thumb|upright=1.3|19th-century print depicting Calgacus delivering his speech to the Caledonians.

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. Some older scholarship has proposed a Brittonic derivation, *calg‑ac‑os, meaning 'possessing a blade' or 'swordsman', but this interpretation is highly speculative and not attested in contemporary sources. Several scholars have connected the name Calgacus with the Gaelic root <!--assuming (1) "Gaelic" means Scottish Gaelic, (2) this is not a full word-->, meaning "a prickle; the point of a weapon; anything pointed". Related forms recorded in Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary include ("prickly; armed with points; fierce"), (a spear, a point) and ("pointer-finger"), all belonging to the same semantic field of pointed or projecting objects. MacBain's Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language also records / as meaning "awn, bristle; anything pointed; a sword". Whether the word is a name or a title is unknown.

Biography

He was the first Caledonian to be recorded in history.

Calgacus is not mentioned during or after the battle, and he is not named as one of the hostages Agricola took with him after putting the Caledonians to flight. Both Calgacus and the speech may be figments of Tacitus's invention.

His speech is often quoted as "they make a desert and call it peace".

References

  • Calgacus's Full Speech to his Troops (A.D. 85)