True colour image of Ireland, captured by a NASA satellite on 4 January 2003. Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales and a part of south west England are visible to the east.

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".^{[citation needed]} Other Greek forms of the same name existed, e.g. 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. ^[1] 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 is any truth in this hypothesis, the Romans may have had a greater influence on the southeast of Ireland than normally thought by scholars. ^[2] 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. ^[3]

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 does not 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 does not mean that Rome or the Roman province of Britannia did not 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. ^[4]

Roman cultural influences can be seen in the "penannular brooch" (incorporating a ring that is 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,^{[citation needed]} the rapid^[vague] 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^[when?] 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."^[vague] 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 is 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.

Notes

1. http://www.usd.edu/~clehmann/pir/hibernia.htm
2. British Archaeology, no 14, May 1996: Features
3. http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/MA/CELTS.HTM
4. Carson, R.A.G. and O'Kelly, Claire: A catalogue of the Roman coins from Newgrange, Co. Meath and notes on the coins and related finds, pages 35-55. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, volume 77, section C

See also

• Ireland
• Hibernophile

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Hibernia". Image Credit.

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