Epidians
The Epidians were a people who settled in northwestern Scotland until the 1st century .
Not much is known about the people mentioned by Ptolemy of Alexandria . Their settlement area consisted of the Kintyre peninsula and the islands of Arran , Islay and Jura . This area later formed the core of the small kingdom of Dalriada . Ptolemy does not describe any cities of the Epidians, the geographer of Ravenna calls Rauatonium, which is possibly today's Southend on Kintyre.
The Epidians probably spoke a Goidelic language . The name of the people is traced back to the Britannic and Gallic word epos ( horse ), which is also found in the name of the Celtic fertility and horse goddess Epona . The Scottish historian Robert Henry mentions the Epidians in his main work The History of Great Britain , but attributes the name to the British word pepidiaue for tube, which may have been derived from the elongated shape of the Kintyre peninsula. In The Germans and the Neighboring Tribes, Johann Kaspar Zeuss traces the name back to a promontory "Epidium".
The Epidians had relations with the Dumnonians , but it is unclear whether they were their vassals or equal allies.
The people existed in their original form until the time of Gnaeus Iulius Agricola , who invaded Scotland and inflicted great losses on the tribes.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 5, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ The History of Great Britain
- ↑ The Germans and the Neighboring Tribes
