This river has been known since ancient times. The Greek geographer
Ptolemy drew a map of
Ireland in the 2nd century that included the Boyne, which he called (
Bouwinda) or (
Boubinda), which in Celtic means "white cow" (). During the High Middle Ages,
Giraldus Cambrensis called it the
Boandus. In
Irish mythology it is said that the river was created by the
goddess Boann and Boyne is an anglicised form of the name. (the 'marrow of Fionn Feilim'). The tidal estuary of the Boyne, which extends inland as far as the confluence with the
Mattock River, 'the curly hole', had a number of names in Irish literature and was associated as a place of departure and arrival in the ancient legends and myths, such as The Tragedy of the Sons of Tuireann, Togail Bruidne Dá Derga, &c. In the
Acallam na Senórach the estuary has the name
Inber Bic Loingsigh, abounding in ships.
Inber Colpa or
Inber Colptha was the principal name for the mouth of the Boyne in early medieval times. The townlands and civil parish of Colp, or Colpe on its southern shore preserve the name. It was associated in myth with Colpa of the Sword, a son of
Míl Espáine, in the
Milesian origin of the Irish, who drowned in the attempt to land there and is by tradition buried in the ringfort behind Colpe church. An alternative
Dindsenchas tradition associates the name with the Máta, a massive aquatic creature, which having been killed was dismembered at
Brú na Bóinne was thrown in the Boyne. Its shinbone (colptha) reached the estuary giving name to Inber Colptha. == Course and geography ==