Epidii

Etymology

The name Epidii includes the P-Celtic root epos, meaning "horse" (cf. Welsh ebol, "a foal"). The Q-Celtic equivalent would be *ekwos, which became Old Gaelic ech. It is suggested that they were named after a horse god, whose name could be reconstructed as *Epidios. The Q-Celtic equivalent would be *Ekwidios, which may be the origin of the Old Gaelic name Eochaid.

The Dagda, a Gaelic god, is often referred to as Eochaid Ollathair.

Language

Although their name is almost certainly Brittonic/P-Celtic, Dr Ewan Campbell suggest they were Goidelic/Q-Celtic speakers. He says "Ptolemy's source for his Scottish names was probably from the Scottish Central Lowlands, and may have transmitted the Brittonic form of a Goidelic tribal name, or even the external name given to the tribe by Brittonic speakers". Their territory later became the heartland of the Goidelic kingdom of Dál Riata. Alex Woolf suggests that the Epidii became the Dál Riata, but argues that they were Brittonic-speaking in Ptolemy's time. He also suggests that the Hebrides, called the Ebudae by Ptolemy, were named after the Epidii. NOTOC

References

Sources

• Armit, Ian, Celtic Scotland, (2nd ed.) London: B.T. Batsford/Historic Scotland, 2005.
• Fitzpatrick-Matthews, Keith (5 August 2013) "Britannia in the Ravenna Cosmography: a reassessment." (pdf) Academia.edu. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
• Foster, Sally M., Picts, Gaels, and Scots (2nd ed.) London: B.T. Batsford/Historic Scotland, 2005.
• {{Citation |author-link=Ptolemy |editor-last=Thayer |editor-first=Bill |publication-date=2008 |access-date=2008-04-26
• The British Section of the Ravenna Cosmography in Archaeologia 93 (1949), 108.4
• Watson, W. J. (2004) The Celtic Place-Names of Scotland. Edinburgh. Birlinn. . First published 1926.

References

1. Watson (1926) p. 37
2. Fitzpatrick-Matthews (2013) p. 69
3. {{Harvcolnb. Delamarre. 2003
4. [[Alex Woolf. Woolf, Alex]]. [https://www.academia.edu/1502702/Ancient_Kindred_Dal_Riata_and_the_Cruthin ''Ancient Kindred? Dál Riata and the Cruthin''] {{Webarchive. link. (2 August 2016 . 2012.)
5. [http://www.tairis.co.uk/gods/gods-in-scotland Gods in Scotland] {{Webarchive. link. (21 January 2015 . Tairis.)
6. {{Harvcolnb. Campbell. 2001, ''Were the Scots Irish?''; cf. Foster, ''Picts, Gaels and Scots'', pp. 9 – 10 and Armit, ''Celtic Scotland'', pp. 21 – 24