“Greater Scythia”: Did Scottish People Come from Russia as The Declaration of Arbroath Indicates?

“Greater Scythia”: Did Scottish People Come from Russia as The Declaration of Arbroath Indicates? In the 1320 Declaration of Arbroath, which was a letter signed by almost 50 earls and barons of Scotland and sent to the Pope, asking him to recognise Scotland’s independence and Robert the Bruce as King, there is a curious reference to “greater Scythia.” The declaration states that the Scots “journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain… Thence it came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to its home in the west where it still lives today.” Yet can we give any credence to this origin story of the Scots? Scythia, or Greater Scythia, after all, referred to a region and the people of a region that was in central Asia, corresponding to the area around the Black Sea, Ukraine and the vast lands of Southern Russia.

Known largely as being a collection of nomadic tribes, which were fierce warriors, the Scythians built a culture and a region of influence that was prominent between 900BC and 200BC, and stretched from the Black Sea to China. Interestingly, the physical appearance of Scythians was reportedly not to dissimilar from the appearance of Scottish or Celtic people. Some of the Scythian women reportedly had fair hair and blue eyes, whilst some of the men had red hair. Certain sources also suggested that some Scythians had white hair, with these people referred to as Albani (Cowan 1984: 122). It is at least interesting to note that Scotland in Gaelic is called Alba.

Part of the reference to “greater Scythia” in the Declaration seems in part a reference to Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland and one the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Andrew is thought to have preached in Scythia, and there is an argument that he was martyred in Scythia…

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Sources:

Cowan, E. (2008) For Freedom Alone: The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320 (Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited).
Cowan, E. (1984). Myth and Identity in Early Medieval Scotland. The Scottish Historical Review, 63(176), 111-135.
Johnson, B. St Andrew, Patron Saint of Scotland, Historic UK https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/St-Andrew-Patron-Saint-of-Scotland/
Mackay, N. (26 April, 2020) The Picts: who really were our mythical ancestors? The Herald https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18406153.picts-really-mythical-ancestors/
National Records of Scotland, The Declaration of Arbroath: 700th Anniversary Display (1320-2020) https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files/research/NRS_DoA_English_booklet_700_Spreads_WEB.pdf
Scotland’s History (BBC) The Kingdom of the Gaels https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/kingdom_of_the_gaels/
The British Museum, Blog (30 May 2017) Introducing the Scythians https://blog.britishmuseum.org/introducing-the-scythians/
The Scotsman – The Newsroom (30 March, 2016) A brief history of the ancient Pict Kingdoms of Scotland https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/brief-history-ancient-pict-kingdoms-scotland-1479792
The Scotsman, The Newsroom (13 Sep. 2006) The pharaoh's daughter who was the mother of all Scots https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/arts-and-entertainment/pharaohs-daughter-who-was-mother-all-scots-2507668

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