The Fir Domnann were a people named in Irish legendary history.
39-572: The name Fir Domnann is based on the root dumno -, which means both 'deep' and 'the world'. The suffix - on - often occurs in Gaulish and British divine names. The tribal name Dumnonii , found in Britain, would therefore mean 'people of the god of the world'. Old Irish fir means 'men', and so Fir Domnann had the same meaning as the British tribal name, leading to conjecture that these tribes had
78-610: A British tribe who inhabited Dumnonia , the area now known as Cornwall and Devon (and some areas of present-day Dorset and Somerset ) in the further parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Iron Age up to the early Saxon period. They were bordered to the east by the Durotriges tribe. William Camden , in his 1607 edition of Britannia , describes Cornwall and Devon as being two parts of
117-600: A common origin. For example, O'Rahilly's historical model proposed that the Domnann were a P-Celtic , pre-Goidelic people who, along with the Galeóin , invaded the south-east coast of Ireland from Britain. O'Rahilly's theory of P-Celtic preceding Goidelic in Ireland is not widely accepted by experts today, but the idea of some connection between the British and Irish tribes of similar names remains. In early Irish literature,
156-507: A peak during the 3rd century AD. The Sub-Roman or Post-Roman history of Dumnonia comes from a variety of sources and is considered exceedingly difficult to interpret given that historical fact, legend and confused pseudo-history are compounded by a variety of sources in Middle Welsh and Latin . The main sources available for discussion of this period include Gildas 's De Excidio Britanniae and Nennius 's Historia Brittonum ,
195-617: A short time after amid rumours of suicide. Dumnorix used his influence to persuade the Sequani to allow the Helvetii to migrate through their territory. Upon arriving in Gaul in 58 BC Caesar opposed the migration militarily. He built fortifications at Lake Geneva and either requested or demanded that the Aedui, who had been named friend and ally of Rome, supply his soldiers with grain. Dumnorix
234-655: A similar name but with no known links were the Fir Domnann of Connacht . The Roman name of the town of Exeter , Isca Dumnoniorum ("Isca of the Dumnonii"), contains the root *iska- "water" for "Water of the Dumnonii". The Latin name suggests that the city was already an oppidum , or walled town, on the banks on the River Exe before the foundation of the Roman city, in about AD 50. The Dumnonii gave their name to
273-674: Is also the name of another people from lowland Scotland, although there are no known links between the two populations. The people of Dumnonia spoke a Southwestern Brythonic dialect of Celtic similar to the forerunner of more recent Cornish and Breton . Irish immigrants, the Déisi , are evidenced by the Ogham -inscribed stones they have left behind, confirmed and supplemented by toponymical studies. The stones are sometimes inscribed in Latin , sometimes in both scripts. Tristram Risdon suggested
312-816: Is likely that tin trade with the Mediterranean was later on under the control of the Veneti . Britain was one of the places proposed for the Cassiterides , that is Tin Islands. Tin working continued throughout Roman occupation although it appears that output declined because of new supplies brought in from the deposits discovered in Iberia (Spain and Portugal). However, when these supplies diminished, production in Dumnonia increased and appears to have reached
351-533: Is located Legio II Augusta 17°30 52°45. —Ptolemy, Geography II.ii. As well as Isca Dumnoniorum, Ptolemy 's 2nd century Geography names three other towns: The Ravenna Cosmography includes the last two names (in slightly different forms, as "Tamaris" and "Uxelis"), and adds several more names which may be settlements in the territory. These include: Other Romano-British sites in Dumnonia include: New settlements continued to be built throughout
390-564: Is the origin of the interpretation of Dumnonii as "deep valley dwellers" from his understanding of the Welsh of his time. The modern Welsh term is Dyfnaint . John Rhŷs later theorized that the tribal name was derived from the name of a goddess, Domnu , probably meaning "the goddess of the deep". The proto-Celtic root *dubno- or *dumno- meaning "the deep" or "the earth" (or alternatively meaning "dark" or "gloomy" ) appears in personal names such as Dumnorix and Dubnovellaunus . Another group with
429-747: The Annales Cambriae , Anglo-Saxon Chronicle , William of Malmesbury 's Gesta Regum Anglorum and De Antiquitate Glastoniensis Ecclesiae , along with texts from the Black Book of Carmarthen and the Red Book of Hergest , and Bede 's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum as well as "The Descent of the Men of the North" ( Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd , in Peniarth MS 45 and elsewhere) and
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#1732781045724468-568: The Book of Baglan . Dumnorix Dumnorix (spelled Dubnoreix on coins) was a chieftain of the Aedui , a Celtic tribe in Gaul in the 1st century B.C. He was the younger brother of Divitiacus , the Aedui druid and statesman. The Aedui were allies of Rome, but Dumnorix was a leader of the tribe’s anti-Roman faction, who “...thought it better to be dominated by their fellow Gauls... rather than
507-531: The Helvetii tribe planned an invasion of western Gaul. Orgetorix , a prominent Helvetii chieftain, conspired with Dumnorix, and Casticus of the Sequani to make themselves kings in their own tribes; then by their combined power rule all of Gaul in a Gallic version of the triumvirate . To strengthen the alliance Orgetorix married his daughter to Dumnorix. However, the conspiracy was discovered and Orgetorix died
546-497: The sub-Roman period a Brythonic kingdom called Dumnonia emerged, covering the entire peninsula, although it is believed by some to have effectively been a collection of sub-kingdoms. A kingdom of Domnonée (and of Cornouaille alongside) was established in the province of Armorica directly across the English Channel , and has apparent links with the British population, suggesting an ancient connection of peoples along
585-401: The 3rd century, remarks: "This turbid strait also divides the island Silura from the shore which is held by the Dumnonii, a British tribe. The men of this island even now preserve an old custom: they do not use coins. They give and accept, obtaining the necessities of life by exchange rather than by money. They reverence gods, and the men and women equally declare knowledge of the future." In
624-579: The Aeduan cavalry returned to Caesar's service. His name, like other Gaulish language names ( Ambiorix , Orgetorix , Vercingetorix ) contains a - rix suffix which is etymologically related to the Latin rex , Gaelic rí , Sanskrit rāja- and German Reich , indicating kingship or rule; it is probably an aristocratic suffix. Dumno- is etymologically related to the Gaelic domhan "world", indicating that
663-663: The Cornish-Britains 'Dewnan', and by the Welsh Britains 'Duffneint' [sic], that is, 'low valleys', for that the people dwell for the most part beneath in Vales; by the English Saxons [it is known as] 'Deven-schire', whereof grew the Latin name 'Devonia', and by that contraction which the vulgar people useth, 'Denshire'. Camden had learnt some Welsh during the course of his studies and it would appear that he
702-622: The English county of Devon , and their name is represented in Britain's two extant Brythonic languages as Dewnans in Cornish and Dyfnaint in Welsh . Amédée Thierry ( Histoire des Gaulois , 1828), one of the inventors of the historic race of Gauls, could confidently equate them with the Cornish ("les Cornouailles"). Victorian historians often referred to the tribe as the Damnonii , which
741-521: The Fir Domnann were located in Cóice Laigean ( Leinster ). A probably 7th-century Irish poem credits their ruler, Mess-Telmann, with the over-kingship of the province and with wielding power from the royal site of Leinster at Dún Áilinne . The place-name Inber Domnann, now Malahide Bay inlet in north County Dublin on the east coast of Ireland, preserves the tribal name. Yet the area with
780-427: The Helvetii and at a key moment in an engagement withdrew his unit, giving the Helvetii the victory. With his grain supply desperate, Caesar summoned the leaders of his Gallic allies. Liscus , the chief magistrate or Vergobretus of the Aedui, revealed to Caesar that Dumnorix was responsible for withholding the supplies and had also been in command of the unit whose flight had cost him the cavalry engagement. Dumnorix
819-524: The Roman period, including sites at Chysauster and Trevelgue Head . The style is native in form with no Romanised features. Near Padstow , a site of some importance that was inhabited from the late Bronze/early Iron Age to the mid 6th century now lies buried under the sands on the opposite side of the Camel estuary near St. Enodoc's Church, and may have been a western coastal equivalent of a Saxon Shore Fort . Byzantine and African pottery has been discovered at
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#1732781045724858-596: The Romans.” His brother Diviciacus supported the Aedui's pre-existing alliance with Rome, was a leader of the pro-Roman faction, and would ultimately aid Julius Caesar in his conquest of Gaul . Dumnorix secretly worked to undermine Caesar’s and Diviciacus’ efforts in Gaul. Both brothers appear in Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War . In the years preceding Julius Caesar’s governorship of Transalpine Gaul
897-685: The continuance of a Brythonic dialect in the South Hams , Devon, as late as the 14th century, in addition to its use in Cornwall. Ptolemy 's 2nd century Geography places the Dumnonii to the west of the Durotriges . The name purocoronavium that appears in the Ravenna Cosmography implies the existence of a sub-tribe called the Cornavii or Cornovii, perhaps the ancestors of the Cornish people . Gaius Iulius Solinus , probably in
936-559: The early Bronze Age around the 22nd century BC. West Cornwall, around Mount's Bay , was traditionally thought to have been visited by metal traders from the eastern Mediterranean During the first millennium BC trade became more organised, first with the Phoenicians , who settled Gades ( Cadiz ) around 1100 BC, and later with the Greeks , who had settled Massilia ( Marseilles ) and Narbo ( Narbonne ) around 600 BC. Smelted Cornish tin
975-672: The isolated enclosed farmsteads known locally as rounds . These seem to have survived the Roman abandonment of Britain, but were subsequently replaced, in the 6th and 7th centuries, by the unenclosed farms taking the Brythonic toponymic tre- . As in most other Brythonic areas, Iron Age hill forts , such as Hembury Castle , were refortified for the use of chieftains or kings. Other high-status settlements such as Tintagel seem to have been reconstructed during this period. Post-Roman imported pottery has been excavated from many sites across
1014-479: The late 2nd century Antonine Itinerary . A legionary bath-house was built inside the fortress sometime between 55 and 60 and underwent renovation shortly afterwards (c. 60-65) but by c. 68 (perhaps even 66) the legion had transferred to a newer fortress at Gloucester . This saw the dismantling of the Isca fortress, and the site was then abandoned. Around AD 75, work on the civitas forum and basilica had commenced on
1053-443: The region, and the apparent surge in late 5th century Mediterranean and/or Byzantine imports is yet to be explained satisfactorily. Apart from fishing and agriculture, the main economic resource of the Dumnonii was tin mining . The area of Dumnonia had been mined since ancient times, and the tin was exported from the ancient trading port of Ictis ( St Michael's Mount ). Tin extraction (mainly by streaming) had existed here from
1092-547: The same 'country' which: was in ancient time inhabited by those Britains whom Solinus called Dunmonii, Ptolomee Damnonii, or (as we find in some other copies) more truly Danmonii. ... . But... the Country of this nation is at this day divided into two parts, known by later names of Cornwall and Denshire [Devonshire] ... The near or hithermore region of the Danmonians that I spake of is now commonly called Denshire, [or] by
1131-417: The sea and religious obligations in an attempt to get Caesar to leave him behind. When this failed, he claimed that Caesar intended to have them all killed out of sight of their people. Finally, he attempted to escape from Caesar's camp along with the Aeduan cavalry. Caesar sent the rest of the cavalry after him, and Dumnorix was killed, shouting that he was "a free man and a citizen of a free state". The rest of
1170-508: The site of the former principia and by the late 2nd century the civitas walls had been completed. They were 3 metres thick and 6 metres high and enclosed exactly the same area as the earlier fortress. However, by the late 4th century the civitas was in decline. Next to these [the Durotriges ], but more to the west, are the Dumnoni, whose towns are: Voliba 14°45 52°00 Uxella 15°00 52°45 Tamara 15°00 52°15 Isca, where
1209-639: The site. At Magor Farm in Illogan , near Camborne , an archaeological site has been identified as being a villa . The Dumnonii are thought to have occupied relatively isolated territory in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and possibly part of Dorset . Their cultural connections, as expressed in their ceramics, were with the peninsula of Armorica across the Channel, rather than with the southeast of Britain. They do not seem to have been politically centralised: coins are relatively rare, none of them locally minted, and
Fir Domnann - Misplaced Pages Continue
1248-511: The strongest placename associations with the Fir Domnann is in north-west Mayo: the Iorrais Domnann, from which the historical barony of Erris takes its name, and the nearby Mag Domnann and Dún Domnann. This Irish history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about ethnicity is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Dumnonii The Dumnonii or Dumnones were
1287-468: The structure, distribution and construction of Bronze Age and Iron Age hill forts, Cornish rounds , and defensible farmsteads in the south west point to a number of smaller tribal groups living alongside each other. Dumnonia is noteworthy for its many settlements that have survived from the Romano-British period, but also for its lack of a villa system . Local archaeology has revealed instead
1326-518: The tin smelters and mines. The earliest account of Cornish tin mining was written by Pytheas of Massilia late in the 4th century BC after his circumnavigation of the British Isles. Underground mining was described in this account, although it cannot be determined when it had started. Pytheas 's account was noted later by other writers including Pliny the Elder and Diodorus Siculus . It
1365-424: The western Atlantic seaboard which is also borne out by the modern genetics of Devonian and Cornish populations. The Latin name for Exeter is Isca Dumnoniorum ("Water of the Dumnonii"). This oppidum (a Latin term meaning an important town) on the banks of River Exe certainly existed prior to the foundation of the Roman city in about AD 50. Isca is derived from the Brythonic word for flowing water, which
1404-571: Was collected at Ictis whence it was conveyed across the Bay of Biscay to the mouth of the Loire and then to Gades via the Loire and Rhone valleys. It went then through the Mediterranean Sea in ships to Gades. During the period c. 500-450 BC, the tin deposits seem to have become more important, and fortified settlements appear such as at Chun Castle and Kenidjack Castle , to protect both
1443-537: Was given to the River Exe. The Gaelic term for water is uisce/uisge . This is reflected in the Welsh name for Exeter: Caerwysg meaning "fortified settlement on the river Uisc". Isca Dumnoniorum originated with a settlement that developed around the Roman fortress of the Legio II Augusta and is one of the four poleis (cities) attributed to the tribe by Ptolemy . It is also listed in two routes of
1482-445: Was spared any serious retribution at the intervention of his brother Diviciacus , who had good relations with Caesar and the Romans. Caesar agreed instead to place Dumnorix under surveillance. Dumnorix continued to be troublesome, and in 54 BC was one of the Gaulish leaders Caesar proposed to take with him as hostages on his second expedition to Britain , fearing that they might cause trouble in his absence. Dumnorix pleaded his fear of
1521-589: Was very popular and had a large contingent of personal retainers. He used his influence to delay the grain supply. Caesar forced the Helvetii to take an alternate path, then inflicted a devastating defeat on the tribe at the Battle of the Arar . Caesar pursued the Helvetii, using the Gallic cavalry to screen his advance. Dumnorix’ personal retainers made up a sizeable contingent of the Gallic auxiliary. Dumnorix colluded with
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