The Cymbrogi

The origin of the name...

From time to time, we are asked about the meaning, origin, and pronunciation of The Cymbrogi.

The Short Answer is that it means "Companions of the Heart" or "Sword Brothers"; it's ancient Celtic and was used in part of the Arthurian legend. It is pronounced "koom-BRO-gee".

The Long Answer:

Cymbrogi: ancient Celtic, pronounced koom-BRO-gee (see here to hear it pronounced). It has been variously translated along the lines of "fellow countrymen", "companions of the heart", and the one that best captures our intent, "sword brothers". In this context, a sword brother is one who has covenanted to stand with his comrades in battle for noble causes and who would gladly forfeit his life for his brother in arms (see John 15:13).

A key passage from literature that influenced the selection of the name is by author Stephen Lawhead, who wrote the Pendragon Cycle, a Christian fiction of the Arthurian legend:

Arthur is no fit king. Uther's bastard, Merlin's pet, he is lowborn and a fool. He is wanton and petty and cruel.
A glutton and a drunkard, he lacks all civilized graces. In short, he is a sullen, ignorant brute.
All these things and more men say of Arthur. Let them.
When all the words are spoken and the arguments fall exhausted into silence, this single fact remains: we would follow Arthur to the very gates of Hell and beyond if he asked it. And that is the solitary truth.
Show me another who can claim such loyalty.
"Cymbrogi," he calls us: companions of the heart, fellow-countrymen.
Cymbrogi! We are his strong arm, his shield and spear, his blade and helm. We are the blood in his veins, the hard sinew of his flesh, the bone beneath the skin. We are the breath in his lungs, the clear light in his eyes, and the song rising to his lips. We are the meat and drink at his board.
Cymbrogi! We are earth and sky to him. And Arthur is all these things to us - and more.

A key quote from history that influenced my selection of the name came out of my Scottish heritage. In Bannockburn 1314, the Scots routed the English in a battle made contemporarily familiar in the Mel Gibson movie, Braveheart, a fictional portrayal of the lives of William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. After Bannockburn, struggles between the two nations continued for several years with the Scots effectively pushing out the oppressive English. On April 6, 1320, a formal Declaration of Independence was crafted that has become known as The Treaty of Arbroath. Following is a quote from that Declaration (click here for the full text in English):

"As long as a hundred of us remain alive we will never be subject to tyrannical dominion because it is not for glory or riches or honours that we fight, but for FREEDOM ALONE which no worthy man loses except with his life."

Our Purpose:

The sole purpose of The Cymbrogi is to help fund and take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every nation in our generation. One of the methods used to accomplish this purpose is to develop and operate effective businesses that reflect the moral character of the Creator.

A Brief History

Quoted from Daniel Troy Carmichael:

Initially started as a sole proprietorship in 2001, The Cymbrogi LLC traces its history back to January 1997 in the San Francisco Bay Area. At that time I formed a company called DanCar Inc. that was a boutique technology consulting company. Through that business I came to realize that not only was God using that business to provide for me and others but also that I could have an eternal impact on the world around me by how I chose to live and do business.

After four-and-a-half years of operation, however, events required me to sell DanCar, which I did. (I would eventually buy it back before shutting its doors in 2004, but that's another story). At that time (2001) I started a sole proprietorship and began the process of choosing a name that had significant meaning to me as to my purpose and place in the marketplace. I chose for a name, The Cymbrogi.

Over the past years, The Cymbrogi has been involved in the energy business (natural gas combustion turbine, geothermal, hydroelectric, concentrated solar photovoltaic), technology (software development and business consulting), project management, real estate, nutritional & health, financial services, and manufacturing. In all of these endeavors, the purpose of The Cymbrogi has remained clear: to develop and operate effective businesses that reflect the character of God and further the advancement of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all ends of the Earth.