brant or brant goose, common name for a species of wild sea goose. The American brant, Branta bernicla, breeds in the Arctic and winters along the Atlantic coast. The head, neck, and tail are black, the back brownish gray, and the under parts grayish white. Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is their staple food. The Old World barnacle goose, B. leucopsis, so named because it was thought to grow out of barnacles attached to driftwood, is very similar to the brant and is an occasional visitor to North America. The black brant migrates from its arctic breeding grounds to the Pacific coast. White brant is an alternate name for the snow goose, which belongs to the same family, and gray, or prairie, brant refers to the American white-fronted goose. Brants are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Anseriformes, family Anatidae.

Brant, Sebastian, 1457-1521, German humanist and moralist. He taught law at the Univ. of Basel and in 1503 became town clerk of Strasbourg. His verse allegory Das Narrenschiff [ship of fools] (1494) became world famous. Illustrated with woodcuts, it went through six editions in Brant's lifetime alone. The story tells of 112 fools—each representing a fashionable foible—who sail out to sea and die because of their folly. An English translation by Alexander Barclay appeared in 1509.

Brant, Joseph, 1742-1807, chief of the Mohawk. His Mohawk name is usually rendered as Thayendanegea. He served under Sir William Johnson in the French and Indian War, and Johnson sent him (1761) to Eleazar Wheelock's school for Native Americans in Lebanon, Conn. Brant served (1763) under Johnson again in Pontiac's Rebellion. In the American Revolution he did much to bind the indigenous people to the British and Loyalist side. He fought (1777) at Oriskany in the Saratoga campaign. In 1778, leading the Native American forces, he joined Walter Butler, and together they raided Cherry Valley, where they massacred the defenseless inhabitants. He was an able leader in other raids. After the Revolution, failing to get a settlement of the Native American land question in the United States, he got lands and subsidies for his people in Canada around the present Brantford, Ont. A zealous Christian, he preached Christianity, translating the Book of Common Prayer and the Gospel of Mark into the Mohawk language.

(born 1457, Strassburg—died May 10, 1521, Strassburg) German poet. He taught law and later was appointed imperial councillor and court palatine by Maximilian I. His varied writings include works on law, religion, politics, and especially morals. His best-known work is The Ship of Fools (1494), an allegory telling of fools on a ship bound for a “fool's paradise.” The most famous German literary work of the 15th century, it ridicules the vices of the age and gave rise to a whole school of fool's literature.

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(born 1742, banks of the Ohio River—died Nov. 24, 1807, near Brantford, Ont., Can.) Mohawk Indian chief and Christian missionary. Brant was converted to the Anglican church while attending a school for Indians in Connecticut. He fought for the British in the last French and Indian War (1754–63). He led four of the six Iroquois nations on the British side in the American Revolution, winning several notable battles. After the war Brant was granted land along the Grand River in Ontario, Can., where he ruled peacefully and continued his missionary work.

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(born 1457, Strassburg—died May 10, 1521, Strassburg) German poet. He taught law and later was appointed imperial councillor and court palatine by Maximilian I. His varied writings include works on law, religion, politics, and especially morals. His best-known work is The Ship of Fools (1494), an allegory telling of fools on a ship bound for a “fool's paradise.” The most famous German literary work of the 15th century, it ridicules the vices of the age and gave rise to a whole school of fool's literature.

Learn more about Brant, Sebastian with a free trial on Britannica.com.

(born 1742, banks of the Ohio River—died Nov. 24, 1807, near Brantford, Ont., Can.) Mohawk Indian chief and Christian missionary. Brant was converted to the Anglican church while attending a school for Indians in Connecticut. He fought for the British in the last French and Indian War (1754–63). He led four of the six Iroquois nations on the British side in the American Revolution, winning several notable battles. After the war Brant was granted land along the Grand River in Ontario, Can., where he ruled peacefully and continued his missionary work.

Learn more about Brant, Joseph with a free trial on Britannica.com.