Brigantia was a goddess in Celtic religion of Late Antiquity. Through interpretatio Romana, she was identified with the goddesses Minerva, Tych/Fortuna, and Victoria. The tales connected to the characters of Brigid and Saint Brigid in Irish mythology and legend have been argued to be connected to Brigantia, although the figures themselves remain distinct.
Currently, there are eight known inscriptions to Brigantia in Britain. At Birrens, Dumfries and Galloway, in Scotland, is an inscription: Two inscriptions associate Brigantia with the Roman goddess Victoria, one from Castleford in Yorkshire and one from Greetland near Halifax, also in Yorkshire. The later may be dated to 208 CE by mention of the consuls: At Corbridge on Hadrians Wall – in antiquity, Coria – Brigantia has the divine epithet Caelestis and is paired with Jupiter Dolichenus, a Roman god popular with members of the Roman army.: There is an inscription at Irthington near Brampton in Cumbria DEAE NYMPHAE BRIGANTIAE—"to the divine nymph Brigantia". There are two inscriptions referring to Dia Brigantiae. There is one inscription to "Tutela Brigantia Augusta". Garret Olmstead noted numismatic legends in Iberian script, BRIGANT_N inscribed on a Celtiberian coin, suggesting a cognate Celtiberian goddess.
Iconography
At Birrens, archaeologists have found a Roman-era stone bas-relief of a female figure; she is crowned like a tutelary deity, has a Gorgon's head on her breast, and holds a spear and a globe of victory like the Roman goddesses Victoria and Minerva. The inscription mentioned above assures the identification of the statue as Brigantia rather than Minerva. A statue found in Brittany also seems to depict Brigantia with the attributes of Minerva.
Toponomy
There are several placenames deriving from 'Brigantium', the neuter form of the same adjective of which the feminine became the name of the goddess. Association of these with the goddess is however dubious, since the placenames are easily explained as referring to a "high fort" or "high place" in the literal sense. Lisa Bitel noted a wide spread through toponymy: Other towns which may also preserve this theonym include Brigetio in Hungary and also Briançonnet and Briançon, both in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. In antiquity, Briançon was called Brigantio and was the first town on the Via Domitia. It is attested by an inscriptions mentioning munic Brigantien and Bri/gantione geniti. At Briançonnet, two third-century inscriptions mention ord Brig. There, oak trees were particularly venerated. The ancient name of Bragança in Trás-os-Montes, Portugal, was Brigantia. The inhabitants today are still called brigantinos. Braga is another town in Portugal. It is the capital of the district of the same name in the province of Minho. A short distance up the coast, the cities of A Coruña and Betanzos in present-day Galicia were respectively named Brigantia and Brigantium. According to the Lebor Gabála Érenn, Breogán founded the city called Brigantia and built a tower there from the top of which his son Íth glimpses Ireland and then sets sail across the Celtic Sea to invade and settle it.
