Who Are The Celts?
The first time that we ever hear of the Celts is from Greek authors but we get the majority of the history of the Celts from the Romans. So we will have to go off the writings of other cultures to learn who the Celts may have been and what the culture may have been like.
It is believed that the Celts were a collection of tribes that originated from somewhere in Central Europe. Although most were separate tribes, they all had similar beliefs and traditions.
The truth is we really don't know what the Celts called themselves. The name Celt is a modern term that was used to describe tribes that lived during the Iron Age. Since they were a collection of tribes they were more known by the names of those tribes rather than a collective nation or empire.
It is difficult to trace the beginning of the Celtic language. Most scholars agree that it comes from an earlier language known as proto-indo- European. The current belief is that the Celtic language originated sometime between 6000 and 2000 B.C. The earliest known inscription of Celtic language was found in Northern Italy around the 6th century B.C.
A study from 1707 recognized that there were 2 families of Celtic language. The P-Celtic or Brythonic was assumed to come from France and was associated with the Welsh, Breton and Cornish. The second was the Q-Celtic or Goidelic and was assumed to come from Spain or Portugal and was associated with the Irish, Scots, Gaelic and Manx.
According to the Romans the Celts would wear brightly colored clothes and some would paint their bodies with blue dye. They were known for colorful wool clothing, forerunner to the Scottish tartan.
They were known to be barbaric warriors. They often went to battle naked and were prized mercenaries.
The Celts refused to write down their sacred histories and laws in order to safeguard the information. The Celtic priests or Druids would pass on the needed information orally from generation to generation.
The Romans and the Anglo-Saxons were never able to successfully invade Ireland which allowed the Celtic tribes of the Gaels and the Irish to survive and their culture to grow. But when Christianity arrived in Ireland, many Celtic traditions were incorporated into the religion.
Just like a lot of other ancient civilizations that originated in Europe, we do not have much detailed information on the history of the Celts. Only those fortunate enough to receive the orally handed down tradition know the true origins of the Celts.
It is important to embrace our culture and I want to explore more in future blogs on the history of the Celts and what they were like.
The Celts, we really do not know who they truly are from the writings of other cultures. Just like anything else from history, we only have the writings of a different culture to learn from unless we learn orally from the culture itself.
Blessings.
By Michael Walters
The Ancestor's Fire
Writing the voices of the unheard
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