Brigantia (ancient region)

File:Brigantes.png

The size of Brigantia is shown in ancient Britain also showing the neighboring tribal borders

Brigantia is the term often given to the regional land inhabited by the Brigantes, a British Celtic tribe which occupied the largest territory in ancient Britain. The territory of Brigantia which now forms Northern England and part of The Midlands covered the majority of the land between the River Tyne and the River Humber forming the largest Brythonic Kingdom in ancient Britain. It was recorded by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to extend sea to sea, from the Irish sea on the west coast to the North sea in the east

History

The name Brigantia is derived from the Goddess Brigantia who was worshiped by the Brigantes. The word itself means 'high' or 'elevated' and it is unclear whether other settlements named Brigantium meaning 'high ones' is in reference to nobility or the highlands they lived around, such as the Pennines. In the form of a loose confederation, Brigantia existed as the territory of a number of small tribes with the Pennines being described as composing the heart Extending from this, Brigantia was further formed by a number of sub-tribes whose territory is sometimes coined by some researchers as being part of Greater Brigantia as it is often debated as to which tribes formed a sept of Brigantia and which may have been independent. Some of the sub-tribes often included are the Setantii who occupied western and southern Lancashire, Textoverdi in the upper valley of the River South Tyne and the Carvetii who occupied what is now Cumbria.

Around 43 AD when the Brigantes were first recorded, Brigantia consisted of mossland, marshes and forests which they inhabited; such ancient forests include the Forest of Lyme and the Forest of Bowland. At the time they would have been wild with fauna that were hunted, including: eurasian brown bear, wild boar, bison, wolves, deer and eagles.

See also

• Brigantes
• Ancient Britons
• Prehistoric Britain
• Stanwick Iron Age Fortifications