Ptolemy’s Ireland For information on Celtic tribes of England, check out the sister post, Pre-Roman England: Better Visualize Brythonic Tribes.
This project is meant to add to the available visual media on ancient Ireland, as depicted by Ptolemy.
I am by no means an expert on Ptolemy or ancient Ireland. Most of my sources are Wiki, though I do try and verify its references where I can.
Most of the maps available online are images with names over the rough territory. Sometimes the names are bigger to convey the size of territory, but that’s about it.
Everything here should be taken with a grain of salt, and I will freely admit where I am adding my own speculations. I welcome anyone to add their own insights.
This is more or less, a visual representation of information found on Wiki. More on that at the end.
Celtic Tribes: Names
Clockwise from the North East:
- Rhobogdioi
- Darini
- Woluntioi
- Eblanioi
- Kaukoi
- Manapioi or Menapii
- Coriondi
- Briganti
- Usdiai or Osraige or Múscraige
- Iverni or Iwernoi
- Wellaboroi
- Gangani
- Autenioi
- Magnatai or Nagnatae
- Erdinoi or Erdini
- Wenniknioi
Think of this map as a compilation of several others. While this helps fill in some missing data, I had to filter out conflicting data. Thankfully, there wasn’t that much.
The perks of little to no variation of original sources.
The majority of issues stem from Name confusion and Territorial disputes.
Most of the names used by early sources are medieval and have little connection to Ptolemy’s tribes, but it’s easy enough to find the original tribal name / linage on wiki.
Ptolemy‘s sources are 2nd hand, and most likely from sailors/traders. So, it follows that only the coastal tribes would be recorded and less info would be available on their interior borders. However, while there might have been unique, interior tribes, Ireland is a small place, smaller than Briton.
Roughly 23 Brythonic tribes lived south of the Antonine Wall, the furthest point of Roman conquest. That’s only 7 more tribes than in Ireland.
Ireland is also easier to traverse than Briton, with less mountains and forests and more rolling hills and gentle glens (good for grazing animals), especially as you move further inland.
So, by these metrics, I decided to depict my map with no territory unclaimed. You will see what I mean further down.
Celtic Tribes: Name confusion
Ptolemy‘s map has a people called the Usdiai, but Wiki says it is likely that they are the Osraige, a medieval name for a power in the same location.
“Ptolemy’s 2nd-century map of Ireland places a tribe he called the “Usdaie” roughly in the same area that the Osraige occupied.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osraige
To add to the confusion, the Múscraige is another peoples of similar linage mentioned in the area. Thankfully, all of these tribes seem to belong to the Iverni tribe in one way or another.
Ptolemy recognizes the Iverni separately on his map, and I’m pretty sure some tribe is living in the area. So, keeping to the 16 Ptolemaic tribes, I have marked out this region under the Usdiai.
Another example is the difference between the Darini and the Woluntioi. Again we have to reference medieval names & states.
The kingdom that ruled in the area of the Darini/Woluntioi was known as Ulaid, in modern counties of day Armagh and Down
The Ulaid are likely the Ούολουντιοι (Uoluntii or Voluntii) mentioned in Ptolemy’s 2nd century Geographia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulaid
Modern counties of Ireland. From Creative Commons
For more answers, we look to Ulaid’s history.
Ulaid would later become the main force behind the kingdom of Ulster, and under its tab on the List of Irish Kingdoms wiki page, we learn its early, tribal makeup.
- “Darini, in Tyrone, Armagh and Down possibly a branch of the Érainn and linked with their supposed ancestor deity Dáire”.
- Voluntii, probably the people later known as the Ulaid, in Armagh, Down, Monaghan and Cavan
This is why there is overlap (notice the polka-dots) on the map below.
Territorial disputes
Looking at this map, you will notice a striking and empty feature.
This map is based on info from the List of Irish Kingdoms Wiki page, which dose not mention any of the interior counties.
But looking at any medieval maps of Ireland, the entirety of is claimed by vast kingdoms. Some of which claim ancestral ties to legendary founders of the same tribes named by Ptolemy.
What reason would the ancient Irish have to not expand to the abundant and easier to traverse, interior? I can’t think of anything compelling.
So, taking my liberties, I mapped out the interior based on the extent of the less than historical Fifths, 5 kingdoms that would be the basis of the modern provinces of Ireland,
- Connacht
- Leinster
- Munster
- Ulster
and the Wkiki’s political map of Ireland c.800 A.D
Trivia
Where do the Usdiai Live?
Ptolemy’s map depicts the Vodie, Usdiai as the western neighbors of the Briganti. So, they are in area (3).
However, Wkiki claims the Briganti’s western neighbors are the Iwernoi, Iverni. This lines up with the Muscraige being an Iverni tribe and peoples group living in Cork with a stronghold in the Muskerry baronies. So, they are in area (1) or (2).
Wiki also claims that the Usdiai are the Orsaige of medieval power. But that would make them the western neighbor to the Briganti again. Area (2)
So, either either the Usdiai live in the northern, Tipperary/Kilkenny region (A more wiki-based image) and the Iverni live on the coastal, Waterford/Cork region. Or, the Usdiai take up a majority of both regions while the Iverni live in Cork and Tipperary, bordering the Velabri, Wellaboroi to the west. (following a more Ptolemic based image)
I depict the latter.
Iverni is the root word of Hibernia, the name for Ireland used by Medieval sources.
Iverni (the peoples) becomes Ivernia (land of those peoples), which is then corrupted into Hibernia.
The Manapioi, Coriondi, Briganti, and Kaukoi all share names with Continental or British Celtic names, that is, non Gaelic, Celtic.
It could be that, by the time of Ptolemy writing, the eastern coast of Ireland was populated by Celts from south western England and north western Gaul. Or, this could be coincidence due to a shared base language. I lean towards the first opinion.
Another example of this, is the shared name of the Gangani. Appearing as a tribe in Ireland and as the namesake of Ptolemy’s “promontory of the Gangani”, later known as the Llŷn peninsula, in north eastern Wales.
However, the name Llŷn is Irish in origin, coming from the Laigin peoples, ancestral name of Leinster.
But, The Lagin themselves, interchangeably called the Gaileoin, “in earlier texts”, are hypothesized to have a been invaders from Munster (Fir Morca) or Gaul (Amorica), then incorporated into the genealogy of medieval Ireland. (Wiki)
The stories about them say they arrived with Labraid Loingsech (reigned either in the 4th century (300s) or 3rd century (200s) BC) to reclaim his throne as high-king. The Laigin being the spearmen of the Gaileoin. (Wiki)
End
The heart of this project is to make something visual from the many paragraphs I have read and absorbed.
Due to the nature of my info gathering, some of that info might be wrong, some of my speculation might be off. Do not take this as absolute truth.
But please, use it as much as you can. Use it to further you own studies on Celtic Ireland, or just as good old fashioned inspiration.
