Brit-Am Research Sources (5 February, 2013, Shevet 25, 5773)
Contents:
1. John Thornton: Heber Scot in Spain, Ireland, and Scotland
2. Ancient and Modern Names of Britain
3. Spain and Scotland: The Ancient Connections
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1. John Thornton: Heber Scot in Spain, Ireland, and Scotland
RE: Brit-Am Now no. 2007: Ten Tribes Studies.
#3. Replies to Comments on YouTube Clip, The Celts Called Themselves Hebrews!
(b) Celts Ate Pigs!
Shalom Yair
I noted your comment >> Hibernia may indeed have been derived from the Latin
name for Winter.<<.
Or, perhaps, on the flipside, the Roman term for winter could have been
derived from Hibernia i.e. the colder northern regions of Europe, windy,
stormy, on the edge of the Atlantic -- from which we now have the concept of
'hibernation'?
I note also some other contributors in this edition in relation to the
Celts, Caledonians and Scotland.
I'm slowly working my way through John of Furdun's Chronicle of the Scottish
Nation. According to Wikipedia "It is certain that he was a secular priest,
and that he composed his history in the latter part of the 14th century; and
it is probable that he was a chaplain in the St Machar's Cathedral of
Aberdeen". For the benefit of the readers 'Fordun' or 'Fordoun' nowadays is
a village south of Aberdeen, Scotland and from which 'John' appears to take
his 'surname' - as it was in those days and before e.g. Solomon ben David,
Elijah the Tishbite, Saul of Tarsus etc.
The editorial introduction by William F Skene (c. 1896) tries to put some
balance into understanding the work, as the writings of ancient 'scholars'
were known to have errors ranging from the factual to the fantastic.
Nevertheless John of Fordun writes at length about Gatheylos, the progenitor
of the Scots (and who reputedly married Scota, princess of Egypt, daughter
of the Pharoah of the Exodus an the person from whom the Scots are
apparently named). This is but one of several explanations of origins and
characters, from various ancient writers, and that I will not get into
further at this point.
Anyway, according to Fordun, Gatheylos had a son, Hyber, of which John
writes "TO the government, however, of the Scots remaining in Spain after
his father's death, succeeded Hyber." The heading of Book II, Chapter XVII
reads: "Hyber, the Son of Gaythelos, goes to the Island and takes Possession
of it - It is afterwards called Hibernia after him", and later in that same
chapter Furdun states "Grosseteste writes: 'And because their princess
herself, the most noble of all who were present, was called Scota, they
called that part of the land which they reached first, that is, Oylister
(Ulster), Scotia. But afterwards, says a Legend, from that same King Hyber,
or rather from the Hyberian sea, they called it Hibernia."
Now Brit-Am and others have written of Heber Scot, who passed though Spain
and Portugal ('Port of the Gaels'), aka the IBERIAN peninsula, en route to
Ireland. Then we have Heber (Gen 10:24, great, great grandson of Shem and
progenitor of the 'Hebrews' -- the Bible mentions his descendant, 'Abram the
Hebrew' in Gen 14:13). Again the word 'eber' in Hebrew means to cross over.
So Heber would have been one who crossed over the rivers of Mesopotamia, and
it would appear that became a trait of his descendants.
Thus amid the legends is a clear thread. Hyber or Heber Scot (Hiberus,
Iberus and other similar names) appears in the history of Spain and Ireland.
AND TO THIS DAY we have IBERIA the name of the Spanish/Portugese peninsula
and Hibernia the ancient name of Ireland (and the origin of the name of a
Scottish soccer club: Hibernians or 'Hibs'). This didn't just 'happen'.
Irrespective of the tales of Furdun or others, whether accurate, roughly
accurate or questionable, you simply don't dream all this up. And if this
were pure fiction, it is of a different league compared to the efforts of J
K Rowling, the indomitable 'Harry' and his exploits.
In passing, having regard to Fordun's work, other legends and more recent
names I am also somewhat intrigued by 'Alba' (the ancient name of Scotland,
reputedly resulting from Albanactus, son of Brutus of Troy, who was given
that part of 'Britain'), the 'Alba Longa' of Italy and Roman tradition, and
modern 'Albania'. The Alba Longa was founded by Ascanius, son of the
legendary Aeneas of Troy -- and ancestor of Brutus.
Relying on the ubiquitous Wikipedia yet again: "Albania is the Medieval
Latin name of the country which is called Shqipiri by its people. In
Medieval Greek, the country's name is Albania besides variants Albanitia,
Arbanitia. The name may be derived from the Illyrian tribe of the Albani
recorded by Ptolemy".
(Sometimes ancient Scotland is incorrectly referred to as 'Albania'). Is
this all more pure chance?
I have not yet found any connection between 'Alba', 'Alba Longa' (apart from
the Aeneas/Brutus one) and 'Albania'. Perhaps others have.
Regards
John Thornton
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2. Ancient and Modern Names of Britain
http://www.orrar.net/britain/namesofbritain.htm
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3. Spain and Scotland: The Ancient Connections
Extracts:
The ancient connections between northern Britain and Celtic Spain are strong and supported by many myths and legends. The dolmens, standing stones and the trail of "cup and ring" designs carved on stones by the prehistoric people of Iberia make their way from Spain and Portugal and northern France to Ireland and Scotland and represent the earliest evidence of the movement of prehistoric man from Iberia to the northern islands.
Furthermore, the ancients also named the various tribes of northern Britain years before the Romans set foot on Britain and one of the most famous of all were the "Brigantes."
Some scholars believe that the Brigantes were named after a Spanish Celtic king. Breoghan (or Brigus or Bregon) who was king of Galicia, Murcia, Castile, and Portugal, and may have even reigned further south in Andalucia - all of which he conquered during the expansion of Celtic culture into Spain. The name "Obregon" is still quite common in northern Spain.
Of these ancient kingdoms, Galicia, of course, is still one of the seven recognized Celtic nations, and the word itself means "The Land of the Gaelic People." It is from Galicia that Irish origin legends claim that the Irish race sprung towards Ireland.
According the Irish origin myths, King Brigus built Breoghan's Tower or Brigantia in Galicia, and also the city of Brigantia or Braganza in Portugal. He also created the most ancient kingdom of Castile which was then also called after him or "Brigia."
...King Brigus' son was named Bile, and he was also a Celtic King of Spain. Several Pictish Kings were also called Bile or Bili, including its most famous King, the destroyer of the Angles at Dunnichen in 685 A.D. The name Bile is of high interest also to students of Celtic mythology. According to the Celtic Encyclopedia
"In British tradition he was called Bel or Belinus, but in Irish he was Bile. In some texts, he is said to come to Ireland from Spain - which is clearly intended to be the Land of the Dead. The fires of Beltaine were lit to mark his recognized feast. Very little is known of his mythos, but he, like Danu who is sometimes named as his consort, was a powerful ancestral deity to the Celtic races. (bil-ay) One of the names of the god of Death (i.e. of the Underworld), father of Miled; equivalent, Cymric god Beli, husband of Don".
Bile's son was Milesius, perhaps the most famous of all the Celtic Kings of Spain and the father of the Irish race. As a youth Milesius, distinguished himself as a warrior in Egypt and was also known as Galamh. According to Hynes:
"The original name of Milesius of Spain was, as already mentioned, "Galamh" (gall : Irish, a stranger; amh, a negative affix), which means, no stranger: meaning that he was no stranger in Egypt, where he was called "Milethea Spaine," which was afterwards contracted to "Milo Spaine" (meaning the Spanish Hero), and finally to "Milesiius" (mileadh: Irish, a hero; Lat. miles, a soldier)".
See:
BARS-28
2. The Founding Mythology of Britain. Sources.
3. The Samotheans - Mythical First Inhabitants of Britain
BARS-30
2. Sources: Albina and Aidne of Britain from Syria, Atecotti, Feni, Tuatha-de = Jews, Saxons and Huns
The British Chronicles, VOLUME 1 ONLY, Volume 1 by David Hughes, 2007, USAÂ
Traditions of Israelite Descent in England