The Milesians or sons of Míl are the final race to settle in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, according to the ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...
'', a medieval Irish Christian history. The Milesians represent the
Irish people
The Irish ( or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common ancestry, history and Culture of Ireland, culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has be ...
. They are
Gaels
The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...
who sail to Ireland from
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
(
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
) after spending hundreds of years travelling the Earth. When they land in Ireland, they contend with the
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...
, who represent the Irish pantheon of gods. The two groups agree to divide Ireland between them: the Milesians take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the
Otherworld
In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...
).
Scholars believe that the tale is mostly an invention of medieval Christian writers.
[ Carey, John]
''The Irish National Origin-Legend: Synthetic Pseudohistory''
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
, 1994. pp.1–4
Myth
''Historia Brittonum''
The 9th century Latin work ''
Historia Brittonum
''The History of the Britons'' () is a purported history of early Britain written around 828 that survives in numerous recensions from after the 11th century. The ''Historia Brittonum'' is commonly attributed to Nennius, as some recensions ha ...
'' (History of the Britons) says that Ireland was settled by three groups of people from the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
. The first are the people of
Partholón, who all die of plague. The second are the people of
Nemed, who eventually return to Iberia. The last group are led by three sons of a warrior or soldier from
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
(''mīles Hispaniae''), who sail to Ireland with thirty ships, each carrying thirty wives. They see a glass tower in the middle of the sea with men on top of it, but the men do not answer their calls. They set out to take the tower, but when they reach it, all but one of their ships are sunk by a great wave. Only one ship is saved, and its passengers are the ancestors of all the Irish.
In later Irish texts, it is the people of Nemed who are drowned while trying to capture a tower by the sea.
''Lebor Gabála Érenn''
The ''
Lebor Gabála Érenn
''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of Ireland's Taking"; Modern Irish spelling: ''Leabhar Gabhála Éireann'', known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'') is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language inten ...
'' (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), an Irish work which was first compiled in the 11th century AD by an anonymous writer, purports to be a history of Ireland and the Irish (the Gaels). It tells us that all mankind is descended from
Adam
Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam).
According to Christianity, Adam ...
through the
sons of Noah
The Generations of Noah, also called the Table of Nations or ''Origines Gentium'', is a genealogy of the sons of Noah, according to the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after Genesis flood narrative ...
, and that a
Scythian
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...
king named
Fénius Farsaid (descendant of
Noah
Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...
's son
Japheth) is the forebear of the Gaels. Fénius, a prince of
Scythia
Scythia (, ) or Scythica (, ) was a geographic region defined in the ancient Graeco-Roman world that encompassed the Pontic steppe. It was inhabited by Scythians, an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people.
Etymology
The names ...
, is described as one of 72 chieftains who built the
Tower of Babel. His son Nel weds
Scota, daughter of an Egyptian
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
, and they have a son named
Goídel Glas. Goídel crafts the
Goidelic (Gaelic) language from the original 72 languages that arose after the
confusion of tongues. Goídel's offspring, the Goidels (Gaels), leave Egypt at the same time as
the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
of the
Israelites
Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age.
Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
and settle in Scythia. After some time they leave Scythia and spend 440 years wandering the Earth, undergoing a series of trials and tribulations akin to those of the Israelites, who were said to have spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness. In some versions of the ''Lebor Gabála'', there was a
succession dispute between Refloir and
Míl (also called Galam) over the kingship of Scythia. Míl kills Refloir, and is exiled for this kin-slaying.
Eventually, Míl and his followers reach
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...
/
Hispania
Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...
by sea and conquer it. There, Goídel's descendant
Breogán
Breogán (also spelt Breoghan, Bregon or Breachdan) is a character in the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', a medieval Christian history of Ireland and the Irish (or Gaels). He is supposedly the son of Brath, and is described as an ancestor of the Gae ...
founds a city called Brigantia, and builds a tower from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland. Brigantia refers to
Corunna (then known as Brigantium) in modern-day
Galicia in Spain, and Breogán's tower is likely to have been based on the
Tower of Hercules
The Tower of Hercules (, ) is the oldest known extant Roman lighthouse. Built in the 1st century, the tower is located on a peninsula about from the center of A Coruña, Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Until the 20th century, it was known as the ...
, which was built at Corunna by the Romans.
Íth sails to the island with a group of men. He is welcomed by its three kings:
Mac Cuill,
Mac Cecht and
Mac Gréine. These three are members of the
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic ...
, who ruled Ireland at the time. Evidence suggests that Tuath Dé were the main pagan gods of Ireland. Íth is then killed by unnamed attackers and his men return to Iberia. The eight sons of Íth's brother Míl (also called Míl Espáine, 'of Hispania'), lead an invasion force to avenge his death and take Ireland. After they land, they fight against the Tuath Dé and make for
Tara, the royal capital. On the way, they are met on three mountains by
Banba,
Fódla and
Ériu
In Irish mythology, Ériu (; ), daughter of Delbáeth and Ernmas of the Tuatha Dé Danann, was the eponymous matron goddess of Ireland.
The English name for Ireland comes from the name Ériu and the Germanic languages, Germanic (Old Norse or ...
– the wives of Ireland's three kings. They are believed to have been a
trio of land goddesses. Each woman says that the Gaels will have good fortune if they name the land after her. One of the Gaels,
Amergin, promises that it shall be so. At Tara, they meet the three kings, who defend their claim to the joint kingship of the land. They ask that there be a three-day truce, during which the Gaels must stay a distance of nine waves from land. The Gaels agree, but once their ships are nine waves from Ireland, the Tuath Dé conjure up a great wind that prevents them sailing back to land. However, Amergin calms the wind by reciting a
verse. The surviving ships return to land and the two groups agree to divide Ireland between them. The Gaels take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the
Otherworld
In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his desc ...
) and enter the ''
sídhe'', the ancient burial mounds that dot the Irish landscape.
Amergin divides the kingship between
Éremon, who rules the northern half of Ireland, and
Éber Finn, who rules the southern half. This division of the land was probably invented by the writers to explain and justify the 7th/8th-century division between the royal capitals of Tara and
Cashel. The ''Lebor Gabála'' then traces Ireland's dynasties back to Milesian Gaels such as Éremon and Éber. Modern scholars, however, believe that these were fictional characters and that the writers were attempting to give the medieval dynasties more legitimacy.
Analysis
Modern scholars believe that the tale is mostly an invention of medieval Irish Christian writers.
[ They sought to link the Irish to people and events from the ]Old Testament
The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
, to liken the Irish to the Israelites, and to reconcile native pagan myth with Christianity. They were inspired by other medieval Christian pseudo-histories, such as Galician cleric Paulus Orosius's ''History Against the Pagans'', Saint Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
's ''Chronicle
A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
'', and the works of Isidore.[Carey, John.]
Did the Irish Come from Spain? The Legend of the Milesians
, '' History Ireland'' (Autumn 2001), pp.8–11.
The claim that the Irish Gaels came from the Iberian region of Galicia may be based on three things. The first is the coincidental similarity of the names ''Iberia''/''Hiberia'' and ''Hibernia
() is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). In his book ''Geogr ...
''[ and the names ''Galicia'' and ''Gael''. Medieval pseudo-historians made similar claims about other nations based only on their names. The second is ]Isidore of Seville
Isidore of Seville (; 4 April 636) was a Spania, Hispano-Roman scholar, theologian and Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville, archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of the 19th-century historian Charles Forbes René de Montal ...
describing Iberia as the "mother andof the races". Isidore's works were a major source of inspiration for the writers of the ''Lebor Gabála''. The third is Orosius
Paulus Orosius (; born 375/385 – 420 AD), less often Paul Orosius in English, was a Roman priest, historian and theologian, and a student of Augustine of Hippo. It is possible that he was born in '' Bracara Augusta'' (now Braga, Portugal), ...
describing Ireland as lying "between Iberia and Britain". The Roman historian Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
also thought that Ireland lay between Iberia and Britain. John Carey notes that if Iberia was thought to be the part of mainland Europe nearest to Ireland, it would be natural "to see it as the source of arrivals from overseas".[
The name ''Míl Espáine'' is a Gaelicization of the Latin ''mīles Hispaniae'', "warrior/soldier of Hispania", first attested in the ''Historia Brittonum''.][ Some antiquarians linked the Irish 'Milesians' with the ]ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
Milesians, inhabitants of Miletus
Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...
. However, Joseph Lennon writes that "no link exists among Míl, Milesians and Miletus in the early origin legends". He considers it more likely that the name 'Milesian' came from later English-language translations of the legend, noting "'Milesian' is not used to refer to the Irish with any regularity until the eighteenth century".
The names of some of the Milesians were invented by medieval writers, based on the ethnic names of the Gaels: Goidel Glas (from ''Goídel''), Fenius (from ''Féni''), Scota (from ''Scoti
''Scoti'' or ''Scotti'' is a Latin name for the Gaels,Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p.698 first attested in the late 3rd century. It originally referred to all Gaels, first those in Ireland and then those ...
''), Éber (from '' Hiberni''), Éremon and Ír (from ''Éire
( , ) is the Irish language name for "Ireland". Like its English counterpart, the term is used for both the island of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the sovereign state that governs 85% of the island's landmass. The latter is distinc ...
'').[
]
Legacy
Professor Dáithí Ó hÓgain writes that the "account of how the sons of Míl took Ireland was a literary fabrication, but it was accepted as conventional history by poets and scholars down until the 19th century".[ For centuries, the legend was used in Ireland to win and secure dynastic and political legitimacy. For example, in his ''Two bokes of the histories of Ireland'' (1571), Edmund Campion tried to use the myth to establish an ancient right of the British monarch to rule Ireland. In ''A View of the Present State of Ireland'', ]Edmund Spenser
Edmund Spenser (; – 13 January 1599 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an English poet best known for ''The Faerie Queene'', an epic poem and fantastical allegory celebrating the House of Tudor, Tudor dynasty and Elizabeth I. He is re ...
accepted and rejected various parts of the myth both to denigrate the Irish of his day and to justify English colonisation of Ireland in the 1590s (at the height of the Anglo-Spanish war).
The myth was cited during the Contention of the bards, which lasted from 1616 to 1624. During this period poets from the north and south of the island extolled the merits of the dynasties that gave them patronage, and attacked the dynasties from the other half of the island.
Geoffrey Keating's ''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn
''Foras Feasa ar Éirinn'' – literally 'Foundation of Knowledge on Ireland', but most often known in English as 'The History of Ireland' – is a narrative history of Ireland by Geoffrey Keating, written in Irish and completed .Bernadette Cun ...
'' (written c.1634) used the myth to promote the legitimacy of the Stuart claim to royal authority in Ireland (related to the origin of the Lia Fáil), demonstrating that Charles I was descended, through Brian Boru
Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...
, Éber and Galamh, from Noah and, ultimately, from Adam.
In the early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
many Irishmen and women fled to Spain as a result of political and military turmoil in their homeland. The belief that the Gaelic Irish were descended from Míl Espáine and his Spanish followers was current in Spain as well as Ireland, and as a result the Irish in Spain were given all the rights and privileges due to Spanish subjects, such as automatic citizenship granted to Irish Catholics who made it to Spanish territory.[Micheline Walsh, "The Military Order of St Patrick" in ''Seanchas Ardmacha'', Vol. 9, No. 2, (1979), p. 279]
Among the many theories regarding Stone of Scone origins, Medieval Scottish lawyer Baldred Bisset put forward the theory that it was transported from ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
via the Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
or Celtiberia to Ireland by Scota, the daughter of an Egyptian Pharaoh, who was also the wife of Goídel Glas, an ancestor of the Milesians. The stone has been associated to Lia Fail of the Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in Irish mythology. ...
, which was used as an Irish High Kings' Inauguration Stone. According to Bisset, Scota along with a band of Irish warriors later invaded Scotland taking her Royal seat with her. Ultimately it was confiscated by Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...
through conquest.Stone of Destiny, Masonic Library
/ref>
See also
*Gallaeci
The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; ) were a Celtic tribal complex who inhabited Gallaecia, the north-western corner of Iberia, a region roughly corresponding to what is now the Norte Region in northern Portugal, and the Spanish regions ...
* Míl Espáine
Footnotes
{{Celtic mythology (Mythological)
Mythological Cycle
Mythological peoples