The
Brigantes were a
Celtic tribe who in
pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of
Northern England and a significant part of the
Midlands. Their
kingdom was known as Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as
Yorkshire. The Brigantes were the only Celtic tribe to have a presence in both England and
Ireland, in the latter of which they could be found around
Wexford,
Kilkenny and
Waterford.
[1]Within England, the territory which the Brigantes inhabited was bordered by that of four other Celtic tribes the Carvetii (to whom they may have been related) in the North-West, the Parisii to the East and, to the South, the Coritani and the Cornovii.
The name Brigantes (????a?te?) is cognate to that of the goddess Brigantia.[2] The name is from a root meaning "high, elevated", and it is unclear whether settlements called Brigantium were so named as "high ones" in a metaphorical sense of nobility, or literally as "highlanders", referring to the Pennines, or inhabitants of physically elevated fortifications. (IEW, s.v. "bhereg'h-").
There are several ancient settlements named Brigantium around Europe there was also a tribe called the Brigantes from what is modern day Betanzos, Spain falling within an area referred to as Celtic Gallaecia. Similarly the Brigantii from the Alps is another example, from settlements bearing the name Brigantium now known as Bregenz and Briançon.[2][3]
