Aitchison, Nicholas B., “The Caledonian battle-leader Calgacus”, North American Journal of Celtic Studies 4:1 (2020): 79–118.
- journal article
Calgacus is famous as the Caledonian leader who, according to Tacitus, addressed British forces before their defeat in battle against the Romans at Mons Graupius in AD 83. Very little is recorded about Calgacus, giving his name added significance. The Celtic personal name *Kalgākos, Latinised as Calgacus, has traditionally been interpreted as ‘swordsman’ following two of the leading Celtic scholars of the twentieth century, William J. Watson and Kenneth Jackson. More recently, *Kalgākos has been either elevated to a title or dismissed as merely a nickname, contributing to growing doubts about Calgacus as a historical figure. After considering the socio-political standing and ethno-linguistic identity of Calgacus, his historical status and the authenticity of *Kalgākos as a personal name are evaluated and confirmed. The etymology of *Kalgākos is then reassessed. The widely-accepted interpretation of *Kalgākos as ‘swordsman’ is challenged on the grounds that its root *kolg- occupies a wider semantic field. Instead, *Kalgākos may have an adjectival sense describing the personal quality ‘sharp, pointed, prickly, spiky’, literally ‘pertaining to stinging, piercing’, perhaps nominalised as ‘stinger, piercer’ or even ‘spearman’ and, metaphorically, ‘angry, fierce’.
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