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175-653: Inverness ( / ˌ ɪ n v ər ˈ n ɛ s / ; Scots : Innerness ; from the Scottish Gaelic : Inbhir Nis [iɲɪɾʲˈniʃ] , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness ") is a city in the Scottish Highlands , having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Historically it served as
350-923: A 1996 trial before the Census, by the General Register Office for Scotland (GRO), suggested that there were around 1.5 million speakers of Scots, with 30% of Scots responding "Yes" to the question "Can you speak the Scots language?", but only 17% responding "Aye" to the question "Can you speak Scots?". It was also found that older, working-class people were more likely to answer in the affirmative. The University of Aberdeen Scots Leid Quorum performed its own research in 1995, cautiously suggesting that there were 2.7 million speakers, though with clarification as to why these figures required context. The GRO questions, as freely acknowledged by those who set them, were not as detailed and systematic as those of
525-650: A Scots language listing. The Ferret, a UK -based fact-checking service, wrote an exploratory article in December 2022 to address misconceptions about the Scots language to improve public awareness of its endangered status. In Scotland, Scots is spoken in the Scottish Lowlands , the Northern Isles , Caithness , Arran and Campbeltown . In Ulster , the northern province in Ireland , its area
700-403: 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
875-540: A clear pathway through the wooded terrain. Inverness lies on the Great Glen Fault . There are minor earthquakes, usually unnoticed by locals, about every 3 years. The last earthquake to affect Inverness was in 1934. Like most of the United Kingdom , Inverness has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). The climate here is cooler than in more southerly parts of Britain. The highest temperature recorded
1050-469: A collection of children's nursery rhymes and poems in Scots. The book contains a five-page glossary of contemporary Scots words and their pronunciations. Alexander Gray 's translations into Scots constitute the greater part of his work, and are the main basis for his reputation. In 1983, William Laughton Lorimer 's translation of the New Testament from the original Greek was published. Scots
1225-433: A continuum ranging from traditional broad Scots to Scottish Standard English . Many speakers are diglossic and may be able to code-switch along the continuum depending on the situation. Where on this continuum English-influenced Scots becomes Scots-influenced English is difficult to determine. Because standard English now generally has the role of a Dachsprache ('roofing language'), disputes often arise as to whether
1400-540: 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
1575-532: 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
1750-576: 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
1925-599: A more phonological manner rather than following the pan-dialect conventions of modern literary Scots, especially for the northern and insular dialects of Scots. Picts The Picts were 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
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#17327652066572100-574: 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
2275-696: A name for the Lowland vernacular. The Gaelic of Scotland is now usually called Scottish Gaelic . Northumbrian Old English had been established in what is now southeastern Scotland as far as the River Forth by the seventh century, as the region was part of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria . By the tenth century, Middle Irish was the language of the Scottish court , and the common use of Old English remained largely confined to this area until
2450-413: A number of paradigms for distinguishing between languages and dialects exist, they often render contradictory results. Broad Scots is at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum , with Scottish Standard English at the other. Scots is sometimes regarded as a variety of English, though it has its own distinct dialects; other scholars treat Scots as a distinct Germanic language, in the way that Norwegian
2625-525: A parliament in the castle to which the northern chieftains were summoned, of whom three were arrested for defying the king's command. Clan Munro defeated Clan Mackintosh in 1454 at the Battle of Clachnaharry just west of the city. Clan Donald and their allies stormed the castle during the Raid on Ross in 1491. In 1562, during the progress undertaken to suppress Huntly's insurrection, Mary, Queen of Scots ,
2800-518: A population of 56,969 in 2012. In 2016, it had a population of 63,320. Inverness is one of Europe's fastest growing cities, with a quarter of the Highland population living in or around it. In 2008, Inverness was ranked fifth out of 189 British cities for its quality of life , the highest of any Scottish city. Much of what is known about Inverness's prehistory comes from archaeological work that takes place before construction/development work as part of
2975-582: A quarter of all the University of the Highlands and Islands' students, and 30% of those studying to degree level. In 2015 the college moved to a new campus to the East of the A9. The original outline planning application forms a vision for the development over the next thirty years. The application includes: The 80-hectare (200-acre) campus at Beechwood, just off the A9 east of Inverness, is considered to be one of
3150-612: A representative sample of Scotland's adult population) claim to speak Scots to varying degrees. The 2011 UK census was the first to ask residents of Scotland about Scots. A campaign called Aye Can was set up to help individuals answer the question. The specific wording used was "Which of these can you do? Tick all that apply" with options for "Understand", "Speak", "Read" and "Write" in three columns: English, Scottish Gaelic and Scots. Of approximately 5.1 million respondents, about 1.2 million (24%) could speak, read and write Scots, 3.2 million (62%) had no skills in Scots and
3325-649: A silver coin was offered. Tobar na h-Oige ("Well of the Young") is located near Culloden and was known for curing all ailments. Fuaran a' Chragan Bhreag ("Well of the Speckled Rock") is located near Craig Dundain and Fuaran na Capaich ("The Keppoch Well") is located near Culloden. Inverness is also home to the Munlochy Clootie Well . Although a Gaelic name itself, Craig Phadraig is alternatively known as Làrach an Taigh Mhóir , or "the place of
3500-406: A small sea loch which was situated beside Morrisons supermarket, was filled in during the 19th century and lives on only in the name of Lochgorm Warehouse. Abban Street stems from the word àban , a word of local Gaelic dialect meaning a small channel of water. Many prominent points around Inverness retain fully Gaelic names. In the colonial period, a Gaelic-speaking settlement named New Inverness
3675-506: A suitable medium of education or culture". Students reverted to Scots outside the classroom, but the reversion was not complete. What occurred, and has been occurring ever since, is a process of language attrition , whereby successive generations have adopted more and more features from Standard English. This process has accelerated rapidly since widespread access to mass media in English and increased population mobility became available after
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#17327652066573850-592: 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
4025-420: A vulnerable language by UNESCO . In a Scottish census from 2022, over 1.5 million people in Scotland reported being able to speak Scots. Given that there are no universally accepted criteria for distinguishing a language from a dialect , scholars and other interested parties often disagree about the linguistic, historical and social status of Scots, particularly its relationship to English . Although
4200-465: 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
4375-619: Is Inverness College UHI which offers further and higher education courses to those of school leaving age and above. The city also has a new Centre for Health Sciences adjacent to Raigmore Hospital. Inverness College is situated in the city and is a part of the University of the Highlands and Islands , a federation of 15 colleges and research institutions in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland delivering higher education . With around 8,420 students, Inverness College hosts around
4550-542: Is a language variety descended from Early Middle English in the West Germanic language family . Most commonly spoken in the Scottish Lowlands , the Northern Isles of Scotland , and northern Ulster in Ireland (where the local dialect is known as Ulster Scots ), it is sometimes called: Lowland Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic , the Celtic language that was historically restricted to most of
4725-788: Is almost directly opposite the Academy Street entrance to the Market. From the 1970s, the Eastgate Shopping Centre was developed to the east of High Street, with a substantial extension being completed in 2003. The city has a number of different education providers. Inverness is catered for by about a dozen primary schools including Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis , a specialised institution situated at Slackbuie. There are five secondary schools: Inverness High School , Inverness Royal Academy , Charleston Academy , Millburn Academy , and Culloden Academy . Additionally there
4900-591: Is also used, though this is more often taken to mean the Lallans literary form . Scots in Ireland is known in official circles as Ulster-Scots ( Ulstèr-Scotch in revivalist Ulster-Scots) or "Ullans", a recent neologism merging Ulster and Lallans. Scots is a contraction of Scottis , the Older Scots and northern version of late Old English : Scottisc (modern English "Scottish"), which replaced
5075-604: Is closely linked to but distinct from Danish . Native speakers sometimes refer to their vernacular as braid Scots (or "broad Scots" in English) or use a dialect name such as the " Doric " or the " Buchan Claik ". The old-fashioned Scotch , an English loan, occurs occasionally, especially in Ulster. The term Lallans , a variant of the Modern Scots word lawlands [ˈlo̜ːlən(d)z, ˈlɑːlənz] ,
5250-659: 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
5425-468: 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
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5600-562: Is in Scots, for example. Scott introduced vernacular dialogue to his novels. Other well-known authors like Robert Louis Stevenson , William Alexander, George MacDonald , J. M. Barrie and other members of the Kailyard school like Ian Maclaren also wrote in Scots or used it in dialogue. In the Victorian era popular Scottish newspapers regularly included articles and commentary in the vernacular, often of unprecedented proportions. In
5775-474: 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
5950-602: 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
6125-767: Is lykest to our language..." ( For though several have written of (the subject) in English, which is the language most similar to ours... ). However, with the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England, most writing in Scotland came to be done in the English fashion. In his first speech to the English Parliament in March 1603, King James VI and I declared, "Hath not God first united these two Kingdomes both in Language, Religion, and similitude of maners?" . Following James VI's move to London,
6300-717: Is no longer in use. Until the late 19th century, four mussel beds existed on the delta mouth of the River Ness: Scalp Phàdraig Mhòir ("Scalp of Great Patrick"), Rònach ("Place of the Seals"), Cridhe an Uisge ("The Water Heart") and Scalp nan Caorach ("Scalp of the Sheep") – these mussel beds were all removed to allow better access for fishing boats and ships. Allt Muineach (The Thicket River) now runs underground between Culcabock Roundabout and Millburn Roundabout. An Loch Gorm (The Turquoise Loch),
6475-466: 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
6650-692: 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
6825-591: Is sometimes used in contemporary fiction, such as the Edinburgh dialect of Scots in Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (later made into a motion picture of the same name ). But'n'Ben A-Go-Go by Matthew Fitt is a cyberpunk novel written entirely in what Wir Ain Leed ("Our Own Language") calls "General Scots". Like all cyberpunk work, it contains imaginative neologisms . The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
7000-751: Is the main hospital in Inverness and the entire Highland region. The present hospital opened in 1970, replacing wartime wards dating from 1941. Raigmore is a teaching hospital for the universities of Aberdeen and Stirling . A Centre for Health Science (CfHS) is located behind the hospital. This is funded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise , the Scottish Government and Johnson & Johnson . Phase I of this opened in early 2007, with phase II and phase III housing The Diabetes Institute opening in 2009. The University of Stirling moved its nursing and midwifery teaching operations from Raigmore Hospital to
7175-610: 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
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7350-583: 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
7525-589: 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
7700-567: Is used to describe the Scots language after 1700. A seminal study of Scots was undertaken by JAH Murray and published as Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland . Murray's results were given further publicity by being included in Alexander John Ellis 's book On Early English Pronunciation, Part V alongside results from Orkney and Shetland, as well as the whole of England. Murray and Ellis differed slightly on
7875-540: Is usually defined through the works of Robert John Gregg to include the counties of Down , Antrim , Londonderry and Donegal (especially in East Donegal and Inishowen ). More recently, the Fintona -born linguist Warren Maguire has argued that some of the criteria that Gregg used as distinctive of Ulster-Scots are common in south-west Tyrone and were found in other sites across Northern Ireland investigated by
8050-473: Is vital for the city's future economic growth. Ultimately both sections received funding from the Inverness and Highland city-region deal. The eastern section now also includes a commitment to upgrade the Longman Roundabout to a grade separated interchange. The east section will bypass Inshes Roundabout, a notorious traffic bottleneck, using a new road linking the existing Southern Distributor with
8225-805: The Continental Army and that the Scottish Gaels would do well to emigrate to the New World before the King and the landlords take every farthing they have left. The Rose Street drill hall was completed in around 1908. On 7 September 1921, the first British Cabinet meeting to be held outside London took place in the Inverness Town House , when David Lloyd George , on holiday in Gairloch , called an emergency meeting to discuss
8400-481: The English Dialect Dictionary , edited by Joseph Wright . Wright had great difficulty in recruiting volunteers from Scotland, as many refused to cooperate with a venture that regarded Scots as a dialect of English, and he obtained enough help only through the assistance from a Professor Shearer in Scotland. Wright himself rejected the argument that Scots was a separate language, saying that this
8575-618: 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
8750-469: The Irish annals . There has been substantial critical reappraisal of the concept of "Pictishness" over recent decades. The popular view at 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
8925-516: 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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#17327652066579100-442: The Linguistic Survey of Scotland . Dialects of Scots include Insular Scots , Northern Scots , Central Scots , Southern Scots and Ulster Scots . It has been difficult to determine the number of speakers of Scots via census, because many respondents might interpret the question "Do you speak Scots?" in different ways. Campaigners for Scots pressed for this question to be included in the 2001 UK National Census . The results from
9275-421: 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
9450-438: The Picts . In AD 569, it was visited by St Columba with the intention of converting the Pictish king Brude , who is supposed to have resided in the vitrified fort on Craig Phadrig , on the western edge of the city. A church or a monk's cell is thought to have been established by early Celtic monks on St Michael's Mount, a mound close to the river, now the site of the Old High Church and graveyard. The first royal charter
9625-407: The Protestant Church of Scotland adopted the 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Bible; subsequently, the Acts of Union 1707 led to Scotland joining England to form the Kingdom of Great Britain , having a single Parliament of Great Britain based in London. After the Union and the shift of political power to England, the use of Scots was discouraged by many in authority and education, as
9800-536: The River Ness enters the Beauly Firth . At the latest, a settlement was established by the 6th century with the first royal charter being granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim ( King David I ) in the 12th century. Inverness and Inverness-shire are closely linked to various influential clans, including Clan Mackintosh, Clan Fraser and Clan MacKenzie. The population of Inverness grew from 40,969 in 2001 to 46,969 in 2012, according to World Population Review . The Greater Inverness area, including Culloden and Westhill , had
9975-613: The Romance languages via ecclesiastical and legal Latin , Norman French , and later Parisian French , due to the Auld Alliance . Additionally, there were Dutch and Middle Low German influences due to trade with and immigration from the Low Countries . Scots also includes loan words in the legal and administrative fields resulting from contact with Middle Irish , and reflected in early medieval legal documents. Contemporary Scottish Gaelic loans are mainly for geographical and cultural features, such as cèilidh , loch , whisky , glen and clan . Cumbric and Pictish ,
10150-418: The Scottish Highlands , the Hebrides , and Galloway after the sixteenth century; or Broad Scots , to distinguish it from Scottish Standard English . Modern Scots is a sister language of Modern English , as the two diverged from the same medieval form of English. Scots is recognised as an indigenous language of Scotland by the Scottish government, a regional or minority language of Europe, and
10325-403: The Second World War . It has recently taken on the nature of wholesale language shift , sometimes also termed language change , convergence or merger . By the end of the twentieth century, Scots was at an advanced stage of language death over much of Lowland Scotland . Residual features of Scots are often regarded as slang. A 2010 Scottish Government study of "public attitudes towards
10500-465: The University of Aberdeen , and only included reared speakers (people raised speaking Scots), not those who had learned the language. Part of the difference resulted from the central question posed by surveys: "Do you speak Scots?". In the Aberdeen University study, the question was augmented with the further clause "... or a dialect of Scots such as Border etc.", which resulted in greater recognition from respondents. The GRO concluded that there simply
10675-412: The county town of the county of Inverness-shire . Inverness lies near two important battle sites: the 11th-century battle of Blàr nam Fèinne against Norway which took place on the Aird , and the 18th century Battle of Culloden which took place on Culloden Moor . It is the northernmost city in the United Kingdom and lies within the Great Glen (Gleann Mòr) at its northeastern extremity where
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#173276520665710850-417: 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
11025-399: 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
11200-646: 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
11375-407: The A9 and the A96, both via grade separated interchanges. This proposed new link road would separate strategic traffic from local traffic. It will also accommodate the proposed developments at Inverness Shopping Park, West Seafield Business Park, Inverness Campus and housing developments at Ashton Farm, Stratton and Culloden West. An indicative timescale for completion of this section is the dualling of
11550-436: The A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen. The project will include upgrading the remaining 86 miles (138 km) of single carriageway along the route to dual carriageway at a cost of £3 billion. The first section to be dualled will be the section between Inverness and Auldearn . This will include a bypass of Nairn and the construction of a number of grade separated interchanges along the route. Scots language Scots
11725-452: The A96 from Inverness to Nairn. The west section is intended to provide an alternate route connecting the A9 with the A82. This will bypass the city centre by providing additional crossings of the River Ness and Caledonian Canal. At the west end, two options for crossing the River Ness and Caledonian Canal were developed. One involving a high level vertical opening bridge which will allow the majority of canal traffic to pass under without
11900-447: The Black (or Waterloo) Bridge – and by one of the town's suspension foot bridges, the Greig Street Bridge . The traditional city centre was a triangle bounded by High Street, Church Street and Academy Street, within which Union Street and Queensgate are cross streets parallel to High Street. Between Union Street and Queensgate is the Victorian Market, which contains a large number of small shops. The main Inverness railway station
12075-408: The Caledonian Canal and the River Ness in the Torvean area, southwest of the town. The bypass, known as the Inverness Trunk Road Link (TRL), is aimed at resolving Inverness's transport problems and has been split into two separate projects, the east and west sections. In late 2008 the controversial decision by the Scottish Government not to include the full Inverness bypass in its transport plan for
12250-426: The CfHS. The University of the Highlands and Islands also has strong links with the Centre through its Faculty of Health. Most of the traditional industries such as distilling have been replaced by high-tech businesses, such as the design and manufacture of diabetes diagnostic kits (by LifeScan ). Highlands and Islands Enterprise has principally funded the Centre for Health Science to attract more businesses in
12425-419: 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
12600-604: The Crowns in 1603, the Standard English of England came to have an increasing influence on the spelling of Scots through the increasing influence and availability of books printed in England. After the Acts of Union in 1707 the emerging Scottish form of Standard English replaced Scots for most formal writing in Scotland. The eighteenth-century Scots revival saw the introduction of a new literary language descended from
12775-516: The Gaelic poem The Lament of the North . In the poem, MacCionnich mocks the Highland gentry for becoming absentee landlords , evicting their tenants en masse in favor of sheep, and of "spending their wealth uselessly", in London . He accuses King George III both of tyranny and of steering the ship of state into shipwreck. MacCionnich also argues that truth is on the side of George Washington and
12950-716: The Great house". Several Gaelic place names are now largely obsolete due to the feature being removed or forgotten. Drochaid an Easain Duibh ("Bridge by the Small Dark Waterfall"), referred to in the tale Aonghas Mòr Thom na h-Iubhraich agus na Sìthichean ("Great Angus of Tomnahurich and the Fairies") has not yet been located within Inverness and Slag nam Mèirleach (meaning "Robbers' hollow"), adjacent to Dores Road in Holm
13125-576: The Hebrides, particularly by the MacDonald Lords of the Isles in the 15th century. In 1187, one Dòmhnall Bàn (Donald Ban) led islanders in a battle at Torvean against men from Inverness Castle led by the governor's son, Donnchadh Mac an Tòisich (Duncan Mackintosh). Both leaders were killed in the battle, and Dòmhnall Bàn is said to have been buried in a large cairn near the river, close to where
13300-626: The Highlands, as well as neighbouring Moray , subsequently, the project was extended by a further 10 years to 2035, with Michael Gove stating that the A9 had to be dualled north of Inverness to Nigg in order to assist with the UK Government's " Levelling Up " programme at the port. In July 2013, the Scottish Government announced a plan to install average speed cameras on the A9 between Perth and Inverness. This has been undertaken with an aim to reduce accidents and fatalities on
13475-737: The Jacobites and they blew it up. Culloden Moor lies nearby, and was the site of the Battle of Culloden in 1746, which ended the Jacobite rising of 1745–46 . In 1783, the year that saw the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the Highland Clearances in Inverness-shire , Cionneach mac Cionnich (1758–1837), a poet from Clan MacKenzie who was born at Castle Leather near Inverness, composed
13650-480: 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
13825-399: The Kingdom of Great Britain, there is ample evidence that Scots was widely held to be an independent sister language forming a pluricentric diasystem with English. German linguist Heinz Kloss considered Modern Scots a Halbsprache ('half language') in terms of an abstand and ausbau languages framework, although today in Scotland most people's speech is somewhere on
14000-586: The Late Iron Age (1st millennium AD) with most activity taking place in the Early Neolithic (4th millennium BC). The archaeologists also found a piece of flint from Yorkshire that showed that people in Inverness may have been trading with Yorkshire during the Neolithic. Between 1996 and 1997, CFA Archaeology (then part of the University of Edinburgh ) undertook excavations of crop marks in
14175-625: 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
14350-520: The Philosopher's Stane , a Scots translation of the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone , was published by Matthew Fitt . The vowel system of Modern Scots: Vowel length is usually conditioned by the Scottish vowel length rule . The orthography of Early Scots had become more or less standardised by the middle to late sixteenth century. After the Union of
14525-594: 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
14700-495: 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 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
14875-508: 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
15050-478: 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
15225-580: 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
15400-539: 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
15575-587: The Roman Empire. Similarly, the Bronze Age site showed signs of metal production: finds included ceramic piece-moulds designed for the casting of Late Bronze Age leaf-shaped swords. A 93 troy ounces (2.89 kilograms) silver chain dating to 500–800 CE was found just to the south of Torvean, during the excavation of the Caledonian Canal , in 1809. Inverness was one of the chief strongholds of
15750-480: The Scots language was also featured. It was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. The Scottish Government set its first Scots Language Policy in 2015, in which it pledged to support its preservation and encourage respect, recognition and use of Scots. The Scottish Parliament website also offers some information on
15925-471: The Scots language" found that 64% of respondents (around 1,000 individuals in a representative sample of Scotland's adult population) "don't really think of Scots as a language", also finding "the most frequent speakers are least likely to agree that it is not a language (58%) and those never speaking Scots most likely to do so (72%)". Before the Treaty of Union 1707 , when Scotland and England joined to form
16100-581: The Scottish Executive recognises and respects Scots (in all its forms) as a distinct language, and does not consider the use of Scots to be an indication of poor competence in English. Evidence for its existence as a separate language lies in the extensive body of Scots literature, its independent – if somewhat fluid – orthographic conventions , and in its former use as the language of the original Parliament of Scotland . Because Scotland retained distinct political, legal, and religious systems after
16275-414: The Scottish Government announced that it will upgrade the entire road from Perth to Inverness to dual carriageway. Work on this project is expected to start in 2015 ws scheduled to be completed in 2025, at a cost of £3 billion. However, in 2023, this project was announced to be an impossible deadline, with a mere 11 miles having been dualled since it was announced in 2011, to severe uproar from people across
16450-638: The Standard English cognate . This Written Scots drew not only on the vernacular, but also on the King James Bible , and was heavily influenced by the norms and conventions of Augustan English poetry . Consequently, this written Scots looked very similar to contemporary Standard English, suggesting a somewhat modified version of that, rather than a distinct speech form with a phonological system which had been developing independently for many centuries. This modern literary dialect, "Scots of
16625-613: The Stone" in Gaelic) owing to the importance of the Clach Na Cudainn stone in the city's history. This large flat stone is now located outside the town hall, by the historic Mercat Cross. The stone was originally at the river Ness, where the towns women took their laundry. They would rest their tubs on the stone, thus it became known as the stone of the tubs - 'clach na cudainn'. The National Records of Scotland define Inverness as
16800-605: The Union, many Scots terms passed into Scottish English. During the 2010s, increased interest was expressed in the language. The status of the language was raised in Scottish schools, with Scots being included in the new national school curriculum . Previously in Scotland's schools there had been little education taking place through the medium of Scots, although it may have been covered superficially in English lessons, which could entail reading some Scots literature and observing
16975-410: 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
17150-704: The activities of those such as Thomas Sheridan , who in 1761 gave a series of lectures on English elocution . Charging a guinea at a time (about £200 in today's money ), they were attended by over 300 men, and he was made a freeman of the City of Edinburgh . Following this, some of the city's intellectuals formed the Select Society for Promoting the Reading and Speaking of the English Language in Scotland. These eighteenth-century activities would lead to
17325-578: 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
17500-486: 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
17675-431: 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
17850-521: The book" or Standard Scots, once again gave Scots an orthography of its own, lacking neither "authority nor author". This literary language used throughout Lowland Scotland and Ulster, embodied by writers such as Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Murray , David Herbison , James Orr, James Hogg and William Laidlaw among others, is well described in the 1921 Manual of Modern Scots . Other authors developed dialect writing, preferring to represent their own speech in
18025-575: The border between English and Scots dialects. Scots was studied alongside English and Scots Gaelic in the Linguistic Survey of Scotland at the University of Edinburgh , which began in 1949 and began to publish results in the 1970s. Also beginning in the 1970s, the Atlas Linguarum Europae studied the Scots language used at 15 sites in Scotland, each with its own dialect. From the mid-sixteenth century, written Scots
18200-463: 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
18375-487: 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
18550-566: The complementary decline of French made Scots the prestige dialect of most of eastern Scotland. By the sixteenth century, Middle Scots had established orthographic and literary norms largely independent of those developing in England. From 1610 to the 1690s during the Plantation of Ulster , some 200,000 Scots-speaking Lowlanders settled as colonists in Ulster in Ireland. In the core areas of Scots settlement, Scots outnumbered English settlers by five or six to one. The name Modern Scots
18725-667: The conventional essentialist expectations about historical peoples. Since then, the culture-historical paradigm of archaeology dominant since 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
18900-403: The creation of Scottish Standard English . Scots remained the vernacular of many rural communities and the growing number of urban working-class Scots. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the use of Scots as a literary language was revived by several prominent Scotsmen such as Robert Burns . Such writers established a new cross-dialect literary norm. Scots terms were included in
19075-605: The current swing bridge enabling a constant flow of traffic. The works started on site on the 10 June 2019 and include a roundabout, realignment of General Booth Road onto the A82, and a second bridge across the Caledonian Canal. The works were programmed to be complete in December 2020. However, due to a number of construction delays the section was opened in August 2021. In late 2008 the Scottish Government's transport plan for
19250-434: The earlier i-mutated version Scyttisc . Before the end of the fifteenth century, English speech in Scotland was known as "English" (written Ynglis or Inglis at the time), whereas "Scottish" ( Scottis ) referred to Gaelic . By the beginning of the fifteenth century, the English language used in Scotland had arguably become a distinct language, albeit one lacking a name which clearly distinguished it from all
19425-749: The early twentieth century, a renaissance in the use of Scots occurred, its most vocal figure being Hugh MacDiarmid whose benchmark poem " A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle " (1926) did much to demonstrate the power of Scots as a modern idiom. Other contemporaries were Douglas Young , John Buchan , Sydney Goodsir Smith , Robert Garioch , Edith Anne Robertson and Robert McLellan . The revival extended to verse and other literature. In 1955, three Ayrshire men – Sandy MacMillan, an English teacher at Ayr Academy ; Thomas Limond, noted town chamberlain of Ayr ; and A. L. "Ross" Taylor, rector of Cumnock Academy – collaborated to write Bairnsangs ("Child Songs"),
19600-464: 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
19775-493: The existence of a Pictish language , and evidence shows that it was an Insular Celtic language related to the Brittonic spoken by 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
19950-516: The fifteenth century, much literature based on the Royal Court in Edinburgh and the University of St Andrews was produced by writers such as Robert Henryson , William Dunbar , Gavin Douglas and David Lyndsay . The Complaynt of Scotland was an early printed work in Scots. The Eneados is a Middle Scots translation of Virgil 's Aeneid , completed by Gavin Douglas in 1513. After
20125-655: 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
20300-464: The ground the castle in which Mac Bethad mac Findláich had, according to much later tradition, murdered Máel Coluim's father Donnchad (Duncan I) , and which stood on a hill around 1 km to the north-east. The strategic location of Inverness has led to many conflicts in the area. Reputedly there was a battle in the early 11th century between Malcolm III and Thorfinn the Mighty at Blar Nam Feinne, to
20475-464: 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
20650-622: The language in Scots. In September 2024, experts of the Council of Europe called on the UK Government to "boost support for regional and minority languages", including the Scots Language. The serious use of the Scots language for news, encyclopaediae, documentaries, etc., remains rare. It is reportedly reserved for niches where it is deemed acceptable, e.g. comedy, Burns Night or traditions' representations. Since 2016,
20825-574: The language used in different situations. Such an approach would be inappropriate for a Census." Thus, although it was acknowledged that the "inclusion of such a Census question would undoubtedly raise the profile of Scots", no question about Scots was, in the end, included in the 2001 Census. The Scottish Government's Pupils in Scotland Census 2008 found that 306 pupils spoke Scots as their main home language. A Scottish Government study in 2010 found that 85% of around 1000 respondents (being
21000-451: The late 19th century. Several springs which were traditionally thought to have healing qualities exist around Inverness. Fuaran Dearg , which translates as the "Red Spring", is a chalybeate spring located near Dochgarroch. Fuaran a' Chladaich ("The Spring on the Beach") near Bunchrew was once accessed by a causeway from the shore. Although submerged at high tide it continues to bubble and
21175-480: The late third century AD. They are assumed to have been descendants of the Caledonii and other northern Iron Age tribes. Their territory 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
21350-571: The local dialect. Much of the material used was often Standard English disguised as Scots, which caused upset among proponents of Standard English and proponents of Scots alike. One example of the educational establishment's approach to Scots is, "Write a poem in Scots. (It is important not to be worried about spelling in this – write as you hear the sounds in your head.)", whereas guidelines for English require teaching pupils to be "writing fluently and legibly with accurate spelling and punctuation". A course in Scots language and culture delivered through
21525-536: 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
21700-439: The medical and medical devices business to the area. Inverness is home to Scottish Natural Heritage following that body's relocation from Edinburgh under the auspices of the Scottish Government 's decentralisation strategy. SNH provides a large number of jobs in the area. Inverness City Centre lies on the east bank of the river and is linked to the west side of the town by three road bridges – Ness Bridge, Friars Bridge and
21875-493: The medieval Brittonic languages of Northern England and Scotland, are the suspected source of a small number of Scots words, such as lum (derived from Cumbric) meaning "chimney". From the thirteenth century, the Early Scots language spread further into Scotland via the burghs , which were proto-urban institutions first established by King David I . In fourteenth-century Scotland, the growth in prestige of Early Scots and
22050-544: The medium of Standard English and produced by the Open University (OU) in Scotland, the Open University's School of Languages and Applied Linguistics as well as Education Scotland became available online for the first time in December 2019. In the 2011 Scottish census , a question on Scots language ability was featured In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , a question in relation to
22225-433: The most important developments for the region over the next 20 years. The principal of UHI, James Fraser, said: "This is a flagship development which will provide Inverness with a university campus and vibrant student life. It will have a major impact on the city and on the Highlands and Islands. UHI is a partnership of colleges and research centres throughout the region, and the development of any one partner brings strength to
22400-408: 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
22575-494: The need for opening. The other involved a bridge over the river and an aqueduct under the canal. Both of these designs are technically complex and were considered in detail along by the key stakeholders involved in the project. Ultimately it was decided that a bridge would be constructed over the River Ness and a second swing bridge be constructed over the Caledonian Canal. This second swing bridge would operate in tandem with
22750-420: The newspaper The National has regularly published articles in the language. The 2010s also saw an increasing number of English books translated in Scots and becoming widely available, particularly those in popular children's fiction series such as The Gruffalo , Harry Potter , Diary of a Wimpy Kid , and several by Roald Dahl and David Walliams . In 2021, the music streaming service Spotify created
22925-448: The next 20 years was announced. It brings forward planned improvements to the A9 in an attempt to stimulate the economy and protect jobs. Work costing a total of £8.5 million was undertaken at Moy , Carrbridge , and Bankfoot . Northbound overtaking lanes were created and the carriageway was reconstructed at both Moy and Carrbridge. Junction improvements were also made at Moy. In November 2011
23100-504: The next 20 years was made. The government's Strategic Transport Projects Review did include the eastern section of the route, which will see the A9 at Inshes linked to the A96. The absence of the TRL's western section, which would include a permanent crossing over the Caledonian Canal and River Ness, sparked dismay among several Highland councillors and business leaders in Inverness who feel the bypass
23275-407: 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
23450-401: The old court Scots, but with an orthography that had abandoned some of the more distinctive old Scots spellings and adopted many standard English spellings. Despite the updated spelling, however, the rhymes make it clear that a Scots pronunciation was intended. These writings also introduced what came to be known as the apologetic apostrophe , generally occurring where a consonant exists in
23625-458: The other English variants and dialects spoken in Britain. From 1495, the term Scottis was increasingly used to refer to the Lowland vernacular and Erse , meaning "Irish", was used as a name for Gaelic. For example, towards the end of the fifteenth century, William Dunbar was using Erse to refer to Gaelic and, in the early sixteenth century, Gavin Douglas was using Scottis as
23800-474: 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
23975-497: The past (e.g. Corby or the former mining areas of Kent ). In the 2022 census conducted by the Scottish Government , it was found that 1,508,540 people reported that they could speak Scots, with 2,444,659 reporting that they could speak, read, write or understand Scots, approximately 45% of Scotland's 2022 population. Among the earliest Scots literature is John Barbour's Brus (fourteenth century), Wyntoun 's Cronykil and Blind Harry 's The Wallace (fifteenth century). From
24150-479: 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
24325-482: The planning process. Between 2009 and 2010, archaeological work in advance of the creation of flood defences to the south of the city at Knocknagael Farm by GUARD Archaeology discovered an archaeological site that showed humans had been living in the Inverness area from at least 6500 BC, the Late Mesolithic period. That same site showed people living/working in the area from the mid-7th millennium BC into
24500-413: The remainder had some degree of skill, such as understanding Scots (0.27 million, 5.2%) or being able to speak it but not read or write it (0.18 million, 3.5%). There were also small numbers of Scots speakers recorded in England and Wales on the 2011 Census, with the largest numbers being either in bordering areas (e.g. Carlisle ) or in areas that had recruited large numbers of Scottish workers in
24675-556: The rest of Scotland – the A9 north to Thurso and Wick, and south to Perth (carrying European Route E15 ) and the Central Belt , the A82 to Glasgow via Fort William and the A96 to Elgin and Aberdeen. Plans are in place to convert the A96 between Inverness and Nairn to a dual carriageway and to construct a southern bypass that would link the A9, A82 and A96 together involving crossings of
24850-487: The road, and will be the second permanent average speed camera scheme in Scotland. As of October 2021, 2 sections of the upgraded route have been opened. In August 2021 the procurement process for the Tomatin to Moy section was started. Once this section is completed, there will be 20 miles (32 km) of continuous dual carriageway south of Inverness. In December 2011, The Scottish Government announced its intention to dual
25025-466: 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
25200-521: The seventeenth century, anglicisation increased. At the time, many of the oral ballads from the borders and the North East were written down. Writers of the period were Robert Sempill , Robert Sempill the younger , Francis Sempill , Lady Wardlaw and Lady Grizel Baillie . In the eighteenth century, writers such as Allan Ramsay , Robert Burns , James Orr , Robert Fergusson and Walter Scott continued to use Scots – Burns's " Auld Lang Syne "
25375-666: The silver chain was found. Local tradition says that the citizens fought off the Clan Donald in 1340 at the Battle of Blairnacoi on Drumderfit Hill, north of Inverness across the Beauly Firth . In the late 14th-early 15 century, Inverness was a symbol of the Duke of Albany's power. On his way to the Battle of Harlaw in 1411, Donald of Islay took the town and burned the bridge over the River Ness. Sixteen years later, James I held
25550-565: The situation in Ireland. The Inverness Formula composed at this meeting was the basis of the Anglo-Irish Treaty . Inverness has experienced rapid economic growth in the 21st century - between 1998 and 2008, Inverness and the rest of the central Highlands showed the largest growth of average economic productivity per person in Scotland and the second-greatest growth in the United Kingdom as a whole, with an increase of 86%. It
25725-566: The southwest of the city. Inverness had four traditional fairs, including Legavrik or "Leth-Gheamhradh", meaning midwinter, and Faoilleach. William the Lion (d. 1214) granted Inverness four charters, by one of which it was created a royal burgh . Of the Dominican friary founded by Alexander III in 1233, only one pillar and a worn knight's effigy survive in a secluded graveyard near the town centre. Medieval Inverness suffered regular raids from
25900-437: 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
26075-597: 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
26250-421: The thirteenth century. The succeeding variety of Northern Early Middle English spoken in southeastern Scotland is also known as Early Scots . It began to further diverge from the Middle English of Northumbria due to twelfth- and thirteenth-century immigration of Scandinavian-influenced Middle English–speakers from the North and Midlands of England . Later influences on the development of Scots came from
26425-469: 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
26600-425: The title "Earl of Inverness", following sexual assault allegations being made against him by Virginia Giuffre . In 2019, Inverness residents started a campaign to strip him of that title, stating that "it is inappropriate that Prince Andrew is associated with our beautiful city." Inverness and its immediate hinterland have a large number of originally Gaelic place names, as the area was solidly Gaelic-speaking until
26775-404: The town, Oliver Cromwell built a citadel capable of accommodating 1,000 men, but with the exception of a portion of the ramparts it was demolished at the Restoration . A clock tower today called Cromwell's Tower is located in the Citadel area of Inverness but was actually part of a former hemp cloth factory built c. 1765. Inverness played a role in the Jacobite rising of 1689 . In early May, it
26950-697: The twentieth-century biographer of James Boswell (1740–1795), described James's view of the use of Scots by his father Alexander Boswell (1706–1782) in the eighteenth century while serving as a judge of the Supreme Courts of Scotland : He scorned modern literature, spoke broad Scots from the bench, and even in writing took no pains to avoid the Scotticisms which most of his colleagues were coming to regard as vulgar. However, others did scorn Scots, such as Scottish Enlightenment intellectuals David Hume and Adam Smith , who went to great lengths to get rid of every Scotticism from their writings. Following such examples, many well-off Scots took to learning English through
27125-455: The urban area west of the A9. To produce a greater Inverness figure including the villages of Balloch , Culloden , Smithton , and Westhill , it is necessary to aggregate NRS figures for each locality. Inverness is situated at the mouth of the River Ness (which flows from nearby Loch Ness ) and at the south-western extremity of the Moray Firth . The city lies at the end of the Great Glen with Loch Ness, Loch Ashie and Loch Duntelchaig to
27300-423: The varieties of Scots are dialects of Scottish English or constitute a separate language in their own right. The UK government now accepts Scots as a regional language and has recognised it as such under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . Notwithstanding the UK government's and the Scottish Executive's obligations under part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
27475-413: The west of Inverness in advance of the construction of a retail and business park. A Bronze Age cemetery was discovered in 1996 and in 1997 the archaeologists found the remains of a Bronze Age settlement and an Iron Age settlement, with an ironsmith. It is one the earliest examples of iron smithing in Scotland. The Iron Age settlement had Roman brooches from the AD 1st–2nd centuries, indicating trade with
27650-408: The west. Inverness's Caledonian Canal also runs through the Great Glen, connecting Loch Ness, Loch Oich , and Loch Lochy . The Ness Islands , a publicly owned park, consists of two wooded islands connected by footbridges and has been used as a place of recreation since the 1840s. Craig Phadraig , once an ancient Gaelic and Pictish hillfort, is a 240 m (790 ft) hill which offers hikes on
27825-436: The whole institution." It is estimated that the new campus would contribute more than £50m to the economy of the Highlands because it could attract innovative commercial businesses interested in research and development, while increasing the number of students who study within the city by around 3,000. Inverness is linked to the Black Isle across the Moray Firth by the Kessock Bridge . Three trunk roads link Inverness with
28000-399: 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
28175-466: Was 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) in July 2006 and June 2018, and the lowest temperature recorded was −18.7 °C (−1.7 °F) in January 2010. Typically, the warmest day of the year rises to around 25 °C (77 °F) and the coldest night falls to around −11 °C (12 °F). The climate in this area is characterised by relatively small differences between annual high and low temperatures, as well as adequate rainfall year-round. Raigmore Hospital
28350-406: Was a "quite modern mistake". During the first half of the twentieth century, knowledge of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century literary norms waned, and as of 2006 , there is no institutionalised standard literary form. By the 1940s, the Scottish Education Department 's language policy was that Scots had no value: "it is not the language of 'educated' people anywhere, and could not be described as
28525-470: Was awarded the Nicholson Trophy (class 2 category) for the best town with between 20,000 and 50,000 inhabitants at Britain in Bloom contest in 1975. In 2014, a survey by a property website described Inverness as the happiest place in Scotland and the second-happiest in the UK. Inverness was again found to be the happiest place in Scotland by a study conducted in 2015. Residents of Inverness expressed their disapproval of Prince Andrew, Duke of York , known by
28700-430: Was besieged by a contingent of Jacobites led by MacDonell of Keppoch. The town was actually rescued by Viscount Dundee , the overall Jacobite commander, when he arrived with the main Jacobite army, although he required Inverness to profess loyalty to King James VII . In 1715 the Jacobites occupied the royal fortress as a barracks. In 1727 the government built the first Fort George here, but in 1746 it surrendered to
28875-660: 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
29050-405: Was denied admittance into Inverness Castle by the governor, who belonged to the earl's faction, and whom she afterwards caused to be hanged. The Clan Munro and Clan Fraser of Lovat took the castle for her. The house in which she lived meanwhile stood in Bridge Street until the 1970s, when it was demolished to make way for the second Bridge Street development. Beyond the then northern limits of
29225-432: 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
29400-529: Was established in McIntosh County, Georgia , by settlers from in and around Inverness. The name was also given by expatriates to settlements in Quebec , Nova Scotia , Montana , Florida , Illinois , and California . The name Inverness is also given to a feature on Miranda , a moon of the planet Uranus, as well as a 2637 m tall mountain in British Columbia , Canada. Inverness is also known by its nicknames Inversnecky or The Sneck , with its inhabitants traditionally known as Clann Na Cloiche ("Children of
29575-443: Was granted by Dabíd mac Maíl Choluim ( King David I ) in the 12th century. The Gaelic king Mac Bethad Mac Findláich ( MacBeth ) whose 11th-century killing of King Duncan was immortalised in Shakespeare 's largely fictionalised play Macbeth , held a castle within the city where he ruled as Mormaer of Moray and Ross . Inverness Castle is said to have been built by Máel Coluim III (Malcolm III) of Scotland , after he had razed to
29750-595: Was increasingly influenced by the developing Standard English of Southern England due to developments in royal and political interactions with England. When William Flower , an English herald , spoke with Mary of Guise and her councillors in 1560, they first used the "Scottyshe toung" . As he found this hard to understand, they switched into her native French. King James VI , who in 1603 became James I of England , observed in his work Some Reulis and Cautelis to Be Observit and Eschewit in Scottis Poesie that "For albeit sindrie hes written of it in English, quhilk
29925-415: Was not enough linguistic self-awareness amongst the Scottish populace, with people still thinking of themselves as speaking badly pronounced, grammatically inferior English rather than Scots, for an accurate census to be taken. The GRO research concluded that "[a] more precise estimate of genuine Scots language ability would require a more in-depth interview survey and may involve asking various questions about
30100-600: 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
30275-432: Was the notion of "Scottishness" itself. Many leading Scots of the period, such as David Hume , defined themselves as Northern British rather than Scottish. They attempted to rid themselves of their Scots in a bid to establish standard English as the official language of the newly formed union. Nevertheless, Scots was still spoken across a wide range of domains until the end of the eighteenth century. Frederick Pottle ,
30450-483: Was traditionally known for treating cholera. Fuaran Allt an Ionnlaid ("Well of the Washing Burn") at Clachnaharry, where the Marquis of Montrose was allowed to drink while on his way from his capture in Sutherland to his execution in Edinburgh, was known for treating skin conditions. Also at Clachnaharry, Fuaran Priseag ("The Precious Well") was said to have been blessed by Saint Kessock and could treat weak and sore eyes, as well as expelling evil and shielding curses if
30625-439: Was translated into Scots by Rab Wilson and published in 2004. Alexander Hutchison has translated the poetry of Catullus into Scots, and in the 1980s, Liz Lochhead produced a Scots translation of Tartuffe by Molière . J. K. Annand translated poetry and fiction from German and Medieval Latin into Scots. The strip cartoons Oor Wullie and The Broons in the Sunday Post use some Scots. In 2018, Harry Potter and
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