Britonia
Encyclopedia
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
) which was settled in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD by Romano-Britons escaping the advancing Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
who were conquering Britain
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
at the time. Britonia is therefore similar to Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
in Gaul in that it was settled by expatriate Britons at roughly the same time.
What little is known of Britonia is deduced from its religious history. The British settlements were recognised at the Council of Lugo in 567 and a separate bishopric established. Mailoc
Mailoc
Mailoc or Maeloc was a 6th-century bishop of Britonia, a settlement founded by expatriate Britons in Galicia, Spain. He represented his diocese, referred to as the Britonensis ecclesia or "British church", at the Second Council of Braga in 572...
was nominated Bishop of Britonia and signed the acta at the Second Council of Braga
Second Council of Braga
The Second Council of Braga, held in 572, presided over by Martin of Braga, was held to increase the number of bishops in Galaecia. Twelve bishops assisted at this council, and ten decrees were promulgated: that the bishops should in their visitations see in what manner the priests celebrated the...
in 572. The British Celtic settlements were quickly integrated and their adherence to Celtic rite
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
lasted only until the Fourth Council of Toledo
Fourth Council of Toledo
The Fourth Council of Toledo occurred in 633. It was held at the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo.Probably under the presidency of the noted Isidore of Seville, the council regulated many matters of discipline, decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent...
in 633 decreed the now so-called Visigothic or Mozarabic rite
Mozarabic Rite
The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...
as the standard liturgy of Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
. The see of Britonia existed at least until 830 when the area was attacked by the Vikings; it may have continued as late as the Council of Oviedo in 900. It was finally merged with the Diocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol.
Bishops
Known bishops of the ecclesia Brittaniensis include:- MailocMailocMailoc or Maeloc was a 6th-century bishop of Britonia, a settlement founded by expatriate Britons in Galicia, Spain. He represented his diocese, referred to as the Britonensis ecclesia or "British church", at the Second Council of Braga in 572...
(Second Council of BragaSecond Council of BragaThe Second Council of Braga, held in 572, presided over by Martin of Braga, was held to increase the number of bishops in Galaecia. Twelve bishops assisted at this council, and ten decrees were promulgated: that the bishops should in their visitations see in what manner the priests celebrated the...
, 572) - MetopiusMetopiusMetopius was a churchman in Galicia, Spain, in the 7th century. He served as bishop of Britonia, and represented his see at the Fourth Council of Toledo in 633...
(Fourth Council of ToledoFourth Council of ToledoThe Fourth Council of Toledo occurred in 633. It was held at the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo.Probably under the presidency of the noted Isidore of Seville, the council regulated many matters of discipline, decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent...
, 633) - SonnaSonna of BritoniaSonna of Britonia was a medieval Britonian priest in Galicia.- External links :...
(Seventh Council of ToledoSeventh Council of ToledoThe Seventh Council of Toledo commenced on 18 November 646 and was attended by forty one bishops either personally or by delegation. It was the first of Chindasuinth's two councils....
, 646) - SusaSusa of BritoniaSusa of Britonia was a medieval Britonian priest and bishop in Galicia.- External links :...
(Eighth Council of ToledoEighth Council of ToledoThe Eighth Council of Toledo commenced on 16 December 653 in the church of the Holy Apostles in Toledo. It was attended by fifty two bishops personally — including the aged Gavinio of Calahorra, who had assisted at the Fourth Council — and another ten by delegation, ten abbots, and the archpriest...
, 653) - BelaBela of Britonia- External links :...
(Third Council of BragaThird Council of BragaThe Third Council of Braga was held in 675, during the primacy of Leodegisius, and in the reign of King Wamba. Eight decrees were promulgated at this council; that no one should dare to offer in sacrifice milk and grapes, but bread and wine mixed with a drop of water in a chalice, nor should bread...
, 675)
Sources
- Richards, Melville, "Mailoc", Habis, III, 1972, p. 159.
- Tovar, António, "Un obispo con nombre británico y los orígenes de la diócesis de Mondoñedo", Habis, III, 1972, pp. 155–158.
- Vives, J., Concilios visigóticos e hispano-romanos, Madrid, 1963.
- Young, Simon, The Bishops of the early medieval diocese of Britonia (forthcoming).
- Young, Simon, "Note on Britones in Thirteenth-century Galicia", Studia Celtica, XXXV (2001), pp. 361–2.
- Young, Simon, "The Forgotten Colony", History Today, L, oct. 2000, pp. 5–6.
- Young, Simon, "Britonia: Camiños Novos", Noia, 2002. ISBN 84-95622-58-0. (in Galician)