Albion

views updated

Albion is a poetical personification for Britain. It was first used in classical literature in the 6th cent. bc and referred either to the Celtic name or to the white cliffs of Dover. Camden mentions that it had been related to Albion, son of Neptune. The phrase ‘perfidious Albion’ has been attributed to the marquis de Ximenes (1726–1817), though Bossuet in the 17th cent. had mentioned ‘L'Angleterre perfide’. It was soon superseded by Britannia.

J. A. Cannon

More From encyclopedia.com