UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH
Approval of a New or Revised Course
All new courses should be created online via WISARD and approved online. This sheet should only be used for
Continuing Education courses (or where the online process has failed).
† = Mandatory for Approval
Course Code (generated
by Student Record) N/A
† Course Name
Celts, Picts and Vikings
† ‘Owning’ School
College
School Acronym for Course
ACE
HSS
(Office of Lifelong Learning)
Collaborating Body e.g. School or other Institution
Additional Information on Collaboration
† Course Level
U
† If PG, Modular
N/A † If UG, Honours?
N/A † Visiting Students
N/A
Master’s?
Only?
Code(s) and Name(s) of Course(s) being replaced
10
7
† Credit Points
† Credit Scheme SCQF
† Credit Level
† Contact Teaching 2 hours per week over 11 weeks
Other Required Attendance
† Session course operational with effect from 2007-2008
Scheduled Class Hours
Any costs which have to be met by students e.g. materials NONE
Code(s) and Name(s) of any Prerequisite Courses N/A
Other Prerequisite Requirements N/A
Programme(s), Method(s) of Study and Year(s) of Study for which Course is Mandatory, or Optional but to be
Seeded N/A
Code(s) and Name(s) of Prohibited Combinations N/A
Other Prohibited Combination Requirements N/A
Code(s) and Name(s) of Co-requisite Courses N/A
Other Co-requisite Requirements N/A
† Short description of course
This course looks at the Celts, The Picts, and the Vikings. The emphasis is on Scotland, but the rest of the UK,
Scandinavia and the Viking colonies will also feature in the course material. The course looks at who these peoples were,
how they lived, and the impact they had on Scotland.
† Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:





Show familiarity with the history and archaeology of the Celts, Picts, and the Vikings in Europe, especially Scotland
(Who were they? Where did they come from?)
Describe these peoples’ archaeological monuments, burial practices, house types, economy and religion.
Name the most important archaeological sites from this time period.
Discuss the Viking raids (why did some Scandinavians set out on these expeditions?)
Discuss the war/peace issue in Orkney.
† Components of Assessment
Assessment 1: Short Essays, Assessment 1 Weighting :25%
Assessment 2: Essay of 1800 - 2000 words, Assessment 2 Weighting: 75%
N/A
URL for supporting approval
documentation
† Course Organiser Marek Kukula PhD, BSc (Hons), Course Organiser for Archaeology, Computing, Science &
Nature, Open Studies
† Course Secretary
N/A
Course URL (where not WebCT)
UG Courses Only: Year(s) in which course normally taken (e.g. 1, 1+2)
Diet
Diet
Code
Paper Name
Duration
Comments (e.g. Other courses with exam
Summative
(1st or Month
(e.g. 1, 2) (e.g. Paper 1)
(hrs/mins)
common content)
Exams
2nd)
N/A
OLL CPE delivers courses over four
teaching sessions and has no formal
examinations.
N/A
OLL CPE delivers courses over four
teaching sessions and has no formal
examinations.
† Month Assessment Result Due (1st Diet)
The results of all assessment components are provided approximately 8 weeks after the end of the course
† Month Assessment Result Due (2nd Diet) There is as yet no fixed date for resits, however a second assessment will be
available
Chairman of Board of Examiners
† Default Course Mode of Study Class and Assignment
Course Organiser Comments (Internal Use Only)
Approved by/On behalf of
Date
Authorised signature
Name
Course Organiser
Convener, School BoS
Convener, College SC
Convener, SUGSC/SPGSC
Processed by Registry
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
10 credit points
New Standard credit course
Brochure Text:
This course looks at the Celts, The Picts, and the Vikings. The emphasis is on Scotland, but the rest of the
UK, Scandinavia and the Viking colonies will also feature in the course material. The course looks at who
these peoples were, how they lived, and the impact they had on Scotland.
1. Course title:
Celts, Picts and Vikings
2. Tutor name(s):
Dr Jessica Backlund
3. Tutor qualifications:
MA, PhD, FSA Scot
4. Rationale
This is a new course which would fill a gap in the OLL’s archaeology section, and it would appeal to
students with an interest in Scottish and European archaeology. The OLL’s Viking course has proved
very popular, and this course should have a similar appeal.
5. Course aims & objectives
Aims: To familiarise the students with the Celts, Picts and Vikings in Dark Age Europe, especially
Scotland.
Objectives: The course will help the students develop:
 A knowledge of who the Celts, the Picts and the Vikings were.
 An understanding of the impact these peoples had on Scotland.

A knowledge of these peoples culture, artefacts, religion and economy.
6. Intended learning outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to:





Show familiarity with the history and archaeology of the Celts, Picts, and the Vikings in Europe,
especially Scotland.
Describe these peoples’ archaeological monuments, burial practices, house types, economy and
religion.
Name the most important archaeological sites from this time period.
Discuss the Viking raids and settlement abroad
Discuss the impact these three peoples have had on our culture.
7. Transferable skills




Critical thinking
Participation in discussion
Academic essay writing
Knowledge of Scottish and European Dark Age and early medieval history.
8. Contents
1. The Celtic background (and introduction to the course)
 Who were the Celts?
 Where and how did they live?
 Celtic language, religion, artefacts, and sites
2. The Celts in Britain
 When did the Celts come to Britain?
 What have they left behind here?
 Were the Picts Celtic?
3. Sources for Dark Age Research
 Sources for Dark Age research: written accounts, archaeology, dating techniques, social/cultural
anthropology. When can these sources be used, and can they be trusted?
 Studying for credit: a few guidelines
4. The Picts – artefacts and culture
 Who were the Picts?
 How did they get their mysterious image?
 Pictish artefacts, monuments, burials, and house types
 Who else lived in Britain in the Dark Ages?
5. Pictish society
 Pictish economy and silver hoards
 Gift giving and anthropological parallels.
 Pictish land administration and leadership
 The Pictish language
 Pictish and Celtic religion
6. The Picts and their neighbours
 The Picts and the Scots


The Picts and the Vikings
The formation of Alba
7. The Vikings, introduction
 Scandinavia before the Viking Age
 Who were the Vikings?
 Viking society and religion
 House types, burial practices, typical artefacts
8. Vikings on the move
 The Viking raids – how, where, when and why?
 Viking settlements and finds from Scotland
 Viking settlements and finds from the rest of the UK
 Viking colonies: Ireland, America, Greenland, Iceland, Russia and the Baltic
9. Museum visit
 The Royal Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street.
This museum visit may have to take place on a Saturday/Sunday morning due to opening times. However,
students can go on their own at any time during the course, as a hand out will be made available from the
start of the course.
10. Summing up
 Discussion of museum visit
 What happened to the Celts and the Picts?
 Why and how did the Viking Age end?
 What characterized these different peoples?
 What did they contribute to our culture?
 Why are we attracted to this period of our history?
Week 11: unseen assessment
9. Student intake
No previous knowledge of history or archaeology needed.
10. Organisation of teaching
Lecture based, with informal class discussions. Short film clips will be used to illustrate the points made
in the lectures. There will also be a museum visit.
Each lecture is 2 hrs long, with a short break in the middle.
11. Assessment strategy
Two components:
 Assessment 1: unseen classroom assessment in the final week of the course, worth 25% of the
total course mark
 Assessment 2: 1800-2000 word essay (seen assessment) submitted after the course finishes, worth
75% of the total course mark.
12. Course Readings
Essential:
Backlund, J. 2001. War or Peace? The Relations between the Picts and the Vikings in Orkney. Northern
Studies Vol. 36, p. 33-48.
Carver, M. 1999 or 2005 edition. Surviving in Symbols: a visit to the Pictish Nation. Birlinn Ltd.
Richards, J. 2005 The Vikings: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Smith, B. The Picts and the Martyrs or Did Vikings Kill the Native Population of Orkney and Shetland?
Northern Studies Vol. 36, p. 7-32.
Recommended:
Cunliff, B. 2003. The Celts: a very short introduction. Oxford Paperbacks.
Ritchie, A. 1993. Viking Scotland. B.T. Batsford Ltd and Historic Scotland.
Web sources
A wide range of articles on the BBC website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/
Class handouts
Handouts will be provided for every lecture are part of the essential reading