Breoghan: The Legendary Celtic King of Irish and Galician Mythology

A Real Person of Real Places and Real Times. 

This may be an interest place to begin ones Iron Age study of Ireland, Britain, and western Europe.

                                   rcs

Bird and Bear Were Titles Given to the Last Romans in "England"

 Ireland, Irish, Merlin, Revise your history. Celtic people in Main in about 500 AD. A ruler became Merlin the bird. The name of Arthur the bear was Owin. The dead Princess Diana was related to the Stewarts and so, fairly closely related to Arthur and not just bearly.

                                                                                                    Richard Sheehan

Mago and the Phoenicians

 Phoenicians                

                They had certainly heard of Atlantis, but that fabled land had disappeared thousands of years before the Phoenician posted themselves near the Pillars of Hercules. Those same pillars may once have been called the Pillars of Atlas or even the Gates of Atlas. They certainly guarded  the way to the great Atlantic sea and to the isle beyond the western isle. 

Those Phoenicians were a knowledgeable people who we might now begin to call Carthaginians. The knew much of trade and of navigation. They also knew of mining, metallurgy, language writing, warfare on land and sea. They knew that the islands not far beyond the Pillars not only contained gold, silver, and tin, but also contained men experience in mining and metalworking. They may even have known of the little people there who aided in the extraction of those precious metals from beneath the earth.

Carthage and the Carthaginians

                The name and title of Mago was very well known among those Carthaginian Phoenicians. I have found the use of the title among them as early as 750 BC. You my find that it was used much earlier. I do find strong evidence  that they were carrying on regular trade with Western Isles 500 and 400 BC.

The Magonids were a political dynasty of Carthage from about 550 to
340 BC. The dynasty began with Mago I, under whom Carthage became preeminent among the Phoenician colonies  in the western Mediterranean.  Under the Magonids the Carthaginian Empire expanded to include Spain, Sardinia, Libya, and perhaps Sicily. Diodorus and Herodotus tell us Of the Magonids better than do most Romans.

Mago

                There was a Mago II and then a Mago III who led Carthaginians. There also seems to have been a Mago who commanded, or navigated for, the trading fleet which connected the Western Isles to the Mediterranean. You may know, or have guessed, that the isle beyond the western isle is now called Ireland. 

                It might have been Mago, that knowledgeable shipmaster, who impressed an early Sheehan and led him, or her, to adopt the name Mago for their son.  My Irish great grandfather had the name Mago William Sheehan. That is the source of the name Mago Bill for this blog.

                So, Mago Bill has a history.

                You can find more about Mago Bill, Mago, Ireland, and a bit of Irish history at the Mago Bill blog website.

                Thank you for the visit. Come back and explore these sites.







                                                                                by Richard sheehan

The Word is "boycott"

Word Power Has a History

Irish Origen:

                The Irish Land Wars are the source of the introduction of a powerfully useful word into the English language.

              

                 In 1850 Irish persons formed the Tenant Right League in Ireland to demand reform to the land law of Ireland. It was a law not of democratic origin. This organization and demand was followed by about 40 years of unrest in Ireland as well as to some learning and reform. 
                

                The word in question is the surname of a landlord so disliked by his tenants that he was refused labor to harvest his crops, as well as refusal to service shops, laundries, and other facilities. The social excommunication of Mr. Boycott led to his name being used to describe it. Boycotts have worked well as nonviolent protest measures. 
                

                Check out the the Home Rule League of Ireland online. Doing so could contribute to your political education. Then go on to check the Irish Land League. Doing so could add to your understanding of political organization. Check out Gandhi  on the use of resistance and organization to achieve social ends. Well reasoned and presented protests have been a useful social power. The Irish National League may be interesting to check out, but may prove complicated by the source of your information. 
                   

As an educator:

                 Due to my background as an educator I feel the need to add, is that one thing you need to learn is that you are responsible for ruling yourself. In Ireland that has been called Home Rule. It does seem best to begin at home. You can blame your father, wife, mayor, or President, but that, I have found a waste of energy. Where you are concerned you are the authority and the boss, and the doing is yours to do. You will have your results.
               

                 We have a lot to learn about politics and our own history. History is how we learn what works and and what doesn't. It's mostly the experience of others, but we each have our own history. Politics can be called how we cooperate to get doings done.

Understanding and meaning:                    

                A instructive synonym for boycott is ostracize.

                An example of boycotting is the American boycott of  English goods during the American Revolution such as the Boston Tea Party. This was mostly the refusal to accept English goods, especially to buy them.

                So, to boycott, can refer to social or political action to initiate change.

                Boycotting may well thought of as organized and strategic as a campaign to protest by ostracization so as to initiate or maintain change.

                                                                                                RCS

 

Toward an Exploration of Baltic History

 The Baltic Sea and People Too

                        Balts were anciently influenced by cultures call Scythian, Slav, and Celt. I am no longer sure of the nature of a Celt. It is probably say that a celt is Indo-European. You may not be very sure of the nature of a Scythian. We seem to have some learning to do. For now, let's put it off until later. Balts were also influenced by amber and the amber trade.They were probably influenced by everything else in their time and place. That certainly includes their geography.

Their Geography

                    The Baltic Sea is and has been an important feature on the face of Earth and on the course of our history; how could it not influence the people around it and on it. I am just getting oriented to it; let me pass on the little I am learning. A map can help. I believe that I have included one somewhere on this blog.

                    The Baltic Sea opens on the Atlantic Ocean and is in the northwestern part of Europe, It has a complex geography, history, and present. Here I hope to begin a look at its early history and prehistory. However, it seems best to begin with a bit of geography. It has been called a brackish inland sea the geological history of which is difficult to clarify.

                    At the risk of muddying the waters I will say that the Baltic Sea could be called the Baltic Lake. Its opening to the Atlantic is not large and it has several rivers flowing into it, including the Oder, Vistula, Neman, Daugava and the Neva. Snow melt, rain, smaller rivers and streams add to the fresh water of great lake Balt. So, it is much like a great sweet water lake made brackish by an opening to the Atlantic.

                    Still, it has been called a sea marginal to the Atlantic ocean. That Sea drains into the Atlantic through the Danish Straights by way of the little Kattagat sea. This Baltic Sea includes the Gulf of Bothnia, the Bay of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland, the Gulf of Riga, and the bay of Gdansk.

                    In the Baltic Sea is the little Kattagat sea. Kattagat refers to an area of rather shallow sea bounded by the Jutland peninsula in the west, the Danish Straights and the Baltic Sea to the south, and the shores of Sweden to the east.

                    More names and places then one can easily remember. Expect to see them more here and to hear them in your future.

The Gulf of Bothnia

                    The word "bothnia" seems to have once referred to lowland shores. The Gulf of Bothnia still has some lowland shores. However, that land has continued to rise since its release from its Ice Age burden of ice. We are looking a lands and waters in what is considered the far north. So, the waters of the Gulf still freeze over in winter.

                    I could benefit from more research in the histories of Sweden and Finland to find much of the history of this Gulf. Here is a tiny taste of that history. Ottar an early Viking adventurer may have referred to the Gulf as the Kven Sea. A Danish navigator may have referred to it as as the Mare gotticus in the 15th century. Bothnia Bay may be called a northern landward extension of the gulf of Bothnia.

The Gulf of Finland 

                    This gulf is the eastern branch of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland on north and Estonia on the south, and on to Saint Petersburg, Russia, Where the River Neva flows into it. Other major cities on the Gulf are Helsinki and Tallinn. Wikipedia reminded me of this.

                    In the early post Ice Age the Gulf of Finland was preceded by the Littoriana  Sea. hat sea stood as 30 feet above present sea level. By some 4,000 years ago that sea receded to near present levels.

    

Archaeology:

                    Archaeologist have found that the lands along the Gulf of Finland began to be settled in about 9,000 BC. To me writing about archaeology is much like writing a history. So, we do seem to be moving in the right direction. That is we are moving a bit beyond geography and more toward history. Onward. As early as 1905 AD eleven neolithic settlements had been found along the Gulf. Early culture of about that time include: Finnic, Esti/Chud, Votes, Izhorians,, and Korela. There is much to learn about each of them.

                    Later. from about 700 AD: through 900 AD East Slavs, Ilman Slavas, and Krivichs had settled along the Neva river and the Gulf of Finland. They practiced agriculture and animal husbandry and so, marked a change in culture.

Between about 700 AD and 1,200 AD, the River Neva and the Gulf were part of the waterway from, say, Scandinavia to the Byzantine Empire. I consider that last sentence to be a historic fact until I find strong evidence to the contrary. This was much the development of and the final flourishing of the "Viking Age." That is a leadership position in what became Russia and lead to attacks on the Byzantine Empire. Of course Norsemen were viking elsewhere as well.

                    After about 850 AD historic information from this arena becomes more abundant.  About that time The Gulf was controlled by Russians(Russian-Vikings) we might say. They maintained this control until 1219 when the Danes took control. Around this time the city of Reval was established on what has been called the area of Tallinn. There is plenty to learn about this are with plenty of interesting details. The historical record is increasingly complete from about 750 AD.

Gulf of Riga:

                    The Gulf of Riga lies between modern Latvia and Estonia on, of course, the Baltic sea. I hope to learn more of this gulf area through the histories and archaeology of the histories of Latvia and Estonia. You can help me with this by using the "comments" just below this essay. An investigation of the early days of the cities of Riga, Parnu, Jumala, and Kuressaare could help.

Bay of Gdansk:

                    The Bay of Gdansk has a lot of history which may include my Prussian, Polish, and German ancestors. The Vistula river flows into theBay. Some consider the Bay as extending to Russian Kaliningrad and the coast of Lithuania. I hope to learn of the happenings and doings in this area from the earliest times until Rome moved its first amber.

Kursenieski:

                        There be Kursenieski on the Bay! They have been their long. They call their language Curonian. Some linguists have seen it as related to Latvian. They have been called Prussian Latvians. Who are these people? Who were they? They lived on a well visited sea coast near the outlet of a well navigated river; so have been subjected to much social and cultural activity and change. I suspect that they were an important prehistoric people. Can you tell us more about them. I hope to live long enough to post more about them here.

    

Kattagat Sea:     

                    Let me Travel back toward where the Baltic Sea meets the Atlantic ocean. That is near to the "little" Kattagat sea. The name Kattagat may be of Swedish origin. I seem to remember having head of an ancient queen Kattagat who may have been a Swede. This Sea certainly is a Scandinavian area. 

Jutland:     

                    The Jutlandic peninsula juts into the Kattagat and is part of Jutland. The Peninsula and perhaps all of Jutland Called Cimbric or the Cimbric Peninsula and is now part of Denmark. Jutes and Cimbri have lived there.

        

                    Jutes have been named among powerful Germanic invaders of England. Was this naming a Roman idea? It seems that there may be some confusion over this naming. But there seems to be good reason the peninsula is called Jute. It was an area of Jute movement and trade before, during, and after the Roman Empire. If you believe me wrong, please tell me about it. Anyway there the Jutland Peninsula is at the Kattaga Sea.

Cimbrian:

                     Wait a minute! We have a varied lot of people to learn about and the Cimbri are one of them and they seem to have been on the Jutland Peninsula before the the Jutes. Many have thought that the Cimbri were what we have called Gauls Celts. Anyway I believe that this peninsula was once called the Cimbrian peninsula. We have more to learn. We need more archaeological and historical evidence.

                    We humans do seem to get around a lot and it seems that includes the Cimbri. I am finding that for a very long time there was a mostly seasonal migration from part of the Baltic Sea area and from part of Britain as least as far as the Iberian peninsula. So, there was probably movement from peninsula to peninsula, Cimbric to Iberian and back. It sounds right, but I a feeling some amazement. 

                    I also find that there was even a Cimbrian military expedition against 1st century Rome! Who are these Cimbri? Who were they. Could they have been visitors to Ireland as early as the early Bronze Age? 

                    Some say that there were Belgians of Cimbrian origin. Romans may have called them Germans, but then they called nearly everyone of the area German. We are not very clear about who Celts were other than that they were almost certainly what we have called Indo-Europeans. However that may be, a people who seemed much like Cimbri, but whom some called Celts joined Carthaginians to resist Rome. I wish you could help me to learn more.

                    OK it seems about time to publish this. I intend to gather more information. Might I get some from you. Remember this blog and its associated blogs were designed to have some interactivity. 

                    Please do try to help to correct the errors or misapprehensions I make. Try using the "comments" app below.

                    Thank you for reading.

                                                                                Richard  S

 

More Shee

 History With RCS: Holy Shee

            Especially in Ireland, but also in Britain and Europe, there remain certain stone carvings that have been called idols. Thew show a female figure displaying and exaggerated vulva. They are not beautiful or young and are often without breasts. They have long been called Sheela na gig. A good translation has not been agreed upon. I think that sacred spirit of the vulva may do. So, I say, that to the meaning of shee may be added "sacred." 

 

                In Wikipedia it says that one of the best examples of these particular sheela was found in Round Tower at Rattoo, in County Kerry, Ireland.  

                At times the figures have been called witches, hags, exhibitionists, and less complimentary things.

                Some of the sculptings seem to have been moved from their original sites to be incorporated into older church buildings.

 

                There is an old Irish dance, the Sheela na gig. According to Wikipedia the oldest written record of this phrase is as the name of this particular dance. That mention dates back only to the mid 1700s. 

                There is a myth known in Ireland an beyond of a goddess who grants kingship. She might appear at a dance as a lustful old hag and most men would avoid her and refuse her advances. The one man who did sleep with her, found her transformed into a beautiful maiden who conferred royalty upon  and blessed his reign.

                Some Irish lads are taken by a good tale and their are some tricky old ladies on the island.

                Thanks for reading.

                                                                           

                                                                                rcs

In Reference to a Timeline Item Comment

History With RCS :In Reference to  Gerry Art's Comment to post 2,660 BC to 2,400 BC in reference to metal work of the period.

                I will tell what I can about the metal work of that period. The post centers on 2,500 BC which marks the a high point of the the Bronze Age of most of Europe, much of North Africa, and nearly all of the Near East. That is much of Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond was enjoying the Bronze Age, which to some has seemed a golden age. 
    

                I am pleased to be able to say that during this period Ireland was one of the most productive miners of gold and the producer of of some of the finest gold work. Some of the gold work which marked Ireland of this period were the following: Lunulea, a form of collar; torcs, a kind of neck piece which bent firmly around the neck, they were strikingly handsome; gorgets, they were a sort of chest piece or breast piece and often the most beautiful and intricit of these items. It may have been used to hold articles of dress in place. Rings and a large number of other items were also produced in gold.

                I am speaking of Bronze Age Gold work. But much fine gold work in an early age when much copper was mined and worked well before the Bronze Age. 

                I seem to be forming my remarks here almost entirely around Ireland, but a Bronze Age was occurring around much of the world.

                It has been said that there was a Bronze age in Ireland from 2500 BC to 500 BC. I believe that there is now important evidence of important Bronze work being done in Ireland by 2,700 BC. I am also fairly sure that an Iron Age had already begun in Ireland 600 BC.

            Let me include that the Bronze Age in Ireland and Beyond was preceded by the neolithic period, which we might call the New Stone Age. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age. I traumatic change in much of the world.

                In the neolithic period gold and were both already mined and worked in Ireland. Fine work was produced in small quantities. Silver and lead were probably also mined and worked in small quantities.

                It seems that I had Ireland on the mind when I began this piece.

                Ireland entered the Bronze Age as a major miner and worker of Gold. In that Bronze Age a variety of bronzes were founded. Nearly all of them were an alloy mostly of copper but always with a portion of tin. I do not recall the usual proportions just now. How- ever there was bronze produced using arsnic in the place of tin. The tin was used to make the copper stronger, more resistant, and harder than copper. It also turned out to be a sort of stainless copper with the look of gold!

                Tin was both mined in Ireland and imported to Ireland. A sort of metal alchemy was begun which employed mercury, lead, arsnic, silver, gold and other elements. The mining, smelting and working of tin and copper to make bronze was a sophisticated process. 

                The Iron Age in Ireland as in Europe, North Africa, the Near East and beyond was begun by a new people who proved to be many. These people knew horses well. They knew the processes of mining, smelting and working iron. They made iron swords which cut through bronze weapons. They dominated Bronze Age people nearly everywhere. They were able to dominate cultures which were in many ways superior to theirs. At times they recognized this. They brought a new language, they brought it to Ireland and it became the mother of all the language spoken there for over two thousand years. It is the Gaelic which is still spoken in parts of Ireland. English is the dominate language on the Island today. English too is born of that Iron Age language.

                So, what are the Bronze age metals: gold, silver, copper, lead, arsnic, mercury, tin, and certainly more known by some. Bronze, a metal alloy made by man, and still one of the most beautiful and useful metals made by man and one of the least toxic if not made with arsenic. The alloy named an Age. We have much more to learn of the Bronze Age.

            Thank you for your comment Gerry Art.

                                                                                            rcs.

                

               

 

Irish Confederate Wars

History With RCS: The Eleven Year War. Scots, Catholics, Protestants, greed, fear, and cruelty brought to Ireland by English

              The Irish Confederate Wars lasted from 1641 to 1653. Seems the Irish called them the Eleven Year War.

                I am new to these happenings and am emotional as I read of them, but will continue to try to bring more of an honest story to you.

             

              I do kind of get that the cause of this "rebellion may well be lack of self-government and of sharp Irish awareness of that lack. Outside of Ireland a wide spectrum  other reasons and causes. English fear and greed may be among them.

                Let me try to express the nature of some of my ignorance. I have heard that the "rebelling" Irish were Catholic. Was there not a Jew or an atheist among them? I have also heard that some those rebellious Irish were English! How can that be? Were they English Catholics living in Ireland, or what? At the time of this Eleven Year War, of what did the Kingdom of Ireland consist? Which Scots were not against a free Ireland? Which Protestant colonials figured in this conflict?

                So, among the "rebelling' Irish Catholics there were English? And against them was the Kingdom of England? the Kingdom of Ireland? Some Scots?
And some Protestant colonials?

 

                Oh, it kind of got under the skin of an Irishman or two that the English idea of "plantation" was to come to Ireland, take Irish land from Irish families and plant English there. This was not done with sweetness. The Irish who lost their land were left not only with out a roof, but also without the food their land provide. They were left without stock or crop or door or roof. They were left with some emotions and some memories.

                Are there any good movies or film about these goings on?

                Can you tell something about these happenings? anything? I do not think that there is anything wrong with the "Comments section below. Use it to help me. You can do so anonymously.



                                                                                                                by Richard Sheehan

 

A Very Short Little Old Back-story.

History With RCS: Mago Bill animates my connection to history, and more.

                Mago Bill connects me to to the history of Ireland, and from there to history far and wide. "He" helps me to get far back into ancient history and prehistory. And, it seems that, there is a very far back.
* He seems to help me to explore time and space.
* He helps me to see aspects of the ageless wisdom teaching anew.
* He helps me to fresh views of governance, politics, and philosophy.

                Mago Bill was my paternal great grandfather.

                Mago is a very old Irish name, probably picked up from the Phoenicians or the Carthaginians. In the US the name seems to have given Mago some trouble. For there he began to sign his name M. William Sheehan.

 

Mago in Ireland

                The name Mago has been found in county Clair and all over Ireland for hundreds of years. A historian writing in Ireland in 1691 writes of a count Mago. Another historian writes of a Mago county in the Ireland of of 1829. There seems to have been a barony of Mago in Kerry. There have been Irishmen who have claimed to be sons of Magog. Could that have anything to do with the price of beans?              

 

 

                Take some time to search this site. There are several apps available to help you with your explorations here.

                                                                                                                                                                                 Richard Carroll Sheehan

Mago Bill

History With RCS: Mago Bill, a Munster Man?

 

                I have posted a lot about Mago Bill and have even had a couple of Mago Bill blogs. One of the Mago Bills I have written was probably born in County Munster, but may have arrived in America before he could toddle. He was my great grandfather M. William Sheehan.

 

                 Sheehan is a fine and interesting surname, but Mago often attracts me more.Spanish speaking friends tell me that in Spanish mago means magician and the like. Some also tell me that "the three kings'' or "three wise men" of Christmas are called magos and that each of them is a mago. This seems interesting to me but may have been of no interest at all to my great grandfather.

 

                However, I have been told that before Rome came of age and in the early days of Carthage, that Mago was an important family name among the Carthaginian Phoenicians. I see that Magos where friends and family of a famous guy by the name of Hannibal.

 

                Magos were well known traders, navigators, and military leaders of Carthage. Carthaginian traders and navigators came to Ireland for a variety of reasons. The main reason was probably tin. In the Bronze age and beyond tin was important because without it there was little bronze. The Irish of the day were metal workers, craftsmen, and artists. They were also miners, alchemists, poets, lovers, and impressionable for hearing the name Mago so often from the visiting Carthaginians that they began to name their male child, Mago. From that time and centuries on the name Mago was from time to time quite popular on the Island. 

 

                The name Mago and Mago Bill have, from time to time, has influenced and inspired my research and writing of history.

 

                On this Mago Bill site you may expect essays dealing with Ireland, the Irish, Mago Bill and much more as you may have already discovered.

 

                Thanks for your visit and thank you for reading this essay which I have written for you.

 

                More to come,

     

 

                                                        bye for now

                                                        RCS

 

 

Responce to Comment to Post 2,660 BC to 2,400 BC

  History With RCS: Gerry Art's Commenet to post 2,660 BC to 2,400 BC in reference to metal work of the period.

Blog URL: https://historyrcs.blogspot.com

                For some reason the comment section of the post is not allowing me to resopond. So, I will tell I can about the metal work of that period. The post centers on 2,500 BC which marks the a high point of the the Bronze Age of most of Europe, much of North Africa, and nearly all of the Near East. That is much of Europe, the Mediterranean and beyond was enjoying the Bronze Age, which to some has seemed a golden age. 
    

                I am pleased to be able to say that during this period Ireland was one of the most productive miners of gold and the producer of of some of the finest gold work. Someof the gold work which marked Ireland of this period were the following: Lunulea, aform of collar; torcs, a kind of neck piece which bent firmly around the neck, they were strickingly handsome; gorgets, they were a sort of chest piece or breast piece and often the most beautiful and intricket of these items. It may have been used to hold articles of dress in place. Rings and a large number of other items were also produced in gold.

                I am speaking of Bronze Age Gold work. But much fine gold work in an early age when much copper was mined and worked well before the Bronze Age. 

                I seem to be forming my remarks here almost entirely around Ireland, but a Bronze Age was occuring around much of the world.

                It has been said that there was a Bronze age in Ireland from 2500 BC to 500 BC. I believe that there is now importnat evidence of important Bronze work being done in Ireland by 2,700 BC. I am also frairly sure that an Iron Age had already begun in Ireland 600 BC.

            Let me include that the Bronze Age in Ireland and Beyond was preceded by the neolithic period, which we might call the New Stone Age. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age. I traumatic change in much of the world.

                In the neolithic period gold and were both already mined and worked in Ireland. Fine work was produced in small quantities. Silver and lead were probably also mined and worked in small quantities.

                It seems that I had Ireland on the mind when I began this piece.

                Ireland entered the Bronze Age as a major miner and worker of Gold. In that Bronze Age a variety of bronzes were founded. Nearly all of them were an alloy mostly of copper but always with a portion of tin. I do not recall the usual proportions just now. How- ever there was bronze produced using arsnic in the place of tin. The tin was used to make the copper stronger, more resistant, and harder than copper. It also turned out to be a sort of stainless copper with the look of gold!

                Tin was both mined in Ireland and imported to Ireland. A sort of metal alchemy was begun which employed mercury, lead, arsnic, silver, gold and other elements. The mining, smelting and working of tin and copper to make bronze was a sopnisticated process. 

                The Iron age in Ireland as in Europe, North Africa, the Near East and beyond was begun by a new people who proved to be many. These people knew horses well. They knew the processes of mininng, smelting and workinging iron. They made iron swords which cut through bronze weapons. They dominated Bronze Age people nearly everywhere. They were able to dominate cultures which were in many ways superior to theirs. At times they recognized this. They brought a new language, they brought it to Ireland and it became the mother of all the laguage spoken there for over two thousand years. It is the Gaelic which is still spoken in parts of Ireland. English is the dominate language on the Island today. English too is born of that Iron Age language.

                So, what are the Bronze age metals: gold, silver, copper, lead, arsnic, mercury, tin, and certainly more known by some. Bronze, a metal alloy made by man, and still one of the most beautiful and useful metals made by man and one of the least toxic if not made with arsnic. The alloy named an Age. We have much more to learn of the Bronze Age.

            Thank you for your comment Gerry Art.

                                                                                            rcs.