Brigantia is the land inhabited by the Brigantes, a British Celtic tribe that occupied the largest territory in ancient Britain, which now forms Northern England and part of The Midlands covering the majority of the land between the River Tyne and the Humber estuary. It was recorded by Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD to extend sea to sea, from the Irish sea on the west coast to the North Sea in the east.

The name Brigantia is derived from the Goddess Brigantia, the tribal Goddess of the Brigantes. It wasn’t uncommon for Celtic Tribes to name themselves after their tribal deities. The name Bridget from Old Irish Brigit (Modern Irish Bríd) also comes from Brigantī, as does the river Brent.

The Pennines (a vast range of hilly land spanning East Lancashire to North Yorkshire) were the heart of Brigantia, with Isurium being the capital of the kingdom (later becoming a Roman fort and town) at the site of present-day Aldborough, North Yorkshire.

Brigantia was further formed by a number of sub-tribes, known as septs of Brigantia, and which may have been independent. These include the Setantii who occupied western and southern Lancashire, Textoverdi in the upper valley of the South Tyne river, and the Carvetii who occupied what is now Cumbria.

Roman forts (and baths) at Bremetennacum Veteranorum (Ribchester), Mamucium  (Manchester) and Coccium (Wigan) were all stationed in Brigantia.

In the first century CE, when the earliest records of Brigantia were recorded it’s vast territory consisted of mossland, marshes, and forests, which they inhabited. This included the Forest of Lyme and the Forest of Bowland. At the time, they would have been wild with fauna that were hunted, including bears, wild boar, wolves, deer and eagles.

See our article on Cartimandua to read how the kingdom later became divided and a revolution took place under her rule.