CORTO MALTESE: FROM VENICE TO THE CELTIC LANDS

Corto Maltese is waiting for The Bond's arrival

The Bonds are still in Dublin visiting the most important and beautiful places of the Irish capital. They've received the visit of an old Grandma's friend, Corto Maltese, who has travelled from Venice to Dublin to stay with the family.

Corto has been explaing lots of things about Ireland and one of the most interesting stories has been its Roman name: Hibernia.

Hibernia is the Classical Latin name for the island of Ireland. The name Hibernia was taken from Greek geographical accounts. During his exploration of northwest Europe (c. 320 BC), Pytheas of Massilia called the island Iérnē, written Ἰέρνη. In his book Geographia (c. 150 AD), Claudius Ptolemaeus, Ptolemy, called the island Iouerníā, written Ἰουερνία, where "ου"-ou stands for w.

The Roman historian Tacitus, in his book Agricola (c. 98 AD), uses the name Hibernia. The Romans also sometimes used Scotia, land of the Scoti, as a geographical term for Ireland in general, as well as just the part inhabited by those people.

Map of Hibernia

Ιουέρνια Iouerníā was a Greek rendering of the Q-Celtic name Īweriū from which eventually arose the Irish names Ériu and Éire. The name was altered in Latin, influenced by the word hibernus, as though it meant land of winter.

The High King Brian Boru (c. 941–1014) based his title on being emperor of the Irish people, which was in Latin: Imperator Scottorum, as distinct from claiming to be Emperor of the island of Ireland. From 1172 the Lordship of Ireland gave the King of England the additional title Dominus Hibernie, sic, for Hiberniae; also Dominus Hybernie, Lord of Ireland. 

The Kingdom of Ireland created the title Rex Hiberniae, King of Ireland, for use in Latin texts. Gerard Mercator called Ireland Hybernia on his world map of 1541. In 1642 the motto of the Irish Confederates, a Catholic-landlord administration that ruled much of Ireland until 1650 was: Pro Deo, Rege et Patria, Hibernia Unanimis. In English: For God, King and Fatherland, Ireland is United.

However, unlike many Roman geographical names, the Latin Hibernia did not become the basis for the name for Ireland in any modern languages, with even Italian using Irlanda. Apart from the Celtic languages all modern languages use a local variant of the English Ireland. This is presumably because direct medieval contacts between Ireland and continental Europe were at too low a level to embed use of the Hibernian root, or the original Irish Éire, in local vernaculars. This contrasts with Wales, which is still Pays de Galles in French, with similar terms in other Romance languages.

Corto Maltese in the Celtic Lands

By the classicising 18th century the use of Hibernia had revived in some contexts, just as had the use of Caledonia, one of the Latin terms for Scotland, and Britannia for Britain. Hibernia was used on Irish coins and companies such as the Hibernian Insurance Company were established, later renamed the Hibernian Group. The name took on popularity with the success of the Irish Patriot Party. At a time when Palladian classical architecture and design were being adopted in northern Europe, Hibernia was a useful word to describe Ireland with overtones of classical style and civility, particularly by the prosperous Anglo-Irish Ascendancy who were taught Latin at school. Hibernian was used as a term for people, and a general adjective. The Royal Exchange in Dublin was built in 1769–79 with the carved inscription SPQH for Senatus PopulusQue Hibernicus – The senate and people of Ireland. The Royal Hibernian Academy dates from 1823.

Hibernia is a word that is rarely used today with regard to Ireland, except in long-established names. 

 

 Beauty is the only thing that time cannot harm. Philosophies fall away like sand, creeds follow one another, but what is beautiful is a joy for all seasons, a possession for all eternity.

  Oscar Wilde