Ireland (countryside)
Author: Bayawe. Source: Pixabay
We end up with the Gaedil, better known as Gaels. This was also a Scythian population, but unlike the others, they were not descended from the ancestor Aitech but from his brother Baath. We are talking about the 25th generation from that of Baath. They are descendants of a long dynasty of Scythian rulers, going back to the ruler Nenual, brother of Nel, whose history we have already mentioned.
They are less gifted in ‘science’ than the Tuatha De but they are fearsome warriors. We begin with the 300 years before their arrival in the land of Ireland. The story starts with the 12Th generation and more specifically, with two sons of a Scythian ruler: Allot and Lamfhind. When the story begins, they are on the Caspian Sea, then sail to the Libyan Sea and land on a ‘pleasant’ island called Cercina (Kerkennah Islands, Tunisia). They stayed there for a little over a year.
When they were on the Caspian Sea, they were confronted with ‘mermaids’. The Book considers these creatures as ‘beasts’ but their description is worth a look:
(Ó Cléirigh only, free translation from Lizeray’s text) ‘They had above the navel a prodigiously beautiful woman’s body, a gorgeous woman’s face, and, on their heads, blond hair that fell lower than their shoulders …; fish they were from the navel to the tip.’
But there is a less attractive element: they were carnivores.
After this journey, their druid, Caicher, makes a prophecy: the Gaels will reach the island of Ireland in … 300 years. After their relatively short stay on the island of Cercina, they settled in the country of the Macotic Marshes (?), whose sovereignty they consolidated until the 21ST generation. Then the Gaels set sail again. Their leader at the time was called Brat. They settled in Spain and fought against the Toisions (Greeks?), the Bachra (?) and the Lombards. The presence of the Lombards, originally from Scandinavia, in Spain at this time is surprising. On the other hand, the presence of Greeks would be less surprising: they had supplanted the Phoenicians in Spain. Then the Book states that the next generation of Gaels subdued ‘all the clans of Spain’ (which is probably an exaggeration).
This generation (the 22ND), conquerors of Spain, with the ruler Bregon at its head, built their capital and named it Brigantia. It is easy to identify where this Brigantia is, because when the Romans invaded Spain, they renovated an old city and gave it the name of Brigantium (present-day A Coruña). The 23Rd and 24th generations were uninterested in Ireland (and even seemed to have forgotten its existence). One of the leaders of the 24th generation, Galam, decided to make a voyage to Scythia, the land of his ancestors, which he had never visited. His fleet consisted of forty ships (between two thousand four hundred and four thousand people). He sailed beyond the maritime limits of Galian (the name of the country of the Gaels in Spain?), via the columns of Hercules (Gibraltar) and Sicily.
In Scythia, Galam was so well received that he became the son-in-law of the Scythian ruler of the time, Refloir. But Galam became so popular that Refloir took offence and challenged him to a duel. A duel that proved fatal for the ruler. As a result, the Scythian dignitaries banished Galam. He had to abandon his wife but was allowed to take his two sons with him. And the Gaels set sail again with their ships.
Direction… Egypt. The pharaoh of the time, Nectanebo (Lizeray’s Nectonibus), received him warmly. It must be said that Galam was a descendant of the Scythian Nel who had married Scota, the daughter of an ancient pharaoh. Galam received land and even the hand of one of the daughters of Nectanebo. In memory of the ancient Scota, the Gaels gave Galam’s wife the same name: Scota. After a stay of unspecified length, Galam decided to return to Spain and took Scota with him.
Before reaching Spain, he stayed with the Macotic Marshes. It is known that the Gaels had secured sovereignty over these Marshes, but the Book does not give details of the native population.
Finally, having followed (or taken back up) the Rhine, followed Gaul (Gaul), etc. Galam is back in the Marshes and decides to go back to Spain. He discovers Brigantia, a city which is not any more at the hands of Gaels. He dispels the population of the city and takes back the control of the region. Of course, Bracas and Lombards try again. And they have new allies: Chartered them out (Friesians?) Galam wins all battles and restores the sovereignty of Gaels. And the population, as a sign of recognition, will call him Galam Miledh. According to Lizeray, Miledh would have a signification identical to Latin ‘militis’ (serviceman). Historians use the nickname Miledh (or derivatives as Mil or Milesius) for the name Galam.
Finally, after having travelled along (or up) the Rhine, along Gaul, etc., Galam returns to the Marshes and decides to return to Spain. There he discovers a city of Brigantia which is no longer in the Gaels hands. He drives the population out of the city and regains control of the region. Of course, the Bracas and the Lombards come back. And they have new allies: the ‘Frétions’ (Friesians?). Galam wins all the battles and re-establishes the sovereignty of the Gaels. His people, as a sign of gratitude, will call him Galam Miledh. According to Lizeray, Miledh would have an identical meaning to the Latin ‘militis’ (military person). Historians use the nickname Miledh (or derivatives such as Mil or Milesius) for the name Galam.
The last two sons of Galam were born in Spain and were called Erimon (Ó Cléirigh’s Ereamon) and Erannan. Then Galam died of the ‘plague’ and so never set foot on Irish soil. The Book states that the Gaels had so lost sight of Ireland that it will take a sign of fate for the three-century-old prophecy of the druid Caicher to be fulfilled. During a ‘clear winter’, a great-uncle of Erimon, Brega, thought he saw ‘a country and a beautiful island’. It is certain that the site of La Coruña is at the same latitude as the island of Ireland, but it is still a little far. On the strength of this vision, Brega prepares a fleet, even if relatives try to dissuade him.
Finally, Brega will set foot on Irish soil but the Tuatha De chiefs will not spare him. And it is to avenge his great-uncle that Erimon/Ereamon will land in Ireland. He never set foot in Spain again and became King of Ireland. It is said that the name of present-day Ireland, Eire, derives from the prefix of his first name: ‘Ere’. But the suffix ‘amon’ also attracts attention. Amon was the god of the city of Thebes in Egypt and Erimon’s mother was called Scota, the Egyptian.
To conclude, given that the ancient language of the Irish and Scots is Gaelic, what would be the fundamental difference between the Irish and the Scots? There are several clues in the Book that suggest that some present-day Scottish clans originated from ancient Tuatha De clans.