Attacotti

Attacotti (Latin), Addicott (Old English) were one of the tribes of Caledonians who invaded Roman Britain in the latter 4th Century A.D.) along with two other named tribes the Picts and Scots.

The first known historical reference to Addicott or Attacotti appears in the writings of the historian Ammianus Marcellinus, a former Army officer who served under the Emperors Constantius II, Julian, Jovian, and Valentinian, whereas Picti and Scoti appear earlier in the writings of Tacitus. Ammianus was an eyewitness to the Emperor Julian's campaign between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers against the Persian Empire in the years 362-363. Because of their valour, the "valiant" Attacotti became auxiliaries in the Roman Army according to Ammianus under the Emperors Valentinian and Theodosius and helped protect Britian from the inroads of the Saxons and Angles. The historian Edward Gibbon refers to the Attacotti as cannibals who enjoyed the taste of human flesh, tracking their human prey from the cover the forest.