Partholón

Partholón (modern spelling: Parthalán) is a character in medieval Irish Christian pseudo-history. According to the tradition, he is the leader of the second group of people to settle in Ireland, the Muintir Partholóin (people of Partholón). They arrive on the uninhabited island about 300 years after Noah's Flood and are responsible for introducing such things as farming, cooking, brewing and buildings. After some years, they all die of plague in a single week. The tale is probably an invention of the Christian writers. 'Partholón' comes from the Biblical name 'Bartholomaeus' or 'Bartholomew' and he may have been borrowed from a character of that name who appears in the Christian pseudo-histories of Saint Jerome and Isidore of Seville.

The earliest surviving reference to Partholón is in the Historia Brittonum, a 9th-century British Latin compilation attributed to one Nennius. It says that Ireland was settled three times by three groups, with 'Partholomus' and his followers being the first. It says he came to Ireland from Iberia with a thousand followers, who multiplied until there were four thousand, and then all died of plague in a single week.

The Lebor Gabála Érenn, an 11th-century Christian pseudo-history of Ireland, expands on this. It says that Ireland was settled six times, with Partholón and his followers being the second group. The number may have been increased to six to match the "Six Ages of the World". According to the Lebor Gabála, Ireland was uninhabited following the deaths of Cessair and her companions in the Flood. It tells us that Partholón came from Greece and was the son of Sera, son of Sru, a descendant of Magog, son of Japheth, son of Noah. Partholón and his people sail to Ireland via Sicily and Iberia, arriving 300 or 312 years after the flood and landing at Inber Scéne (Kenmare in County Kerry). With Partholón were his wife Delgnat, their three sons, Slanga, Rudraige and Laiglinne, their wives Nerba, Cichba and Cerbnad, and a thousand followers. The Annals of the Four Masters says they arrived in 2520 Anno Mundi (after the "creation of the world"), Seathrún Céitinn's Foras Feasa ar Érinn says they arrived in 2061 BC, and other medieval texts say they arrived in the 60th year of Abraham.

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