This article is about the ancient peoples of Europe; for Celts of the present day, see Modern Celts; for the archaeological artefact, see Celt (tool). Modern Celts are those peoples who are speakers of Celtic languages, or who consider themselves or have been considered by others to participate in a Celtic culture Celt tool Transyslvaniajpg|right|thumb|250px|Celts from Transylvania

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Celts (pronounced /ˈkɛlts/ or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts) is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language. The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Celtic nations are areas of modern northwest Europe which identify themselves with the Celtic cultures specifically speakers of Celtic languages. The early modern period is a term used by historians to refer to the period in Western '''Europe''' and its first colonies which spans the three centuries between Albanian (sq ''Gjuha shqipe'' ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ is an Indo-European language spoken by nearly 6 million peoplewhile others claim that it derives from Daco - The Armenian language (hy հայերեն լեզու hajɛɹɛn lɛzu —, conventional short form) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Indo-Iranian language group constitutes the easternmost extant branch of the Indo-European family of languages The Indo-Aryan languages (within the context of Indo-European studies also Indic) are a branch of the Indo-European language family The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family and its subfamily Indo-Iranian. The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family's Centum branch The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages The Anatolian languages are a group of extinct Indo-European languages which were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language The Paleo-Balkan languages were the Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Balkans in Ancient times. The Dacian language was spoken by the ancient inhabitants of Dacia. The Phrygian language was the Indo-European language of the Phrygians a people from Thrace who later migrated to Asia Minor. The Thracian language was the Indo-European language spoken in ancient times by the Thracians in South-Eastern Europe Tocharian or Tokharian is one of the branches of the Indo-European language family. } Albanians (Shqiptarët are an Ethnic group and a Nation, in the sense of sharing a common Albanian culture speaking the Albanian language The Armenians (Հայեր Hayer) are a Nation and Ethnic group originating in the Caucasus and in the Armenian Highlands A large The Balts or Baltic peoples (People who live by the Baltic Sea) defined as speakers of one of the Baltic languages, a branch of the Indo-European Modern Celts are those peoples who are speakers of Celtic languages, or who consider themselves or have been considered by others to participate in a Celtic culture This is a list of Germanic peoples. Classical philosophy The Greeks assigned names to populations they considered distinct based on the city-state ( The Greeks ( Greek: Έλληνες) are a Nation and Ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions The Iranian people are a collection of Ethnic groups defined along linguistic lines as speaking Iranian languages. Latin European peoples are those who speak Romance languages, descended from Vulgar Latin, spread during the time of the Roman Empire. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established Luwian (sometimes spelled Luvian) is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Illyrians has come to refer to a broad ill-defined " Indo-European " group of peoples who inhabited the western Balkans ( Illyria, roughly Ancient peoples of Italy are all those peoples that lived in Italy (including the islands of Sicily and Sardinia) before the Roman domination The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες The Scythians or Scyths (Σκύθες Σκύθοι were an Iranian speaking people of horse-riding Nomadic pastoralists who dominated the Pontic "Thracians" also refers to modern inhabitants of Thrace, regardless of ethnicity The Tocharians were the Tocharian -speaking inhabitants of the Tarim basin, making them the easternmost speakers of an Indo-European language in antiquity Indo-Iranian peoples consist of the Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Dardic and Nuristani peoples that is speakers of Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Aryan tribes mentioned in the Rigveda are described as semi- Nomadic pastoralists subdivided into temporary settlements ( vish, viś and headed Ancient Iranian peoples who settled Greater Iran in the 2nd millennium BC first appear in Assyrian records in the 9th century BC. The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language, who likely lived around 4000 BC, during the Copper Age and the The society of the Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE existed during the Bronze Age (roughly fifth to fourth millennium BC and has been reconstructed The existence of similarities among the deities and religious practices of the Indo-European (IE peoples allows glimpses of a common Proto-Indo-European The question of the homeland ( Urheimat) of the Proto-Indo-European peoples and their Proto-Indo-European language has been a recurring topic in Indo-European The Kurgan hypothesis (also theory or model) is a model of early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the Kurgan culture of the Pontic steppe The Anatolian hypothesis is also called Renfrew's NDT; it proposes that the dispersal ( Discontinuity) of Proto-Indo-Europeans originated in Neolithic The Armenian hypothesis of the Proto-Indo-European Urheimat, based on the Glottalic theory suggests that the Proto-Indo-European language The Out of India theory ( OIT, also called the Indian Urheimat Theory) is the proposition that the Indo-European language family originated in The Paleolithic Continuity Theory (or PCT,Italian La teoria della continuità) is a Hypothesis suggesting that the hypothetical Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies is a field of Linguistics dealing with Indo-European languages, both current and extinct The origin of the various names used since classical times for the people known today as the Celts is obscure and has been controversial The European peoples are the various Nations and Ethnic groups of Europe. The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. ^[1] The term is also used in a wider sense to describe the modern descendants of those peoples, notably those who participate in a Celtic culture. Modern Celts are those peoples who are speakers of Celtic languages, or who consider themselves or have been considered by others to participate in a Celtic culture

The historical Celts were a diverse group of tribal societies in Iron Age Europe. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Proto-Celtic culture formed in the Early Iron Age in Central Europe (Hallstatt period). Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Central Europe is the Region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and The Hallstatt culture was the predominant By the later Iron Age (La Tène period), Celts had expanded over wide range of lands: as far west as Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula, as far east as Galatia (central Anatolia), and as far north as Scotland. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. ^[2]

The earliest direct attestation of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions, beginning from the 6th century BC. Lepontic is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken in parts of Rhaetia and Cisalpine Gaul (today's Northern Italy) between 700 The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested only in inscriptions and place names. The Continental Celtic languages is a modern name for the Celtic languages, now all extinct that originated and were spoken on the continent of Europe (as opposed to the Insular Celtic is attested from about the 4th century AD in ogham inscriptions. The term Insular Celtic refers to those Celtic languages which originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of There are roughly 400 known Ogham inscriptions on stone monuments scattered around the Irish Sea, the bulk of them dating to the 5th and 6th centuries Literary tradition begins with Old Irish from about the 8th century. Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language, or rather the Goidelic languages, for which extensive written texts are possessed Coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. The earliest Irish authors It is unclear when literacy first came to Ireland

By the early centuries AD, following the expansion of the Roman Empire and the Great Migrations of Germanic peoples, Celtic culture had become restricted to the British Isles (Insular Celtic), with the Continental Celtic languages extinct by the mid-1st millennium AD. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The term Insular Celtic refers to those Celtic languages which originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of The Continental Celtic languages is a modern name for the Celtic languages, now all extinct that originated and were spoken on the continent of Europe (as opposed to the "Celtic Europe" today refers to the lands surrounding the Irish Sea, as well as Cornwall and Brittany on either side of the English Channel. Celtic nations are areas of modern northwest Europe which identify themselves with the Celtic cultures specifically speakers of Celtic languages. The Irish Sea ( Irish: Muir Éireann or Muir Meann; Scottish Gaelic: Muir Eireann Welsh: Môr Iwerddon, Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into

Contents 1 Names and terminology 2 Origins 2.1 Linguistic evidence 2.2 Archaeological evidence 2.3 Historical evidence 3 Distribution 3.1 Continental Celts 3.1.1 Gaul 3.1.2 Iberia 3.1.3 Alps and Po Valley 3.1.4 Eastward expansion 3.2 Insular Celts 4 Romanisation 5 Gaulish Calendar 6 Society 6.1 Clothing 6.2 Gender and sexual norms 7 Warfare and weapons 7.1 Swords 7.2 Celts as head-hunters? 8 Religion 8.1 Polytheism 8.2 Celtic Christianity 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links

Names and terminology

Main article: Names of the Celts

The origin of the various names used since classical times for the people known today as the Celts is obscure and has been controversial. The origin of the various names used since classical times for the people known today as the Celts is obscure and has been controversial Classical antiquity (also the classical era or classical period) is a broad term for a long period of cultural History centered on the Mediterranean In particular, there are actually 19 records of the term 'pictish' being used in connection with the inhabitants of Ireland and Britain prior to the 18th century. The Picts were a Confederation of tribes in what was later to become eastern and northern Scotland from Roman times until the 10th century

The Latin name Celtus (pl. Celti or Celtae; Greek Κέλτης pl. Κέλται or Κελτός pl. Κελτοί, Keltai or Keltoi) seems to be based on a native Celtic ethnic name. ^[3] However, the first literary reference to the Celtic people, as Κελτοί (Κeltoi), is by the Greek historian Hecataeus of Miletus in 517 BC; he says that the town of Massilia (Marseille) is near the Celts and also mentions a Celtic town of Nyrex (possibly Noreia in Austria). Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it Hecataeus of Miletus (c 550&ndashc 476 BC named after the Greek Goddess Hecate, was a Greek Philosopher of a wealthy Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Herodotus seems to locate the Keltoi at the source of the Danube and/or in Iberia, but the passage is unclear. Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra

The English word Celt is modern, attested from 1707 in the writings of Edward Lhuyd whose work, along with that of other late 17th century scholars, brought academic attention to the languages and history of these early inhabitants of Great Britain. Edward Lhuyd (sometimes rewritten as Llwyd in recent times (1660&ndash June 30, 1709) was a Welsh naturalist, botanist ^[4]

Latin Gallus might originally be from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name, perhaps borrowed into Latin during the early 400s BC Celtic expansions into Italy. A tribal name is a name of an Ethnic Tribe &mdashusually of ancient origin which represented its Self-identity. Its root may be the Common Celtic *galno, meaning 'power' or 'strength'. The Greek Galatai seems to be based on the same root, borrowed directly from the same hypothetical Celtic source which gave us Galli (the suffix -atai is simply an ethnic name indicator). (see Galatia in Anatolia)

The English form Gaul comes from the French Gaule and Gaulois, which is the traditional rendering of Latin Gallia and Gallus, -icus respectively. Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. However, the diphthong au points to a different origin, namely a Romance adaptation of the Germanic *Walha-. (see Gaul: Name) The English word 'Welsh' originates from the word wælisc, the Anglo-Saxon form of walhiska-, the Germanic word for "foreign". Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Walh (singular or Walha (plural ( is an ancient Germanic word meaning "foreigner" or "stranger" ( Welsh) or "roman" ^[5]

'Celticity' generally refers to the cultural commonalities of these peoples, based on similarities in language, material artifacts, social organisation and mythological factors. Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate" generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic Celtic mythology is the Mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the Religion of the Iron Age Celts Like other Iron Age Earlier theories were that this indicated a common racial origin but more recent theories are reflective of culture and language rather than race. Celtic cultures seem to have had numerous diverse characteristics but the commonality between these diverse peoples was the use of a Celtic language.

'Celtic' is a descriptor of a family of languages and, more generally, means 'of the Celts,' or 'in the style of the Celts'. It has also been used to refer to several archaeological cultures defined by unique sets of artifacts. The link between language and artifact is aided by the presence of inscriptions. (see Celtic (disambiguation) for other applications of the term)

Today, the term 'Celtic' is generally used to describe the languages and respective cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany, also known as the Six Celtic Nations. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Cornwall ( Kernow ˈkɛɹnɔʊ is the most southwesterly county of England, on the Peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar The Isle of Man (Ellan Vannin ˈɛlʲən ˈvanɪn or Mann (Mannin) is a self-governing Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea at the geographical Brittany (Breizh bʁejs Bretagne; Gallo: Bertaèyn) is a former independent Celtic kingdom and Duchy, now incorporated into Celtic nations are areas of modern northwest Europe which identify themselves with the Celtic cultures specifically speakers of Celtic languages. These are the regions where four Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent as mother tongues: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton plus two recent revivals, Cornish (one of the Brythonic languages) and Manx (one of the Goidelic languages). Irish (ga ''Gaeilge'' is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. The Welsh people ( Welsh: Cymro ("Welshman" Cymraes ("Welsh woman" Cymry ("Welshmen/women" Cymry The Breton language ( Brezhoneg) formerly often called Armoric or Armorican, is a Celtic language spoken by some of the inhabitants of Brittany For the Cornish-English dialect see West Country dialects and List of Cornish dialect words. The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being Manx ( Gaelg or Gailck, ɡilk or) also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language once spoken on the Isle The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect 'Celtic' is also sometimes used to describe regions of Continental Europe that have Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language has survived; these areas include the western Iberian Peninsula, i. Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the Continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra e. Portugal, and north-central Spain (Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and León, Extremadura), and to a lesser degree, France. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. The Principality of Asturias ( Spanish: Principado de Asturias, Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies or Asturies) is an Cantabria is a Spanish province and Autonomous community with Santander as its capital city Castile and León (Castilla y León known formally as the Community of Castile and León is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. (see Modern Celts)

'Continental Celts' refers to the Celtic-speaking people of mainland Europe. Modern Celts are those peoples who are speakers of Celtic languages, or who consider themselves or have been considered by others to participate in a Celtic culture 'Insular Celts' refers to the Celtic-speaking people of the British Isles and their descendants. The British Isles (Irish variously Na hOileáin Bhriotanacha, Oileáin Iarthair Eorpa, Éire agus an Bhreatain Mhór; Ellanyn Goaldagh Eileanan The Celts of Brittany derive their language from migrating insular Celts from the British Isles and so are grouped accordingly.

Origins

The Celtic languages form a branch of the larger Indo-European family. The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic" a branch of the greater Indo-European Language family. By the time speakers of Celtic languages enter history around 400 BC (Brennus's attack on Rome in 387 BC), they were already split into several language groups, and spread over much of Central Europe, the Iberian peninsula, Ireland and Britain. Brennus (or Brennos) was a chieftain of the Senones, a Gallic tribe originating from the modern areas of France known as Seine-et-Marne Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra

Some scholars think that the Urnfield culture of northern Germany and the Netherlands represents an origin for the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European family. The Urnfield culture (c 1300 BC - 750 BC) was a late Bronze Age culture of central Europe. This culture was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age, from ca. The term Bronze Age refers to a period in human cultural development when the most advanced Metalworking (at least in systematic and widespread use included techniques for 1200 BC until 700 BC, itself following the Unetice and Tumulus cultures. Unetice -- or more properly Únětice culture (German Aunjetitz -- is the name given to an early Bronze Age culture, preceded by the Beaker culture The Tumulus culture dominated Central Europe during the Middle Bronze Age (ca The Urnfield period saw a dramatic increase in population in the region, probably due to innovations in technology and agricultural practices. The Greek historian Ephoros of Cyme in Asia Minor, writing in the fourth century BC, believed that the Celts came from the islands off the mouth of the Rhine who were "driven from their homes by the frequency of wars and the violent rising of the sea". Ephorus or Ephoros ( Ancient Greek:, c 400 - 330 BC) of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia The Rhine (Rhein Rijn Rhin Reno Rain Rhenus is one of the longest and most important Rivers in Europe at 1320 kilometres (820 mi with an average discharge

The spread of iron-working led to the development of the Hallstatt culture directly from the Urnfield (c. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. The Hallstatt culture was the predominant 700 to 500 BC). Proto-Celtic, the latest common ancestor of all known Celtic languages, is considered by this school of thought to have been spoken at the time of the late Urnfield or early Hallstatt cultures, in the early first millennium BC. Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of successive empires The spread of the Celtic languages to Iberia, Ireland and Britain would have occurred during the first half of the 1st millennium, the earliest chariot burials in Britain dating to ca. The first millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 1, and ended on December 31, 1000, of the Julian calendar. Chariot burials are Tombs in which the deceased was buried together with his Chariot, usually including his (more rarely her Horses and other possessions 500 BC. Over the centuries they developed into the separate Celtiberian, Goidelic and Brythonic languages. Celtiberian (also known as northeastern Hispano-Celtic) is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being

The Hallstatt culture was succeeded by the La Tène culture of central Europe, and during the final stages of the Iron Age gradually transformed into the explicitly Celtic culture of early historical times. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. Celtic river-names are found in great numbers around the upper reaches of the Danube and Rhine, which led many Celtic scholars to place the ethnogenesis of the Celts in this area. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj Ethnogenesis (From Greek: ethnos ( group of people nation and genesis ( a coming into being is the process by which a group of human beings comes

Diodorus Siculus and Strabo both suggest that the Celtic heartland was in southern France. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. The former says that the Gauls were to the north of the Celts but that the Romans referred to both as Gauls. Before the discoveries at Hallstatt and La Tene, it was generally considered that the Celtic heartland was southern France, see Encyclopedia Britannica for 1813.

Almagro-Gorbea^[6] proposed the origins of the Celts could be traced back to the third millennium BC, seeking the initial roots in the Bell Beaker culture, thus offering the wide dispersion of the Celts throughout western Europe, as well as the variability of the different Celtic peoples, and the existence of ancestral traditions an ancient perspective. The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; Glockenbecherkultur) ca

Linguistic evidence

Main article: Proto-Celtic language

The Proto-Celtic language is usually dated to the early European Iron Age. Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows Phonological reconstruction Consonants The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic Consonants may be summarised as follows This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. The earliest records of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions of Cisalpine Gaul, the oldest of which still predate the La Tène period. Lepontic is an extinct Celtic language that was spoken in parts of Rhaetia and Cisalpine Gaul (today's Northern Italy) between 700 Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site Other early inscriptions are Gaulish, appearing from the early La Tène period in inscriptions in the area of Massilia, in the Greek alphabet. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became Marseille, ( English alt Marseilles mɑrˈseɪ — French: maʁsɛj locally — Provençal Occitan: Marselha maʀˈsijɔ Celtiberian inscriptions appear comparatively late, after about 200 BC. Celtiberian (also known as northeastern Hispano-Celtic) is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians Evidence of Insular Celtic is available only from about AD 400, in the form of Primitive Irish Ogham inscriptions. The term Insular Celtic refers to those Celtic languages which originated in the British Isles, in contrast to the Continental Celtic languages of Primitive Irish is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages, known only from fragments mostly personal names inscribed on stone in the Ogham alphabet in There are roughly 400 known Ogham inscriptions on stone monuments scattered around the Irish Sea, the bulk of them dating to the 5th and 6th centuries Besides epigraphical evidence, an important source of information on early Celtic is toponymy. Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names ( toponyms) their origins meanings use and Typology. ^[7]

Very few references to the language of the Celts are found in ancient ethnography. Ethnography ( Greek ethnos = people and graphein = writing is a genre of writing that uses Fieldwork to provide a descriptive Jerome (AD 342-419) in his commentary on St Paul's epistle to the Galatians notes that the language of the Anatolian Galatians in his day was still very similar to the language of the Treveri. Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and The Epistle to the Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle, within the southern fringes of the Arduenna Silva ^[8] St Jerome probably had first-hand knowledge of these Celtic languages, as he had visited both Augusta Treverorum and Galatia. Trier (Trèves Luxembourgish: Tréier; Augusta Treverorum is a City in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. ^[9]

Archaeological evidence

Further information: Iron Age Europe

Traditionally the Celts were considered a Central European Iron Age phenomenon, through the cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man. However, archaeological finds from the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures were rare in the Iberian Peninsula, and did not provide enough evidence for a cultural scenario comparable to that of Central Europe. It is considered equally difficult to maintain that the origin of the Peninsular Celts can be linked to the preceding Urnfield culture, leading to a more recent approach that introduces a 'proto-Celtic' substratum and a process of Celticization having its initial roots in the Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture. The Bell-Beaker culture (sometimes shortened to Beaker culture, Beaker people, or Beaker folk; Glockenbecherkultur) ca ^[10]

The Iron Age Hallstatt (c. The Hallstatt culture was the predominant 800-475 BC) and La Tène (c. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site 500-50 BC) cultures are typically associated with Proto-Celtic and Celtic culture. ^[11]

The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age (from 450 BCE to the Roman conquest in the 1st century BCE) in eastern France, Switzerland, Austria, southwest Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic It developed out of the Hallstatt culture without any definite cultural break, under the impetus of considerable Mediterranean influence from Greek, and later Etruscan civilizations. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Etruscan civilization is the modern English name given to the culture and way of life of a people of ancient Italy A shift of settlement centres took place in the 4th century.

The western La Tène culture corresponds to historical Celtic Gaul. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Whether this means that the whole of La Tène culture can be attributed to a unified Celtic people is difficult to assess; archaeologists have repeatedly concluded that language, material culture, and political affiliation do not necessarily run parallel. Frey notes that in the 5th century, "burial customs in the Celtic world were not uniform; rather, localised groups had their own beliefs, which, in consequence, also gave rise to distinct artistic expressions". ^[12] Thus, while the La Tène culture is certainly associated with the Gauls, the presence of La Tène artefacts may be due to cultural contact and does not imply the permanent presence of Celtic speakers. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western

Historical evidence

Polybius published a history of Rome about 150 BC in which he describes the Gauls of Italy and their conflict with Rome. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Pausanias in the second century BC says that the Gauls "originally called Celts live on the remotest region of Europe on the coast of an enormous tidal sea". Posidonius described the southern Gauls about 100 BC. Posidonius ( Greek: Ποσειδώνιος / Poseidonios "of Apameia " (ὁ Απαμεύς or "of Rhodes " (ὁ Ρόδιος (ca Though his original work is lost it was used by later writers such as Strabo. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. The latter, writing in the early first century AD, deals with Britain and Gaul as well as Hispania, Italy and Galatia. Caesar wrote extensively about his Gallic Wars in 58-51 BC. Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar 's third-person account of his nine years of war in Gaul. Diodorus Siculus wrote about the Celts of Gaul and Britain in his first century History.

Distribution

Continental Celts

Gaul

Main article: Gaul

At the dawn of history in Europe, the Celts then living in what is now France were known as Gauls to the Romans. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The territory of these peoples probably included the low countries, the Alps and what is now northern Italy. Their descendants were described by Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars. The Gallic Wars were a series of Military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes, lasting from Eastern Gaul was the centre of the western La Tene culture. In later Iron Age Gaul, the social organization was similar to that of the Romans, with large towns. From the third century BC the Gauls adopted coinage, and texts with Greek characters are known in southern Gaul from the second century.

Greek traders founded Massalia in about 600BC, with exchange up the Rhone valley, but trade was disrupted soon after 500BC and re-oriented over the Alps to the Po valley in Italy. The Romans arrived in the Rhone valley in the second century BC and encountered a Gaul that was mostly Celtic-speaking. Rome needed land communications with its Iberian provinces and fought a major battle with the Saluvii at Entremont in 124-123 BC. Gradually Roman control extended, and the Roman Province of Gallia Transalpina was formed along the Mediterranean coast. The remainder was known as Gallia Comata - "Hairy Gaul".

In 58 BC, the Helvetii planned to migrate westward but were forced back by Julius Caesar. He then became involved in fighting the various tribes in Gaul, and by 55 BC, most of Gaul had been overrun. In 52 BC, Vercingetorix led a revolt against the Roman occupation but was defeated at the siege of Alesia and surrendered.

Following the Gallic Wars of 58-51 BC, Celticia formed the main part of Roman Gaul. Place name analysis shows that Celtic was used east of the Garonne river and south of the Seine and Marne.

Iberia

Main article: Celtiberians

See also: Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, Prehistoric Iberia, Hispania, Lusitania, Gallaecia, and Celtici

Traditional 18th/19th centuries scholarship surrounding the Celts virtually ignored the Iberian Peninsula, since material culture relatable to the Hallstatt and La Tène cultures that has defined Iron Age Celts was rare in Iberia, and did not provide a cultural scenario that could easily be linked to that of Central Europe. The Celtiberians (or Celt-Iberians were a Celtic people of Hallstatt culture This is a list of the Pre- Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania - modern Andorra, Portugal and Spain The Prehistory of the Iberian peninsula begins with the arrival of the first Hominins c Hispania was the name given by the Romans to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar This article concerns the Roman province For the ship see RMS Lusitania. Gallaecia or Callaecia was the name of a Roman province that comprised The Celtici were a Celtic tribe of the Iberian peninsula, akin either to the Lusitanians and Gallaecians or the Celtiberians, living The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra In addition to its usual meaning in Social science, in Archaeology, the term culture is also used in reference to several related concepts unique to Hallstatt, Upper Austria is a village in the Salzkammergut, a region in Austria. The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site This article is about the archaeological period known as the Iron Age for the mythological Iron Age see Ages of Man.

Modern scholarship, however, has proven that Celtic presence and influences were very substantial in Iberia. The Celts in Iberia were divided in two main archaeological and cultural groups, even if the divide is not very clear:

• One group, from Galicia and along the Iberian Atlantic shores. Galicia (occasionally Galiza) is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. }} Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. They were made up of the Lusitanians (in Portugal and the Celtic region that Strabo called Celtica in the southwest including the Algarve, inhabited by the Celtici), the Vettones and Vacceani peoples (of central west Spain and Portugal), and the Gallaecian, Astures and Cantabrian peoples of the Castro culture of north and northwest Spain and Portugal). The Lusitanians (or Lusitani in Latin) were an Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. The Algarve ( pron aɫ'gaɾv(ɨ is the southernmost region of mainland Portugal. The Celtici were a Celtic tribe of the Iberian peninsula, akin either to the Lusitanians and Gallaecians or the Celtiberians, living The Vettones were one of the pre- Roman Celtic peoples of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, modern Spain and Portugal The Vaccaei were an ancient tribe who settled in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Gallaecia or Callaecia was the name of a Roman province that comprised The Astures were the original Indo-European inhabitants of the northwest area of Hispania that now comprises almost the entire modern Autonomous community The Cantabri were an ancient confederacy of eleven tribes either Celtic or pre-Indo European, that inhabited the north coast of Hispania in the whole Castro culture ( cultura castreja in Portuguese, cultura castrexa in Galician and cultura castreña in Spanish,
• The Celtiberian group of central Spain and the upper Ebro valley. The Celtiberians (or Celt-Iberians were a Celtic people of Hallstatt culture The group originated when Celts migrated from what is now France and integrated with the local Iberian people. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources (among others Hecataeus of Miletus, Avienus, Herodot and Strabo

The origins of the Celtiberians might provide a key to unlocking the Celticization process in the rest of the Peninsula. The process of celticization of the southwest by the Keltoi and of the northwest is however not a simple celtiberian question. Recent investigation about the Callaici Bracari in northwest Portugal is bringing new approaches to understanding Celtic culture (language, art and religion) in western Iberia. The Gallaeci, Callaeci, or Callaici were a Pre- Roman Celtic single or various tribes living in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula The Bracari were an ancient Celtic tribe of Gallaecia, akin to the Calaicians or Gallaeci, living in the northwest of modern Portugal, in ^[13]

Alps and Po Valley

Main article: Cisalpine Gaul

Further information: History of the Alps

There was an early Celtic presence in northern Italy since inscriptions dated to the sixth century BC have been found there. Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later The Valleys of the Alps have been inhabited since prehistoric times In 391 BC Celts "who had their homes beyond the Alps streamed through the passes in great strength and seized the territory that lay between the Appeninne mountains and the Alps" according to Diodorus Siculus. The Po Valley and the rest of northern Italy (known to the Romans as Cisalpine Gaul) was inhabited by Celtic-speakers who founded cities such as Milan. The Po ( Latin: Padus, Po Ligurian: Bo, Greek: Eridanus) is a river that flows 652 km(405 miles (682 km by considering Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later Milan (Milano Milan (listen) is one of the largest cities in Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. Later the Roman army was routed at the battle of Allia and Rome was sacked in 390 BC by the Senones. The Senones were a Gallic people of Gallia Celtica, who in the time of Julius Caesar inhabited the district which now includes the departments of

At the battle of Telemon in 225 BC a large Celtic army was trapped between two Roman forces and crushed.

The defeat of the combined Samnite, Celtic and Etruscan alliance by the Romans in the Third Samnite War sounded the beginning of the end of the Celtic domination in mainland Europe, but it was not until 192 BC that the Roman armies conquered the last remaining independent Celtic kingdoms in Italy. Samnium ( Oscan: Safinim; Italian Sannio) is a historical region of the south central Apennines in Italy, that was home to the The First, Second, and Third Samnite wars, between the early Roman Republic and the tribes of Samnium, extended over half a century involving

The Celts settled much further south of the Po River than many maps show. Remnants in the town of Doccia, in the province of Emilia-Romagna, showcase Celtic houses in very good condition dating from about the 4th century BC. Emilia-Romagna is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. The capital is Bologna.

Eastward expansion

The Celts also expanded down the Danube river and its tributaries. The Danube (In Donau from earlier Danuvius, Celtic *dānu, meaning "to flow run" Slovak and Polish Dunaj One of the most influential tribes, the Scordisci, had established their capital at Singidunum in 3rd century BC, which is present-day Belgrade, Serbia. Scordisci were in ancient geography a war-like tribe inhabiting the southern part of lower Pannonia, comprising parts of the present-day countries Austria, Singidunum was an ancient Roman city first settled by the Celtic Scordisci tribe in the 3rd century BC and later garrisoned and fortified by the Romans Belgrade (Београд Beograd is the Capital and largest city of Serbia. Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country The concentration of hill-forts and cemeteries shows a density of population in the Tisza valley of modern-day Vojvodina, Serbia, Hungary and into Ukraine. "Tisa" redirects here For other uses see Tisa (disambiguation and Tisza (disambiguation. The Autonomous Province of Vojvodina ( Serbian: Аутономна Покрајина Војводина or Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina; Hungarian: Vajdaság Serbia (Србија Srbija) officially the Republic of Serbia (Република Србија Republika Srbija) is a Landlocked Country Hungary (Magyarország 'mɔɟɔrorsaːg) officially in English the Republic of Hungary ( Magyar Köztársaság, literally Magyar (Hungarian Republic Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Expansion into Romania was however blocked by the Dacians. Romania ( dated: Rumania, Roumania The Dacians ( Lat Daci, Gr Dákai) were a Thracian people the ancient inhabitants of Dacia (located in the area

Further south, Celts settled in Thrace (Bulgaria), which they ruled for over a century, and Anatolia, where they settled as the Galatians. Thrace (Тракия Trakiya or "Trakija" or Trakia, Θράκη Thráki, Trakya is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe The state of Bulgaria (България transliterated bg-Latn ''Balgaria'' The country preserves the traditions (in ethnic name language and alphabet of the First Bulgarian Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Despite their geographical isolation from the rest of the Celtic world, the Galatians maintained their Celtic language for at least seven hundred years. St Jerome, who visited Ancyra (modern-day Ankara) in 373 AD, likened their language to that of the Treveri of northern Gaul. Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after İstanbul. The Treveri or Treviri were a tribe of Gauls who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle, within the southern fringes of the Arduenna Silva

The Boii tribe gave their name to Bohemia and Bologna, and Celtic artefacts and cemeteries have been discovered further east in what is now Poland and Slovakia. Boii ( Latin plural singular Boius; Greek) is the Roman name of an ancient Celtic tribe, attested at various Bohemia (Čechy; Bohemia Czechy is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands, currently the Bologna (boloɲa from Latin Bononia, Bulåggna in Bolognese dialect is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million A celtic coin (Biatec) from Bratislava's mint is displayed on today's Slovak 5 crown coin. Biatec was the name of a person presumably a king who appeared on the Celtic Coins minted by the Boii in Bratislava (the capital of Slovakia ARTICLE TEXT BEGINS AFTER THESE COMMENTS - PLEASE READ 1 Please do not edit the lead without reading

As there is no archaeological evidence for large scale invasions in some of the other areas, one current school of thought holds that Celtic language and culture spread to those areas by contact rather than invasion. However, the Celtic invasions of Italy, Greece, and western Anatolia are well documented in Greek and Latin history.

There are records of Celtic mercenaries in Egypt serving the Ptolemies. Thousands were employed in 283-246 BC and they were also in service around 186 BC. They attempted to overthrow Ptolemy II.

Insular Celts

Main articles: Iron Age Britain, Gaels, Britons (historic), and Genetic history of the British Isles

A large portion of the indigenous populations of Britain and Ireland today may be partially descended from the ancient peoples that have long inhabited these lands, before the coming of Celtic and later Germanic peoples, language and culture. Little is known of their original culture and language, but remnants of the latter may remain in the names of some geographical features, such as the rivers Clyde, Tamar and Thames, whose etymology is unclear but possibly derive from a pre-Celtic substrate (Gelling). The River Clyde ( Gaelic: Abhainn Chluaidh, avɪɲˈxɫ̪uəj is a major River in Scotland. The Tamar is a River in south western England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east and Cornwall (to the west The Thames ( is a major River flowing through southern England. In Contact linguistics, a substratum ( lat sub: under + stratum: layer → lower layer) is a Language By the Roman period, however, most of the inhabitants of the isles of Ireland and Britain were speaking Goidelic or Brythonic languages, close counterparts to the Celtic languages spoken on the European mainland. The Goidelic languages, (also sometimes called particularly in colloquial situations the Gaelic languages or collectively Gaelic) historically formed a Dialect The Brythonic languages (or Brittonic languages or British languages) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family the other being

Historians explained this as the result of successive invasions from the European continent by diverse Celtic-speaking peoples over the course of several centuries, though this is now generally seen as only the elite. An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all or large parts of the Armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory The Book of Leinster, written in the twelfth century, but drawing on a much earlier Irish oral tradition, states that the first Celts to arrive in Ireland were from Iberia. The Book of Leinster ( Irish Lebor Laignech) formerly known as the Book of Noughaval ( Lebor na Nuachongbála) is a Medieval Irish In 1946 the Celtic scholar T. F. O'Rahilly published his extremely influential model of the early history of Ireland which postulated four separate waves of Celtic invaders. Thomas Francis O'Rahilly, Irish name Tomás Proinsias Ó Rathaile (1883–1953 was an influential scholar of the Celtic languages, particularly in the Prehistory Mesolithic (8000 BC - 4500 BC What little is known of pre- Christian Ireland comes from a few references in Roman writings It is still not known what languages were spoken by the peoples of Ireland and Britain before the arrival of the Celts.

Later research indicated that the culture may have developed gradually and continuously between the Celts and the indigenous people of Britain. Similarly in Ireland little archaeological evidence was found for large intrusive groups of Celtic immigrants, suggesting to archaeologists such as Colin Renfrew that the native late Bronze Age inhabitants gradually absorbed European Celtic influences and language. Andrew Colin Renfrew Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn (b in Stockton-on-Tees) is an English Archaeologist, noted for his work on the Radiocarbon revolution Although archaeological evidence has often been proved unreliable in the past. It should also be noted that genetic evidence proves that most Celtic people of coastal and northern Ireland have little traces of R1b genes, therefore indicating that when the Celts came to Ireland, the absorption of the indigenous inhabitants was regional (mainly central). ^[14]

Julius Caesar wrote of people in Britain who came from Belgium (the Belgae), but archaeological evidence which was interpreted in the 1930s as confirming this was contradicted by later interpretations. The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul in the 1st century BC and later also attested in Britain. The archaeological evidence is of substantial cultural continuity through the first millennium BC, although with a significant overlay of selectively-adopted elements of La Tène culture. There is numismatic and other evidence of continental-style states appearing in southern England close to the end of the period, possibly reflecting in part immigration by élites from various Gallic states such as those of the Belgae. However, this immigration would be far too late to account for the origins of Insular Celtic languages. In the 1970s the continuity model was taken to an extreme, popularized by Colin Burgess in his book The Age of Stonehenge which theorised that Celtic culture in Great Britain "emerged" rather than resulted from invasion and that the Celts were not invading aliens, but the descendants of the people of Stonehenge. Colin Burgess (1947 -) is an Australian author and historian specializing in space flight and military history The existence of Celtic language elsewhere in Europe, however, and the dating of the Proto-Celtic culture and language to the Bronze Age, makes the most extreme claims of continuity impossible.

More recently a number of genetic studies have also supported this model of culture and language being absorbed by native populations. Genetics (from Ancient Greek grc-Latn genetikos, “genitive” and that from grc-Latn genesis, “origin” a discipline of Biology, is A study by Christian Capelli, David Goldstein and others at University College, London showed that genes associated with Gaelic names in Ireland and Scotland are also common in certain parts of Wales (in most cases) are similar to the genes of the Basque people, who speak a non-Indo-European language. University College London ( UCL) is a multi-faculty university institution based in the United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. This similarity supported earlier findings in suggesting a large pre-Celtic genetic ancestry, possibly going back to the Paleolithic. The term Paleolithic (or Palaeolithic) (from Greek παλαιός palaios, " Old " and λίθος Lithos, "stone" They suggest that 'Celtic' culture and the Celtic language may have been imported to Britain by cultural contact, not mass invasions around 600 BC.

Some recent studies have suggested that, contrary to long-standing beliefs, the Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons) did not wipe out the Romano-British of England but rather, over the course of six centuries, conquered the native Brythonic people of what is now England and south-east Scotland and imposed their culture and language upon them, much as the Gaels may have spread over Northern Britain. The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the cultural ancestral region of Angeln, a modern district located in The Saxons or Saxon people were a Confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Romano-British culture is that of the Romanized Britons under the Roman Empire and later the Western Roman Empire, and of those exposed to Roman culture in the years The Gododdin (goˈdoðin were a Brythonic people of north-eastern Britain (modern north-east England and south-east Scotland) in the sub-Roman Still others maintain that the picture is mixed and that in some places the indigenous population was indeed wiped out while in others it was assimilated. According to this school of thought the populations of Yorkshire, East Anglia, Northumberland and the Orkney and Shetland Islands are those populations with the fewest traces of ancient (Celtic) British continuation. East Anglia is often used as a shorthand for the Kingdom of the East Angles. Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of ^[15]

The Celtic invasion of the British Isles is difficult to document genetically. In Britain and Ireland the Iron Age lasted from about the 7th century BC until the Roman conquest and until the 5th century in non- Romanised Two published books - The Blood of the Isles by Bryan Sykes and The Origins of the British: a Genetic Detective Story by Stephen Oppenheimer - are based upon recent genetic studies, and show that the majority of Britons have ancestors from the Iberian Peninsula, as a result of a series of migrations that took place during the Mesolithic and, to a lesser extent, the Neolithic eras. Bryan Sykes is Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College. Stephen Oppenheimer (born 1947 a British physician a member of Green College Oxford and an honorary fellow of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, performs and The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra The Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age was a period in the development of human technology in between the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age and the Neolithic or New Stone Age The Neolithic (from Greek νεολιθικός — neolithikos from νέος neos, "new" + λίθος lithos ^[16][17]

Sykes sees little genetic evidence relating to people from the heartland of the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. On the paternal side he finds that the "Oisin" (R1b) clan is in the majority which has strong affinities to Iberia, with no evidence of a large scale arrival from Central Europe. He considers that the genetic structure of Britain and Ireland is "Celtic":

Romanisation

Under Caesar the Romans conquered Celtic Gaul, and from Claudius onward the Roman empire absorbed parts of Britain. Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I ( August 1, 10 BC &ndash October 13, AD 54 ( Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to Roman local government of these regions closely mirrored pre-Roman 'tribal' boundaries, and archaeological finds suggest native involvement in local government. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use Latin was the official language of these regions after the conquests. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory

The native peoples under Roman rule became Romanized and keen to adopt Roman ways. Celtic art had already incorporated classical influences, and surviving Gallo-Roman pieces interpret classical subjects or keep faith with old traditions despite a Roman overlay.

The Roman occupation of Gaul, and to a lesser extent of Britain, led to Roman-Celtic syncretism (see Roman Gaul, Roman Britain). Syncretism consists of the attempt to reconcile disparate or contradictory beliefs often while melding practices of various schools of thought For Gaul before the Roman conquest see Gaul. Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in the Roman Empire, in modern day Roman Britain refers to those parts of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire between AD 43 and 410 In the case of the continental Celts, this eventually resulted in a language shift to Vulgar Latin (see also Gallo-Roman culture), while the Insular Celts retained their language. Language shift, sometimes referred to as language transfer or language replacement or assimilation, is the progressive process whereby a speech community Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin This article covers the culture of Romanized areas of Gaul. For the political history of the brief "Gallic Empire" of the 3rd century see Gallic Empire However, the Celts were master horsemen, which so impressed the Romans that they adopted Epona, the Celtic horse goddess, into their pantheon. In Gallo-Roman religion Celtic mythology without citing a specific instance of Celtic mythology where Epona appears please --> Epona '''po''' nə During and after the fall of the Roman Empire many parts of France threw out their Roman administrators.

Gaulish Calendar

The Coligny Calendar, which was found in 1897 in Coligny, Ain, was engraved on a bronze tablet, preserved in 73 fragments, that originally was 1. The Gaulish Coligny Calendar was found in Coligny, Ain, France ( near Lyon in 1897 along with the head of a bronze statue of Coligny is a commune, near Bourg-en-Bresse in the department of Ain in eastern France. Ain (ɛ̃ Arpitan: En) is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Bronze is any of a broad range of Copper alloys, usually with Tin as the main additive but sometimes with other elements such as Phosphorus 48 m wide and 0. 9 m high (Lambert p. 111). Based on the style of lettering and the accompanying objects, it probably dates to the end of the 2nd century. ^[18] It is written in Latin inscriptional capitals, and is in the Gaulish language. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became The restored tablet contains sixteen vertical columns, with sixty-two months distributed over five years.

The French archaeologist J. Monard speculated that it was recorded by druids wishing to preserve their tradition of timekeeping in a time when the Julian calendar was imposed throughout the Roman Empire. A druid was a member of the priestly and learned class in the ancient Celtic societies The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial However, the general form of the calendar suggests the public peg calendars (or parapegmata) found throughout the Greek and Roman world^[19]

There were four major festivals in the Gallic Calendar: "Imbolc" on 1 February, possibly linked to the lactation of the ewes and sacred to the Irish Goddess Brigid. Events 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen "Beltaine" on 1 May, connected to fertility and warmth, possibly linked to the Sun God Belenos. Events 305 - Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman Emperor. "Lúnasa" on 1 August, connected with the harvest and associated with the God Lugh. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman And finally "Samhain" on 1 November, possibly the start of the year. Events 996 - Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk Bishop of Freising which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi ^[20] Two of these festivals, Beltaine and Lúnasa are shown on the Coligny Calendar by sigils, and it is not too much of a stretch of the imagination to match the first month on the Calendar (Samonios) to Samhain. Imbolc does not seem to be shown at all however. ^[21]

The Celtic Calendar seems to be based on astronomy^[22] but how any astrology system would have worked is harder to tell. We have to base our knowledge on Old Irish manuscripts, none of which have been published or fully translated. Old Irish is the name given to the oldest form of the Irish language, or rather the Goidelic languages, for which extensive written texts are possessed It seems to have been based on an indigenous Irish symbol system, and not that of any of the more commonly-known astrological systems such as Western, Chinese or Vedic astrology. Western astrology is the system of Astrology most popular in Western countries The Chinese Zodiac is a 12 year cycle Each year of the 12 year cycle is named after one of the original 12 animals Jyotiṣa ( Sanskrit jyotiṣa, from jyótis- "light heavenly body" also spelled Jyotish and Jyotisha in English ^[23]

Society

To the extent that sources are available, they depict a pre-Christian Celtic social structure based formally on class and kinship. Social structure is a term frequently used in Sociology and Social theory — yet rarely defined or clearly conceptualised (Abercrombie et al Patron-client relationships similar to those of Roman society are also described by Caesar and others in the Gaul of the first century BC. The 1st century BC started the first day of 100 BC and ended the last day of 1 BC.

In the main, the evidence is of tribes being led by kings, although some argue that there is evidence of oligarchical republican forms of government eventually emerging in areas in close contact with Rome. A system of government is a term that refers to the set of political Institutions by which a Government of a State is organized in order to exert its powers Most descriptions of Celtic societies describe them as being divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy; an intellectual class including professions such as druid, poet, and jurist; and everyone else. There are instances recorded where women participated both in warfare and in kingship, although they were in the minority in these areas. In historical times, the offices of high and low kings in Ireland and Scotland were filled by election under the system of tanistry, which eventually came into conflict with the feudal principle of primogeniture where the succession goes to the first born son. Tanistry was a system for passing on titles and lands In this system the Tanist ( Irish Tánaiste; Scottish Gaelic Tànaiste Primogeniture is the Common law right of the Firstborn son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings

Little is known of family structure among the Celts. Athenaeus in his Deipnosophists, 13. Athenaeus ( Ancient Greek - Athếnaios Naukratios Latin Athenaeus Naucratita of Naucratis in Egypt Greek rhetorician and grammarian flourished 603, claims that "the Celts, in spite of the fact that their women are the most beautiful of all the barbarian tribes, prefer boys as sexual partners. There are some of them who will regularly go to bed – on those animal skins of theirs – with a pair of lovers", implying a woman and a boy. Such reports reflect an outsider's observation of Celtic culture. ^[24] It is unknown whether Athenaeus, born in Egypt of Greek origin ever visited any Celts since little is known about him beyond his surviving writings.

Patterns of settlement varied from decentralised to the urban. The popular stereotype of non-urbanised societies settled in hillforts and duns, drawn from Britain and Ireland contrasts with the urban settlements present in the core Hallstatt and La Tene areas, with the many significant oppida of Gaul late in the first millennium BC, and with the towns of Gallia Cisalpina. A hill fort is a fortified refuge or defended settlement Dun (from the Brythonic Din (modern Welsh Dinas and Gaelic Dùn, meaning fort) is now used both as a generic term for a fort Cisalpine Gaul ( Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, meaning " Gaul on this side of the Alps " was the Roman name for a geographical area (later

There is archaeological evidence to suggest that the pre-Roman Celtic societies were linked to the network of overland trade routes that spanned Eurasia. A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo Large prehistoric trackways crossing bogs in Ireland and Germany have been found by archaeologists. They are believed to have been created for wheeled transport as part of an extensive roadway system that facilitated trade. ^[25] The territory held by the Celts contained tin, lead, iron, silver and gold. ^[26] Celtic smiths and metalworkers created weapons and jewelry for international trade, particularly with the Romans.

Local trade was largely in the form of barter, but as with most tribal societies they probably had a reciprocal economy in which goods and other services are not exchanged, but are given on the basis of mutual relationships and the obligations of kinship. Low value coinages of potin, silver and bronze, suitable for use in trade, were minted in most Celtic areas of the continent, and in South-East Britain prior to the Roman conquest of these areas.

There are only very limited records from pre-Christian times written in Celtic languages. These are mostly inscriptions in the Roman, and sometimes Greek, alphabets. The Ogham script was mostly used in early Christian times in Ireland and Scotland (but also in Wales and England), and was only used for ceremonial purposes such as inscriptions on gravestones. Ogham (ogam ˈɔɣam Modern Irish or, English) is an Early Medieval Alphabet used primarily to represent the Old Irish language (and The available evidence is of a strong oral tradition, such as that preserved by bards in Ireland, and eventually recorded by monasteries. The oldest recorded rhyming poetry in the world is of Irish origin and is a transcription of a much older epic poem, leading some scholars to claim that the Celts invented Rhyme. An epic is a lengthy Narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation This article is about the poetic technique For the form of ice see Rime ice. They were highly skilled in visual arts and Celtic art produced a great deal of intricate and beautiful metalwork, examples of which have been preserved by their distinctive burial rites.

In some regards the Atlantic Celts were conservative, for example they still used chariots in combat long after they had been reduced to ceremonial roles by the Greeks and Romans, though when faced with the Romans in Britain, their chariot tactics defeated the invasion attempted by Julius Caesar. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples Development First depictions of four wheeled Wagons pulled by semi-domesticated Onagers and other available animals come from the Sumerians Against infantry

According to Diodorus Siculus:

The Gauls are tall of body with rippling muscles and white of skin and their hair is blond, and not only naturally so for they also make it their practice by artificial means to increase the distinguishing colour which nature has given it. The Dying Gaul (in Italian: Galata Morente) is an ancient Roman Marble copy of a lost Hellenistic sculpture that This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The Capitoline Museums ( Italian Musei Capitolini) are a group of art and archeological Museums in Piazza del Campidoglio For they are always washing their hair in limewater and they pull it back from the forehead to the nape of the neck, with the result that their appearance is like that of Satyrs and Pans since the treatment of their hair makes it so heavy and coarse that it differs in no respect from the mane of horses. Some of them shave the beard but others let it grow a little; and the nobles shave their cheeks but they let the moustache grow until it covers the mouth.

– Diodorus Siculus

Clothing

During the later Iron Age the Gauls generally wore long-sleeved shirts or tunics and long trousers (called braccae by the Romans^[27]). Braccae is the Latin term for trousers, and in this context is today used to refer to a style of pants, made from Wool. Clothes were made of wool or linen, with some silk being used by the rich. Cloaks were worn in winter. Broaches and armlets were used but the most famous item of jewellery was the torc.

Gender and sexual norms

According to Aristotle, most "belligerent nations" are strongly influenced by their women, but the Celts were unusual because of openly preferred male lovers (Politics II 1269b). Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. Aristotle's Politics ( Greek Πολιτικά is a work of Political philosophy. ^[28] H. D. Rankin in Celts and the Classical World notes that "Athenaeus echoes this comment (603a) and so does Ammianus (30. Amiricanus Gambilinus (325/330-after 391 was a fourth-century Roman historian. 9). It seems to be the general opinion of antiquity"^[29] In book VIII of his Deipnosophists, the Roman Greek rhetorician and grammarian Athenaeus, repeating assertions made by Diodorus Siculus in the 1st century BC, wrote that Celtic women were beautiful but that the men preferred to sleep together and "the young men will offer themselves to strangers and are insulted if the offer is refused" (Diod 5:32). The Deipnosophistae ( deipnon, "dinner" and sophistai, "professors" original Greek title, Deipnosophistai, English Athenaeus ( Ancient Greek - Athếnaios Naukratios Latin Athenaeus Naucratita of Naucratis in Egypt Greek rhetorician and grammarian flourished Rankin argues that the ultimate source of these assertions is likely to be Poseidonius^{[30][31][32][33]} There are no direct sources from ancient Celtic cultures to confirm or contradict these statements. Posidonius ( Greek: Ποσειδώνιος / Poseidonios "of Apameia " (ὁ Απαμεύς or "of Rhodes " (ὁ Ρόδιος (ca Rankin speculates that these authors may be recording male "bonding rituals".

Under Brehon Law, which was written down in early Medieval Ireland after conversion to Christianity, a woman had the right to divorce her husband and gain his property if he was unable to perform his maritial duties due to impotence, obesity, homosexual inclination or preference for other women. Early Irish law refers to the statutes that governed everyday life and politics in Ireland during the Gaelic period. ^[34]

The sexual freedom of women in Britain was noted by Cassius Dio:^[35]

. A sexual norm can refer to a Personal or a social norm Most cultures have social norms regarding sexuality, and define normal sexuality Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus ( Greek:) (c 155 or 163/164 to after 229 known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was . . a very witty remark is reported to have been made by the wife of Argentocoxus, a Caledonian, to Julia Augusta. Livia Drusilla, after 14 AD called Julia Augusta ( Classical Latin: LIVIA•DRVSILLA IVLIA•AVGVSTA (58 BC-29 AD was the wife of When the empress was jesting with her, after the treaty, about the free intercourse of her sex with men in Britain, she replied: "We fulfill the demands of nature in a much better way than do you Roman women; for we consort openly with the best men, whereas you let yourselves be debauched in secret by the vilest. " Such was the retort of the British woman.

– Cassius Dio

Very few reliable sources exist regarding Celtic views towards gender divisions, though some archaeological evidence does suggest that their views towards gender roles may have been different to those of their contemporary classical counterparts. Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus ( Greek:) (c 155 or 163/164 to after 229 known in English as Cassius Dio, Dio Cassius, or Dio was ^[36] There are instances recorded where women participated both in warfare and in kingship, although they were in the minority in these areas. Plutarch reports Celtic women acting as ambassadors to avoid a war amongst Celts chiefdoms on the Po valley during the 4th century BC. Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Greek: Μέστριος Πλούταρχος c ^[37]

There are some general indications coming from Iron Age burial sites in the Champagne and Bourgogne regions of Northeastern France suggesting that women may have had roles in combat during the earlier portions of the La Tène period. The evidence is, however, far from conclusive. ^[38] Examples of individuals buried with both torcs (generally associated as being female grave goods), and weaponry have been identified, and there are some questions regarding the sexing of some skeletons that were buried with warrior assemblages. A torc, also spelled torq or torque is a rigid piece of personal adornment made from twisted metal ^[39]

Among the insular Celts, there is a greater amount of historic documentation to suggest warrior roles for women however. In addition to commentary by Tacitus about Boudica, there are indications from later period histories that also suggest a more substantial role for "women as warriors" in symbolic if not actual roles. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. Boudica (also spelled Boudicca, formerly known as Boadicea, and known in Welsh culture and legends as "Buddug" (d

Posidonius and Strabo described an island of women where men could not venture to for fear of death and the women ripped each other apart. Posidonius ( Greek: Ποσειδώνιος / Poseidonios "of Apameia " (ὁ Απαμεύς or "of Rhodes " (ὁ Ρόδιος (ca Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. ^[40] Other writers, such as Ammianus Marcellinus and Tacitus, mentioned Celtic women inciting, participating, and leading battles. Amiricanus Gambilinus (325/330-after 391 was a fourth-century Roman historian. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (ca 56 &ndash ca 117 was a senator and a Historian of the Roman Empire. ^[41] Poseidonius' anthropological comments on the Celts had common themes, primarily primitivism, extreme ferocity, cruel sacrificial practices, and the strength and courage of their women. ^[42]

Warfare and weapons

Main article: Celtic warfare

Tribal warfare appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. Tribal warfare appears to have been a regular feature of Celtic societies. Endemic warfare is the state of continual low-threshold Warfare in a tribal Warrior society While epic literature depicts this as more of a sport focused on raids and hunting rather than organised territorial conquest, the historical record is more of tribes using warfare to exert political control and harass rivals, for economic advantage, and in some instances to conquer territory.

The Celts were described by classical writers such as Strabo, Livy, Pausanias, and Florus as fighting like "wild beasts", and as hordes. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Florus, Roman Historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian. HORDES is the name of a 30mm tabletop Miniature wargame produced by Privateer Press, announced at Gen Con 2005 and released on April 22 Dionysius said that their "manner of fighting, being in large measure that of wild beasts and frenzied, was an erratic procedure, quite lacking in military science. Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Halicarnassus c 60 BC–after 7 BC was a Greek historian and teacher of Rhetoric, who flourished during the reign of Military Science is the process of translating National defence policy to produce Military capability by employing Military scientists including Thus, at one moment they would raise their swords aloft and smite after the manner of wild boars, throwing the whole weight of their bodies into the blow like hewers of wood or men digging with mattocks, and again they would deliver crosswise blows aimed at no target, as if they intended to cut to pieces the entire bodies of their adversaries, protective armour and all". The boar or wild boar ( Sus scrofa) is an Omnivorous, gregarious Mammal of the biological family Suidae. ^[43] Such descriptions have been challenged by contemporary historians. ^[44]

Swords

Main article: Celtic sword

Polybius (2. Swords made of Iron (as opposed to Bronze) appear from the Early Iron Age (ca 33) indicates that the principle Celtic weapon was a long sword which was used for hacking edgewise rather than stabbing. Celtic warriors are described by Polybius and Plutarch as frequently having to cease fighting in order to straighten their sword blades.

Celts as head-hunters?

"Amongst the Celts the human head was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of the emotions as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the other-world. " —Paul Jacobsthal, Early Celtic Art. Paul Jacobsthal (born 1880 Berlin; died 27 October 1957, Oxford) was a scholar of Greek vase painting and Celtic art. Arguments for a Celtic cult of the severed head include the many sculptured representations of severed heads in La Tène carvings, and the surviving Celtic mythology, which is full of stories of the severed heads of heroes and the saints who carry their decapitated heads, right down to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, where the Green Knight picks up his own severed head after Gawain has struck it off, just as St. Denis carried his head to the top of Montmartre. The Green Knight is a character in the 14th-century Arthurian poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and the related work The Greene Knight Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and Saint. Montmartre is a hill (the butte Montmartre) which is 130 metres high giving its name to the surrounding district in the north of Paris in the 18th

A further example of this regeneration after beheading lies in the tales of Connemara's St. Feichin, who after being beheaded by Viking pirates carried his head to the Holy Well on Omey Island and on dipping the head into the well placed it back upon his neck and was restored to full health. Connemara (in Irish: Conamara) which derives from Conmhaicne Mara (meaning descendants of Con Mhac of the sea is a district in the west of Saint Feichin ( pron. Fe-heen) a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, operated and had his ministry in 7th century Ireland Omey Island (Iomaidh is a Tidal island situated near Claddaghduff in the western edge of Connemara, Ireland (

Diodorus Siculus, in his 1st century History had this to say about Celtic head-hunting:

They cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and attach them to the necks of their horses. The blood-stained spoils they hand over to their attendants and striking up a paean and singing a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of hunting. They embalm in cedar oil the heads of the most distinguished enemies, and preserve them carefully in a chest, and display them with pride to strangers, saying that for this head one of their ancestors, or his father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a large sum of money. Cedar oil was used as the base for Paints by the ancient Sumerians They would grind Cobalt compounds in a Mortar and pestle to produce They say that some of them boast that they refused the weight of the head in gold

In Gods and Fighting Men, a translation of early Irish mythology by prominent Irish translator Lady Gregory, heads of men killed in battle are described in the beginning of the story The Fight With The Fir Bolgs as pleasing to Macha, one aspect of the Morrigu (the Irish trinity of war-goddesses). Gods and Fighting Men - The Story of the Tuatha De Danaan and of the Fianna of Ireland is a collection of tales collated by Lady Augusta Gregory. Isabella Augusta Lady Gregory (15 March 1852 – 22 May 1932 née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish Dramatist and folklorist. Macha (/ˈmaxə/ is a presumed Goddess of ancient Ireland, associated with war horses sovereignty and the sites of Armagh and Emain Macha The Morrígan ("terror" or "phantom queen" or Mórrígan ("great queen" (also known as Morrígu, Morríghan, Mor-Ríoghain

The Celts believed that if they attached the head of their enemy to a pole or a fence near their house, the head would start screaming when the enemy was near. The Celtic headhunters venerated the image of the severed head as a continuing source of spiritual power. If the head is the seat of the soul, possessing the severed head of an enemy, honorably reaped in battle, added prestige to any warrior's reputation. According to tradition the buried head of a god or hero named Bran the Blessed protected Britain from invasion across the English Channel. Bran the Blessed ( Welsh: Bendigeidfran, literally "Blessed Crow" is a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology. However, the Celts only took heads of those which they deemed to be worthy of respect, and did not go to battle seeking to take them, so 'head hunters' is probably innacurate

Religion

Polytheism

Main article: Celtic polytheism

The Celts had an indigenous, polytheistic religion and culture. Celtic polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Celts, prior to the Christianization of the Celtic-speaking lands Polytheism is belief in or worship of multiple Gods (usually assembled in a pantheon) together with associated Mythology and Rituals

Many Celtic gods are known from texts and inscriptions from the Roman period, such as Aquae Sulis, while others have been inferred from place names such as Lugdunum "stronghold of Lug". Rites and sacrifices were carried out by priests, some known as Druids. The Celts did not see their gods as having a human shape until late in the Iron Age. Celtic Shrines were situated in remote areas such as hilltops, groves and lakes.

Celtic religious patterns were regionally variable, however some patterns of deity forms, and ways of worshiping these deities, appear over a wide geographical and temporal range. The Celts worshipped both gods and goddesses. In general, the gods were deities of particular skills, such as the many-skilled Lugh and Dagda, and the goddesses associated with natural features, most particularly rivers, such as Boann, goddess of the River Boyne. Lugh (ˈluː modern Irish Lú, earlier Lug) is an Irish Deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant Boann (or Boand) is the Irish mythology goddess of the River Boyne, a river in Leinster, Ireland. The River Boyne ( Abhainn na Bóinne) is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about 112 Kilometres (70 Miles long This was not universal, however, as Goddesses such as Brighid and The Morrígan were associated with both natural features (holy wells and the River Unius) and skills such as blacksmithing, healing and warfare. This article refers to the Pagan Goddess Brigid For the Catholic/Orthodox Saint of that name see Saint Brigid. The Morrígan ("terror" or "phantom queen" or Mórrígan ("great queen" (also known as Morrígu, Morríghan, Mor-Ríoghain Clootie wells (also Cloutie or Cloughtie wells) are places of Pilgrimage in Celtic areas. ^[45]

Triplicities are a common theme in Celtic cosmology and a number of deities were seen as threefold. ^[46]

The Celts had literally hundreds of deities, some unknown outside of a single family or tribe, while others were popular enough to have a following that crossed boundaries of language and culture. For instance, the Irish god Lugh, associated with storms, lightning, and culture, is seen in a similar form as Lugos in Gaul and Lleu in Wales. Lugos is the Hungarian name for the city Lugoj in Romania. Lugos is a commune in the Gironde Lleu Llaw Gyffes (/ɬeɨ ɬau gəfes/ sometimes misspelled Llew Llaw Gyffes is a figure of Welsh mythology. Similar patterns are also seen with the Continental Celtic horse goddess Epona, and what may well be her Irish and Welsh counterparts, Macha and Rhiannon, respectively. In Gallo-Roman religion Celtic mythology without citing a specific instance of Celtic mythology where Epona appears please --> Epona '''po''' nə Macha (/ˈmaxə/ is a presumed Goddess of ancient Ireland, associated with war horses sovereignty and the sites of Armagh and Emain Macha In the Mabinogion of Welsh mythology Rhiannon is the horse goddess reminiscent of Epona from Gaulish religion. ^[47]

Roman reports of the druids mention ceremonies being held in sacred groves. A major event leading to the eventual formation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, took place in what is commonly referred to within the Church as The La Tène Celts built temples of varying size and shape, though they also maintained shrines at sacred trees, and votive pools. ^[48]

Druids fulfilled a variety of roles in Celtic religion, as priests and religious officiants, but also as judges, sacrificers, teachers and lore-keepers. In general, they were the "college professors" of their time. Druids organized and ran the religious ceremonies, as well as memorizing and teaching the calendar. The term Celtic calendar is used to refer to a variety of calendars used by Celtic-speaking peoples at different times in history Though generally quite accurate, the Celtic calendar required manual correction about every 40 years, therefore knowledge of mathematics was required. Other classes of druids performed ceremonial sacrifices of crops and animals for the perceived benefit of the community. Animal Sacrifice is the Ritual killing of an Animal as part of a Religion. ^[49]

Celtic Christianity

Main article: Celtic Christianity

While the regions under Roman rule adopted Christianity along with the rest of the Roman empire, unconquered areas of Ireland and Scotland moved from Celtic polytheism to Celtic Christianity in the fifth century AD. Celtic polytheism refers to the religious beliefs and practices of ancient Celts, prior to the Christianization of the Celtic-speaking lands Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity (sometimes called the Celtic Church or the British Church) broadly refers to the Early Medieval Ireland was converted under missionaries from Britain such as Patrick. Saint Patrick (Patricius Irish: Naomh Pádraig) was a Roman Britain -born Christian Missionary and is the Patron saint Later missionaries from Ireland were a major source of missionary work in Scotland, Saxon parts of Britain and central Europe (see Hiberno-Scottish mission). A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. Irish and Scottish missionaries (Iro-Scottish Hiberno-Scottish were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England and the This brought the early medieval renaissance of Celtic art between 390 and 1200 A. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 D. , developing many of the styles now thought of as typically Celtic, and found through much of Ireland and Britain, including the north-east and far north of Scotland, Orkney and Shetland. Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of This was brought to an end by Roman Catholic and Norman influence, though the Celtic languages, as well as some and some influences from Celtic art, continued. The Normans were the people who gave their names to Normandy, a region in northern France.

The development of Christianity in Ireland and Britain brought an early medieval renaissance of Celtic art between 400 and 1200, only ended by the Norman Conquest of Ireland in the late 12th century. Celtic Christianity, or Insular Christianity (sometimes called the Celtic Church or the British Church) broadly refers to the Early Medieval Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Celtic art is art associated with various people known as Celts; those who spoke the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the modern period Notable works produced during this period include the Book of Kells and the Ardagh Chalice. The Book of Kells (Leabhar Cheanannais (Dublin Trinity College Library MS A The Ardagh Chalice which ranks with the Book of Kells as one of the finest known works of Insular art, indeed of Celtic art in general is thought Antiquarian interest from the 17th century led to the term 'Celt' being extended, and rising nationalism brought Celtic revivals from the 19th century in areas where the use of Celtic languages had continued. An antiquarian or antiquary is one concerned with Antiquities or things of the past The term nationalism can refer to an Ideology, a sentiment, a form of Culture, or a Social movement that focuses on the Nation

See also

• Modern Celts
• Celtic nations
• Celtic languages
• Ethnic groups of Europe

Notes

References

External links

Additional articles

• Ancient Celtic music - in the Citizendium
• Essays on Celtiberian topics - in e-Keltoi, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Geography

• An interactive map showing the lands of the Celts between 800BC and 305AD.
• Detailed map of the Pre-Roman Peoples of Iberia (around 200 BC), showing the Celtic territories
• Map of Celtic lands

Multimedia

• "The Celts" - part of Lost Treasures of the Ancient World, Cromwell Productions, 2000. Citizendium (ˌsɪtɪˈzɛndiəm "the Citizens Compendium of everything" is an English-language Wiki -based free
• Discussion - with academician Barry Cunliffe, on BBC Radio 4's In Our Time, February 21, 2002. Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe CBE (b) known as Barry Cunliffe, was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 In Our Time is a discussion programme hosted by Melvyn Bragg on BBC Radio 4 in the United Kingdom. Events 362 - Athanasius returns to Alexandria. 1245 - Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. (Streaming Realplayer format)
• "The Primitive Celts" - part of Terry Jones' Barbarians, June 2006. RealPlayer (briefly known also as RealOne Player) is a proprietary Cross-platform media player by RealNetworks that plays a number

Organisations

• Gael Order, group of study and cultural heritage
• newworldcelts.org
• XIII. International Congress of Celtic Studies in Bonn

Special interest

• Related Nordic-Celtic DNA material - at FamilyTreeDNA. com

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