Note: This is general collected information that is under ongoing speculation. We recommend that you double check all information reported before referencing to it for your own projects.
General information
- People in Europe and Anatolia who were identified for their use in the Celtic language.
- Groups included the Gauls, Celtiberians, Gallaeci, Galatians, Lepontii, Britons, Gaels, etc.
- The Celts are linked with the Iron Age Hallstatt culture that followed it (ca 800-450 BC), named after the grave sites found in Hallstatt, Austria.
- Afterward came the La Tene culture (ca 450 BC onward), named after the La Tene site in Switzerland.
Geography and Timing
- It is proposed that Celtic culture spread across these areas by migration, westward to Gaul, the British Isles and Iberia, and southward to Cisalpline Gaul.
- Celts emerged as early as 1200 BC. They were found in Britain, Ireland, France and Spain. Traces can still be found in Ireland and Britain.
- By third century BC they controlled much of Europe north of the Alps mountain range.
- Under the reign of Julius Caesar, the Romans killed many Celts, forcing them to retreat to Britain where the Romans could not conquer them.
- The Galatians occupied much of the Asturias region, now northern Spain, fighting off the Romans and Moors (who dominated southern Spain)
- Galacia is a region in the northwest coast of Spain.
- Britons and Gauls were in the northwestern corner of present day France, a region known today as Brittany. One quarter of the region’s residents speak Breton, a Celtic language similar to Welsh. Romans defeated the Britons and pushed them on the island west of Wales and Cornwall, as well as north to Scotland.
- Romans built Hadrian’s Wall, now the border between England and Scotland, in 120 AD.
Language
- Proto-Celtic language arose in the late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of central Europe, which was at its peak around 1200 BC.
- In Wales, called “Cymru” by the Celts, the native tongue Welsh, is a Celtic language. In Cornwall very few speak Cornish, similar to Welsh and Briton.
- In Scotland, the Celtic language Scots Gael is spoken by a minority.
- Anglo Saxons took Britain from the Romans in fifth century AD, but were not able to invade Ireland, allowing the Gaels and Irish to survive.
Religion
- Christianity arrived in Ireland 432 AD with St. Patrick. Celtic traditions were fused with Christianity.
- It is said after mass killings of Druids, the religious leaders of the Celts, Catholicism was able to advance.
- Ireland’s national symbol, the shamrock (three leaves), represents the “Holy Trinity” of Catholic tradition.
- The Celtic cross is a Celtic approach to the Catholic cross.
Current Cultural Clubs
Sources
“Celts.” Wikipedia.
“Who Were Celts.” History.com.
Featured image: Gaelic inscription on headstone. Image by Mary Bettini Blank from Pixabay
