In Irish origin myths, Míl Espáine (later called Milesius in Latin) is the legendary ancestor of the people who eventually lived in Ireland, known as the "sons of Míl" or Milesians. These people make up most of the Irish Gaels. Míl Espáine's father was Bile, who was the son of Breogan. Today's historians believe that Míl Espáine was created by medieval Irish Christian writers.

Name and origin

Mark Williams describes the name Míl Espáine as an "etymological figment," meaning a made-up word translated from the Latin mīles Hispaniae, which means "soldier of Hispania." This term appears in a section (§ 13) of the 9th-century text Historia Brittonum (The History of the Britons) written by Nennius.

A.G. van Hamel notes that the idea of Iberia being the land of origin can be traced to Isidore of Seville. In the introduction to his history of the Goths, Vandals, and Suebi, Isidore described Iberia/Hispania as the "mother of all races." Another possible reason for linking the Irish to Iberia was a mistaken belief that the Latin name for Ireland, Hibernia, came from Iberia/Hiberia. Some classical geographers also incorrectly placed Ireland near Iberia. For example, the Lebar Gabála (§ 100) states that from Bregon's Tower, the Milesian Íth could see across the sea to Ireland. In Galician history, this tower is identified as the Tower of Hercules in A Coruña, Galicia.

Legend

The first known record of this story comes from the 9th century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons). It states that Ireland was settled by three groups of people from the Iberian Peninsula. The first group, the people of Partholón, died from a plague. The second group, the people of Nemed, later returned to Iberia. The third group was led by three sons of a warrior from Hispania (tres filii militis Hispaniae). They traveled to Ireland with thirty ships, each carrying thirty wives. They saw a glass tower in the middle of the sea with people on top, but those people did not respond to their calls. The Milesians tried to take the tower, but a large wave sank all but one of their ships. Only one ship survived, and its passengers became the ancestors of all the Irish. In the Lebor Gabála, it is the people of Nemed who drown while trying to capture a tower by the sea.

The earliest version of the Irish Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of the Taking of Ireland) was written in the 11th century. It describes six groups of people who settled Ireland: the people of Cessair, the people of Partholón, the people of Nemed, the Fir Bolg, the supernatural Tuatha Dé Danann, and finally the sons of Míl Espáine, a term borrowed from the Latin mīles Hispaniae.

The Lebor Gabála traces the origins of the Irish people to the Scythians and further back to Japheth, one of Noah’s sons. It says Míl was born in Iberia and was the son of Bilé, who was the son of Breogán. Some versions mention that Míl’s birth name was Golam.

According to some accounts, Míl returned to Scythia, the land of his ancestors, where he became a military leader. He later lived in Egypt, where he married Scota, the daughter of a pharaoh. Eventually, Míl returned to Iberia, where he won several battles before dying there.

One of Míl’s relatives, Íth, visited Ireland but was killed there by the Tuatha Dé Danann. Míl’s eight sons—Éber Finn, Éber Donn, Érimón, Ír, Érannan, Amergin, Colptha, and Airech—sailed to Ireland and took control of the land from the Tuatha Dé Danann.

Offspring

The sons of Míl in Ireland included Éber Finn, Érimón, Ír, and Amergin. Genealogies from Gaelic Ireland and Gaelic Scotland show that the ancestors of the Gaels can be traced back to one of the first three sons. The descendants of Éber Finn were important in Munster, including the Eóganachta, Uí Fidgenti, and Uí Liatháin. The descendants of Ír, through his son Éber, made up most of Ulster, including the Ulaidh, Dál nAraidi, Conmhaicne, Ciarraige, and Corco Mruad. The descendants of Érimón were most powerful in Connacht, Leinster, and parts of Ulster, including the Connachta, Uí Néill, Osraige, Clan Colla, Uí Maine, Laighin, Dalcassians, and the Érainn.

According to John O'Hart in his book Irish Pedigrees (1876), when Milesius was younger, he traveled through Africa and is said to have killed three lions. As a result, he used three lions as his symbol. Each lion was passed down to his descendants: Heber Fionn and Heremon (and their descendants) carried the gold and red lions, respectively. His grandson, Heber mac Ír, carried the blue lion.