Albion, England

Albion

The White Cliffs of Dove r may have given rise to the name Albion. Albion (Ancient Greek : Ἀλβιών) is the oldest known name of the island of Great Britain. Today, it is still sometimes used poetically to refer to the island. The name for Scotland in the Celtic languages is related to Albion: Alba in Scottish Gaelic, Albain (genitive Alban) in Irish, Nalbin in Manx and Alban in Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. These names were later Latinised as Albania and Anglicised as Albany, which were once alternative names for Scotland.

New Albion and Albionoria ("Albion of the North") were briefly suggested as names of Canada during the period of the Canadian Confederation. Arthur Phillip, first leader of the colonisation of Australia, originally named Sydney Cove "New Albion", but later the colony acquired the name "Sydney".

The Common Brittonic name for the island, Hellenised as Albíōn (Ἀλβίων) and Latinised as Albiōn (genitive Albionis), derives from the Proto-Celtic nasal stem *Albi̯iū (oblique *Albiion-) and survived in Old Irish as Albu (genitive Albann). The name originally referred to Britain as a whole, but was later restricted to Caledonia (giving the modern Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland, Alba). The root *albiio- is also found in Gaulish and Galatian albio- ("world") and Welsh elfydd (elbid, "earth, world, land, country, district"). It may be related to other European and Mediterranean toponyms such as Alpes, Albania and Liban. It has two possible etymologies. It may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *albho-, meaning "white" (c.f. Latin albus). This is perhaps in reference to the white southern shores of the island, though Celtic linguist Xavier Delamarre argued that it originally meant "the world above, the visible world", in opposition to "the world below", i.e., the underworld. Alternatively it may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *alb-, meaning "hill".

Story Reference

The family of Lady Victoria traces its roots to the earliest history and the word Albion is used on several occations.

First it is mentioned in "The Other Story "

During a meeting of the Queens of the Circle.

Scene: >>> The one in the saffron colored dress and with long black hair spoke. The lips of her mask remained closed. "Thus the 72,432 meeting of the ancient circle is declared to be in session." She rang a little bell and sat down. "Tonight we meet in the queens chamber of Albion."<<<