Milesier (Ireland)

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The Milesians ( Irish Clann Mhíle , "children of Míl"), sometimes also called Gael , were a mythical Irish family that, according to written tradition, descended from Míl Espáne (allegedly from Latin miles hispaniae "soldier from Spain") and after Lebor Gabála Érenn ("Book of the Landing of Ireland") is called the last wave of immigration to Ireland .

origin

Míl Espáne is the mythical tribe of the Milesians and is said to be descended from Japhet , one of Noah's sons .

After the Lebor Gabála Érenn , the Milesians came from Scythia and moved via Greece , Egypt and Spain , where Míl Espáne was born, to Ireland, where they finally settled. The island was divided among Mil's sons.

The Milesians are sometimes interpreted as the ancestors or descendants of the Goidelen and therefore also referred to as Gael . Míl's grandfather Ith is said to have seen Ireland from a tower on the Spanish coast and sailed there with a few ships. The Túatha Dé Danann were able to repel this first invasion , but the Milesians, who arrived soon afterwards (on May 1st) under the leadership of Míl, succeeded in conquering the country with the help of Amergin's invocations . You land in the southwest of the island near the Slieve Mish Mountains ( County Kerry ). The Tuatha are defeated by them at Teltown ( County Meath , named after the legendary figure Tailtiu ). The three queens of the country, Banba , Fohla and Ériu , together with their husbands Sethor, Cethor and Tethor, the sons of Cermat , are killed and the remaining Tuatha are forced to move into the underground Sidhe ("elf hill"). There they are said to live on as country gods of the Milesians, after the Christianization of Ireland until today as fairies or leprechauns .

Medieval reception

The tradition of the ancestry of the Milesians originated in the early Middle Ages based on the Old Testament and various Latin works . Bernhard Maier suspects an etymological background to the speculations about the origin of the Milesians from Scythia and Spain, since the Latin names Scythae would have been equated with Scoti (Irish, later Scots) and (H) iberia with Hibernia (Ireland).

Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh (Duald Mac Firbis) gives in his Leabhar na nGenealach ("Genealogical Treatises") of 1650 a description of the appearance of the various peoples who immigrated to Ireland, which is not found in earlier sources. Accordingly, the descendants of the sons of Míl had white skin, brown hair and were characterized by courage, honesty and wealth. The descendants of the Túatha Dé Danann would be tall, blond and musical and had knowledge of magic and medicine, while the descendants of the Fir Bolg would be black-haired, thieving and unhospitable.

Geoffrey Keating's genealogies derive the noble Irish families from two sons of Míl, namely Éber and Éremón .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . Chapter Míl , p. 233 f.
  2. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. P. 506 f.
  3. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 93 f.
  4. ^ Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh: The great book of Irish genealogies. De Burca, 2003, ISBN 9780946130368 .
  5. ↑ Geoffrey Keating: The general history of Ireland ... Printed by J. Bettenham, for B. Creake, at the Bible, 1723, Chapter: A Table of the Kings of Ireland and Chapter: The fourth Division of Ireland by the Sons of Milesius, King of Spain p. 6 f.