Caledonia
Categories: United Kingdom history stubs
- This article is about Caledonia as a name for part of Britain and for Scotland. For other uses please see Caledonia (disambiguation).
Caledonia is an old Latin name (given by the Roman Empire) for a region corresponding approximately to the part of modern-day Scotland north of a line between the Firth of Clyde and Firth of Forth. The Antonine Wall ran between the two river estuaries.
The name represents that of a Pictish tribe, the Caledonii, one amongst several in the Caledonia region, but perhaps the dominant tribe. Their name appears also in that of Dunkeld (Dùn Chailleann in Scottish Gaelic), about 15 miles north of Perth.
The whole area up to the Highlands was covered in villages. An average village consisted of six huts surrounded by a wooden stockade. The way of survival for the Caledonians was farming, though they also knew the skill of weaving.
In modern English, Caledonia is often used as a poetic or romantic name for Scotland as a whole.