Thetoponym "British Isles" refers to aEuropeanarchipelago comprisingGreat Britain,Ireland and the smaller, adjacent islands.^[1] The word "British" has also become an adjective anddemonym referring to theUnited Kingdom^[2] and more historically associated with theBritish Empire. For this reason, the name British Isles is avoided by some, as such usage could be interpreted to imply continuedterritorial claims or political overlordship of the Republic of Ireland by the United Kingdom.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Alternative names that have sometimes been coined for the British Isles include "Britain and Ireland",^[3][8][9] the "Atlantic Archipelago",^[10] the "Anglo-Celtic Isles",^[11][12] the "British-Irish Isles",^[13] and theIslands of the North Atlantic.^[14] In documents drawn up jointly between the British and Irish governments, the archipelago is referred to simply as "these islands".^[15]

To some, the reasons to use an alternate name is partlysemantic, while, to others, it is avalue-laden political one.^[16] TheChannel Islands are normally included in the British Isles by tradition, though they are physically a separate archipelago from the rest of the isles.^[17][18]United Kingdom law uses the termBritish Islands to refer to the UK, Channel Islands, andIsle of Man as a single collective entity.

An early variant of the term British Isles dates back toAncient Greek times, when they were known as the Pretanic or Britannic Islands. It was translated as the British Isles into English in the late 16th or early 17th centuries by English and Welsh writers. Whilst early works were straightforward translations of Classical geographies into English, later writings have been described as propaganda and politicised.^{[19][20][21][22]}

The term became controversial after the breakup of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1922. The names of the archipelago's two sovereign states were themselves the subject of a longdispute between the Irish and British governments.

The earliest known names for the islands come fromGreco-Roman writings. Sources included theMassaliote Periplus (a merchants' handbook from around 500 BC describing sea routes) and the travel writings of the Greek,Pytheas, from around 320 BC.^[23][24] Although the earliest texts have been lost, excerpts were quoted or paraphrased by later authors. The main islands were called "Ierne", equal to the termÉriu for Ireland,^[25] and "Albion" for present-day Great Britain. The island group had long been known collectively as the Pretanic or Britanic isles.

There is considerable confusion about early use of these terms and the extent to which similar terms were used as self-description by the inhabitants.^[26] Cognates of these terms are still in use.^[27]

According toT. F. O'Rahilly in 1946 "Early Greek geographers style Britain and Ireland 'the Pretanic (or Brettanic) islands', i.e. the islands of the Pritani or Priteni" and that "From this one may reasonably infer that the Priteni were the ruling population of Britain and Ireland at the time when these islands first became known to the Greeks".^[28] O'Rahilly identified the Preteni with theIrish:Cruthin and the Latin:Picti, whom he stated were the earliest of the "four groups of Celtic invaders of Ireland" and "after whom these islands were known to the Greeks as 'the Pretanic Islands'".^[29] Today O'Rahilly's historical views on the Preteni and the ethnic makeup of early Ireland are no longer accepted by academic archeologists and historians.^[30]

According toA. L. F. Rivet and Colin Smith in 1979 "the earliest instance of the name which is textually known to us" is inThe Histories ofPolybius, who referred to them as:τῶν αἱ Βρεταννικαί νήσοι,romanized: tōn hai Bretannikai nēsoi,lit. 'Brettanic Islands' or 'British Isles'.^[31] According to Rivet and Smith, this name encompassed "Britain with Ireland".^[31] Polybius wrote:

According toChristopher Snyder in 2003, the collective name "Brittanic Isles" (Greek:αἱ Βρεττανίαι,romanized: hai Brettaníai,lit. 'the Britains') was "a geographic rather than a cultural or political designation" including Ireland.[34] According to Snyder, "Preteni", a word related to the Latin:Britanni,lit. 'Britons' and to theWelsh:Prydein,lit. 'Britain', was used by southernBritons to refer to the people north of theAntonine Wall, also known as the Picts (Latin:Picti,lit. 'painted ones').[35] According to Snyder, "Preteni" was a probably from aCeltic term meaning "people of the forms", whereas the Latin namePicti was probably derived from the Celtic practice oftattooing or painting the body before battle.^[35] According toKenneth H. Jackson, thePictish language was aCeltic language related to modern Welsh and to ancientGaulish with influences from earliernon-Indo-European languages.^[35]

The fourth chapter of the first book of theBibliotheca historica ofDiodorus Siculus describes Julius Caesar as having "advanced the Roman Empire as far as the British Isles" (Greek:προεβίβασε δὲ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τῆς Ῥώμης μέχρι τῶν Βρεττανικῶν νήσων,romanized: proebíbase dè tḕn hēgemonían tês Rhṓmēs mékhri tôn Brettanikôn nḗsōn)^[36] and in the 38th chapter of the third book Diodorus remarks that the region "about the British Isles" (τὸ περὶ τὰς Βρεττανικὰς νήσους,tò perì tàs Brettanikàs nḗsous) and other distant lands of theoecumene "have by no means come to be included in the common knowledge of men".^[37] According to Philip Freeman in 2001, "it seems reasonable, especially at this early point in classical knowledge of the Irish, for Diodorus or his sources to think of all inhabitants of the Brettanic Isles asBrettanoi".^[38]

According toBarry Cunliffe in 2002, "The earliest reasonably comprehensive description of the British Isles to survive from the classical authors is the account given by the Greek writer Diodorus Siculus in the first century B.C. Diodorus uses the wordPretannia, which is probably the earliest Greek form of the name".^[26] Cunliffe argued that "the original inhabitants would probably have called themselvesPretani orPreteni", citing Jackson's argument that the formPretani was used in the south of Britain and the formPreteni was used in the north.^[39] This form then remained in use in the Roman period to describe the Picts beyond the Antonine Wall.^[39] In Ireland, whereQu took the place ofP, the formQuriteni was used.^[39] Cunliffe argued that "Since it is highly probable that Diodorus was basing his description on a text of Pytheas's (though he nowhere acknowledges the fact), it would most likely have been Pytheas who first transliterated the local word for the islands into the GreekPrettanikē.^[39] Pytheas may have taken his name for the inhabitants from the namePretani when he made landfall on the peninsula ofBelerion, though in Cunliffe's view, because it is unusual for a self-description (anendonym) to describe appearance, this name may have been used byArmoricans, from whom Pytheas would have learnt what the inhabitants of Albion were called.^[39] According to Snyder, the Greek:Πρεττανοί,romanized: Prettanoí derives from "a Gallo-Brittonic word which may have been introduced to Britain during the P-Celtic linguistic innovations of the sixth century BC".^[40]

According to Cunliffe, Diodorus Siculus used the spellingPrettanía, whileStrabo used bothBrettanía andPrettanía. Cunliffe argues theB spelling appears only in the first book of Strabo'sGeography, so theP spelling reflects Strabo's original spelling and the changes to Book I are the result of ascribal error.^[41] According toStefan Radt's 2006 commentary to hiscritical edition however, although the medieval manuscripts of Strabo'sGeography vary in the spelling, the olderepitome, which is often the only witness to preserve the correct reading, consistently uses theB spelling.^[42] According to Radt, "Where it is missing, one may confidently adopt theB found in secondary manuscripts, assuming it was also present in the Strabo text underlying the epitome" (German:wo sie fehlt kann man daher ohne Bedenken das B-sekundärer Handschriften aufnehmen, da man davon ausgehen darf dass es auch in dem der Epitome zugrundeliegenden Strabontext gestanden hat).^[42]

In classical texts, the word Britain (Greek:Pρεττανία,romanized: Prettanía orBρεττανία,Brettanía; Latin:Britannia) replaced the word Albion. An inhabitant was therefore called a "Briton" (Bρεττανός,Brettanós;Britannus), with the adjective becoming "British" (Bρεττανικός,Brettanikós;Britannicus).^[40]

ThePseudo-Aristotelian textOn the Universe (Ancient Greek:Περὶ Κόσμου,romanized: Perì Kósmou; Latin:De Mundo) mentions the British Isles, identifying the two largest islands, Albion (Ἀλβίων,Albíōn) and Ireland (Ἰέρνη,Iérnē), and stating that they are "called British" (Βρεττανικαὶ λεγόμεναι,Brettanikaì legómenai) when describing the ocean beyond theMediterranean Basin:

Apuleius's Latin adaptation of the AristotelianDe Mundo calls the British Isles "the two Britains" (Britanniae duae), naming Albion (Labeon) and Ireland (Hibernia):

According to Philip Freeman in 2001, "The Latin version is a close translation of the Greek and adds no new information".^[46]: 85Strabo, in hisGeographica, refers to the British Isles as "the Britains" (Βρεττανίδες,Brettanídes), citing Pytheas for his information on Britain (Βρεττανική,Brettanikḗ), Ireland (Ἰέρνη,Iérnē), andThule (Θούλη,Thoúlē). According to D. Graham J. Shipley, "Strabo probably consulted Pytheas' work only indirectly through other authors".^[47]: 232 Strabo was disapproving of Pytheas, whose work was used by Strabo's predecessorEratosthenes.^[48]: 291 Strabo wrote:

Around AD 70,Pliny the Elder, in Book 4 of hisNaturalis Historia, describes the islands he considers to be "Britanniae" as including Great Britain, Ireland, Orkney, smaller islands such as the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, Anglesey, possibly one of the Frisian Islands, and islands which have been identified asUshant and Sian^{[clarification needed]}. He refers to Great Britain as the island called "Britannia", noting that its former name was "Albion". The list also includes the island of Thule, most often identified as Iceland—although some express the view that it may have been theFaroe Islands—the coast ofNorway orDenmark, or possiblyShetland.^[50] After describing theRhine delta, Pliny begins his chapter on the British Isles, which he calls "the Britains" (Britanniae):

According toThomas O'Loughlin in 2018, the British Isles was "a concept already present in the minds of those living in continental Europe since at least the 2nd–cent. CE".^[52]

In hisOrbis descriptio,Dionysius Periegetes mentions the British Isles and describes their position opposite the Rhine delta, specifying that there are two islands and calling them the "Bretanides" (Βρετανίδες,Bretanídes orΒρεταννίδες,Bretannídes).^[31][53]

InPriscian's Latin adaptation of Dionysius's GreekOrbis descriptio, the British Isles are mentioned as "the twinBritannides" (… geminae … Britannides).^[54]

In hisArs tactica,Arrian referred to "people living in the islands called "Britannic" which belong to the Great Exterior sea" (οἱ ἐν ταῖς νήσοις ταῖς Βρεττανικαῖς καλουμέναις τῆς ἔξω τῆς μεγάλης θαλάσσης,hoi en taîs nḗsois taîs Brettanikaîs kalouménais tês éxō tês megálēs thalássēs) as being the only people in the world still to usewar chariots.^[55]

In hisAlmagest (147–148 AD),Claudius Ptolemy referred to the larger island as Great Britain (Greek:Μεγάλη Βρεττανία,romanized: Megálē Brettanía) and to Ireland as Little Britain (Greek:Μικρά Βρεττανία,romanized: Mikrá Brettanía).^[56] According to Philip Freeman in 2001, Ptolemy "is the only ancient writer to use the name "Little Britain" for Ireland, though in doing so he is well within the tradition of earlier authors who pair a smaller Ireland with a larger Britain as the two Brettanic Isles".^[46]: 65 In the second book of Ptolemy'sGeography (c. 150 AD), the second and third chapters are respectively titled in Greek:Κεφ. βʹ Ἰουερνίας νήσου Βρεττανικῆς θέσις,romanized: Iouernías nḗsou Brettanikê̄s thésis,lit. 'Ch. 2, position of Hibernia, a British island' andΚεφ. γʹ Ἀλβουίωνος νήσου Βρεττανικῆς θέσις,Albouíōnos nḗsou Brettanikê̄s thésis,'Ch. 3, position of Albion, a British island'.[57]^{: 143, 146}

In the fifth chapter of the seventh book ofGeography, Ptolemy describes the British Isles as being at the northern limits of theoecumene: "in the north, theoecumene is limited by the continuation of the ocean which surrounds the British Isles and the northernmost parts of Europe" (ἀπ’ ἄρκτων δὲ τῷ συνημμένῳ Ὠκεανῷ, τῷ περιέχοντι τὰς Βρεττανικὰς νήσους καὶ τὰ βορειότατα τῆς Εὐρώπης,ap’ árktōn dè tôi sunēmménōi Ōkeanôi, tôi periékhonti tàs Brettanikàs nḗsous kaì tà boreiótata tês Eurṓpēs).^[58]: 742 In the same chapter, he enumerates in order of size the ten largest islands or peninsulas known to him, listing both Great Britain and Ireland:

In the third chapter of the eighth book ofGeography, Ptolemy summarizes the content of his maps, stating that "The first map of Europe includes the British Isles and the surrounding islands" (Ὁ πρῶτος πίναξ τῆς Εὐρώπης περιέχει τὰς Βρεττανικὰς νήσους σὺν ταῖς περὶ αὐτὰς νήσοις,Ho prôtos pínax tês Eurṓpēs periékhei tàs Brettanikàs nḗsous sùn taîs perì autàs nḗsois).^[58]: 775

Ptolemy wrote around AD 150, although he used the now-lost work ofMarinus of Tyre from about fifty years earlier.^[59] Ptolemy included Thule in the chapter on Albion; the coordinates he gives correlate with the location of Shetland, though the location given for Thule by Pytheas may have been further north, in Iceland or Norway.^[60]Geography generally reflects the situation c. 100 AD.

Following theconquest of AD 43 theRoman province of Britannia was established,^[61] andRoman Britain expanded to cover much of the island of Great Britain. An invasion of Ireland was considered but never undertaken, and Ireland remained outside the Roman Empire.^[62] The Romans failed to consolidate their hold on theScottish Highlands; the northern extent of the area under their control (defined by theAntonine Wall acrosscentral Scotland) stabilised atHadrian's Wall across thenorth of England by about AD 210.^[63] Inhabitants of the province continued to refer to themselves as "Brittannus" or "Britto", and gave theirpatria (homeland) as "Britannia" or as their tribe.^[64] The vernacular term "Priteni" came to be used for the barbarians north of the Antonine Wall, with the Romans using the tribal name "Caledonii" more generally for these peoples who (after AD 300) they calledPicts.^[65]

The post-conquest Romans usedBritannia orBritannia Magna (Large Britain) for Britain, andHibernia orBritannia Parva (Small Britain) for Ireland.^{[citation needed]} The post-Roman era sawBrythonic kingdoms established in all areas of Great Britain except theScottish Highlands, but coming under increasing attacks fromPicts,Scotti andAnglo-Saxons. At this time Ireland was dominated by the Gaels or Scotti, who subsequently gave their names to Ireland and Scotland.

In the grammatical treatise he dedicated to the emperorMarcus Aurelius (r. 161–180),De prosodia catholica,Aelius Herodianus notes the differences in spelling of the name of the British Isles, citing Ptolemy as one of the authorities who spelt the name with api (Ancient Greek:π,romanized: p): "Brettanídes islands in the Ocean; and some [spell] like this withpi,Pretanídes, such as Ptolemy" (Βρεττανίδες νῆσοι ἐν τῷ Ὠκεανῷ· καὶ ἄλλοι οὕτως διὰ τοῦ π Πρετανίδες νῆσοι, ὡς Πτολεμαῖος,Brettanídes nêsoi en tôi Ōkeanôi; kaì álloi hoútōs dià toû p Pretanídes nêsoi, hōs Ptolemaîos).^[66] Herodianus repeated this information inDe orthographia: "Brettanídes islands in the ocean. They are called withpi,Pretanídes, such as by Ptolemy" (Βρεττανίδες νῆσοι ἐν τῷ ὠκεανῷ. λέγονται καὶ διὰ τοῦ π Πρετανίδες ὡς Πτολεμαῖος,Brettanides nēsoi en tō ōkeanōi. legontai kai dia tou p Pretanides hōs Ptolemaios).^[67]

The chronicle attributed toPopeHippolytus of Rome mentions the British Isles as part of the lands allotted toJapheth in thetable of nations:^{[68][69][70]: 143–144, 245, note 65}

In the manuscript tradition of theSibylline Oracles, two lines from the fifth book may refer to the British Isles:^{[71][72][73][74][75][76]}

ἔσσεται ἐν Βρύτεσσι καὶ ἐν Γάλλοις πολυχρύσοις
ὠκεανὸς κελαδῶν πληρούμενος αἵματι πολλῷ·

In theeditio princeps of this part of theSibylline Oracles, published bySixt Birck in 1545, the Ancient Greek:Βρύτεσσι,romanized: Brýtessi orBrútessi is printed as in the manuscripts.^[71] In the Latin translation bySebastian Castellio published alongside Birck's Greek text in 1555, these lines are translated as:^[71]

In Gallis auro locupletibus, atque Britannis,
Oceanus multo resonabit sanguine plenus:

Castellio translatedΒρύτεσσι as Latin:Britannis,lit. 'the Britains' or 'the British Isles'. The chroniclerJohn Stow in 1580 cited the spelling ofΒρύτεσσι in theSibylline Oracles as evidence that the British Isles had been named afterBrutus of Troy.^[77] William Camden quoted these Greek and Latin texts in hisBritannia, published in Latin in 1586 and in English in 1610, following Castelio's translation identifyingΒρύτεσσι with the Britains or Britons:^[78][79]

Twixt Brits and Gaules their neighbours rich, in gold that much abound,
The roaring Ocean Sea with bloud full filled shall resound.

In Aloisius Rzach's 1891critical edition, the manuscript reading ofΒρύτεσσι is retained.^[72] Rzach suggested thatProcopius of Caesarea referred to these lines when mentioning in hisDe Bello Gothico that theSibylline Oracles "foretells the misfortunes of the Britons" (Ancient Greek:προλέγει τὰ Βρεττανῶν πάθη,romanized: prolégei tà Brettanôn páthē).^[72]Milton Terry's 1899 English translation followed Rzach's edition, translatingΒρύτεσσι as "the Britons":^[73]

Among the Britons and among the Gauls
Rich in gold, Ocean shall be roaring loud
Filled with much blood; …

Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, however, suggested that the manuscript readingΒρύτεσσι should beemended toΒρύγεσσι,Brúgessi, in reference to the ancientBryges.^[74][76]Johannes Geffcken's [de] 1902 critical edition accepted Wilamowitz's emendation, printingΒρύγεσσι.^[74][76]John J. Collins's English text of theSibylline Oracles inJames H. Charlesworth's 1983 edition of translatedOld Testament pseudepigrapha follows the manuscript tradition, translatingΒρύτεσσι as "the Britains":^[75][76]

Among the Britains and wealthy Gauls
the ocean will be resounding, filled with much blood, …

Ken Jones, preferring Wilamowitz's emendation, wrote in 2011: "This is not, so far as I can see, a usual translation, nor is this even a Greek word. The Brygi (Βρύγοι) or Briges (Βρίγες), on the other hand, are a known people."^[76]

TheDivisio orbis terrarum mentioned the British Isles as theInsulae Britannicae orInsulae Britanicae.^[31] The text refers to the archipelago together withGallia Comata: "Gallia Comata, together with the Brittanic islands, is bounded on the east by theRhine, …" (Latin:Gallia Comata cum insulis Brittanicis finitur ab oriente flumine Rheno, …).^[80] According to the editor Paul Schnabel in 1935, the manuscript traditions spelt the name variously as:brittannicis,britannicis, orbritanicis.^[80]

John Chrysostom'sBiblical commentary on theBook of Isaiah, mentions the British Isles in a comment onIsaiah 2:4:^[81][82][83]

In the manuscript copy of theclassical Armenian adaptation published in 1880 by theMekhitarists ofSan Lazzaro degli Armeni, the British Isles areԲրետանացւոց կղզիք,Bretanacʿwocʿ kłzikʻ,^[84] which in the Latin translation of 1887 isBritannicae insulae.^[85]

In hisContra Collatorem,Prosper of Aquitaine mentioned the British Isles to whichPope Celestine I (r. 422–432) sentPalladius as "the Britains" (Britanniae) including both Great Britain and Ireland– the "Roman island" and the "barbarian island". Prosper praised Celestine as thereby having dealt withPelagianism in Great Britain and having establishedChristianity in Ireland:^[86]

TheEthnica ofStephen of Byzantium mentions the British Isles and lists the Britons as their inhabitants'ethnonym. He comments on the name's variable spelling, noting thatDionysius Periegetes spelt the name with a singletau and that Ptolemy andMarcian of Heraclea had spelt it with api:^[87]

TheChronographia ofJohn Malalas mentions the British Isles as part of the lands allotted to Japheth in the table of nations.^{[88][89][70]: 246–247, note 81}

The anonymousOutline of Geography in Summary (Ὑποτύπωσις τῆς γεογραφίας ἐν ἐπιτομῇ,Hypotýpōsis tễs geographías en epitomễi orGeographiae expositio compendiaria) wrongly attributed toAgathemerus until the mid-19th century mentions "the two Britains" (αἱ Βρεττανικαὶ δύο,hai Brettanikaì dúo), identifies both Ireland and Great Britain, and describes each:^[90][91]

TheHexaemeron ofJacob of Edessa twice mentions the British Isles (Classical Syriac:ܓܙܪ̈ܬܐ ܒܪܐܛܐܢܝܩܐܣ,romanized: gāzartāʾ Baraṭāniqās), and in both cases identifies Ireland and Great Britain by name:^{[92][93][94][95]}

At theSynod of Birr, theCáin Adomnáin signed by clergymen and rulers from Ireland, Gaelic Scotland, and Pictland was bindingfor feraib Hérenn ocus Alban,'on the men of Ireland and Britain'.^[96] According toKuno Meyer's 1905 edition, "ThatAlba here means Britain, not Scotland, is shown by the corresponding passage in the Latin text of § 33: 'te oportet legem in Hibernia Britaniaque perficere'".^[96][97] The text of theCáin Adomnáin describes itself:Iss ead in so forus cāna Adomnān for Hērinn ⁊ Albain,'This is the enactment ofAdamnan's Law in Ireland and Britain'.^[96] The extent of theCáin Adomnáin's jurisdiction in Britain is unclear; some scholars argue that its British domain was restricted toDál Riata andPictland,^[98] while others write that it is simply unknown whether it was meant to apply to areas of Britain not under such strong Irish influence.^[99]

Adomnán similarly refers to "Ireland and Britain" when commenting on thePlague of 664 in hisLife of Columba, writing "oceani insulae per totum, videlicet Scotia et Britannia."^[100][101] He notes that only the people of Pictland and the Irish of Britain ("Pictorum plebe et Scotorum Britanniae") were spared the pestilence.^[102][101]

In theCosmography ofAethicus Ister, the British Isles are mentioned as having been visited by the protagonist (Dein insolas Brittanicas et Tylen navigavit, quas ille Brutanicas appellavit, ...,'Then to the British islands and Thule he sailed, which are called the Brutanics').^[103] In 1993, the editor Otto Prinz connected this name with theEtymologiae ofIsidore of Seville,^[103] in which it is stated: "Some suspect that the Britons were so named in Latin because they are brutes"^[104] (Brittones quidam Latine nominatos suspicantur eo, quod bruti sint).^[103]

In theExcerpta Latina Barbari, the British Isles (Brittaniacae insulae) are the last of the lands allotted toJapheth in thetable of nations:^[105]

InArabicgeography and cartography in the medieval Islamic world, the British Isles are known asJazāʾir Barṭāniya orJazāʾir Barṭīniya. England was known asAnkarṭara,Inkiltara, orLanqalṭara (French:l'Angleterre), Scotland asSqūsiya (Latin:Scotia), and Ireland asĪrlanda orBirlanda.^[106] According toDouglas Morton Dunlop, "Whether there was any Arab contact, except perhaps with Ireland, is, however, more than doubtful".^[106] Arabic geographies mention the British Isles as twelve islands.^[106] TheKitāb az-Zīj ofal-Battānī describes the British Isles as the "islands of Britain" (Arabic:جزائر برطانية,romanized: Jazāʾir Barṭāniyah):^[107][108]

TheKitāb al-Aʿlāq an-Nafīsa ofAhmad ibn Rustah describes the British Isles as the "twelve islands calledJazāʾir Barṭīnīyah" (Arabic:عشرة جزيرة تسمَّى جزائر برطينية,romanized: ʿashrah jazīrat tusammā Jazāʾir Barṭāniyah).^[109][108] According to Dunlop, this "account of the British Isles follows al-Battāni's almost verbatim and is doubtless derived from it".^[108]

In the 9th century, the Irish monkDicuil mentioned the British Isles together withGallia Comata: "Gallia Comata, together with the Brittanic islands, is bounded on the east by the Rhine, …" (Latin:Gallia Comata cum insulis Brittanicis finitur ab oriente flumine Rheno, ...).^[110][111] He also describes theFaroe Islands as being two days' sailing from "the northernmost British Isles"^[112] (a septentrionalibus Brittaniae insulis duorum dierum ac noctium recta navigatione,'from the northern islands of Britain in a direct voyage of two days and nights').^{[110][111][113]}

According to Irmeli Valtonen in 2008, on the so-calledCotton mappa mundi, anAnglo-Saxonmappa mundi based on theOld English Orosius, "The largest feature is the British Isles, which is indicated by the inscriptionBrittannia".^[114] The same codex, Codex Tiberius B.V.1, also contains a copy ofPriscian's translation ofDionysius Periegetes'sOrbis descriptio, and according to Sean Michael Ryan, "Britain is described, strikingly, as a pair of islands (geminae […] Britannides), comparatively vast in scale (among the islands of the Ocean). For a monastic viewer of ourmappa mundi these twin islands are identifiable as Britannia and Hibernia ... although on the drawn map the former dwarfs the latter."^[115]: 53 Furthermore, according to Ryan, "The verse description of thePeriēgēsis encourages the monastic reader to simultaneously locate the British isles (plural) with reference both to the continent of Europe – the mouth of the Rhine – and to the northern periphery of the encircling Ocean. The British isles are related to, yet distinct from, the continent of Europe as islands of the encircling Ocean."^[115]: 53 The codex therefore distinguishes Great Britain and Ireland from Thule: "The twin isles of the Britannides are distinguished from the ultimate peripheral territory of Thule, however, unlike in some of thePeriēgēsis's own sources, notably Pytheas, which treat the British isles as a plurality of islands more closely associated with and perhaps even including Thule. Instead, Dionysius separates the isles of the Britains (565–569) from Thule (580–586)".^{[115]: 53–54} Ryan adds that through remarks on an island off theLoire estuary, "Dionysius's account, like themappa mundi itself, connects the island(s) of the Britains with Brittany (a location that themappa mundi describes assudbryttas)".^[115]: 54 According to Ryan therefore, the Anglo-Saxon reader of the Cotton Tiberius B.V.1 codex is given an impression that:

The isles of the Britains (notably effacing Hibernia's name and identity) are both a peripheral northern landmass of the encircling chaos waters of the Ocean, yet also pinpointed geographically with reference to Germania (the mouth of the Rhine) and Gaul (islands in Brittany). The British isles are located in the poet's verse description of Europe (and not Asia or Africa) but grouped more closely with the islands of the Ocean than the continent. In sum, Britannia is both related to continental Europe, yet distinct from it, as a twin-island of the Ocean.^[115]: 54

The anonymousḤudūd al-ʿĀlam describes the British Isles as the "twelve islands" (Persian:دوازده جزیره) which are "calledBriṭāniya" (Persian:جزیرها برطانیه خوانند).^{[108][116][117]}

TheKitāb at-Tanbīh wa'l-Ishrāf ofal-Masʿūdī describes the British Isles as "the so-called Isles of Britain, twelve in number" (Arabic:الجزائر المسماة برطانية وفى اثنتا عشرة جزيرة,romanized: al-jazāʾir al-musammāh Barṭāniyah wa-fī ithnatā ʿashrah jazīrat).^[118][108]

In theImago Mundi ofHonorius Augustodunensis, the British Isles are all treated under the headingBritannia, the title of the twenty-ninth chapter:^{[119]: 62–63}

Contra Hispaniam versus occasum sunt in oceano heę insulę, Britannia Anglia, Hibernia, Tanatos cuius terra quovis gentium portata serpentes perimit, Insole in qua fit solstitium, Orcades .xxxiii., Scotia, Thile cuius arbores numquam folia deponunt, et in qua vi. mensibus videlicet estivis est continuus dies, .vi. hibernis continua nox. Ultra hanc versus aquilonem est mare congelatum et frigus perpetuum.

John Tzetzes mentioned the British Isles in the eighth book of hisChiliades asΑἱ Βρεττανίδες νῆσοι,hai Brettanídes nē̂soi,'the Brettanides islands', describing them as "two of the greatest of all" (δύο αἱ μέγισται πασῶν,dyo hai mégistai pasō̂n) and naming them asἸουερνία,Iouernía andἈλουβίων,Aloubíōn.^[120] According toJane Lightfoot, John Tzetzes's conception of the British Isles was "two major islands plus thirty Orkneys and Thule near them".^[53]

According to theUniversity of Michigan'sMiddle English Dictionary, theMiddle English wordBritlond,Brutlond orBrutlonde (from theOld English:Brytland) could mean either "ancient Britain" or "the British Isles," while a "Brit" was "A Celt: specif., Welshman, Breton".^[121] ThenounBritoun (variously spelledBritton,Briton,Bryton,Brytoun,Bruton,Brutun,Brutin,Breton,Bretonn, orBritaygne) meant "a native of the British Isles, a Celt".^[122] The same word was also anadjective meaning "Brittonic, British" or "Breton".^[122]

The English texts of the popular workMandeville's Travels mention Great Britain in the context of theinvention of the True Cross byHelena, mother of Constantine I, who was supposed to be a daughter of thelegendary British kingCoel of Colchester.^[123] The so-called "Defective" manuscript tradition – the most widespread English version – spelled the toponym "Britain" in various ways. In the 2002critical edition by M. C. Seymour based on manuscript 283 in the library ofQueen's College, Oxford, the text says of Helena, inMiddle English:… þe whiche seynt Elyn was moder of Constantyn emperour of Rome, and heo was douȝter of kyng Collo, þat was kyng of Engelond, þat was þat tyme yclepid þe Grete Brutayne, ….^[123] In the 2007 edition by Tamarah Kohanski and C. David Benson based on manuscript Royal 17 C in theBritish Library, the text is:… Ingelond that was that tyme called the Greet Brytayne ….^[124] The chronicler John Stow in 1575 and the poet William Slatyer in 1621 each cited the spelling of "Brutayne" or "Brytayne" inMandeville's Travels as evidence that Brutus of Troy was the origin of the name of the British Isles.^[125][126]

TheAnnals of Ulster describeViking raids against what it refers to as "Islands of Britain" under the Latin entry for the year 793:Uastatio omnium insolarum Britannię a gentilibus,'Devastation of all the islands of Britain by heathens' or, in one 19th century translation, 'a devastation of all the British isles by pagans'.^{[127][128][129]} The surviving Early Modern English translation byConall Mag Eochagáin of the since-lost GaelicAnnals of Clonmacnoise also describes this attack on "Islands of Britain", but under the year 791: "All the Islands of Brittaine were wasted & much troubled by the Danes; this was thiere first footing in England."^[130][128] According toAlex Woolf in 2007, the report in theAnnals of Ulster "has been interpreted as a very generalised account of small-scale raids all over Britain" but that argues that "Such generalised notices … are not common in the Irish chronicles". Woolf compares theAnnals of Ulster's "islands of Britain" with the "islands of Alba" mentioned by theChronicon Scotorum.^[131] TheChronicon describesMuirchertach mac Néill's attack on the "islands of Alba" (Irish:hinsib Alban) under the entry for the year 940 or 941:^[131]Murcablach la Muircertach mac Néll go ttug orgain a hinsib Alban,'A fleet was fitted out by Muircertach, son of Niall, and he brought plunder from the islands of Alba.'^[132] According to Woolf, "This latter entry undoubtedly refers to the Hebrides".^[131] Woolf argues that "It seems likely that the islands of Alba/Britain was the term used in Ireland specifically for the Hebrides (which makes very good sense from the perspective of our chroniclers based in the northern half of Ireland)".^[131] TheAnnals of the Four Masters's report on the death ofFothad I under the year 961 describes him asFothaḋ, mac Brain, scriḃniḋ ⁊ espucc Insi Alban,'Fothadh, son of Bran, scribe and Bishop of Insi-Alban'.^[133]John O'Donovan's 1856 edition glossed "Insi-Alban" as "the islands of Scotland".^[133] According to Woolf in 2007, this "is the latest use of the term 'Islands of Alba' for the Hebrides (probably just the islands fromTiree south)".^[131] According to Alasdair Ross in 2011, the "islands of Alba" are "presumably theWestern Isles".^[134]

Michael Critobulus, in hisHistory's dedicatory letter toMehmed II (r. 1444–1481), expressed his hope that by writing in Greek his work would have a wide audience, including "those who inhabit the British Isles" (Greek:τοῖς τὰς Βρετανικὰς Νήσους οἰκοῦσι,romanized: toîs tàs Bretanikàs Nḗsous oikoûsi).[135]^[136] According to Charles T. Riggs in 1954, Critobulus "distinctly states that he hopes to influence thePhilhellenes in the British Isles by this story of a Turkish sultan".^[136]

Francesco Berlinghieri's 1482Italian verse adaptation of Ptolemy'sGeographia describes both Ireland and Great Britain as British islands in the fourth and fifth chapters of the second book. Thesito di Ibernia isola,'site of the island Hibernia', begins:

Berlinghieri'ssito dalbione isola,'site of the island Albion', begins:

John Skelton's English translation ofPoggio Bracciolini's Latin translation of Diodorus Siculus's preface to hisBibliotheca historica, written in the middle 1480s, mentions the British Isles asthe yles of Bretayne.^[139]

Andronikos Noukios, a Greek writing under thepen name Nikandros Noukios (Latin:Nicander Nucius), visited Great Britain in the reign ofHenry VIII (r. 1509–1547) as part of an embassy. In his account, he describes the British Isles as having taken their name from colonists fromBrittany, rather than the other way around.^[140] He wrote:

The term "British Isles" entered the English language in the late 16th century to refer to Great Britain, Ireland and the surrounding islands. In general, the modern notion of "Britishness" evolved after the 1707 Act of Union.^[143]

Gerardus Mercator, on his 1538 world map on a double cordiformprojection, labelled the British IslesInsulę Britannicę.^[144][145]

By the middle of the 16th century, the term appears on maps made by geographers includingSebastian Münster.^[146] Münster inGeographia Universalis,'Universal Geography' (a 1550 reissue of Ptolemy'sGeography) uses the headingDe insulis Britannicis, Albione, quæ est Anglia & Hibernia, & de ciuitatibus earum in genere,'Of the Britannic islands, Albion, which is England, and Ireland, and of their cities in general'.^[147]

Mercator, in the legend to the map of the British Isles he published asAngliae, Scotiae & Hiberniae nova descriptio [de] atDuisburg in 1564, refers to the work ashanc Britannicarum insularum descriptionem,'this description of the British Isles'. On the map itself, acartouche in the Irish Sea contains the statementveteres appellarunt has insulas Britannicas,'the ancients called these islands Britannic'.^[148][149]

Abraham Ortelius, in his atlas of 1570 (Theatrum Orbis Terrarum), uses the titleAngliae, Scotiae et Hiberniae, siveBritannicar. insularum descriptio,'A description of England, of Scotland, and of Ireland, or of the Britannic islands'.[150]^: 605 According toPhilip Schwyzer, "This is among the very first early modern references to the 'British Isles', a term used anciently by Pliny but rarely in the medieval period or earlier in the sixteenth century".^[150]: 605

Thomas Twyne's English translation of Dionysius Periegetes'sOrbis descriptio, published in 1572, mentions the British Isles asthe Iles of Britannia.^[151]

John Stow, citingAethicus Ister,Mandeville's Travels, andGeoffrey of Monmouth, described the naming of Great Britain and the British Isles byBrutus of Troy (Early Modern English:Brute) in his 1575 workA Summarie of the Chronicles of England.^[152] According to Stow's second chapter, Brutus:^[125]

...aryved in this Ilande, whyche was called Albion, at a place now calledTotnes inDevonshire, theyere of the world. 2855. theyeare before Christs nativitie. 1108. wherein he first began to raigne, and named it Britaine, (as some write) or rather after his owne name Brutaine, asÆthicusthat wonderfull Philosopher (aScithian by race, but anIstrian by countrey) translated bysaint Hierome above a thousand yeares past, termeth both it and the Iles adiacentInsulas Britanicas.And for more proufe of this restored name, not only the sayde Philosopher (who travelled through many lands, and in this lande taught the knowledge of minerall works) maye be alledged, but sundrie other: & some English wryters above an hundred yeares since, usually do so name it, and not otherwise, through a large historie of this land, translated out of Frenche.

The 1580 edition of Stow's work spelled the Latin nameInsulas Brutannicas and the English namesBrutan andthe Brytaines, and additionally cited the authority of theSibylline Oracles for the conflation of the Latin letterY with the Ancient Greek:υ orΥ (upsilon):^[77]

... theSybilsOracles, who in the name of the Brytaines is written with y. that is the Greekes little u. whyche Oracles althoughe they were not the Sibils owne worke, as some suspecte, yet are they very antient indeede, and that they might seeme more auntient, use the moste auntient name of Countreys and peoples

Schwyzer states thatRaphael Holinshed's 1577Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland is the first work of historiography to deal with the British Isles in particular; "To the best of my knowledge, no book published in England before 1577 specified in its title a scope at once inclusive of and restricted to England, Scotland, and Ireland".^[150]: 594 According to Holinshed himself in the second chapter (Of the auncient names of this Islande) of the first book (An Historicall Description of the Islande of Britayne, with a briefe rehearsall of the nature and qualities of the people of Englande, and of all such commodities as are to be founde in the same) of the first volume of theChronicles, Brutus had both renamed Albion after himself and given his name to the British Isles as a whole:

...Brute, who arriving here in the 1127, before Christ, and 2840. after the creation, not onely chaunged it into Britayne (after it had bene called Albion, by the space of 595. yeares) but to declare his sovereigntie over the reast of the Islandes also that are about the same, he called them all after the same maner, so that Albion was sayde in tyme to beBritanniarum insula maxima,that is, the greatest of those Isles that bare the name of Britayne.

The geographer and occultistJohn Dee (of Welsh ancestry)^[153] was an adviser toElizabeth I (r. 1558–1603) and prepared maps for several explorers. He helped to develop legal justifications for colonisation byProtestant England, breaking theduopoly the Popehad granted to theSpanish andPortuguese Empires. Dee coined the term "British Empire" and built his case, in part, on the claim of a "British Ocean"; including Britain, Ireland, Iceland,Greenland and (possibly)North America, he used alleged Saxon precedent to claim territorial and trading rights.^[154] According to Ken MacMillan, "his imperial vision was simply propaganda and antiquarianism, without much practical value and of limited interest to the English crown and state."^[154]

Dee used the term "Brytish Iles" in hisGeneral and Rare Memorials Pertaining to Perfecte Arte of Navigation of 1577.^[155] Dee also referred to theImperiall Crown of these Brytish Ilandes, which he called anIlandish Monarchy, and to theBrytish Ilandish Monarchy.^[155] According toFrances Yates, Dee argued that the advice given by theByzantineNeoplatonist philosopherGemistos Plethon in two orations addressed to the emperorManuel II Palaiologos (r. 1373–1425) and his sonTheodore II Palaiologos (r. 1407–1448) "on the affairs of thePeloponnesus and on ways and means both of improving the economy of theGreek islands and of defending them" should inform Elizabeth I's claims toterritorial waters and adjacent territories.^[156]: 47 Dee described these orations as "now published" – they had been translated into Latin byWillem Canter from a manuscript owned byJános Zsámboky and published atAntwerp in 1575 byChristophe Plantin.^[157][158] Dee wrote:

Moreover, (Sayd he) if it should not be taken in worse parte, ofour soveraign, than, of the Emperour of Constantinople,Emanuel,the syncere Intent, and faythfull Advise, ofGeorgius Gemistus Pletho,was, I could (proportionally, for the occasion of the Tyme, and place,) frame and shape very much ofGemistusthose his two Greek Orations, (the first, to the Emperor, and the Second to his Sonne, PrinceTheodore:)for ourbrytish iles, and in better and more allowable manner, at this Day, for our People, than that his Plat (for Reformation of the State, at those Dayes, (could be found, forPeloponnesus,avaylable. But, Seeing those Orations, are now published: both in Greek and Latin, I need not Dowbt, but they, to whom, the chief Care of such causes is committed, have Diligently selected the Hony of those Flowres, already, for the Common-Wealths great Benefit.

According to Yates, "In spite of the difficulties of Dee's style and punctuation his meaning is clear" – Dee argued "that the advice given to the Byzantine Emperor by Pletho is good advice for Elizabeth, the Empress of Britain".^[156]: 47 Dee believed that the British Isles had originally been called the "Brutish Isles", a name he had read inAethicus Ister'sCosmography, which he thought was written in Classical Antiquity.^{[159]: 85–86} Invoking theCosmography of Aethicus and its supposed translatorJerome, Dee argued that the British Isles had been misnamed, noting:^[160]

S^t Hierome his admiration ofethicus his assert[ion] that these Iles ofalbion andirelande sho[ld] be calledbrutanicae & notbritannicae

According to Peter J. French, "LikeLeland,Lhuyd and other antiquarians, Dee believed that it was mistakes in orthography and pronunciation that had confused the spelling of the name", which had come from the name of Brutus. The supposed alteration in spelling had caused:^[160]

the [origin] all Di[s] coverer & Conqueror, and the very first absolute king of these Septentrionallbrytish Islands, to be forgotten: or some wrong person, in undue Chronography, with repugnant circumstances, to be nominated in ourbrutus theitalien trojan, his stede.

In his copy ofJohn Bale'sScriptorum illustrium maioris Brytanniae catalogus (later inChrist Church Library), at Bale's passage onGildas, Dee had added an annotation on Brutus, stating: "Note this authority of Gildas concerning Brutus and Brytus, and remember that from the most ancient authority of the astronomer Aethicus, they were called the Brutish Islands" (Nota hanc Gildae authoritatem de Bruto et Bryto, et memor esto de Ethici astronomi authoritate antiquissima, insulas Brutanicas dictas esse)". He underlined Bale's words: "up to the entrance of Brutus, or rather Brytus" (usque ad Bruti, potius Bryti introitum).^{[159]: 97, note 48}

In hisBritannia, published in Latin in 1586, William Camden cited theSibylline Oracles for evidence of the antiquity of Britain's toponym and of its origin in the name of the Britons, quoting both the Greek text published by Birck and the Latin translation by Castellio. Camden andPhilemon Holland's 1610 English language edition of the work included the same arguments:

According toJohn Morrill, at the time of theUnion of the Crowns under theStuart dynasty in the early 17th century, the historic and mythological relationship of Ireland and Great Britain was conceptualised differently to the relationship between the kingdoms of England and Scotland. While the British Isles was considered a geographic unit, the politicaldebate on the Union involved the English and Scottish kingdoms, but not Ireland.James VI and I promoted political unity between Scotland ("North Britain") and England ("South Britain"), introducing theUnion Flag and the title "King of Great Britain", but the same was not true of Ireland. Since the Middle Ages, Britain had been understood to be a historical unit once ruled by thelegendary kings of Britain, of whom the first had been Brutus of Troy – as described in the work ofGeoffrey of Monmouth. Unlike Wales, England, and Scotland, Ireland did not form part of this mythological concept, which was itself in decline by 1600.^[161]

The Latin expressionrex Britanniarum,'king of the Britains' or 'king of the British Isles' was used by somepanegyrists of James VI and I after his accession to the Anglo-Irish throne and his proclamation as "king of Great Britain".^[162]: 199Andrew Melville used the title for his 1603 Latin poemVotum pro Iacobo sexto Britanniarum rege,'Vow for James the Sixth, king of the Britains'.^{[163]: 17 [164]: 22}Isaac Wake used the same title in his Latin poem on the king's August 1605 visit toOxford:Rex platonicus: sive, De potentissimi principis Iacobi Britanniarum Regis, ad illustrissimam Academiam Oxoniensem,'The Platonic king, or: On the most potent prince James, king of the Britains, to the most illustrious University of Oxford'.^[162]: 199 For James's assumption of the triune British monarchy,Hugo Grotius composed hisInauguratio regis Brittaniarum anno MDCIII,'Inauguration of the king of the Britains in the year 1603',^[165] which extolled the historic naval powers of English kings and which was cited approvingly byJohn Selden in his 1635 workMare Clausum: Of the Dominion, or, Ownership of the Sea.^[166]Stanley Bindoff noted that the same titleRex Britanniarum was formally adopted in 1801.^[162]: 199

InJohn Speed's 1611Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, the cartographer refers to the islands asBritannish.^[167] Before the first chapter, Speed introduces his map of the British Isles as "The British Ilands, proposed in one view in the ensuing map".

Speed describes the position of "the Iland ofGreat Britaine" as being north and east of Brittany, Normandy, and the other parts of the coast of Continental Europe:^[168]

It hathBritaine,Normandy, and other parts ofFranceupon the South, theLower Germany,Denmarke, andNorwayupon the East; the Isles ofOrkney and theDeucaledonian Sea,upon the North; theHebridesupon the West, and from it all other Ilands, and Ilets, which doe scatteredly environ it, and shelter themselves (as it were) under the shadow ofGreat Albion(another name of this famous Iland) are also accounted Britannish, & are therefore here described altogether

In his 1621 verse workPalæ-Albion: The history of Great Britanie from the first peopling of this island to this present raigne of or happy and peacefull monarke K: James, William Slatyer described the British Isles as named "theBrutusIles inGreeke Dialect". Slatyer explained this spelling of the name in amarginal note that, like Stow, cited Aethicus andMandeville's Travels and the confusion between the Latin letteru and the Greek letterupsilon (ύψιλον):^[126]

Æthicustranslated by Saint Ierome,above 1000. yeares since, calleth themInsulas Brutanicas:the Greekswriting it byυψιλον,it soundeth our u.And the Welshdoe the like, as is seene in Brytys,by them pronounced Brutus:Also EnglishWriters that are above an hundred yeares since, call it Brutaine.J. Mandevill.

One of theOxford English Dictionary citations of "British Isles" was in 1621 (before the civil wars) byPeter Heylin (or Heylyn) in hisMicrocosmus: a little description of the great world^[169] (a collection of his lectures on historical geography). Writing from his English political perspective, he grouped Ireland with Great Britain and the minor islands with these three arguments:^[170]

• The inhabitants of Ireland must have come from Britain as it was the nearest land
• He notes that ancient writers (such as Ptolemy) called Ireland aBrttish Iland
• He cites the observation of the first-century Roman writerTacitus that the habits and disposition of the people in Ireland were not much unlike theBrittaines^[171]

Modern scholarly opinion^[21][22] is that Heylyn "politicised his geographical books Microcosmus ... and, still more, Cosmographie" in the context of what geography meant at that time. Heylyn's geographical work must be seen as political expressions concerned with proving (or disproving) constitutional matters, and "demonstrated their authors' specific political identities by the languages and arguments they deployed." In an era when "politics referred to discussions of dynastic legitimacy, of representation, and of the Constitution ... [Heylyn's] geography was not to be conceived separately from politics."

Geoffrey Keating, in hisForas Feasa ar Éirinn, discussed the mention ofdruids from the British Isles in Gaul in Julius Caesar'sCommentarii de Bello Gallico, suggesting that the island Caesar had in mind was Ireland orManainn – Anglesey or the Isle of Man.^{[172][173][174][175]}John O'Mahony's 1866 translation was "from the British Isles",^[173] as were the translations of John Barlow in 1811 and of Dermod O'Connor in 1723.^[174][175]Patrick S. Dinneen's 1908 edition translates Keating'sIrish:ó oiléanaibh na Breatan as "from the islands of Britain".^[172]

Robert Morden, in his 1680Geography Rectified, introduced his map and chapter detailing the British Isles by noting their political unity under a single monarch but their continued separation into three kingdoms, with each of the British Isles beyond Great Britain and Ireland belonging to one of the three mainland kingdoms.^[176]

Under this Title are Comprehended several distinct and famous Islands, the whole Dominion whereof (now United) is under the Command of the King ofGreat Britain, &c. Bounded on the North and West with theHyperborean andDucalidonean Ocean, on the South divided fromFrance with theEnglish Channel, on the East separated [sic] from Denmark andBelgia with theBritish (by some call'd theGerman) Ocean; But on all sides environed with Turbulent Seas, guarded with Dangerous Rocks and Sands, defended with strong Forts, and a Potent Navy; Of these Islands one is very large, formerly calledAlbion, now greatBritain, comprehending two Kingdoms,England andScotland; and another of lesser extent makes one Kingdome calledIreland: The other smaller adjacentIsles are comprehended under one or other of these 3 Kingdoms, according to the Situation and Congruity with them.

Christopher Irvine, in his 1682Historiae Scoticae Nomenclatura Latino-Vernacula,'Latin–Vernacular Nomenclature of the History of Scotland', definedBritannice Insulæ [sic] as "The British Islands; which comprehended under them both Albin, Erin, and all the other small islands that are scattered about them".^[177]

In general, the use of the termBritish Isles to refer to the archipelago is common and uncontroversial withinGreat Britain,^[178] at least since the concept of "Britishness" was gradually accepted in Britain.^[179][180] In Britain it is commonly understood as being a politically neutral geographical term, although it is sometimes used to refer to theUnited Kingdom orGreat Britain alone.^{[181][182][183][179]} In the 2016Oxford Dictionary Plus Social Sciences, Howard Sargeant describes the British Isles as "A geographical rather than a political designation".^[184]

In 2003, Irish newspapers reported a British Government internal briefing that advised against the use of "British Isles".^[185][186] There is evidence that its use has been increasingly avoided in recent years in fields like cartography and in some academic work, such asNorman Davies's history of Britain and IrelandThe Isles: A History. As a purely geographical term in technical contexts (such as geology and natural history), there is less evidence of alternative terms being chosen.

According toJane Dawson, "Finding an acceptable shorthand geographical description for the countries which formed the UK before the creation of Eire has proved difficult" and in her 2002 work onMary, Queen of Scots (r. 1542–1567) andArchibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll, she wrote: "for convenience, I have used the following as virtual synonyms: the islands of Britain; these islands; the British Isles, and the adjective, British. Without intending to imply any hidden imperial or other agenda, they describe the kingdoms of Ireland, Scotland, and England and Wales as they existed in the sixteenth century".^[187]

In the 2005Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names,John Everett-Heath defined the British Isles as "Until 1949 a collective title ... In 1949 the Republic of Ireland left the British Commonwealth and so could no longer be included in the title".^[188][189] Everett-Heath used the name in a "general note" and in the introduction to the same work.^{[188][190][191]}

In the 2005 preface to the second edition ofHugh Kearney'sThe British Isles: A History of Four Nations, published in 2006, the historian noted that "The title of this book is 'The British Isles', not 'Britain', in order to emphasise the multi-ethnic character of our intertwined histories. Almost inevitably many within the Irish Republic find it objectionable, much asBasques orCatalans resent the use ofthe term 'Spain'."^[192] and illustrated this by quoting the objection of Irish poetSeamus Heaney to being included in an anthology of British poems. Kearney also wrote: "But what is the alternative to 'The British Isles?' Attempts to encourage the use of such terms as 'The Atlantic Archipelago' and 'The Isles' have met with criticism because of their vagueness. Perhaps one solution is to use 'the British Isles' in inverted commas".^[192]

Recognition of issues with the term (as well as problems over definitions and terminology) was discussed by the columnistMarcel Berlins, writing inThe Guardian in 2006. Beginning with "At last, someone has had the sense to abolish the British Isles", he opines that "although purely a geographical definition, it is frequently mixed up with the political entitiesGreat Britain, or theUnited Kingdom. Even when used geographically, its exact scope is widely misunderstood". He also acknowledges that some view the term as representing Britain's imperial past, when it ruled the whole of Ireland.^[193]

From the Irish perspective, some^{[194][195][6]} consider "The British Isles" as a political term rather than a geographical name for the archipelago because of theTudor conquest of Ireland, the subsequentCromwellian activities in Ireland, theWilliamite accession in Britain and theWilliamite War in Ireland—all of which resulted in severe impact on the Irish people, landowners and native aristocracy. From that perspective, the term "British Isles" is not a neutral geographical term but an unavoidably political one.^{[196][better source needed]} Use of the name "British Isles" is sometimes rejected in the Republic of Ireland, while claiming its use implies a primacy of British identity over all the islands outside the United Kingdom, including theIrish state and theCrown dependencies of theIsle of Man andChannel Islands.^{[197][198][194]}

J. G. A. Pocock, in a lecture at theUniversity of Canterbury in 1973 and published in 1974: "the term 'British Isles' is one which Irishmen reject and Englishmen decline to take quite seriously".^[199][200]Nicholas Canny, professor of history at theNational University of Ireland, Galway between 1979 and 2009, in 2001 described the term as "politically loaded" and stated that he avoided the term in discussion of the reigns following theUnion of the Crowns underJames VI and I (r. 1603–1625) andCharles I (r. 1625–1649) "not least because this was not a normal usage in the political discourse of the time".[201]^[195][202] Steven G. Ellis, however, Canny's successor as professor of history at the same university from 2009, wrote in 1996: "with regard to terminology, 'the British Isles', as any perusal of contemporary maps will show, was a widely accepted description of the archipelago long before the Union of the Crowns and the completion of theTudor conquest of Ireland".^[203][204] In the 2004Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable, Seán McMahon described "British Isles" as "A geographer's collective description of the islands of Britain and Ireland, but one that is no longer acceptable in the latter country" and "once acceptable" but "seen as politically inflammatory as well as historically inaccurate".^[205][206] The same work describesPowerscourt Waterfall as "the highest in Ireland, and the second highest in the British Isles afterEas a' Chual Aluinn".^[205]

Many political bodies, including the Irish government, avoid describing Ireland as being part of the British Isles.^{[citation needed]} The journalistJohn Gunther, recollecting a meeting in 1936 or 1937 withÉamon de Valera, thepresident of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State, wrote that the Irish statesman queried his use of the term:^[207]

My use of the term "British Isles" was an unconscious little slip. Mr. de Valera did not allow it to go uncorrected. Quite soberly he smiled and said that if I had meant to include Ireland in the British Isles, he trusted that I did so only as a "geographical expression." I explained that my chief duty to my newspaper was to gain knowledge, background, education. "Very well," Mr. de Valera said. "Let your instruction begin at once." And he set out to explain the difference between Ireland and the "British Isles." Some moments later, having again necessity to describe my field of operations, I sought a phrase and said, after a slight pause, "a group of islands in the northern part of Europe." Mr. de Valera sat back and laughed heartily. I hope he will not mind my telling this little story.

However, the term "British Isles" has been used by individual ministers, as did cabinet ministerSíle de Valera when delivering a speech including the term at the opening of a drama festival in 2002,^[208] and is used by government departments in relation to geographic topics.^[209] In September 2005,Dermot Ahern,minister for foreign affairs, stated in a written answer to aparliamentary question fromCaoimhghín Ó Caoláin in theDáil Éireann: "The British Isles is not an officially recognised term in any legal or inter-governmental sense. It is without any official status. The Government, including theDepartment of Foreign Affairs, does not use this term."^[210][211] Ahern himself continued to use the term, at a conference in April 2015 calling the 2004Northern Bank robbery "The biggest bank raid in history of the British Isles".^[212]

"British Isles" has been used in a geographical sense in Irish parliamentary debates by government ministers,^[213][214] although it is often used in a way that defines the British Isles as excluding the Republic of Ireland.^{[215][216][217][218]}

In October 2006, Irish educational publisherFolens announced that it was removing the term from its popular school atlas effective in January 2007. The decision was made after the issue was raised by a geography teacher. Folens stated that no parent had complained directly to them over the use of "British Isles" and that they had a policy of acting proactively, upon the appearance of a "potential problem".^[219][220] This attracted press attention in the UK and Ireland, during which a spokesman for theIrish Embassy in London said, "'The British Isles' has a dated ring to it, as if we are still part of the Empire".^[221] Writing inThe Irish Times in 2016, Donald Clarke described the term as "anachronistically named".^[222]

A bilingual dictionary website maintained byForas na Gaeilge translates "British Isles" into Irish asÉire agus an Bhreatain Mhór "Ireland and Great Britain".^[223][224] As the Irish translation of "British Isles", the 1995Collins Gem Irish Dictionary edited bySéamus Mac Mathúna and Ailbhe Ó Corráin listsNa hOileáin Bhriotanacha,'British islands'.^[225]

Different views on terminology are probably most clearly seen inNorthern Ireland (which covers six of the thirty-two counties in Ireland), where the political situation is difficult and national identity contested.^{[citation needed]} In December 1999 at a meeting of theIrish cabinet andNorthern Ireland Executive inArmagh. Thefirst minister of Northern Ireland,David Trimble, told the meeting:

This represents the Irish government coming back into a relationship with the rest of the British Isles. We are ending the cold war that has divided not just Ireland but the British Isles. That division is now going to be transformed into a situation where all parts work together again in a way that respects each other.^[226]

At a gathering of theBritish–Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body in 1998, sensitivity about the term became an issue. Referring to plans for the proposedBritish–Irish Council (supported by both Nationalists and Unionists), the Britishmember of parliament (MP)Dennis Canavan, was paraphrased by official note-takers as having said in a caveat:

He understood that the concept of a Council of the Isles had been put forward by theUlster Unionists and was referred to as a "Council for the British Isles" byDavid Trimble. This would cause offence to Irish colleagues; he suggested as an acronym IONA-Islands of the North Atlantic.^[227]

In a series of documents issued by the United Kingdom and Ireland, from theDowning Street Declaration to theGood Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement), relations in the British Isles were referred to as the "East–West strand" of the tripartite relationship.^[228]

There is no single accepted replacement of the termBritish Isles. However, the termsGreat Britain and Ireland,British Isles and Ireland,Islands of the North Atlantic etc. are suggested.

The termBritish Isles and Ireland has been used in a variety of contexts—among others religious,^[229] medical,^[230] zoologic,^[231] academic^[232] and others. This form is also used in some book titles^[233] and legal publications.^[234]

In the context of theNorthern Ireland peace process, the term "Islands of the North Atlantic" (and its acronym, IONA) was a term created by the British MPJohn Biggs-Davison.^[14][235] It has been used as a term to denote either all the islands, or the two main islands, without referring to the two states.

IONA has been used by (among others) the former IrishTaoiseach (prime minister),Bertie Ahern:

The Government are, of course, conscious of the emphasis that is laid on the East-West dimension by Unionists, and we are, ourselves, very mindful of the unique relationships that exist within these islands – islands of the North Atlantic or IONA as some have termed them.^[236]

Others have interpreted the term more narrowly to mean the "Council of the Isles" or "British-Irish Council". British MPPeter Luff told theHouse of Commons in 1998 that

In the same context, there will be a council of the isles. I think that some people are calling it IONA – the islands of the north Atlantic, from which England, by definition, will be excluded.^[237]

His interpretation is not widely shared, particularly in Ireland. In 1997 the leader of the IrishGreen PartyTrevor Sargent, discussing theStrand Three (orEast–West) talks between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, commented in the Dáil Éireann:

I noted with interest the naming of the islands of the north Atlantic under the acronym IONA which the Green Party felt was extremely appropriate.^[238]

His comments were echoed byProinsias De Rossa, then leader of theDemocratic Left and later President of theIrish Labour Party, who told the Dáil, "The acronym IONA is a useful way of addressing the coming together of these two islands."^[238]

The neologism has been criticised on the grounds that it excludesmost of the islands in the North Atlantic.^[14]

The name is also ambiguous, because of the other islands in the North Atlantic which have never been considered part of the British Isles.^[239]

The name "West European Isles" is one translation of the islands' name in theGaelic languages ofIrish^[240] andManx,^[241] with equivalent terms for "British Isles".^[242][243]

InOld Icelandic, the name of the British Isles wasVestrlönd,'the Western lands'. The name of a person from the British Isles was aVestmaðr,'a man from the West'.^[1][2]

Alternative names include "Britain and Ireland",^[3][8][9] the "Atlantic Archipelago",^[10] the "Anglo-Celtic Isles",^[11][12] and the "British-Irish Isles".^[13]

Common among Irish public officials, although as adeictic label it cannot be used outside the islands in question.^[244][245]Charles Haughey referred to his 1980 discussions withMargaret Thatcher on "the totality of relationships in these islands";^[246] the 1998Good Friday Agreement also uses "these islands" and not "British Isles".^[245][247] InBrewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable, McMahon writes that this is "cumbersome but neutral" and "the phrase in most frequent use" but that it is "cute and unsatisfactory".^[205][206] In documents drawn up jointly between the British and Irish governments, the archipelago is referred to simply as "these islands".^[15]

An adjective, meaning "island based", used as a qualifier in cultural history up to the early medieval period, as for exampleinsular art,insular script,Insular Celtic,Insular Christianity.

J. G. A. Pocock, in his lecture of 1973 entitled "British history: a Plea for a new subject" and published in 1974, introduced the historiographical concept of the "Atlantic archipelago – since the term 'British Isles' is one which Irishmen reject and Englishmen decline to take quite seriously".^{[199][200][248]} It has been adopted by some historians.^[248][249] According to Steven G. Ellis, in 1996 professor of history at theNational University of Ireland, Galway, "to rename the British Isles as 'the Atlantic archipelago' in deference to Irish nationalist sensibilities seems an extraordinary price to pay, particularly when many Irish historians have no difficulty with the more historical term."^[203] According toJane Dawson in 2002, "Whilst accurate, the term 'Atlantic archipelago' is rather cumbersome".^[187]

Another suggestion is "Hibernian Archipelago". InBrewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase and Fable, McMahon calls this title "cumbersome and inaccurate".^[205][206]

• Macedonia naming dispute

• Cunliffe, Barry (2002).The extraordinary voyage of Pytheas the Greek (revised ed.). New York: Walker & Co.ISBN 0-14-029784-7.OCLC 49692050.
• Ó Corráin, Donnchadh (1989). "Chapter 1: Prehistoric and Early Christian Ireland". InFoster, R. F. (ed.).The Oxford History of Ireland (reissue ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press (published 1 November 2001).ISBN 0-19-866270-X.OCLC 231969888..
• O'Rahilly, T. F. (1946).Early Irish History and Mythology (reprinted 1964, 1971, 1984 ed.). Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.ISBN 0-901282-29-4.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
• Snyder, Christopher A. (2003).The Britons. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing.ISBN 0-631-22260-X.OCLC 237823808.

• Geographical naming disputes
• Political terminology in the United Kingdom
• Politics of Ireland
• Politics of the British Isles
• Ireland–United Kingdom relations
• Terminology of the British Isles

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