Scottas or Skottas (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

448 AD) was a

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

nobleman, ambassador and advisor. He was the brother of

Onegesius Onegesius ( grc-gre, Ὀνηγήσιος, Onegesios) was a powerful Hunnic ''logades'' (minister) who supposedly held power second only to Attila the Hun. According to Priscus he "''seated on a chair to the right of the king''" i.e. Attila. Histo ...

. When Priscus went with Maximinus' embassy to the court of Attila, they attempted to meet the Hun king, but an audience was repeatedly refused by the king. He then tried to convince Scottas into allowing a meeting with Attila, by telling him that the knew of his influence over Attila, and offering him gifts. Priscus apparently assumed that his tactics worked as he reports that thereby Scottas "immediately mounted on his horse and galloped away to Attila's tent". However, in the words of Christopher Kelly, "it was Priscus who had been fooled". The Huns already knew of the Romans' plot. Attila had been rejecting an audience with the Roman embassy after he himself requested the embassy to be sent. He knew that if Maximinus suspected his embassy was compromised, insisting of meeting them would be reckless. Scottas, to whom gifts were promised, was eventually the one sent back to tell the Romans they could come to Attila's tent.

Etymology

The name might be of Germanic, or Iranian origin.

References

{{Huns Huns Attila the Hun 5th-century people