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. Toponymic evidence also indicates the advance of Gaelic into Pictland. As noted, Atholl, meaning New Ireland, is attested in the early 8th century. This may be an indication of 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. A number of Ogham inscriptions can be found on Pictish stones and from archaeology from Pictish areas. These were argued by influential linguist Kenneth Jackson to be unintelligible as Celtic and evidence for the coexistence of a non-Celtic language in Pictish times. Celtic interpretations have since been advanced for some of these inscriptions, but the nature of the inscriptions continues to be a matter of debate. See also List of Celtic tribes Origins of the Kingdom of Alba Painted pebbles Picts in fantasy Picts in literature and popular culture Prehistoric Scotland St Andrews Sarcophagus References Citations General bibliography . r Further reading James E. Fraser, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland Vol. 1 - From Caledonia To Pictland, Edinburgh University Press (2009), Henderson, George; Henderson, Isabel, The Art of the Picts, Thames and Hudson (2004), Fraser Hunter, Beyond the Edge of Empire: Caledonians, Picts and Romans, Groam House Museum, Rosemarkie (2007), Alex Woolf, The New Edinburgh History of Scotland Vol. 2: From Pictland to Alba, Edinburgh University Press (2007), External links Glasgow University ePrints server, including Katherine Forsyth's Language in Pictland (pdf) and Literacy in Pictland (pdf) "The language of the Picts", article by Paul Kavanagh, 2012-02-04 CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at University College Cork The Corpus of Electronic Texts includes the Annals of Ulster, Tigernach, the Four Masters and Innisfallen, the Chronicon Scotorum, the Lebor Bretnach, Genealogies, and various Saints' Lives. Most are translated into English, or translations are in progress Scotland Royalty The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba