According to Tacitus, Calgacus (sometimes Calgacos or Galgacus) was a chieftain of the Caledonian Confederacy who fought the Roman army of Gnaeus Julius Agricola at the Battle of Mons Graupius in northern Scotland in AD 83 or 84.
There is debate as to the existence of Calgacus; Anthony Kamm and Simon Turney argue that Calgacus was confected by Tacitus to convey his political opinions.[1]
Name
The name Calgacus is of Celtic origin and generally taken to mean "swordsman", "stinger" or similar. It appears related to the Old Irish personal name Calgaigh. The first element may be cognate with Old Irish calg ("point"), Breton calc'h ("penis") (all from a root *kalga) with the adjectival suffix *- a:k- (cf. Welsh caliog ("having a penis"); Old Irish golgach). Alternatively, in view of the meaning of the Breton and Welsh words, a name implying virility may be considered (cf. Gaulish names with *busso-, meaning the same).[2]
Whether Calgacus is a personal name or an epithet is unclear.[3]
Biography
He was the first Caledonian to be recorded in history.[3] The only historical source that features him is Tacitus' Agricola, which describes him as "the most distinguished for birth and valour among the chieftains". Tacitus wrote a speech which he attributed to Calgacus, saying that Calgacus gave it in advance of the Battle of Mons Graupius. The speech describes the exploitation of Britain by Rome and rouses his troops to fight.
The following excerpt is from the speech attributed to Calgacus by the historian Tacitus in the Agricola, but most historians[example needed] note that since Calgacus was fighting Tacitus' father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, in the battle, the reader should assume some bias:[4]
References
- ↑ Elliott, Simon (30 September 2025). Agricola in Scotland The Northern Campaigns of Roman Britain’s Great Warrior Governor. Pen & Sword Books Limited. pp. 151–152. ISBN 9781399068321.
- ↑ Rhys, Guto. "Approaching the Pictish language: historiography, early evidence and the question of Pritenic" (PDF). University of Glasgow. University of Glasgow.
- 1 2 Calgacus
- ↑ Duncan B. Campbell, Mons Graupius AD 83, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010
- ↑ Tacitus, Agricola 30
- ↑ Braund, David Ruling Roman Britain: Kings, Queens, Governors and Emperors from Julius Caesar to Agricola Routledge; 1 edition (5 Sep 1996) ISBN 978-0-415-00804-4 pp.8, 169
- ↑ Wooliscroft, D. J.; Hoffman, B. Rome's First Frontier; the Flavian Occupation of Northern Scotland Tempus (June 1, 2006)ISBN 978-0752430447 p.217
- ↑ "A Don's Life". Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2013.
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