600: The population specialised into farm workers and fishermen. However, the religious strictures introduced in the Reformation impacted the community, especially the fishers. The minutes of the Kinneddar Parish Kirk Session clearly show that the ancient superstitions were at least as important to them as observance of church niceties: "17 Aprilis 1670 After Sermon the Session Assembling &c. The said day
24192-456: The practices continued, and 35 years later the minutes from the session records stated: "23 Dec 1705 Also after sermon þe min1' (the minister) did guard þe Seamen to beware of þe old Heathenish superstitious practice of carrieing of lighted Clevies or torches about þr boats on new years even certifieing all that should be found any manner of way to concurr with or contribute to þe said work—should be put in þe hands of þe civill magistrate." This
24360-459: The prosperity of employment: the Highland economy relied greatly on seasonal migrant workers travelling outside the Gàidhealtachd . In 1863, an observer sympathetic to Gaelic stated that "knowledge of English is indispensable to any poor islander who wishes to learn a trade or to earn his bread beyond the limits of his native Isle". Generally, rather than Gaelic speakers, it was Celtic societies in
24528-519: The putative migration or takeover is not reflected in archaeological or placename data (as pointed out earlier by Leslie Alcock ). Campbell has also questioned the age and reliability of the medieval historical sources speaking of a conquest. Instead, he has inferred that Argyll formed part of a common Q-Celtic -speaking area with Ireland, connected rather than divided by the sea, since the Iron Age. These arguments have been opposed by some scholars defending
24696-454: The reform and civilisation of the Highlands, which they sought to achieve by teaching English and the Protestant religion. Initially, their teaching was entirely in English, but soon the impracticality of educating Gaelic-speaking children in this way gave rise to a modest concession: in 1723, teachers were allowed to translate English words in the Bible into Gaelic to aid comprehension, but there
24864-428: The region as the kingdom of Alba rather than as the kingdom of the Picts. However, though the Pictish language did not disappear suddenly, a process of Gaelicisation (which may have begun generations earlier) was clearly under way during the reigns of Caustantín and his successors. By a certain point, probably during the 11th century, all the inhabitants of Alba had become fully Gaelicised Scots, and Pictish identity
25032-489: The same as those found across the entire Scottish east coast fishery. Chronologically, these were the two masted luggers, the Skaffies, Fifies and Zulus; then the powered Steam Drifters and Seine Netters. The Morayshire Railway was officially opened at ceremonies in Elgin and Branderburgh on 10 August 1852, the steam engines having been delivered to Lossie by sea. It was the first railway north of Aberdeen. Initially it went only
25200-399: The same thing in the annals. This was previously thought to lie in the area around Perth and southern Strathearn ; however, recent work has convinced those working in the field that Moray (a name referring to a very much larger area in the High Middle Ages than the county of Moray ) was the core of Fortriu. The Picts are often thought to have practised matrilineal kingship succession on
25368-502: The sea entrance. It is documented that in 1609, to avoid flooding, the post- Reformation Protestant Bishop Alexander Douglas took steps to exclude the River Lossie from the loch. Evidence of a sudden and apparently artificial right-angled bend between Caysbriggs and Inchbroom may indicate the location of this diversion. Modern Lossiemouth has its origins in five separate communities that in time grew into one. These were Kinneddar, Stotfield, Seatown, Lossiemouth, and finally Branderburgh;
25536-437: The subject of recent excavation and research, published by Martin Carver . The cult of saints was, as throughout Christian lands, of great importance in later Pictland. While kings might venerate great saints, such as Saint Peter in the case of Nechtan, and perhaps Saint Andrew in the case of the second Óengus mac Fergusa , many lesser saints, some now obscure, were important. The Pictish Saint Drostan appears to have had
25704-597: The term "Pict" would have had little meaning to the people to whom it was being applied. Fraser posits that it was only adopted as an endonym in the late seventh century, as an inclusive term for people under rule of the Verturian hegemony, centered in Fortriu (the area around modern-day Inverness and Moray ), particularly following the Battle of Dun Nechtain . This view is, however, not universal. Gordon Noble and Nicholas Evans consider it plausible, if not provable, that "Picts" may have been used as an endonym by those northern Britons in closest contact with Rome as early as
25872-399: The three Morayshire locations and likely that it would have been more widespread. Burghead still burns a ceremonial clavie on the eve of the old (Julian) new year but it is no longer associated with fishing boats. A puzzling date for the modern ceremony as the 17th-century ones were held on 31 December. The Stotfield fishing disaster struck on 25 December 1806 and every able-bodied male in
26040-469: The time period in which they were written. The difficulties with Pictish history and archaeology arise from the fact that the people who were called Picts were a fundamentally heterogeneous group with little cultural uniformity. Care is needed to avoid viewing them through the lens of what the cultural historian Gilbert Márkus calls the "Ethnic Fallacy". The people known as "Picts" by outsiders in late antiquity were very different from those who later adopted
26208-415: The village perished in the storm; this had an enormous effect on the Stotfield community. The folk memory of it is still retained among the fishermen of Lossiemouth. The Seatown was established at the end of the 17th century when the old port at Spynie became landlocked. A succession of storms had built up large shingle banks to block the outlet of Loch Spynie to the sea. The merchants of Elgin decided that
26376-399: The wild. The pastoral economy meant that hides and leather were readily available. Wool was the main source of fibres for clothing, and flax was also common, although it is not clear if they grew it for fibres, for oil, or as a foodstuff. Fish, shellfish, seals, and whales were exploited along coasts and rivers. The importance of domesticated animals suggests that meat and milk products were
26544-481: The word Erse in reference to Scottish Gaelic is no longer used. Based on medieval traditional accounts and the apparent evidence from linguistic geography, Gaelic has been commonly believed to have been brought to Scotland, in the 4th–5th centuries CE, by settlers from Ireland who founded the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata on Scotland's west coast in present-day Argyll . An alternative view has been voiced by archaeologist Ewan Campbell , who has argued that
26712-412: Was 3904 Lossiemouth is heavily dependent on the Royal Air Force station for its employment of civilians. In 2005, RAF Lossiemouth along with its neighbour RAF Kinloss contributed £156.5 million (including civilian expenditure) to the Moray economy, of which £76.6 million was retained and spent locally. The bases are responsible for providing, directly or indirectly, 21 per cent of all employment in
26880-433: Was a more planned development laid out in streets running parallel and right angles to each other. An open square with a cross separated the first settlement from the new. The fishers occupied the houses at the Seatown and the builders, craftsmen and merchants in the new Lossiemouth. Later, a canal cut to drain Loch Spynie, would present a physical barrier to the two communities and entered the River Lossie in this area. By
27048-399: Was accepted in 2008, and some of its main commitments were: identity (signs, corporate identity); communications (reception, telephone, mailings, public meetings, complaint procedures); publications (PR and media, websites); staffing (language learning, training, recruitment). Following a consultation period, in which the government received many submissions, the majority of which asked that
27216-660: Was common. Animals were small by later standards, although horses from Britain were imported into Ireland as breeding stock to enlarge native horses. From Irish sources, it appears that the elite engaged in competitive cattle breeding for size, and this may have been the case in Pictland also. Carvings show hunting with dogs, and also, unlike in Ireland, with falcons. Cereal crops included wheat , barley , oats and rye . Vegetables included kale , cabbage , onions and leeks , peas and beans and turnips , and some types no longer common, such as skirret . Plants such as wild garlic , nettles and watercress may have been gathered in
27384-432: Was derived from a native form, perhaps related etymologically to the Gallic Pictones . The Picts were called Cruithni in Old Irish and Prydyn in Old Welsh . These are lexical cognates , from the proto-Celtic * kwritu 'form', from which * Pretania (Britain) also derives. Pretani (and with it Cruithni and Prydyn ) is likely to have originated as a generalised term for any native inhabitant of Britain. This
27552-407: Was documented in 1383 regarding the "ownership" of the port of "Losey". This document mentions that Losey was commonly known to fall within the limits of the episcopal estates. The Bishop's description of the port suggests that it was well downstream from his fishing station at Spynie. So it seems likely that Losey was not merely a fishing station but also a trading port that the Elgin burgesses used as
27720-565: Was forgotten. Bilingualism in Pictish and Gaelic, prior to the former's extinction, led to the presence of Pictish loanwords in Gaelic and syntactic influence which could be considered to constitute a Pictish substrate. In 1018, after the conquest of Lothian (theretofore part of England and inhabited predominantly by speakers of Northumbrian Old English ) by the Kingdom of Scotland , Gaelic reached its social, cultural, political, and geographic zenith. Colloquial speech in Scotland had been developing independently of that in Ireland since
27888-436: Was long suppressed. The UK government has ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Gaelic. Gaelic, along with Irish and Welsh, is designated under Part III of the Charter, which requires the UK Government to take a range of concrete measures in the fields of education, justice, public administration, broadcasting and culture. It has not received the same degree of official recognition from
28056-459: Was no further permitted use. Other less prominent schools worked in the Highlands at the same time, also teaching in English. This process of anglicisation paused when evangelical preachers arrived in the Highlands, convinced that people should be able to read religious texts in their own language. The first well known translation of the Bible into Scottish Gaelic was made in 1767, when James Stuart of Killin and Dugald Buchanan of Rannoch produced
28224-600: Was still far in the future when Pictland became Alba, but the support of the church, and the apparent ability of a small number of families to control the kingship for much of the period from the later 7th century onwards, provided a considerable degree of continuity. In much the same period, the Picts' neighbours in Dál Riata and Northumbria faced considerable difficulties, as the stability of succession and rule that previously benefited them ended. The later Mormaers are thought to have originated in Pictish times, and to have been copied from, or inspired by, Northumbrian usages. It
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