chiefdom · British Isles

Cait

600 CE – 900 CE (approx.)

A Pictish province in the far north of mainland Scotland, whose name survives in Caithness and in Gaelic Cataibh for Sutherland.

Origins

Cait is one of the seven Pictish provinces named after the legendary sons of Cruithne. The name, perhaps 'cat people', survives in Caithness, the Norse 'headland of the Cats', and Gaelic Cataibh, the name for Sutherland.

Rule and society

Nothing reliable is known of its government or rulers. Broch towers and later Pictish symbol stones show a long-settled farming and seafaring population in the region.

Decline and legacy

From the 9th century Norse settlers from Orkney took over Caithness, which came under the Earldom of Orkney. The area was gradually brought into the Kingdom of Scotland in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (1)

More states of British Isles →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cait. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cait
MLA
“Cait.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cait. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cait.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cait.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cait’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/cait (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻