In Irish

origin myths An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...

, Míl Espáine or Míl Espáne (later Latinized as Milesius; also Miled/Miledh) is the mythical ancestor of the final inhabitants of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, the "sons of Míl" or Milesians, who represent the vast majority of the Irish

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic langua ...

. His father was

Bile Bile (from Latin ''bilis''), or gall, is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is produced continuously by the liver (liver bi ...

, son of Breogan.

Etymology

Mark Williams characterises the name ''Míl Espáine'' as an "etymological figment" translated from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''miles Hispaniae'', meaning "soldier of

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...

(Spain)", attested in a passage (§ 13) in the 9th-century pseudo-historical work ''

Historia Brittonum ''The History of the Britons'' ( la, Historia Brittonum) is a purported history of the indigenous British ( Brittonic) people that was written around 828 and survives in numerous recensions that date from after the 11th century. The ''Historia B ...

'' (''"The History of the Britons"'') by

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the '' Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considere ...

. According to the medieval ''

Lebor Gabála Érenn ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'' (literally "The Book of the Taking of Ireland"), known in English as ''The Book of Invasions'', is a collection of poems and prose narratives in the Irish language intended to be a history of Ireland and the Irish fro ...

'' (''The Book of Invasions''), which records the tale, the real name of the 'Míl Espáine' figure is ''Galam'', which is equivalent to "Columba" and to its derivatives such as "Malcolm" and "Callum".

Biography

The work offers an account of how Ireland was successively taken by settlers from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, among them Partholom, Nimeth and the "three sons of a Hispanic soldier" (''tres filii militis Hispaniae''). As A.G. van Hamel has suggested, the status of Iberia as the land of origin can be traced back to

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

, who in the introduction to his history of the Goths, Vandals and Suebi had elevated Spain to the "mother of all races".Van Hamel, "On ''Lebor Gábala''", p. 173. A further explanation may lie in the mistake made by some classical geographers in locating Ireland closely opposite Iberia. For instance, the ''Lebar Gabála'' (§ 100) recounts that from Bregon's Tower, the Milesian Íth was able to see right across the sea to Ireland. In Galician history, that tower is the Torre de Hercules, Hercule Tower, in

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

.Hellmuth, "Míl Espáine" He served as a soldier in

Scythia Scythia ( Scythian: ; Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) or Scythica (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Pontic Scythia, was a kingdom created by the Scythians during the 6th to 3rd centuries BC in the Pontic–Caspian steppe. ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, before remembering a prophecy that his descendants would rule Ireland. He set off to the west, getting as far as Iberia where he fought several battles before dying, never seeing Ireland himself. His wife

Scota In medieval Irish and Scottish legend, Scota or Scotia is the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh and ancestor of the Gaels. She is said to be the origin of their Latin name ''Scoti''. Scholars believe she could be a fictional character who wa ...

and his uncle Íth, who had spied Ireland from a tower, sailed to Ireland where Íth was killed by the

Tuatha Dé Danann The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu (Irish 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 deity, ...

. When his body was brought back to Iberia, Míl's eight sons and Íth's nine brothers invaded Ireland and defeated the Tuatha Dé Danann. He figures prominently in the traditional genealogies of

John O'Hart John O'Hart (1824–1902) was an Irish genealogist. He was born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland. A committed Roman Catholic and Irish nationalist, O'Hart had originally planned to become a priest but instead spent two years as a poli ...

. Milesius died in Spain before he could reach the Isle of Destiny. His wife Scota went to Ireland with their eight sons. On account of some terrible storms (attributed to the magic of the Tuatha Dé Danann who already lived in Ireland) most of Milesius' sons died when they tried to land.

Offspring and progeny

Among the sons of Milesius in Ireland were Heber Fionn, Heremon, Ir (whose son was Heber Donn) and

Amergin Glúingel Amergin ''Glúingel'' ("white knees") (also spelled Amhairghin Glúngheal) or ''Glúnmar'' ("big knee") is a bard, druid and judge for the Milesians in the Irish Mythological Cycle. He was appointed Chief Ollam of Ireland by his two brothers th ...

. The traditional genealogies of

Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland ( ga, Éire Ghaelach) was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late prehistoric era until the early 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Normans co ...

and Gaelic Scotland trace the ancestors of the

back to one of the first three sons. Typically, the descendants of Heber Fionn were prominent in

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

(including the

Eóganachta The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta () were an Irish dynasty centred on Cashel which dominated southern Ireland (namely the Kingdom of Munster) from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, an ...

Uí Fidgenti The Uí Fidgenti, Fidgeinti, Fidgheinte, Fidugeinte, Fidgente, or Fidgeinte ( or ;In the pronunciation, the -d- is silent, and the -g- becomes a glide, producing what might be anglicized ''Feeyenti'' or ''Feeyenta''. "descendants of, or of the ...

and

Uí Liatháin The Uí Liatháin (IPA: �iːˈlʲiəhaːnʲ were an early kingdom of Munster in southern Ireland. They belonged the same kindred as the Uí Fidgenti, and the two are considered together in the earliest sources, for example ''The Expulsion of th ...

), the progeny of Ir, through his son Heber Donn formed the bulk of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

(including the

Ulaid Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or Ulaidh (Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include Ulidia, which is the Latin form of Ulaid, and in ...

Dál nAraidi Dál nAraidi (; "Araide's part") or Dál Araide, sometimes Latinised as Dalaradia or Anglicised as Dalaray,Boyd, Hugh AlexanderIrish Dalriada ''The Glynns: Journal of The Glens of Antrim Historical Society''. Volume 76 (1978). was a Cruthin kin ...

Conmhaícne The Conmhaícne or Conmaicne were a people of early Ireland, perhaps related to the Laigin, who dispersed to various parts of Ireland. They settled in Connacht and Longford, giving their name to several Conmaicne territories. T. F. O'Rahilly's ...

, Ciarraige and Corco Mruad) and then offspring of Heremon were most powerful in

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

and parts of Ulster (including the

Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western province of Connacht (Irish ''Cúige Chonnacht'', province, literally "f ...

Uí Néill The Uí Néill (Irish pronunciation: ; meaning "descendants of Niall") are Irish dynasties who claim descent from Niall Noígíallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a historical King of Tara who died c. 405. They are generally divided into the ...

, Clan Colla, Uí Maine,

Laighin The Laigin, modern spelling Laighin (), were a Gaelic population group of early Ireland. They gave their name to the Kingdom of Leinster, which in the medieval era was known in Irish as ''Cóiced Laigen'', meaning "Fifth/province of the Leinster ...

Dalcassians The Dalcassians ( ga, Dál gCais ) are a Gaelic Irish clan, generally accepted by contemporary scholarship as being a branch of the Déisi Muman, that became very powerful in Ireland during the 10th century. Their genealogies claimed descent f ...

and the

Érainn The Iverni (, ') were a people of early Ireland first mentioned in Ptolemy's 2nd century ''Geography'' as living in the extreme south-west of the island. He also locates a "city" called Ivernis (, ') in their territory, and observes that this se ...

).The Stem of the Irish Nation - Irish Pedigrees
/ref> In his younger days, Milesius, while travelling through Africa, is said to have killed three lions and subsequently bore three lions as his symbol. Each of the lions were borne by his progeny: Heber Fionn and Heremon (as well as their descendants) bore the gold and red lions respectively, while his grandson Heber Donn bore the blue lion. File:Arms of Milesius.png, Lions of Milesius. File:Lion of Heber Donn.png, Lion of Heber Donn. File:Lion of Heber Fionn.png, Lion of Heber Fionn. File:Lion of Heremon.png, Lion of Heremon.

References

Footnotes

Bibliography