the origin of the name Britain

close
more_vert
PeterH P
PeterH Nov 9, 2005 13:34:29
Replying to fitzcoraldo

Yes - I think you are correct. It makes more sense to see the Brigantes as the People of Brigit. Later, because of their warlike raids, the name came to mean brigands or bandits just as we have used the name of the Vandals to describe modern yobs.

F fitzcoraldo
fitzcoraldo Nov 9, 2005 13:40:28
Replying to PeterH

I've just done a bit of trawling. There's some nice references to Brigantia in this dissertation, which is a good read in itself.

http://www.summerlands.com/crossroads/library/kevin_dissertation.html

cheers fitz

F fitzcoraldo
fitzcoraldo Nov 9, 2005 14:10:15
Replying to PeterH

" Later, because of their warlike raids, the name came to mean brigands or bandits"

Peter, I think you may be falling into the trap of the Roman propagandists.
I think that there is scant evidence that the Brigantes were any more or less warlike than any other British tribe before or during the Roman occupation.
What I find interesting is the person who led the Brigantes, Cartimanua, was a woman. It would be interesting to speculate on the role of women during the Iron Age and how this could possibly have related to earlier times.