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Alastair Fraser's avatar

Another intriguing and well argued idea Fiona.

Couple of thoughts:

Remember Kincardine, or at least the carden element, is also a Pictish word, meaning woodland. So maybe a king would visit to go hunting at the “head of the woods. If its primary purpose was for the hunt there would not necessarily need to be an estate to provide sustenance for a longer stay

Also, if you are taking the David iconography as the marker for such stopping off points on a royal itinerary, where does Forres fit in if Jane’s identification of the inauguration scene as based on David is correct?

On an unrelated topic, are you enjoying Only Child and its Forres setting? The final episode particularly with a good Forres worthy speaking what can only be modern Pictish! 🤓

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MR COLIN MACAULAY's avatar

Many thanks for sharing your research, which is fascinating reading. I became aware of the royal practice of itineration through study of Northumbrian kings of the 7th century, for which there are diverse and surprisingly plentiful sources. Recently I re-read Max Adams's "The King in the North, the life and times of Oswald of Northumbria" (2013), which despite the Game of Thrones reference in the title is actually a very fascinating and close study of royal practices and of how land was exploited in that period. I'd recommend it to anyone struggling to understand how these systems work. Of course, Northumbria isn't Pictland, but it would be a surprise to me at least if there wasn't a similar system employed in the real north!

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