Britonia (which becameBretoña inGalician andSpanish) is the name of aRomano-British settlement on the northern coast of the Iberian peninsula at the time of theAnglo-Saxon invasion of Britain. The area is roughly that of the northern parts of the modern provinces ofA Coruña andLugo in the autonomous community ofGalicia,Spain.
Britonia was established in theGermanicKingdom of the Suebi, inGallaecia, northwesternHispania, in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD byRomano-Britons. Britonia is therefore similar toBrittany, inGaul (present-dayFrance), by being settled by expatriate Britons at roughly the same time. However, unlike in Brittany, the Celts settling in the Iberian Britonia were soon assimilated and completely lost their original language.
The Britons may have occupied a pre-existing hill fort orcastro.[1] Gallaecia had earlier been inhabited by theGallaeci peoples, before the arrival of the Germanic Suebi.[2]
Some modern toponyms across Galicia andAsturias prove the existence of Brythonic influence on the region. Examples includeBretios inLugo,Bertoña inA Capela andBarro, or El Breton in Asturias.[3]
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What little is known of Britonia is deduced from its religious history - which is a very uncertain guide as to how long it retained a Celtic linguistic and cultural character. The British settlements were recognised at theFirst Council of Lugo in 569 and a separate bishopric established, on territory split off from the then MetropolitanArchdiocese of Lugo.Maeloc was nominated Bishop of Britonia and signed theacta at theSecond Council of Braga in 572.
The establishment of the episcopal see of the Britons in Gallaecia was more probably not because of a migration, but only because a group of Christians, led by their bishop, must have taken refuge in a place near the coast of Lugo, where they would establish and organize a personal episcopal see, which later reached a territorial demarcation.[4] For this reason the diocese was mentioned in the "Suevo Parish" asAd sedem Britonorum ecclesiae quae sunt intro Britones una cum Monasterio Maximi et quae sunt in Asturiis. Established in Britonia, the capital of the diocese, regardless of its origin and provenance, its bishops appear in conciliar documents from the 6th century on.[4] For example, Mailoc is among those who participated in the IIBracarense Council held in the year 572, and as its headquarters "was erected shortly before ... Mailoc signed last as least ancient".[4] His successors attended other councils inToledo andBraga : Errnerico participated in the III of Toledo signing, in 589, as bishopLaniobrense; Metopio attended the next one in 633; at VII,Sonna, who was already consecrated in 646 and who sent the priest Materico to the following council, in 653. In 675 BishopBela participated in the IIIBracarense Council and then the title of Britonian appears for the last time, since Brandila and Suniagisido, who attended the XIII and XVI Councils of Toledo in the years 683 and 693, sign asLaniobrense bishops.(...)"[4]
The Brythonic settlements were quickly integrated and their adherence toCeltic rite[citation needed] lasted only until theFourth Council of Toledo in 633 decreed the now so-called Visigothic orMozarabic rite as the standard liturgy ofHispania. Optimistic scenarios suggest survival of Brythonic language and culture till ~700-800 AD, due to several influences on Galician toponymy.[5]
The diocese was suppressed in 716. The line of (errant?) bishops of Britonia nevertheless existed at least until 830, when the area was attacked by theVikings; it may have continued as late as theCouncil of Oviedo in 900.
It was finally restored as or merged into theDiocese of Mondoñedo-Ferrol in 866, being assigned territories split off from theDiocese of Oviedo and from the MetropolitanArchdiocese of Lugo (since 1071 a suffragan ofSantiago de Compostela).
In 1233, in the monastery ofMeira, Lugo, it was reported about "...britones etbiortos, et quantam habui de mulieribus que dicebantur chavellas.", where "britones", most likely addresses Brythonic people, inhabiting Britonia colony, which suggests further survival of Brittonic population into theHigh Middle Ages.[6]
Known bishops of theecclesia Brittaniensis include:
"Bishop Maeloc is the only Britonian prelate who has a Celtic name (= "great"). The other known bishops always bear Latin or Germanic names.(...)".[7]
No longer a residential bishopric, Britonia is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[8]
The diocese was nominally restored in 1969 as the LatinTitular bishopric of Britonia (also Curiate Italian) / Britonien(sis) (Latin adjective).
It has had the following incumbents, so far secular priests of the fitting Episcopal (lowest) rank:[9]
