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Britons (historic)

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Historically, the Britons (sometimes Brythons) were the indigenous peoples inhabiting the island of Britain who can be described as Celts, before their language and culture was largely replaced by invading Anglo-Saxons. They were speakers of the Brythonic languages and shared a common culture. In terms of language and culture, the entire British Isles was mainly Celtic during this period, although only the island of Britain and Brittany was inhabited by Brythonic Celts. The inhabitants of Ireland, the Isle of Man and Dál Riata were Gaels or Gaelic Celts who spoke Goidelic languages.

It is not known whether the Picts of northern Britain were a Brythonic-speaking people. A number of scholars argue that the unknown Pictish language was Brythonic, but in Sub-Roman Britain the Picts were distinguished as a separate group, as were the Gaels of Dál Riata. Therefore, the term "Briton" or "Brython" traditionally refers to the inhabitants of ancient Britain excluding the Picts, because many Pictish cultural traits (for example their sculpture, pottery and monuments) differ from those of the Britons.

The Britons are also referred to as the ancient, native, indigenous and ethnic Britons, or alternatively the British or Brythonic tribes.

Etymology

The earliest known reference to the Britons comes from Pytheas, a Greek geographer who sailed around the British Isles between 330-320 BCE. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them. Pytheas called the Britons the Pritani or Pretani, and the British Isles the Pritanic or Pretanic islands. The term may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who may have used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands.

Ultimately, the term Briton is believed to have come from the Celtic root word Britt-. It is not attested in any written source, but has been reconstructed by etymological analysis.

This may have led to the Latin terms Britto (meaning "a Briton") and Brittonem (meaning "the Britons"). When the Roman Empire invaded Britain in 43 CE, the Latin-speaking Romans were using the terms Britanni (meaning "the Britons") and Britannia (meaning "land of the Britons"). They then named the conquered province Britannia.

The term Brython is a Welsh word meaning "Briton". It is believed to be an descendant of the original Celtic root word. It was introduced in an academic sense by Professor John Rhys in 1884. This was to avoid the confusion of using modern terms ("Briton" and "British") with reference to ancient peoples, religions and languages – in other words, to differentiate between the historical meaning and the modern meaning.

The following is an overview of the modern terminology most commonly used in this subject:

  • Briton – the ancient ethno-linguistic group.
  • Brittonic – of or relating to the Britons, most often used in reference to language.
  • Brython – an alternative term used to describe the Britons, introduced to distinguish between historical and modern meanings.
  • Brythonic – of or relating to the Brythons or Britons, most often used in reference to language.

Language

The Britons were speakers of the Brythonic (or Brittonic) languages, a branch of the Insular Celtic languages. The other branch of Insular Celtic that co-existed with Brythonic was the Goidelic (or Gaelic) languages. The Brythonic languages are believed to have been spoken on the entire island of Britain as far north as the Clyde-Forth. Beyond this was the territory of the Picts and Gaels. However, Britons later migrated to Brittany and the Brythonic Breton language developed there.

The Brythonic languages are believed to have developed from Proto-Celtic, after it was introduced to the British Isles from the continent. The first form of the Brythonic languages is believed to be British. After the Roman conquest of Britain, the British language adopted some words from Latin; hence it is sometimes termed Romano-British in this period.

The British language then branched into three dialects: Eastern, Western and Southwestern. The Eastern dialect was largely replaced by the invading Anglo-Saxons and their language. The Western and Southwestern developed into Cumbric, Welsh, Cornish and Breton. Only Welsh, Cornish and Breton survive today.

Territory

Throughout their existence, the territory inhabited by the Britons mas composed of numerous ever-changing areas controlled by tribes. The extent of their territory before and during the Roman period is unclear, but is generally believed to include the whole of the island of Great Britain, as far north as the Clyde-Forth isthmus. The territory north of this was largely inhabited by the Picts, although a portion of it was eventually absorbed into the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. The Isle of Man was originally inhabited by Britons also, but eventually it became Gaelic territory. Meanwhile, Ireland is generally believed to have been entirely Gaelic throughout this period.

In 43 CE the Roman Empire invaded Britain. The Brythonic tribes continually opposed the Roman legions, but by 84 CE the Romans had conquered as far north as the Clyde-Forth isthmus, where they built the Antonine Wall. However, after just twenty years they retreated south to Hadrian's Wall. Although the native Britons mostly kept their land, they were subject to the Roman governers. The Roman Empire retained control of "Britannia" until its departure about 400 CE.

Around the time of the Roman departure, the Germanic Anglo-Saxons began large-scale migrations to the east coast of Britain, where they set up kingdoms. Eventually, Brythonic language and culture in these areas was largely replaced by those of the Anglo-Saxons. At the same time, some Brythonic tribes migrated across the channel to what is now called Brittany. There they set up their own small kingdoms and the Brythonic Breton language developed. By the end of the 1st millennium CE, the Anglo-Saxons had conquered most of the Brythonic territory in Britain, and the language and culture of the native Britons had largely been extinguished.

Famous Britons

References

See also

External links



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