Breogán
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Breogán (also spelt Breoghan, Bregon or Breachdan) is a character in the ''
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 ...
'', a medieval Christian history of Ireland and the Irish (or
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 langu ...
). He is supposedly the son of Brath, and is described as an ancestor of the Gaels. The ''Lebor Gabála'' purports to be an account of how the Gaels descend from
Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
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 (Genesis ), and their dispersion into many lands after the Flood, focusing on the major known soci ...
and how they came to Ireland. It tells us that they spent 440 years wandering the Earth and underwent a series of trials and tribulations. Eventually, they sail to
Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and conquer it. There, one of their leaders, Breogán, founds a city called Brigantia and builds a great tower. From the top of the tower, his son Íth glimpses Ireland. The Gaels, including some of Breogán's sons, sail to Ireland from Brigantia and agree to divide it between them and 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, ...
, the Irish pagan gods, who take the
Otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...
. Brigantia likely refers to
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 s ...
in present-day Galicia and Breogán's tower is likely based on the
Tower of Hercules The Tower of Hercules ( es, Torre de Hércules) is the oldest existent lighthouse known. It has an ancient Rome, ancient Roman origin on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the ...
(which was built at A Coruña by the Romans) or
the Tower of Babel The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages. According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
. The idea that the Irish Gaels came from Hispania may be based on the similarity of the names ''Iberia'' and ''
Hibernia ''Hibernia'' () is the Classical Latin name for Ireland. The name ''Hibernia'' was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (c. 320 BC), Pytheas of Massalia called the island ''Iérnē'' (written ). ...
'' and the names ''Galicia'' and ''Gael''. Medieval pseudo-historians made similar claims about other nations based on their names. A similar story about a monk who voyaged to a marvelous island he saw from the top of the tower of Brigantia was written in the first years of the eleventh century in Galicia. The story, preserved in two 14th-century manuscripts, is known as '' Trezenzonii de Solistitionis Insula Magna'' ("Trezenzonius' Great Island of the Solstice"). His son 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 bile ...
, who was in turn the father of Milesius (also called ''Míl Espáine'', soldier of Hispania or Spain), said to be the ancestor of the
Irish people The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been c ...
. Although this is generally regarded as myth, the conquering of Ireland by people coming from the Iberian peninsula in prehistoric times fits in with a genetic study conducted in 2006 at Oxford University, which concluded that the majority of people in the
British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...
are actually descended from neolithic farmers coming from the coastal north regions of Spain. The ''Lebor Gabála'' was a hugely popular and influential work. Galicia itself is sometimes described poetically as the "Home" or "Nation" of Breogán (in Galician, the ''fogar'' or ''nazón de Breogán''). The land is so described in the anthem of Galicia, "''
Os Pinos "Os Pinos" (; ) is the official anthem of Galicia, in Spain. The lyrics were written by Eduardo Pondal (the two first parts of his poem ''Queixumes dos pinos'', "Lamentations of the Pines") and the music by Pascual Veiga. It was composed in Ha ...
''". A large statue of Breogán stands near the
Tower of Hercules The Tower of Hercules ( es, Torre de Hércules) is the oldest existent lighthouse known. It has an ancient Rome, ancient Roman origin on a peninsula about from the centre of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in north-western Spain. Until the ...
in Coruña. The professional basketball club of the Galician city of
Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...
is called
CB Breogán Club Baloncesto Breogán, S.A.D., also known as Río Breogán for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball club based in Lugo, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. The club was founded in 1966 by the Varela-Portas brothers. The team pla ...
in its honor. In the Spanish capital
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, there is a park called Parque de Breogán, named after this legendary figure.


Sons

Breogán had nine other sons besides Bile father of Milesius. Of these, Íoth came to Ireland first and was murdered by the sons of
Cermait In Irish mythology, Cermait (modern spelling: Cearmaid), also anglicized as or Kermit, of the Tuatha Dé Danann was a son of the Dagda and brother of Aed and Aengus.
, prompting his family to arrive for revenge. Íoth's son Lughaidh is commemorated in the placename
Corca Luighe A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...
, and Íoth's brothers in other placenames: Breogha, Cuailgne, Muirtheimhne, and
Cualu Cualu or Cuala (genitive ) was a territory in Gaelic Ireland south of the River Liffey encompassing the Wicklow Mountains. History Edmund Hogan concludes from primary sources that it "seems to extend from Arklow to the Liffey, and to be coexten ...
in the territories of their descendant peoples; Fuad, Bladh, and Eibhle in mountains ( Sliabh Fuaid in
the Fews The Fews (from Irish: ''na Feá/Feadha'', meaning "the woods"''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford Reference. ) is a former Irish barony in County Armagh, modern-day Northern Ireland, based on the territory of the O'Neills of the Fews. It ...
,
Slieve Bloom The Slieve Bloom Mountains ( ga, Sliabh Bladhma; la, Bladinae montes) is a mountain range in Ireland. They rise from the central plain of Ireland to a height of 527 metres. While not very high, they are extensive by local standards. The high ...
, and Slieve Felim respectively) and Nár in "Ros Náir" in Slieve Bloom and "Cathair Náir" in
Slieve Mish , translation = ossiblymountains of Mis , language = Irish , photo=File:Fenit Marina Ireland.JPG , photo_caption= Slieve Mish Mountains from across the Tralee Bay in the village of Fenit , country=Republic of Ireland , location = Kerry , ...
. Through Bile, Breogán is the 46th great-grandfather of
Conn Cétchathach Conn Cétchathach (; "of the Hundred Battles"), son of Fedlimid Rechtmar, was a semi-legendary High King of Ireland and the ancestor of the Connachta, and, through his descendant Niall Noígiallach, the Uí Néill dynasties, which dominated Irelan ...
and thus the ancestor of the Connachta if the legends are to be believed.


References


External links


Historical timeline of the Tower of Brigantia, whence the Milesians left for Ireland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breogan Galician mythology Mythological kings National personifications Galician symbols