What is the origin of the word ‘brasil’? In my homeland, Brazil, it seems that everyone knows the answer. Following the definition of the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, it comes from brasa and is associated with the reddish colour of brazilwood (pau-brasil in Portuguese), a dyewood tree commonly found along the Atlantic coast of … Read more
Sir,—Your March/April issue was a blockbuster! My favourite was the first article, about how the Romans in England saw Ireland. I had long wanted to know how close we were to becoming part of their empire. Now I know that they seriously considered invading us, but backed off because they could make more money by … Read more
Depending on the source and time, Tigernán Ua Ruairc (ob. 1172), the great twelfth-century king of Bréifne, was variously described as a ‘man of great power for a long time’, the ‘surpasser of the Irish in power and in abundance’ and a ‘one-eyed villain, meditating treachery’. In his youth he was anathematised as the perpetrator … Read more
Irish archaeologists are currently engaged in major new investigations into the remains of ancient Ireland and its connections with the Roman world (NUI Galway, ‘Ireland and the Roman World’; Discovery Programme, ‘Late Iron Age and Roman Ireland’; University College Dublin, ‘Iron Age Ireland: Finding an Invisible People’). These projects will provide a new framework for … Read more
The wolf is as rich an image in literature as it is a reality—albeit a persecuted one—in natural history. Invariably featured as a menace in mythology and folklore, the wolf, demon or hero, is a strange and glamorous creature, the enigmatic ancestor of our domestic dog, and still roams Russian Asia, Canada and Alaska.Anyone with … Read more