Everything about Hibernia totally explained
Hibernia is the Classical
Latin name for the island of
Ireland.
Etymology
The island of Ireland was little known to the
Romans. Their name for the island was taken from
Greek geographical accounts, particularly
Claudius Ptolemy's
Geographia, where it appears as Ἰουερνία
Iouernia. The spelling
Hibernia was likely influenced by the unrelated Latin word
hibernus meaning "wintry." Several variant forms of the name existed in Latin.
Iouernia was a Greek alteration of the
Q-Celtic name *īweriū, stem *īwerion-, from which eventually arose the Modern
Irish name
Éire. The original meaning of the name is thought to be "land of eternal winter". Other Greek forms of the same name existed, for example
Iernē (Ἰέρνη), the name given to Ireland by
Pytheas of
Massilia, a 4th c. BC
Greek merchant and explorer.
Hibernia in the historical record
The island of Ireland was never incorporated into the
Roman Empire. The fact that the Romans never occupied Ireland meant that Roman influence on Ireland was limited to contacts with Britain and other conquered provinces of the Empire. The Ulster historian Richard Warner has theorised that the Midlands leader
Tuathal Techtmhar, usually thought mythical, was in fact historical and went to Britain to get Roman support for his military campaigns (along with other later exiles). If there's any truth in this hypothesis, the Romans may have had a greater influence on the southeast of Ireland than normally thought by scholars. Overall, the relative lack of Roman influence on Ireland meant that it preserved its ancient Celtic culture to a much greater degree than continental countries such as Gaul.
Irish tribal expeditions harried the Roman provinces of
Britannia (Britain) and
Gaul (
France) as evidenced from surviving Roman texts.
In the early first century, Roman and Greek knowledge of Ireland was thin. The geographers
Strabo and
Pomponius Mela describe a cold land inhabited by savages who feast on the flesh of their dead fathers, where, despite the cold, the grazing was so tasty and lush that cattle exploded if allowed to eat unchecked.
By the second century, the geographer
Ptolemy gave coordinates for a surprisingly detailed map of Ireland, naming tribes, towns, rivers and headlands. This information could have come from a variety of sources but does demonstrate the increasing knowledge and interest in Ireland.
Irish written history doesn't mention Rome at all. If Rome is referred to by some other name, no one has yet put a convincing case forward.
However, the lack of written history doesn't mean that Rome or the Roman province of
Britannia didn't significantly interact with Ireland.
Ireland and its neighbors
From early in the
archaeological record, the peoples of North West Europe, including Britain, Gaul, Spain and Ireland had mutually warred, traded and settled.
Significant British settlement in the Southwest of Ireland occurred around year
1.
Ptolemy, in
100s, records Irish tribal names identical to those of tribes in Gaul and Britain, suggesting significant settlement, particularly of the
Brigantes and
Belgae.
At this time Ireland, western and central Europe was home to several
Celtic peoples, with their associated
Celtic religion, supervised by the
Druids. In Ireland and Britain, its peoples shared a broadly similar Celtic heritage. The Isle of
Anglesey,
Welsh Ynys Môn, was the centre of the Druidic religion, just across the
Irish Sea from Ireland.
Transport and communication was often along rivers and coasts, with the Irish Sea being a part of this network. When
Julius Caesar briefly invaded southern
England in
54 BC, he received the submission of many tribes, including that of the
Orcadians in the
Orkney Islands, north of
Scotland. Communications could be long distance, but whether any Irish knew of the Romans at this time is uncertain.
Rome often projected its power beyond its boundaries. Beyond the West coast of Britannia was the Irish Sea, with many easy crossings, and many distinctive mountain landmarks to ease navigation. The spread of Roman power to Ireland's neighbours would have had significant effects on Ireland.
By
51 BC French Gaul had been conquered by the Romans, with the permanent garrisoning of Britain starting after the second invasion in
43. England and Wales would remain within the Roman Empire for another 350 years.
Revolts by the newly subjugated British tribes may have increased settlement from Britain to Ireland and reduced settlement in the other direction. Events such as the destruction of the druidic shrine and sacred groves at Anglesey in
60 by the Roman general
Suetonius Paulinus surely would have been noticed in Ireland.
Evidence of Roman influence
Generally in Ireland, Roman material is rare and found in different contexts from the native
La Tene material. No roads have been identified as being Roman, and no large Roman settlements have been found. However in the southeast of Ireland, where native material is rare, Roman-style cemeteries and large quantities of Roman artifacts have been found.
A group of burials on
Lambay Island, off the coast of
County Dublin, contained Roman brooches and decorative metalware of a style also found in northern England from the late first century. However this could represent, for example, Brigantes fleeing reprisal from the crushed revolt of
74.
Three places in Ireland have all produced early and late Roman archaeological material:
the midland ritual complex of
Tara, the northern hillfort of
Clogher, and
Cashel, in the south. Tara and Clogher have no native finds of similar age, and the name "Cashel" is thought to derive from the Latin
castellum. Each of the three became capital of a new kingdom, and each kingdom's traditions place their origins in Britain. British settlers whose arrival would explain those traditions could have been either supported by, or fleeing from, Roman influence.
At
Drumanagh, 25
km north of
Dublin, a large (200,000 m²) site been was identified,
by 1995, as possibly Roman. Consisting of a peninsula defended by three rows of parallel ditches on the landward side, the site appears to have been a port or bridgehead.
Roman coins have been found at
Newgrange.
Roman cultural influences can be seen in the "penannular brooch" (incorporating a ring that's interrupted by a gap) used to fasten Irish cloaks in the
4th through
11th centuries, which is traced to a style of
Romano-British brooch, the early
medieval Irish sword, which is traced to the Roman
spatha, and, some argue, the rapid adoption of
Christianity.
Tuathal
Tuathal was, in the Irish myths, a
High King of Ireland. He was the son of a High King
Fiacha Finnfolaidh. His father was overthrown and killed in a revolt by the King of
Ulster. Tuathal's mother, who was the daughter of the King of
Alba (Britain at the time, because Alba became the name for Scotland later on), fled to Britain with her son. 20 years later he returned to Ireland, defeated his father's enemies in a series of battles and subdued the entire country. He became High King at
Tara, on the Irish East Coast. There he convened a conference where he established laws. He annexed territory from each of the other four provinces to create the central province of
Míde (
Meath). Four fortresses were built, one for each of the four areas of land.
Some consider him to be the first real High King. The dating of Irish history/mythology is prone to error; however, the most popular belief is that Tuathal was exiled in
56 CE and reigned from around
80 to
100.
Tacitus, the Roman author, tells us that around this time Agricola had with him an Irish chieftain who later returned to conquer Ireland with an army.
Juvenal later wrote that Roman arms were "taken beyond the shores of Ireland." Excavations at sites linked to the tale of Tuathal have produced Roman material of the late 1st or early 2nd centuries. It would be consistent for Tuathal to have been that Irish chieftain.
Modern usage
Hibernia is a word that's rarely used today with regard to Ireland. It is occasionally used for names of organisations and various other things; for instance:
Hibernia National Bank,
Ancient Order of Hibernians,
The Hibernian magazine,
Hibernia College,
Hibernian Football Club,
HMS Hibernia, the
Hibernia oil field, and modern derivatives, from
Latin like
Respublica Hibernica (
Irish Republic) and
Universitas Hiberniae Nationalis (
National University of Ireland). The compound form
Hiberno- remains more common, as in
Hiberno-Norse,
Hiberno-English,
Hiberno-Scottish,
Hibernophile etc.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Hibernia'.
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