-General Celtic History
-Early Europe
-The Hallstatt Culture
-The La Tene Culture
-The Celtic Homelands
-The Golden Age of the Celts
-The Celts and Rome
-The Celts and the Germans
-Celtic Religion
-The Fall of the Celtic Empire
-Modern Celts
General Celtic History
The Celts dominated Mid and Western Europe for a thousand years.
But it is only recently that the importance of Celtic influence on the cultural,
linguistic and artistic development of Europe. The Celts as an identifiable race or ethnic
group have long since disappeared, except in places such as Ireland and the Scottish
Highlands.
The Celts transmitted their culture orally, never writing
down history or facts. This accounts for the extreme lack of knowledge about them prior to
their contact with the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. They were generally
well educated, particularly on topics such as religion, philosophy, geography and
astronomy. The Romans often employed Celtic tutors for their sons.
The bravery of the Celts in battle is legendary. They
often spurned body armor, going naked into battle. Celtic society was typically more equal
in terms of gender roles. Women were on more or less equal footing as men, being
accomplished warriors, merchants and rulers. (index)
Early Europe
The first human settlers in Europe were Paleolithic
hunter/gatherer tribes. At the end of the last ice age (some 10000 years ago) they began
adopting an agrarian lifestyle. This occurred over 2500 years during the Mesolithic era.
These agricultural societies began making clay pots around the year 5000 BC, the beginning
of the Neolithic period. The Neolithic lasts until about 2500 BC. During this time we have
no knowledge of the race or language of these early Europeans. It is not known if they
spoke an Indo-European language or still the pre-Indo-European tongues. Little is known of
the bronze age (2500 - 800 BC) either, the race character of the people is unknown, but
since the first Greek migration occurred in 1800 BC at least some of the people now spoke
an Indo-European language. It is not known if this was motivated by Indo-European
migrations out of Russia, or if Europe as a whole under went cultural evolution at the
same time to become Indo-European. Whatever the make up of the bronze age population, they
formed the basis of the early iron age cultures. The first of these was the Hallstatt
Culture. (index)
The Hallstatt Culture
This was the first of the iron age cultures. The western regions
of this culture, between France and west Germany, already spoke a Celtic language. Around
the year 600 BC the Greek geographer Herodotus writes of the Celts dwelling beyond
"the pillars of Hercules" (i.e. Spain) and the Upper Danube. The name
"Celt" probably came from the dominant tribe of the Halstatt, and became a
unifying concept for the whole culture. "Celt" is what the people called
themselves, they referred to themselves when talking to the Greeks as the
"Keltoi". (index)
The La Tene Culture
The classic Celtic culture, the La Tene is named after Lake
Neufchatel, Switzerland where a large amount of weaponry from this culture was found last
century. This culture began around 450 BC. (index)
The Celtic Homelands
The original Celtic homeland was an area of Austria, near
southern Germany. From here they expanded over much of continental Europe and Britain. At
their peak, the Celts ranged from Ireland and Spain to Turkey. A brief rundown on some of
the regions is given now:
England, Scotland and Ireland
The name Britain derives from Celtic. The Greek author Pytheas
called them the "Pretanic Isles" which derived from the inhabitants name for
themselves, Pritani. This was mistranslated into Latin as "Britannia" or
"Brittani". The Celts migrated to Ireland from Europe, conquering the original
inhabitants. In clashes with the Romans around the River Clyde a tribe called the
"Scotti" came to prominence. Later the Scotti moved from Northern Island to
establish the Kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll, on the West coast of Scotland. From here the
Scots expanded and supplanted the Picts, an Celtic people who arrived in Scotland earlier.
Ireland was never invaded by the Romans and retains what is probably the language closest
to the original Celtic, Irish Gaelic.
France
Modern France is a composite of many earlier peoples. The Celts
settled there and the largest tribe, called the "Galli" by the Romans, gave
their name to the region and people, the Gauls. The Gauls were heavily involved in the
invasions of Northern Italy. When the Roman Empire expanded many of the Gaullish tribes
fled, but some stayed and became Romanised, losing the Celtic language. Later a Germanic
tribe, the Franks, invaded the area and settled. The Franks gave their name to the region
but adopted the language and customs of the people. Thus France is a Celtic people,
speaking a Romance language in a country with a Germanic name.
Belgium
Belgium is similar in situation to France. The dominant tribe,
the Belgae, gave their name to the region. They were later conquered by the Romans.
Galatia
The Galatians of the New Testament of the Bible were a Celtic
tribe that migrated through the Balkans. They pillaged as they moved and attacked, but
were defeated by, the Greeks and eventually moved into Turkey, founding Galatia. They were
destroyed and assimilated by the Turks early in the first millenium AD. (index)
The Golden Age of the Celts
The Celts were at their height during the 4th and 5th centuries
BC. During this time they waged three great wars, which had great influence on the history
of southern Europe. About 500 BC the Celts conquered Spain, wresting it from Carthage.
Around 400 BC they took Northern Italy from the Etruscans. Here they settled in great
numbers. At the end of the 4th century the overran Pannonia, conquering the Illyrians. All
these wars were fought in alliance with the Greeks. At this time the Celts and Greeks were
on very friendly terms. The defeat of Carthage broke the monopoly on British tin and
Spanish silver and freed the overland trade routes to Britain. At this time the Greeks and
Celts were allied against the Phoenicians and Persians. Celtic hostility to Carthage
helped save Greece from destruction from the East, no Celts enlisted in Carthage's
mercenary army. Alexander the Great made alliance with the Celts in 334 BC, when he was
about to embark on his conquest of Asia. The Celts kept the Greek dominions safe from
attack during his absence. (index)
The Celts and Rome
Around the year 400 BC the Celts were ruled by a king named Livy
Ambicatus. At this time, the height of their power, they were unified as a military
confederacy of tribes. They were attracted by the rich land of Northern Italy and invaded,
battling and defeating the Etruscans. At this time the Romans were pushing at the
Etruscans from the South, and the Celts and Romans acted in alliance. But the Romans
despised the Northern barbarians, and at the siege of Clusium (391 BC) (which the Romans
regarded as a bulwark of Rome against the barbaric North) the Romans betrayed the Celts.
The Celts recognized former Roman envoys fighting with the enemy. The Celts applied to
Rome for the family of Fabius Ambustus (whose sons were the envoys), the chief pontiff of
Rome, in reparation. Rome refused and elected the Fabii as military tribunes the next
year.
Abandoning the siege of Clusium, the Celts marched on
Rome. They passed cities and fortresses without stopping, there was no plundering. Their
cry to guards on provincial town walls was "We are bound for Rome". They reached
Rome and defeated the mustered city forces in a single charge. Three days later they were
in Rome, and stayed for a year. They extracted a great fine from Rome in reparation for
the treachery at Clusium and left with a peace treaty. For nearly a century there was
peace between Rome and the Celts. It was broken only when various Celtic tribes allied
with the Etruscans in the third Samnite war, this was near the time of the breakup of the
old Celtic Empire. (index)
The Celts and the Germans
The Greek traveler Pytheas mentions the Germans about 300 BC, but
they do not enter history until the Teutons descend on Italy to be defeated by Marius at
the end of the second century. The ancient Greeks before Pytheas assigned all lands now
known as Germanic to the Celts. It is probable that at this time the Germans were a
subject people of the Celts and had no separate political existence. The German language
borrowed many words from Celtic. But two things the Germans would not take from the Celts
were language and religion. This race-pride gave rise to the German uprising and fall of
the Celtic Empire hundreds of years later. The German and Celtic deities have different
names, and the burial rites were markedly different. The Germans burned their illustrious
dead on pyres, the Celts (who buried their dead) regarded such as a humiliation to be used
on criminals or slaves. (index)
Celtic Religion
Religion was a pre-eminent force in the Celtic culture. There's
was a religion codified in dogma and administered by a priestly caste, the Druids. Druids
were a major power within the Celtic empire, with all public and private affairs subject
to their authority. The Celts were extremely superstitious, and regarded it as the worst
punishment to be excommunicated. Caesar wrote an account of the Druids:
“They who are thus interdicted are reckoned in the number of the vile and
wicked; all persons avoid and fly their company and discourse, lest they should receive
any infection by contagion; they are not permitted to commence a suit; neither is any post
entrusted to them... The Druids are generally freed from military service, nor do they pay
taxes with the rest... Encouraged by such rewards, many of their own accord come to their
schools, and are sent by their friends and relations. They are said to get by heart a
great number of verses; some continue twenty years in their education; neither is it held
lawful to commit these things [Druidic doctrines] to writing, though in almost all public
transactions and private accounts they use the Greek characters.”
The immense power of the Druids was the weakness of the
Celtic polity. No nation that is ruled by priests drawing their authority from
supernatural sanctions is capable of true progress. The Celts fanatic adherence to their
religion inevitably helped bring down their empire.
It is likely that Druids were originally the priests of
the megalithic pre-Celtic peoples of Western Europe. During the Celtic expansion the
Druids were adopted by the highly religious Celts and the numerous Celtic deities and
beliefs were adopted by the Druids. (index)
The Fall of the Celtic Empire
By the year 300 BC the Celts had lost their political cohesion
and the Empire began breaking apart. Tribes began wandering in search of new lands. Some
went to Greece, where they outraged their former allies at the sack of Delphi (273 BC).
Others renewed the war with Rome, in alliance with the Etruscans, and were defeated at
Sentinum (295 BC) and Lake Vadimo (283 BC). One group went into Asia Minor, and founded
Galatia where a Celtic dialect was still spoken until 400 BC. These were eventually
assimilated into Turkey. Others enlisted as mercenaries with Carthage. Wars between Celts
and Germans or Celts who had settled earlier were fought all over Mid-Europe, Gaul and
Britain. By the end of this the only Celtic strongholds were Britain and Gaul. The
beginning of the Christian era saw Britain under Roman rule. (index)
Modern Celts
Most people of European descent today can count on some Celtic
ancestry. A typical impression of a Celt today is the short, dark haired Irishman. But by
all ancient accounts the Celts were tall and fair of skin and hair. "True" Celts
today do not really exist, the closest examples are the Highlanders of Perthshire and
Northwest Scotland the families of the old ruling race in Ireland and Wales. Over the
centuries the racial characteristics of the pre-Celt inhabitants of Europe has surfaced,
the Celts typically settled in areas as a ruling class and held themselves apart from
those there before them. The Celts, forming a strong warrior class, typically were at the
forefront of battles and perished more numerously than the "subject" people.
They never set themselves up to leave a lasting legacy in the racial traits of modern
people. The main contribution of the Celts has been largely a cultural one, influencing
the development of most of Europe and leaving the Celtic heritage of Scotland, Ireland and
Wales. (index)
