The Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain was traumatic for the native Britons, and although many finally reached a modus vivendi with the invaders, many others decided to flee the island of Britain altogether. The best-known destination of the fleeing Britons was the far west of France, which became known as Brittany (a clear reference to the origins of the refugees). To this day the Breton language retains many similarities with Welsh, and the similarity encouraged a tradition of trade between Wales and Brittany.

Another destination of the refugees was the northwest corner of Spain known as Galicia. While a Celtic population had long settled other parts of the Iberian peninsula, the British immigrants to Galicia were more recent arrivals. Unlike in Brittany, the language these Celts spoke died out rather early, and the contemporary language of Galicia resembles Portuguese and Spanish much more than it does Welsh or Breton. Even so, Galicians are proud of their Celtic heritage, and popular traditional music has surprising affinities with Irish and Scottish traditions. The church depicted above is believed to be part of an ancient Celtic tradition of Galician women who hoped to have children making pilgrimages and wading into the ocean.

To read a more detailed discussion of early Britons in Galicia, click here.