Ecclesiastical History

New Novel Tells the Story of Good King Wenceslas

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- George WB Scott's second novel, "The Good King, A Medieval Thriller," will be released Sept. 14, 2023, from Black Rose Writing. The Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" is beloved throughout the world, but the true story of Saint Wenceslas is tragic—a tale of jealousy, loyalty and betrayal, and mankind's need for spirituality.

Key Points: 
  • KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Sept. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- George WB Scott's second novel, "The Good King, A Medieval Thriller," will be released Sept. 14, 2023, from Black Rose Writing.
  • The Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" is beloved throughout the world, but the true story of Saint Wenceslas is tragic—a tale of jealousy, loyalty and betrayal, and mankind's need for spirituality.
  • The book launches Sept. 21 with an event hosted by Union Ave. Books, Knoxville's premiere independent bookstore in the heart of Downtown.
  • "I began researching the Christmas carol, 'Good King Wenceslas,' and pagan priests, slave workers and other characters of the era walked right off the page and into my story," says Scott.

DNA study sheds light on Scotland's Picts, and resolves some myths about them

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
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They lived in Scotland during the early medieval period, from around AD300 to AD900, but many aspects of their society remain mysterious.

Key Points: 
  • They lived in Scotland during the early medieval period, from around AD300 to AD900, but many aspects of their society remain mysterious.
  • Our genetic study of human remains from this period challenges several myths about the Picts.
  • We attempted to shed light on the Picts’ origins and legacy by sequencing whole genomes – the full complement of DNA in human cells – from skeletons excavated at two cemeteries.

Stone monuments

    • These cemeteries, at Balintore in Easter Ross and Lundin Links in Fife, date to between the 5th and 7th centuries AD.
    • The Balintore burials are not well understood, but Lundin Links is characterised by exceptional stone monuments.
    • The burials take the form of round or rectangular cairns – where numerous stones are piled up as markers – and long cists.

Origin myths

    • Our findings support a prevailing view that the Picts descended from Iron Age groups in Britain and Ireland.
    • This contrasts with older, often elaborate, myths of exotic origins, such as the one recounted in the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, written by the Anglo-Saxon scholar Bede in AD731.
    • This claimed that the Picts migrated from Scythia (a historical region around the northern coast of the Black Sea) to northern Britain.
    • Other theories include an origin in Thrace (a historical region in south-east Europe) and islands to the north of Britain.

Female inheritance

    • This fascinating insight provides a glimpse into the demographic processes that have shaped genetic diversity and population structure in present-day populations.
    • Bede stated that when the Picts stopped off in Ireland before settling in Britain, they were allowed to marry local women on the condition that Pictish succession passed down the female line.
    • This is more consistent with female exogamy, where women marry outside their social group.
    • The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.