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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 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 Christian history of Ireland and the Irish (or
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 ...
). 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 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 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 ( ), 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 ...
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 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 ...
, the Irish pagan gods, who take the Otherworld. Brigantia probably refers to
A Coruña A Coruña (; ; also informally called just Coruña; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality in Galicia, Spain. It is Galicia's second largest city, behind Vigo. The city is the provincial capital of the province ...
in present-day Galicia and Breogán's tower is probably 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 A Coruña by the Romans) or the Tower of Babel. The idea that the Irish Gaels came from Hispania may be based on the similarity of the names ''Iberia'' 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 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''), also known as gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is pro ...
, 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 ( 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 ...
. 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 an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, 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 Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
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''". A large statue of Breogán stands near 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 ...
in Coruña. The professional basketball club of the Galician city of
Lugo Lugo (, ) 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 of 100,060 in 2024, ...
is called CB Breogán in its honor. In the Spanish capital
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, 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, prompting his family to arrive for revenge. Íoth's son Lughaidh is commemorated in the placename Corca Luighe, and Íoth's brothers in other placenames: Breogha, Cuailgne, Muirtheimhne, and Cualu in the territories of their descendant peoples; Fuad, Bladh, and Eibhle in mountains ( Sliabh Fuaid in the Fews, Slieve Bloom, and Slieve Felim respectively) and Nár in "Ros Náir" in Slieve Bloom and "Cathair Náir" in Slieve Mish. Through Bile, Breogán is the 46th great-grandfather of Conn Cétchathach and thus the ancestor of the
Connachta The Connachta are a group of medieval Irish dynasty, dynasties who claimed descent from the legendary High King of Ireland, High King Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). The modern western Provinces of ...
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