Britonia (which became Bretoña in Galician and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) is the historical, apparently Latinized name of a Celtic settlement by Romano-Britons on the Iberian peninsula following the

Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain is the process which changed the language and culture of most of what became England from Romano-British to Germanic. The Germanic-speakers in Britain, themselves of diverse origins, eventually develope ...

. The area is roughly analogous to the northern parts of the modern provinces of

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 ...

and Lugo in the autonomous community of Galicia,

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") , i ...

History

Britonia was established in the Germanic

Kingdom of the Suebi The Kingdom of the Suebi ( la, Regnum Suevorum), also called the Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Regnum Galicia) or Suebi Kingdom of Galicia ( la, Galicia suevorum regnum), was a Germanic post-Roman kingdom that was one of the first to separate from ...

, in

Gallaecia Gallaecia, also known as Hispania Gallaecia, was the name of a Roman province in the north-west of Hispania, approximately present-day Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Norte, Portugal, northern Portugal, Asturias and León (province), Leon and the lat ...

, northwestern

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: Hisp ...

, in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD by Romano-Britons (possibly from the area of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

) moving away from the

Anglo-Saxons The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

, who were conquering

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. Britonia is therefore similar to

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

(present-day

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

), in that it was settled by expatriate Britons at roughly the same time. But unlike in Brittany, the Celts settling in the Iberian Britonia were eventually assimilated, completely losing their original language and culture. The Britons may have occupied a pre-existing Celtic hill fort or castro. Gallaecia had earlier been inhabited by the

Gallaeci The Gallaeci (also Callaeci or Callaici; grc, Καλλαϊκοί) 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, a ...

peoples, before the arrival of the Germanic Suebi. Modern place-names that reflect this history include the villages of Bretoña in the province of Lugo and Bretonia in the province of

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the '' Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality wh ...

Ecclesiastical history

What little is known of Britonia is deduced from its religious history - which is a very uncertain guide as to how long it retained a Celtic linguistic and cultural character. The British settlements were recognised at the

First Council of Lugo The Council of Lugo was a Catholic synod called by the Suevic king Theodemir in 569 in order to increase the number of dioceses within his kingdom. One possible reason for this restructuring was that some of the territory of the Suevic Kingdom wa ...

in 569 and a separate bishopric established, on territory split off from the then Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lugo. Mailoc was nominated Bishop of Britonia and signed the ''acta'' at the Second Council of Braga in 572. The British Celtic settlements were quickly integrated and their adherence to

Celtic rite The term "Celtic Rite" is applied to the various liturgical rites used in Celtic Christianity in Britain, Ireland and Brittany and the monasteries founded by St. Columbanus and Saint Catald in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy during the ...

lasted only until the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633 decreed the now so-called Visigothic or Mozarabic rite as the standard liturgy of

. The diocese was suppressed in 716. The line of (errant?) bishops of Britonia nevertheless existed at least until 830, when the area was attacked by the

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and ...

; it may have continued as late as the

Council of Oviedo A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

in 900. It was finally restored as or merged into the Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol in 866, being assigned territories split off from the Diocese of Oviedo and from the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Lugo (since 1071 a suffragan of

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

Resident Bishops of Bretoña

Known bishops of the ''ecclesia Brittaniensis'' include: * Mailoc ( Second Council of Braga, 572 – death ?) * Metopius ( Fourth Council of Toledo, 633) * Sonna ( Seventh Council of Toledo, 646 – 653?) * Susa ( Eighth Council of Toledo, 653 – ?675) *

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( Third Council of Braga, 675–?)

Titular see

No longer a residential bishopric, Britonia is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

. The diocese was nominally restored in 1969 as Latin

Titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

of Britonia (also Curiate Italian) / Britonien(sis) (Latin adjective). It has had the following incumbents, so far secular priests of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank: * Eugene O’Callaghan (28 November 1969 – resigned 26 January 1971), on emeritate as former Bishop of Clogher (

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

) (30 January 1943 – 28 November 1969), died 1973 * John Brewer (31 May 1971 – 22 May 1985), first as Auxiliary Bishop of

Diocese of Shrewsbury The Roman Catholic Diocese of Shrewsbury is a Roman Catholic diocese in the Province of Birmingham which encompasses the pre-1974 counties of Shropshire and Cheshire in the North West and West Midlands of England. The diocese includes rural ar ...

(

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, UK) (31 May 1971 – 17 November 1983), then as Coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster (England) (17 November 1983 – 22 May 1985); later succeeded as Bishop of Lancaster (22 May 1985 – death 10 June 2000) * Edward Joseph O’Donnell (6 December 1983 – 8 November 1994) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Archdiocese of Saint Louis The Archdiocese of St. Louis ( la, Archidiœcesis Sancti Ludovici) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that covers the City of St. Louis and the Missouri counties of Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Pe ...

(USA) (6 December 1983 – 8 November 1994); later Bishop of Lafayette in Louisiana (USA) (8 November 1994 – retired 8 November 2002); died 2009 * Paweł Cieślik (3 December 1994 – now), as former Auxiliary Bishop of Diocese of Koszalin–Kołobrzeg (

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) (3 December 1994 – 19 September 2012) and as emeritate (3 December 1994 – now)

References

* Richards, Melville, "Mailoc", ''Habis'', III, 1972, p. 159. * Tovar, António, "Un obispo con nombre británico y los orígenes de la diócesis de Mondoñedo", ''Habis'', III, 1972, pp. 155–158. * Vives, J., ''Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos'', Madrid, 1963. * * Young, Simon,
The Forgotten Colony
, ''History Today'', L, Oct. 2000, pp. 5–6. * Young, Simon, ''Britonia: Camiños Novos'', Noia, 2002. . (in Galician)

External links