Calgacus
Encyclopedia
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. His name can be as interpreted as Celtic
*calg-ac-os, "possessing a blade".
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 (30):
Calgacus is not mentioned during or after the battle and he is not named as one of the hostage
s 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".
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
, Calgacus (sometimes Calgacos or Galgacus) was a chieftain of the Caledonian Confederacy who fought the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
army of Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Gnaeus Julius Agricola was a Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. His biography, the De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.Born to a noted...
at the Battle of Mons Graupius
Battle of Mons Graupius
According to Tacitus, the Battle of Mons Graupius took place in AD 83 or, less probably, 84. Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman governor and Tacitus' father-in-law, had sent his fleet ahead to panic the Caledonians, and, with light infantry reinforced with British auxiliaries, reached the site,...
in northern Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in AD 83 or 84. His name can be as interpreted as Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
*calg-ac-os, "possessing a blade".
The only historical source that features him is Tacitus' Agricola
Agricola (book)
The Agricola is a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, written c 98, which recounts the life of his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general. It also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Britain...
, 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
Battle of Mons Graupius
According to Tacitus, the Battle of Mons Graupius took place in AD 83 or, less probably, 84. Gnaeus Julius Agricola, the Roman governor and Tacitus' father-in-law, had sent his fleet ahead to panic the Caledonians, and, with light infantry reinforced with British auxiliaries, reached the site,...
. 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 (30):
Calgacus is not mentioned during or after the battle and he is not named as one of the hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
s 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".