{"id":56656,"title":"Albion: the Ancient Name of Britain","description":"What does Albion mean, and why was Britain once called Albion? Explore the history, etymology, classical sources, giants, folklore, and legends behind the ancient name.","content":"

Long before England was England, and long before Britain had any modern political meaning, the island was known to Greek and Roman writers as Albion. In classical geography, Albion generally referred to the island of Great Britain, while Ireland appears under names such as Ierne, Hibernia, or similar classical forms. Pliny the Elder gives one of the clearest Latin references in his Natural History<\/em>: \u201cEx adverso huius situs Britannia insula clara Graecis nostrisque monimentis inter septentrionem et occidentem iacet... Albion ipsi nomen fuit, cum Britanniae vocarentur omnes de quibus mox paulo dicemus.\u201d In plain terms, Pliny says that the island of Britain was famous in both Greek and Roman records, lying between north and west, opposite the great parts of Europe, and that its own name had been Albion, while all the islands of the group were called the Britanniae.<\/p>

\"EarlyBritain as \u201cAlbion\u201d in Ptolemy\u2019s Cosmographia<\/em>, 15th century<\/strong><\/p>

Ptolemy also used Albion in his Geography<\/em>, helping to preserve the name in the learned geographical tradition. The name did not disappear after antiquity. In the tenth century, the English king \u00c6thelstan could still use the grand Latin title rex et primicerius totius Albionis regni<\/em>, or \u2018king and chief of the whole realm of Albion\u2019.<\/p>

What Does Albion Mean?<\/h3>

The meaning of Albion has been debated for centuries. The usual starting point is the Greek form \u1f08\u03bb\u03b2\u03af\u03c9\u03bd, Latinised as Albion<\/em> or Albi\u014dn<\/em>. It appears in classical and late classical sources as a name for Britain, or more precisely for the larger of the two main islands off the north-west of Europe. The neighbouring island, Ireland, appears in Greek and Latin texts under related names such as Ierne and Hibernia.<\/p>

One long-standing explanation connects Albion with a root meaning \u201cwhite\u201d. This would place it alongside Latin albus<\/em>, meaning white, and possibly other European names that seem to contain a similar root. The obvious geographical explanation is the white cliffs of Dover. For travellers crossing from the Continent, the chalk cliffs of south-east England are the first striking feature of the island. It is easy to see why later writers found this explanation attractive.<\/p>

There is, however, another interpretation. Some Celtic scholarship connects Albion with a wider root found in words meaning \u201cworld\u201d, \u201cland\u201d, or \u201cearth\u201d, including Welsh elfydd<\/em>, meaning world or land. The linguist Xavier Delamarre argued that Albion may originally have meant something like \u201cthe world above\u201d or \u201cthe visible world\u201d, set against the lower or invisible world beneath. This gives the name a broader and more interesting meaning. Albion is not simply \u201cthe white island\u201d, but the visible inhabited world: the land of the living, placed above the hidden world below. [Here at Eldon Threads, we\u2019re particularly fond of that interpretation!]<\/p>

This older geographical imagination is also visible in early maps of Britain. In printed editions of Ptolemy\u2019s Geography<\/em> or Cosmographia<\/em>, Britain is often shown in a form that looks strange to modern eyes, with Scotland bent sharply eastwards. These maps are not accurate in the modern sense, but they show how Albion survived as a name attached to the island in the European map-making tradition.<\/p>

\"BrutusBrutus and his men fight the giants of Albion (from Historia Regum Britanniae)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Brutus, Troy, and the Giants of Albion<\/h3>

The historical Albion of classical geography later became the setting for medieval origin legends. The most influential version appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth\u2019s twelfth-century Historia Regum Britanniae<\/em>, or History of the Kings of Britain<\/em>. Drawing on earlier sources such as Gildas, Nennius, and Welsh genealogies, Geoffrey\u2019s account is not history as we would now understand it, but for centuries was treated as such. It had an enormous influence on medieval and early-modern ideas about Britain\u2019s past, helping to shape what became known as The Matter of Britain<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. Many of the stories of King Arthur<\/u><\/a>, Merlin<\/u><\/a>, and the exploits of Arthur\u2019s heroic knights<\/u><\/a> were defined by Geoffrey of Monmouth\u2019s vision of the island\u2019s ancient history.<\/p>

In Geoffrey\u2019s story, Britain is founded by Brutus, a descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas. After many wanderings, Brutus receives a prophecy directing him to an island in the west. He sails there with his Trojan followers and finds a land called Albion. It is fertile, wooded, and well supplied with rivers, but it is not empty. It is inhabited by a small number of giants.<\/p>

Brutus and his companions settle the island, defeat the giants, and rename the land Britain after Brutus himself. One of Brutus\u2019s chief companions is Corineus, a warrior who is especially fond of wrestling with giants. During the conflict, the greatest of the giants, Gogmagog<\/u><\/a>, is captured alive so that Corineus can fight him in single combat. Gogmagog is huge and immensely strong. In the wrestling match he breaks three of Corineus\u2019s ribs, but Corineus lifts him, carries him to the edge of a cliff, and throws him into the sea. The place of his fall was remembered as Gogmagog\u2019s Leap.<\/p>

This story gave medieval Britain a Trojan ancestry and a heroic foundation myth. It also explained the giants as the old inhabitants of Albion, overthrown by the ancestors of the Britons.<\/p>

\"England<\/u>England (Anglie Provincia) T-Shirt<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

In the Liber Chronicarum<\/em> (1493), the entry for \u2018England\u2019 shows a medieval fortified city - presumably London, with the Thames flowing through it.<\/p>

The original Latin text which accompanies the woodcut summarises the story of Brutus - it begins : \"England is an island which the ancients called Albion, from the abundance of white cliffs which first appear to those sailing towards it. Afterwards it was called Britain after Brutus, son of the Latin king Silvius Postumus. The island of Albion, then inhabited by giants, he named Britain after himself.\"<\/em><\/p>

The Liber Chronicarum<\/em> goes on to describe how Brutus built a fortified city, comparible to Troy, on the river Tamesis (Thames). After Brutus - his three sons, Locrinus, Albanetus, and Cambres(?) divided the land among themselves. Locrinus took the largest part, and named it Lochria (Loegria). Albanetus received Albania (Albany, later called Scotland). The third son received Cambria (Wales). There is also mention of the island of Thule to the north and west.<\/p>

Albina and the First Giants<\/h3>

A different but related origin story explains where the giants of Albion came from in the first place. In the medieval Brut tradition, the island is first settled by Albina and her sisters. The details vary, but Albina is usually described as the eldest of a group of royal daughters (often thirty-three sisters in total). They are married against their will, rebel against their husbands, and murder them. As punishment, they are set adrift in a ship without proper guidance and eventually arrive at an uninhabited island.<\/p>

The sisters take possession of the land, and it is named Albion after Albina. In some versions, they then mate with demons, devils, or incubi, producing a race of giants. These giants become the monstrous inhabitants later encountered by Brutus and his Trojans. The story places women at the heart of the tale - with exile, transgression, and the supernatural at the very beginning of Britain\u2019s legendary history.<\/p>

\"TheThe arrival of Albina and her sisters in Albion (Brut Chronicle<\/em>, 15th century)<\/strong><\/p>

It belongs to the same broad legendary world as Brutus and Gogmagog, but it gives the island an earlier and darker prehistory.<\/p>

In another version of the story from the 14th century Anglo-Norman poem Des grantz geanz<\/em> (\u2018Of the Great Giants\u2019) - presumably in an attempt to make sense of the whole \u2018giant\u2019 business - Albina herself is simply described as \u201cvery tall\u201d!<\/p>

William Blake\u2019s Albion<\/h3>

Albion was later transformed again by William Blake and became integrated into his own complex mythology. Blake\u2019s Albion is often understood to represent humanity itself in some way: fallen, divided, and fragmented. According to The William Blake Archive \u201cthe giant Albion is the country and its inhabitants, but is also identified as the fallen personification of all humankind, the Eternal Man. Jerusalem is his emanation and his Daughters are the women of England.\u201d<\/p>

\"'JerusalemWilliam Blake\u2019s \u2018Albion\u2019<\/strong><\/p>

Albion as \u2018Folk Britain\u2019<\/h3>

Albion has never had one fixed meaning. It has been a classical geographical name, a poetic name for Britain, a possible reference to white cliffs and chalk hills, a word connected with the visible world (as opposed to the Otherworld), a kingdom claimed by Anglo-Saxon rulers, the home of giants, the realm of Brutus, the island of Albina, the inheritance of Neptune\u2019s son, and the symbolic body of Blake\u2019s mythology.<\/p>

The name still has power. Albion is not quite England, and certainly not Britain in the modern political sense. It\u2019s more of a feeling - a sense of something older and much stranger. A folk memory perhaps.<\/p>

\"Albion<\/u>Albion Tee by Eldon Threads<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Credits:<\/strong><\/p>

Britain as \u201cAlbion\u201d : Claudius Ptolemy\u2019s Cosmographia<\/em>, Latin translation by Jacobus Angelus, 15th century. Biblioth\u00e8ques de Nancy, Ms. 354. Public domain.<\/p>

Brutus fighting the Giants of Albion : abridged Historia Regnum Britannae<\/em>; British Library MS Harley 1808, fol. 8<\/p>

Albina and her sisters arrive in Britain : French Prose Brut<\/em>, in BL Royal 19 C IX), f. 8. Held and digitised by the British Library.<\/p>

William Blake\u2019s Albion images : By William Blake - The William Blake Archive<\/p>","urlTitle":"albion-the-ancient-name-of-britain","url":"\/blog\/albion-the-ancient-name-of-britain\/","editListUrl":"\/my-blogs","editUrl":"\/my-blogs\/edit\/albion-the-ancient-name-of-britain\/","fullUrl":"https:\/\/eldonthreads.com\/blog\/albion-the-ancient-name-of-britain\/","featured":false,"published":true,"showOnSitemap":true,"hidden":false,"visibility":null,"createdAt":1780071250,"updatedAt":1784562211,"publishedAt":1784562210,"lastReadAt":null,"division":{"id":353639,"name":"Eldon Threads"},"tags":[],"metaImage":{"original":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/lxhkvxxhrpeweb2ifp0vi6pt88rf181unzsyediznybttr9p.jpeg","thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/lxhkvxxhrpeweb2ifp0vi6pt88rf181unzsyediznybttr9p.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/lxhkvxxhrpeweb2ifp0vi6pt88rf181unzsyediznybttr9p.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"metaTitle":"","metaDescription":"What does Albion mean? Why was Britain once called Albion? Explore the history, mythology, giants, folklore, and legends behind the ancient name.","keyPhraseCampaignId":null,"series":[],"similarReads":[{"id":41277,"title":"The Wiltshire White Horses","url":"\/blog\/the-wiltshire-white-horses\/","urlTitle":"the-wiltshire-white-horses","division":353639,"description":"If you're ever visiting Wiltshire, look to the hills, and keep your eyes peeled for glimpses of the county's eight iconic white horses. These colossal artworks, created by stripping away the grass to reveal the white chalk beneath, have been a part of the landscape for centuries.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/msddekwyqcaitsjvskupinl7gt2kowphlbn66oqlnanl6lxu.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855&z=1.2&fx=0.46395693214563&fy=0.44457567580179","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/msddekwyqcaitsjvskupinl7gt2kowphlbn66oqlnanl6lxu.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440&z=1.2&fx=0.46395693214563&fy=0.44457567580179"},"hidden":0},{"id":48945,"title":"The Ilkley Moor Swastika Stone: Britain\u2019s Most Enigmatic Rock Carving?","url":"\/blog\/the-ilkley-moor-swastika-stone-britains-most-enigmatic-rock-carving\/","urlTitle":"the-ilkley-moor-swastika-stone-britains-most-enigmatic-rock-carving","division":353639,"description":"The Swastika Stone on Ilkley Moor in West Yorkshire is one of the most distinctive pieces of prehistoric rock art in Britain.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ekuafxiwcdgdnl9kfitpy3xgaoegwfqgcudvkrjkoxettabj.png.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ekuafxiwcdgdnl9kfitpy3xgaoegwfqgcudvkrjkoxettabj.png.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0},{"id":52157,"title":"The Green Man: Faces in the Leaves","url":"\/blog\/the-green-man-faces-in-the-leaves\/","urlTitle":"the-green-man-faces-in-the-leaves","division":353639,"description":"Discover the Green Man in medieval churches: from foliate heads to disgorging faces, Pagan roots, Christian legends, and nature\u2019s timeless symbol of rebirth.","published":true,"metaImage":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ftqvmtkvsrge3oon1i8jxvn1xyeotp92lgxpp2oxhs9yi4nt.jpeg.jpg?w=1140&h=855","banner":"https:\/\/images.podos.io\/ftqvmtkvsrge3oon1i8jxvn1xyeotp92lgxpp2oxhs9yi4nt.jpeg.jpg?w=1920&h=1440"},"hidden":0}],"labels":[]}

Holinshed\u2019s Albion: Son of Neptune<\/h3>

By the time Raphael Holinshed\u2019s Chronicles<\/em> appeared in the sixteenth century, these legends were being gathered, compared, and rationalised by writers who wanted to connect Britain to the deepest possible past. Holinshed\u2019s account of Albion the Giant attempts to give the figure a clear genealogy.<\/p>

In Holinshed, Albion is the son of Neptune (referred to as \u201cNeptunus\u201d). Citing Annius as his source [more about Annius shortly!] Holinshed also names Albion\u2019s father \u201cNepthuim\u201d and describes him as \u201cthe sixth son of Osiris\u201d and \u201cthe brother of Hercules\u201d. Neptunus becomes ruler of the ocean, marries Amphitrita, and has several children. Neptunus makes each one the king of an island. His fourth son is Albion the Giant<\/strong>, whom he places in possession of Britain<\/strong>. Regarding his size, Holinshed says \u201cthat there have been men of far greater stature than are now to be found, is sufficiently proved by the huge bones of those that have been found in our time, or lately before\u201d.<\/p>

\"TheThe Giant Albion, in Holinshed\u2019s Chronicles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Albion then conquers the Samotheans (described as the first inhabitants of the island) with little resistance. The Samotheans \u201chad given over the practise of all warlike and other painful exercises, and ... were become now unapt to withstand the force of their enemies.\u201d So basically Albion wipes them out and that\u2019s<\/em> how Britain becomes populated by giants!<\/p>

Samothes, incidentally, was the son of Japheth, son of Noah - also according to Annius of Viterbo. Annius claimed to discovered lost books by Berossus (Babylonian, 3rd century BCE) detailing the settlement of the British Isles by Samothes and his descendents. However, these \u2018Berossus\u2019 texts later turned out to be a total hoax<\/strong> by Annius himself, but by that time the names and geneologies had found their way into many \u2018histories\u2019, including Holinshed\u2019s Chronicles<\/em>.<\/p>

Albion himself is pictured in the 1577 first edition of Holinshed (and only the first edition - the woodcuts did not make it into later editions). That original woodcut is the inspiration for our Eldon Threads Albion T-Shirt<\/strong> design.<\/p>

\"Albion<\/u>Albion T-Shirt by Eldon Threads<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>