The Brigantes were a group of Celtic people who lived in what is now Northern England during the Iron Age and Roman times. Their land, called Brigantia, was likely the largest area controlled by any British tribe. It was located around the Pennines and the region now known as Yorkshire. The Roman capital of the Brigantes was a city called Isurium Brigantum, which is now known as Aldborough. Another important city, Eboracum (modern-day York), was also within their territory. The Brigantes are also connected to a place called Stanwick fort. Roman records mention two important leaders: Queen Cartimandua and King Venutius.

The Brigantes may have included smaller groups such as the Setantii and Textoverdi. The area of Brigantia was surrounded by the lands of four other tribes: the Carvetii to the northwest, the Parisii to the east, and the Corieltauvi and Cornovii to the south. To the north, the Votadini lived. A Greek mapmaker named Ptolemy also wrote about the Brigantes living on the south coast of Ireland. Another ancient writer, Strabo, mentioned a group called the Brigantii in the Alps.

Etymology

The name Brigantes (Βρίγαντες in Ancient Greek) comes from the same ancient Celtic root as the goddess Brigantia, brigantī, which means "high, elevated." It is uncertain whether places called Brigantium were named for "high ones" in a metaphorical way, meaning noble people, or literally as "highlanders," or those living in areas with high ground or strong fortifications. The ancient root of this word in Proto-Indo-European is believed to be bʰerǵʰ-. This word is also connected to Germanic words like *Burgund and Burgundī, and to the Old Iranian name Alborz (Hara Berezaiti).

In modern Welsh, the word "braint" means "privilege, prestige" and is linked to the same root brigantī. Other related words in modern Celtic languages include: Welsh "brenin" (meaning "king"), which comes from brigantīnos; Welsh, Cornish, and Breton "bri" (meaning "prestige, reputation, honor, dignity"); Scottish Gaelic "brìgh" (meaning "pith, power"); Irish "brí" (meaning "energy, significance"); and Manx "bree" (meaning "power, energy")—all from the root brīg-/brigi-. The word "bre" in Welsh, Cornish, and Breton means "hill," from brigā. The name "Bridget," from Old Irish "Brigit" (modern Irish "Bríd"), also comes from *Brigantī, as do the English river name "Brent" and the nearby area "Brentford."

Many ancient places in Europe were named Brigantium, including Berganza in Álava, Spain; A Coruña and Bergantiños in Galicia, Spain; Bragança and Braga in Portugal; Briançon in France; Brigetio on the border of Slovakia and Hungary; Brigobanne near the Breg and Brigach rivers in southern Germany (in the pre-Roman region of Vindelicia); Bregenz in the Austrian Alps; and Brianza in Italy.

In geological time periods, the British part of the Carboniferous era is called the Brigantian stage, named after the Brigantes people.

History

There are no written records of the Brigantes before the Romans conquered Britain. This makes it difficult to know how long they had existed as a political group before that time. Many important archaeological sites in their region show signs of continuous, undisturbed living from a very early period. This suggests their rise to power may have been slow and steady, or it could have been connected to the burning of a large hill fort at Castle Hill, Huddersfield, around 430 BC. The Brigantes were the largest tribe in Britain and included smaller groups, such as the Gabrantovices along the Yorkshire Coast and the Textoverdi near the River South Tyne close to Hadrian’s Wall. Other groups, like the Setantii and the Lopocares, are mentioned in names such as Portus Setantiorum and Coria Lopocarum, which suggest they lived along the Lancashire coast and the River Tyne. A name, Corionototae, may have referred to a military force or resistance group rather than a tribe, as it likely means "tribal army" or "people’s army." The Carvetii, who lived in what is now Cumbria, may have been a sub-tribe of the Brigantes or a separate group. This is debated because the Carvetii formed their own civitas, or region, under Roman rule.

In 47 AD, during the Roman invasion, the Roman governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, had to abandon his campaign against the Deceangli in North Wales due to "disaffection" among the Brigantes, who had been allies of Rome. Some rebels were killed, and others were pardoned. In 51 AD, the defeated leader Caratacus sought safety with the Brigantian queen, Cartimandua, but she handed him over to the Romans in chains. Cartimandua and her husband, Venutius, were described as loyal to Rome, but they later divorced. Venutius first fought against his ex-wife and then against the Romans. During the governorship of Aulus Didius Gallus (52–57 AD), Venutius gathered an army and attacked Cartimandua’s kingdom. The Romans sent troops to protect Cartimandua and defeated Venutius’s rebellion. After their divorce, Cartimandua married Venutius’s armor-bearer, Vellocatus, and made him king. In 69 AD, during the Year of the Four Emperors, Venutius rebelled again. The Romans sent auxiliaries, or support troops, who helped Cartimandua escape but left Venutius and his followers in control of the kingdom.

The Iron Age fortifications at Stanwick in North Yorkshire were studied in the 1950s by Mortimer Wheeler, who believed Venutius may have used the site as his capital. Later excavations by Durham University from 1981 to 1986, led by Colin Haselgrove and Percival Turnbull, suggested Stanwick might have been a center of power for Cartimandua instead.

After Emperor Vespasian took the throne, Quintus Petillius Cerialis became governor of Britain, and the conquest of the Brigantes began. This process took many decades. Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who governed from 78–84 AD, fought in Brigantian territory. The Roman writer Tacitus, in a speech attributed to the Caledonian leader Calgacus, mentioned the Brigantes, saying they had "almost defeated the Romans" under a woman’s leadership. The Roman poet Juvenal, writing in the early 2nd century, described a Roman father urging his son to gain glory by destroying the Brigantes’ forts. A rebellion in the north occurred during the early reign of Emperor Hadrian, though details are unclear. Some historians believe the Brigantes may have been involved in the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Legion, stationed at York. It is possible that Hadrian’s Wall, begun in 122 AD, was built to prevent the Brigantes from communicating with tribes in what is now Scotland’s lowlands. Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161 AD) is said by Pausanias to have defeated the Brigantes after they started an unprovoked war against Roman allies, possibly as part of the campaign that led to the construction of the Antonine Wall (142–144 AD).

Settlements

Ptolemy listed nine main cities or towns that were part of the Brigantes. These included:

Other places that were part of the Brigantian area include:

Brigantes in Ireland

The Brigantes are mentioned in Ireland and Britain in Ptolemy's 2nd-century Geographia, but it is unclear if there was any connection between the Irish and British Brigantes. T. F. O'Rahilly suggested that the Irish group may have been the ancestors of the later Uí Bairrche clan, believing they were part of the Érainn (also called the Iverni by Ptolemy), who he thought were originally descendants of the Gaulish and British Belgae based on his model of early Irish history. Professor John T. Koch believes there are links between the British and Irish groups, identifying the Romano-British goddess Brigantia with the Irish goddess Brigid. He also points to a possible Roman or Romano-British burial site in Stonyford, County Kilkenny. Koch connects the Irish Brigantes to the early medieval Uí Brigte clan.