Philological Proofs of the Original Unity and Recent Origin of the Human RaceJohnes, Arthur James
History
Philological Proofs of the Original Unity and Recent Origin of the Human Race
Johnes, Arthur James
Ethnology; Human beings -- Origin; Language and languages; Monogenism and polygenism
Now according to the Roman mode, such a term as Trev-alyn would have been
changed into Trev-iri, the designation actually given to the Celts of
“Treves,” &c.
The following are analogous examples:
There is a tribe of Brig-antes in Yorkshire, another in Ireland, and a
third in the North-east of Spain. Many unsuccessful attempts have been
made to show that these distant Celtic tribes must have been scions of the
same tribe. A much simpler explanation may be given.
By referring to the Roman maps the reader will find a word, “Briga,” in
such general use as part of the names of towns as to leave no reasonable
doubt that it must have been, like Tre, a Celtic name for a town—now
obsolete. Thus in Spain we have, Laco-briga, Meido-briga, Ara-briga,
Tala-brica, Augusto-briga, &c. Now the analogous instances already noticed
suffice to point out that the occurrence of Brig-antes as a Roman name of
Tribes in three Celtic countries, is a natural result of the frequent
occurrence of Briga as the first part of the names of Celtic places.
The “Allo-bryg-es.” The name of this warlike tribe, the Celtic inhabitants
of Savoy, has also been the source of perplexity, which may be removed in
the same manner. This tribe had a town, called by the Romans “Brig-icum,”
which was said to be “the only one they had.”(55) Now Allo-Bryga may
reasonably be identified with Alpo-Briga, the Town of the Alps (Briga
being clearly the common base of “Allo-bryg-es,” and “Brig-icum.”)
The names of Celtic communities, as they appear on the Roman Maps, may, I
conceive, be proved to have been descriptive of the most prominent natural
features of the regions they inhabited, and not of their lineage or
descent, as seems to have been often supposed. Thus we have the Mor-ini in
Belgium, and the Ar-mor-ici in Gaul on the Sea; we have the Sen-ones on
the Seine, the Tamar-ici on the Tamar-is, in Hispania, &c. In the
Mountainous regions it will be observed that the names of tribes are
derived from the Mountains. In the flat countries they take their names
from Rivers or the confluence of Rivers. In the same manner it is highly
deserving of remark, that the names of the different French Departments
have been derived from precisely the same natural features. Thus in the
Hilly countries we have the Departments of the High Alps, “Hautes Alpes;”
of the Low Alps, “Basses Alpes;” in the Champaign countries the
Departments are named from the Rivers; such as the Seine, the Marne, and
the Somme, &c. Many of these French names are literally equivalent to
translations of the ancient Gaulish names, as interpreted by means of the
Welsh and Irish languages. It is impossible to conceive a more perfect
verification of the accuracy of these interpretations!
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