The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

384 THE HIGHLANDERS [excursus
they tattooed themselves, whence Lat. Picti, painted men. The
fact that Pictavia was also the name of a large Gaulish province
makes this last statement doubtful. It may, however, be
inferred that this Greek form Prettania gave rise to the name
Britain—a bad Latin pronunciation of Prettania. Prof. Rhys
here objects, and points out that Pliny mentions a tribe of
Britanni as situated at the mouth of the Somme, not very far
from Kent ; that there was such a tribe is proved by the
modern town-name of Bretagne. If Prof. Rhys is
right, he
must postulate that part of Kent was inhabited by these
Britanni, and that from this little colony came the name of the
whole island. No Britanni are mentioned as in Britain, and
it is likely that the tribe on the Somme were some returned
emigrants from Britain. The Welsh call the Picts Prydyn
(from pryd, figure), which again agrees with Gaelic derivation
(Gaelic cruth, whence Cruithne, is, in Welsh, pryd). Britain is
Welsh Prydain, the same word as that for Pict. Hence the
Picts are the "
figured " men both in the Gadelic and Brittonic
languages. These are the Editor's views, and the proof must
be deferred till we come to treat the Pictish question.
We are on firm historic ground in regard to the last Belgic
invasion of Celts from the Continent. The Belgic Gauls crossed
over into Britain before Caesar's time,
for he found them in
possession of at least the eastern portion of England ; the
language was the same on both sides of the Channel, some
tribe names, such as the Atrebates, were common to both,
and King
Divitiacus ruled both in Gaul and Britain. Caesar
speaks of the Britons of the interior as aboriginal,
no doubt
referring to the west coast and to Scotland. In any case,
the Belgae seem at the time of the Roman conquest to have
possessed Britain as far as the Forth— at least its eastern half,
being probably in much the same position as we find the
Anglo-Saxons about 613. The Picts had been conquered or
driven west and north ; we know they inhabited all northern
Scotland then, and possibly what was afterwards the Kingdom
of Strathclyde. Tacitus mentions the Silures in South Wales
as a dark curly-haired people, and argues their Spanish origin.
These Silures are now recognised as the survivors of the
Iberians of the Neolithic age.