The Cruithne or Priteni are believed to be the first Celtic group to inhabit the British Isles, and are identified with the Picts of northern Ireland and Scotland.

They settled in Britain and Ireland beween 700 and 500 BCE. They used iron and spoke a P-Celtic language, calling themselves Priteni or Pritani, which is probably the origin of the name "Britain".

In Britain these Priteni were absorbed by later invaders and lost their cultural identity, except in the far north where they were known to the Romans as Picti, or “painted people,” on account of their practice of decorating their bodies with paint or tattoos (a practice which by then had died out among other Celtic nations). In Ireland, too, the Priteni were largely absorbed by later settlers; but a few pockets of them managed to retain a measure of cultural, if not political, independence well into the Christian era. By then they were identified as Cruithne, a Q-Celtic adaptation of Priteni.

Among the Cruthnian tribes that survived into the Christian era the most prominent were the Dál nAraide in Ulster, and the Loíges and Fothairt in Leinster. The name of the second of these tribes - modernized as Laois - has been revived and given to one of the counties of Leinster (formerly known as Queen's County).

For the asteroid sometimes identified as Earth's second moon, see 3753 Cruithne.

External Links

• The Cruithne at Electric Scotland