hibernia

Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 Hibernia in the historical record 3 Ireland and its neighbours 4 Evidence of Roman influence 4.1 Tuathal 5 Post-Roman usage 6 Notes 7 See also //

Etymology

Hibernia, the Roman name for Ireland, was taken from Greek geographical accounts, particularly Claudius Ptolemy's Geographia, where it appears as ???e???a Iouernia. The spelling Hibernia was likely influenced by the unrelated Latin word hibernus meaning "wintry." Several variant forms of the name existed in Latin.

Iouernia was a Greek alteration of the Q-Celtic name *iweriu, stem *iwerion-, from which eventually arose the Modern Irish name Éire. The original meaning of the name is thought to be "land of abundance". Other Greek forms of the same name existed, e.g. Ierne (?????), the name given to Ireland by Pytheas of Massilia, a 4th c. BC Greek merchant and explorer.

Hibernia in the historical record

The island of Ireland was never incorporated into the Roman Empire. The fact that the Romans never occupied Ireland meant that Roman influence on Ireland was limited to contacts with Britain and other conquered provinces of the Empire.[1] Roman historian Tacitus makes reference to an expedition to Ireland by the general Agricola in 82 A.D. He is reported in one passage to "have crossed the water", the water in context is unknown and perhaps is reference to some exploratory mission, however the remainder of the passage deals exclusively with Ireland. According to Seneca, Agricola was of the opinion that Ireland could be conquered with one legion and a moderate amount of auxiliaries, in all roughly 6,000 men. Reference is also made about an Irish king who had fled the island in search of refuge. Agricola provided him with safety in the hope that it may be a reason to possibly invade the island. The Ulster historian Richard Warner has theorised that the Midlands leader Tuathal Techtmhar, usually thought mythical, was in fact historical and went to Britain to get Roman support for his military campaigns (along with other later exiles). If there is any truth in this hypothesis, the Romans may have had a greater influence on the southeast of Ireland than normally thought by scholars.[2] Overall, the relative lack of Roman influence on Ireland meant that it preserved its ancient Celtic culture to a much greater degree than continental countries such as Gaul.[3]

Irish tribal expeditions harried the Roman provinces of Britannia (Britain) and Gaul (France) as evidenced from surviving Roman texts.

In the early first century, Roman and Greek knowledge of Ireland was thin. The geographers Strabo and Pomponius Mela describe a cold land inhabited by savages who feast on the flesh