Brigands

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Approximate settlement area of ​​the brigands

As brigands , Latin and Breton Brigantes , a loose association is Celtic tribes or rather ethnic groups in the northeastern Britain called. They settled near Eboracum (now York ), roughly in the area between the Humber and Tyne rivers . Capital, or rather administrative center, became Isurium Brigantum , today's Aldborough , after the Roman conquest . They are said to have spoken a language related to Welsh .

Archaeological finds show that they differed from their Celtic relatives, who lived further south , through a more rustic, peasant culture. They are loosely related to the Brigantier tribe . The Brigantier, Latin Brigantii , settled in Central Raetia on Lake Constance ("Brigantinus Lacus") in the area of ​​today's Austrian Vorarlberg . Whether the brigands moved from Raetia to Britain or, conversely, the English brigands moved to the mainland can not be clearly proven by sources . However, both groups are said to have worshiped a certain Brigid , in Latin Brigantia , as the central deity.

All information about the brigands that go beyond the archaeological finds should be treated with caution, as they almost exclusively go back to descriptions by Roman historians , especially Tacitus . It cannot even be ascertained whether the Brigantes called themselves like this or something like that, since the Romans had a tendency to use Latinized names for everything unknown to them. This is particularly true of the eponymous mother goddess Brigid or Brigantia , whose cult historically cannot be unequivocally clarified. Brica or Briga is said to have been called "settlement on the water" in the parlance of Celtic ethnic groups who settled in what was later to become Gaul and Germania , as linguists were able to determine by tracing back. A written culture of the Brigantes is not passed down.

The term occurs without Celtic reference in the Romance language area as a synonym for “stray”, “homeless person” or “beggar” (French brigand) and also as a robber, bandit or rebel ( brigant from Italian brigare, fight, argue).

history

Before the Roman incursion, the brigands were the predominant ethnic group in what is now north-east England, but not an indigenous population in this area: These were presumably because of their body paints later the Romans called Picts (according to some pre -Indo-European ) cultures that were those of the brigands had been pushed north.

The brigands were defeated by the troops of Emperor Claudius in AD 43 , but their territory was initially not occupied and incorporated into the Roman province of Britannia: unlike other Celtic tribes on the island and especially the Picts, the brigands searched early the political compromise with Rome as an ally in order not to endanger one's own supremacy; at least that's what Tacitus reports. The Princess Cartimandua , who skilfully exploited rivalries within the various groups of the brigands and other ethnic groups associated with them , did a particularly good job: According to Tacitus, in 51 she lured the Welsh Celts into a General Caratacus, who led the fight against the Romans Trapped and handed him over to the Romans. This ensured her the esteem of the Roman provincial governor Publius Ostorius Scapula , who repeatedly came to the aid of the Cartimandua, which was disputed within the Brigantes Federation, with troops.

Only when the uprisings of individual brigands leaders increased after Cartimandua's disempowerment around 70 did Emperor Vespasian end the special status of the brigands federation consisting of nine centers of power and let the governor Gnaeus Iulius Agricola finally incorporate the area into the Roman province of Britannia. During this time Isurium Brigantum developed as an administrative center. The old forts of the Brigantes Federation were razed .

In the course of the 2nd century there were repeated brigand uprisings, which, however, were always suppressed by the Romans, as indicated by Roman coin finds from this time. The Greek geographer Pausanias reports on the suppression and expulsion of the brigands, especially under Emperor Antoninus Pius . The confederation was finally broken up and individual tribes or groups were forcibly resettled or driven out. During this time, some groups of brigands are said to have fled to Ireland , as an entry on a map by the Hellenic geographer and cartologist Ptolemy suggests. Excavations on the southeast Irish island of Lambay Island , which unearthed artefacts from the late 2nd century that can be attributed to the Brigantine culture , seem to confirm this thesis .

When the Romans gradually withdrew from Britain by 410, the Picts, which had never been completely pushed back, repeatedly invaded the tribal territory of the Brigantes around 409, but were thrown back with the help of the Saxons . Later, when Saxons and other Germanic tribes subjugated Britain, many brigands withdrew north. The kingdom of Strathclyde is said to go back to them.

Culture of the brigands

Little is known about the culture of the brigands. The sources name Brigantia (also Brigid or Brigindo) as the main goddess . She is said to have been the goddess of healing and fertility , but also of war. However, these assumptions are speculative and neither proven nor supported by other sources.

It could also be that a personalized deity Brigantia is a typical invention of the Romans, just as they worshiped and worshiped luck as Fortuna or even Britannia itself as a deity. Roman inscriptions from the old Briganten area know a deity Brigantia equated with Victoria or Minerva (possibly Cartimandua, respected by the Romans as an ally), another names a Brigantia as a source nymph , which is also a transfer of own religious ideas to Celtic beliefs. It is not known whether Cartimandua, who frequented Roman circles, and the brigant rebel Caratacus who went to Rome and later lived there as a free man passed on knowledge of their religion. Presumably the Roman occupiers, who as a rule were indifferent but tolerant of the religions of the conquered cultures, “adjusted” the religion that was alien to them in the Interpretatio Romana according to their understanding.

If one assumes the word meaning briga or brica , German 'settlement on the water', a prefix that is widespread in Celtic settlements throughout Europe , then the brigands would simply be the 'settlers on the water' and Brigid would be the deity of any kind for these settlers , probably a water sanctuary. This interpretation is the broadest possible according to the sources. All other knowledge about alleged Brigid cults of the brigands is seen with the eyes of the Romans, Christian missionaries or mystifying Neocelts or even deliberate forgeries.

See also

Web links

Commons : Brigantes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files