Bile (Irish legend)

This article is about the legendary ancestor of the Irish people. For the Celtic deity sometimes known by this name, see Belenus. For other uses, see Bile (disambiguation).

Bile ^[1] is a character in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, a medieval Christian pseudo-history of Ireland and the Irish (or Gaels), and in the genealogies of John O'Hart based on this tradition. He is described as a king of Galicia, an ancestor of the Gaels, the son of Breogan, and the father of Milesius.^[2] The Lebor Gabála purports to be an account of how the Gaels descend from Adam through the sons of Noah and how they came to Ireland. It tells us that they spent 440 years wandering the Earth and underwent a series of trials and tribulations, which is based on the tale of the Israelites in the Old Testament. Eventually, they sail to Iberia and conquer it. There, one of their leaders, Breogán, founds a city called Brigantia and builds a great tower. From the top of the tower, his son Íth glimpses Ireland. The Gaels—including some of Breogán's sons—sail to Ireland from Brigantia and take it from the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Irish pagan gods. Brigantia likely refers to A Coruña in Galicia (which was then known as Brigantium)^[3] and Breogán's tower is likely based on the Tower of Hercules (which was built at A Coruña by the Romans). The idea that the Irish Gaels came from Iberia may be based on the similarity of the names Iberia and Hibernia and the names Galicia and Gael.^[4]

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