A tangent on this from listening to Radio 4 yesterday - one commentator on a programme about legends of giants in Cornwall suggested that the 'giants' were Scandinavian invaders, while the 'pixies/piskies' were Picts.
The idea was that, if you're a Pict (average height c. 5 feet), the average Viking is fairly tall, and as with all legends, is likely to grow in the telling. The fact that invaders would have been likely to have occupied easily-defensible positions such as hilltops would also fit with so many of the legends of giants depicting them as living at the tops of hills.
The Picts, meanwhile, are small from a Viking viewpoint, and also likely to get smaller as the legend is told, and their familiarity and affinity with the landscape could appear as 'magic'. There may also be an etymological connection between 'Pict' and 'Pixie'.
Needs some work, but it's an interesting theory.
Reply | with quote | Posted by Zastrozzi 4th May 2005ce 08:37 |
Entymology of Maeshowe - discussed with experts (Lianachan, Apr 22, 2005, 09:44)- Entymology of Maeshowe - Part II (Lianachan, Apr 22, 2005, 09:45)
- A new response. (Lianachan, Apr 22, 2005, 14:58)
- aargh (Lianachan, Apr 22, 2005, 16:32)
- Re: aargh (follow that cow, Apr 23, 2005, 09:36)
- Another response (Lianachan, Apr 26, 2005, 23:33)
- An excellent resource about "Pictish" (Lianachan, Apr 29, 2005, 13:03)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, Apr 30, 2005, 16:28)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, Apr 30, 2005, 23:44)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 01, 2005, 11:37)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 01, 2005, 13:53)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 01, 2005, 16:24)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 01, 2005, 19:06)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 01, 2005, 21:11)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 01, 2005, 22:16)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 01, 2005, 22:18)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 01, 2005, 11:32)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 09:34)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, May 02, 2005, 10:32)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 02, 2005, 11:34)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (moss, May 02, 2005, 15:11)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 02, 2005, 17:16)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 18:57)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (hamish, May 02, 2005, 20:41)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 21:44)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 21:49)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 03, 2005, 01:11)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (hamish, May 02, 2005, 20:41)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 02, 2005, 22:37)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 23:02)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 02, 2005, 23:04)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Littlestone, May 02, 2005, 23:33)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, May 02, 2005, 23:21)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 03, 2005, 08:23)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, May 03, 2005, 12:19)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 03, 2005, 15:54)
- Survival (Littlestone, May 03, 2005, 17:18)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, May 03, 2005, 18:22)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 03, 2005, 21:38)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 03, 2005, 22:01)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (follow that cow, May 03, 2005, 22:29)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (BigSweetie, May 04, 2005, 00:32)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 04, 2005, 03:08)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (Zastrozzi, May 04, 2005, 08:37)
- Re: Pretanike-Britain, Breton, Prythain or Picti? (PeterH, May 03, 2005, 22:14)
- Re: Entymology of Maeshowe - discussed with exp... (Pilgrim, May 05, 2005, 23:06)
- Etymology of Maeshowe: Update & Answer? (Lianachan, Jun 03, 2005, 14:25)
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