Introduction : The British Isles

Britain, sometimes called Great Britain, is the name for the big island on the right and most of the small islands near it. It includes Scotland, Wales and England. The island on the left is Ireland: about 80% is the Republic of Ireland and about 20% is Northern Ireland.

The two islands of Britain and Ireland, and all the smaller islands near them are often called the British Isles (‘isle’ means ‘island’). 

At the time of the legends in this book (about 450 to 1000) the United Kingdom didn’t exist. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were geographical areas, but most of the time there wasn’t one single king in each country.