BRIGANTES (

See also:

• CELTIC

Celtic for " mountaineers " or "

See also:

• FREE

free, privileged ")  , a people of northern Britain, who inhabited the country from the mouth of the Abus (Humber) on the east and the Belisama (Mersey; according to others, Ribble) on the west as far northwards as the Wall of Antoninus . Their territory thus included most of Yorkshire, the whole of Lancashire, Durham, Westmorland, Cumberland and part of Northumberland . Their chief town was Eburacum (or Eboracum; York) . They first came into contact with the Romans during the reign of Claudius, when they were defeated by Publius Ostorius Scapula . Under Vespasian they submitted to Petillius Cerealis, but were not finally subdued till the time of Antoninus Pius (Tac . Agricola, 17; Pausan. viii . 43 . 4) . The name of their eponymous goddess Brigantia is found on inscriptions (Corp . Inscr . Lat. vii . 200, 875, 1062; F .

Haverfield in Archaeological

Journal, xlix., 1892), and also that of a god Bergans=Brigans (Ephemeris Epigraphica, vii . No . 920) . A branch of the Brigantes also settled in the south-east corner of Ireland, near the river Birgus (Barrow) . See A . Holder, Altceltischer Sprachschatz, i . (1896), for ancient authorities; J . Rhys, Celtic Britain (3rd ed., 1904); Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopadie, iii. pt. i . (1897) .