Note 356 — Chapter I
Reading edition
Various explanations have been given of the names of Albion and Britain, applied to our island. Some derive Albion from the white rocks which bound the coast; some from Albion, a son of Neptune, who is represented as its first discoverer and cultivator; others have likewise derived the name Britain from the Phœnician or Hebrew Baratanac, signifying the land of tin. It was also called by the natives, Hyperborea, Atlantica, Cassiteris, Romana, and Thule.
According to the British Triads, "the three names given to the isle of Britain, from the beginning, were: before it was inhabited, the name of Clas Merddyn (or the green spot defended by water); after it was inhabited, Y Vêl Ynys (the honey island); and, after it was brought under one government by Prydain, son of Aedd, it was called Ynys Prydain (or the isle of Britain)."
In some old writings it is also termed, Yr Ynys Wen, (or the white island.)