Gaelic Language and Culture
 www.gaelicseattle.

com
Part 2: The Celts macgeoffster@gmail.com

Gaelic Language and Culture

Part 2: The Celts
Introduction
This is Part 2 of my series of presentations on the impacts of history on the language
and culture of the Gaelic speaking peoples.

Some of the sites mentioned in this presentation can be found online on Google Maps
at http://www.bit.ly/glcmaps.

The Celts
Setting the scene: At the end of the first presentation, we were exploring the Gael’s
origin story, found in The Book of Invasions. While there is no archeological evidence
supporting a Celtic ‘invasion’ of Ireland, as was described in the Book, we know that
Celtic language is found throughout Ireland by the time of Ptolemy’s Map of Ireland in
140 CE.

Outline
• How do we define ‘The Celts’?
• Celtic-ness is not genetically determined.
• Not a single culture or state.
• Language, ideas, and objects move around via trade.
• There are two Common Connections
• Language (this does not determine what objects people use (art, for example)).
• Place-names.
• Texts (mostly written about Celts, not by Celts).
• Art & Objects
• Archeology
• Burials
• Texts (e.g. The Book of Kells)
• The Battle Over the Celts
• “Celtomaniacs” Scholars and members of the public who believe in a pre-
historical Celtic Europe which was connected and extended from the Atlantic to
the Danube, and briefly, Asia Minor.
• “Celtosceptics” People who believe that the reasoning of the “Celtomaniacs” is
flawed and overlooks great regional diversity and complex histories.
• “Celtoscepticism” is mainly a British phenomenon as Celtic identity has little
bearing on continental European national identities today.
• Regarding Celtic Art (1,500 year span)
• Traditional View

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 Updated 1/2/17


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• Starts in much of Europe around 500 to 200 BCE
• Subdued under Rome
• Re-emerged during Dark Ages
• Kept alive along Atlantic fringe
• Reclaimed by modern resurgent movement
• Modern View
• Five Key Periods
• Origins (Early Art)
• Roman World Effects
• Fusing traditions (Later Art)
• Reinventing and preserving older traditions
• Celtic Revival
• Comparing Celtic Art to Greek Classical
• Greek Classical Art
• Realistic style
• Tried to recreate nature
• Sculpture, painted pottery
• Forerunner to Classical Rome
• Dominates how we see art in the Western world (Naturalism and Realism)
• Celtic Art
• Ambiguous, stylized, and fantastical representations
• Not primitive (they could recreate nature, chose not to)
• Just as important to early history of Europe
• “Technology of Enchantment” (like complex art of the Pacific)
• Beguile and dazzle the viewer through highly skilled manufacture and
complexity
• Viewers can’t understand how it was made or its meaning
• Complicated interlocking designs with no start or end
• Representations of semi-human creatures, mythical beasts, some vegetation
• A different way of representing the world
• Looking back at similar motifs gives us an illusion of homogeneity and
connection that the people of the time may not have had.
• Considerations regarding Celtic Art
• Two Questions
• What does the art do?
• Why decorate in a particular style?
• Five major areas of social importance
• Warfare
• Eating & drinking
• Personal appearance
• Horse & chariot gear
• Religion
• Audience for the art
• Privileged access
• Viewing from afar
• Methods
©2017 Geoffrey Sammons, All Rights Reserved.
 Updated 1/2/17

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• Materials available
• Techniques available
• Time (Objects & styles vary in relative importance over time)
• Origins (Early Art)
• Roman World Effects
• Fusing traditions (Later Art)
• Reinventing and preserving older traditions
• Celtic Revival
• Eras of the Celts
• Review: The Beaker People (2800-1800 BCE)
• Early Celtic Art (1250 BCE-600 CE)
• Early Celtic art is very different that what came before
• Simple geometric patterns for decoration
• Hoards of nearly identical objects, especially axes
• Some poorly made and unused
• Quantity over quality
• Offerings to gods?
• Hallstatt Culture (700 BCE-450 BCE)
• Hallstatt is an ancient mining site for salt.
• La Tène Culture (450 BCE-50 BCE)
• Later Iron Age
• Very well made
• Quality over Quantity
• Skilled craftsmen, detailed work
• A mistake would ruin days of work
• Objects are unique do to the methods used
• Celtic Expansion (300 BCE-200 BCE)
• Italy, Balkans, Greece, Asia Minor, Ukraine
• Celtic Decline (Rise of Rome after the start of the 1st Punic War)
• 264 BCE - Italy to Rome
• 146 BCE - Mediterranean area (except coastal France)
• 44 BCE (Death of Caesar) - All areas to Rome except north of the Alps,
northwest Spain, and Britain and Ireland
• 14 CE (Death of Augustus) - All areas except Britain and Ireland
• 161 CE (Death of Antoninus Pius) - All areas except Ireland and Scotland
• Roman Period (500 BCE-500 CE)
• Effects vary as Rome expands and contracts
• Back to quantity over quality
• Smaller, more crudely made items widely available
• Common everyday objects
• Brooches
• Seal Boxes
• Bronze vessels
• Brass (copper & zinc)
• Less gold, since brass is gold-like
• Stamped metal (makes identical objects)
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 Updated 1/2/17

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• Enameling allows for color
• Britons & Bretons
• Britons (Romanized Celts) form kingdoms (or other entities) after Roman rule
• Strathclyde (450 CE - 1093 CE)
• Wales (550 CE - 1536 CE)
• Cornwall (577 CE - 838 CE)
• Brittany (300 CE - 1532 CE)
• Celtic Revival (1600 CE - 1920 CE)(Period of Discovery and Empire!)
• A romantic reconstruction of Britain’s past, powered by the (early)
discoveries of archeologists, antiquarians, linguists, and social
anthropologists. Art of the period illustrates a desire by artists and others to
reconnect with their “primitive” cultural roots. People in the Celtic Revival
wanted to emulate a bygone era - at least their perception of the past.
• Error, ignorance, misconceptions, and political agendas are reflected in the
“Celtic” art of this period. (Would it be better to call it “Celtic inspired
art?”)
• 1588 CE - Theodor de Bry produces engravings of Picts modeled on Native
Americans (using a “depiction of savages” of the time to reflect the
perceived savageness of the Picts).
• 1646 CE - Aylett Sammes produces the “Britannia Antiqua Illustrata: or, The
Antiquities of Ancient Britain, derived from the Phoenicians.” LINK
• 1706 CE - “The Antiquities of Nations, More Particularly of the Celtae or
Gauls, taken to be Originally the Same People as Our Ancient Britains” by Paul
Yves Pezron, translated to English by D. Jones. A very influential book. The
author claims that the Celtic language is the root of European languages.
LINK
• “Celtic” develops into a perceived racial unity of people from the Celtic
nations which fueled the Celtic Revival.
• William Stukeley, English antiquarian who conferred the term “Celtic temple”
onto sites like Stonehenge and Avebury.
• Druids and bards become characters in the Romantic’s imagination.
• 1757 CE - Thomas Gray’s “The Bard: A Pindaric Ode.” A poem of the Revival in
which the last bard of Wales prophesied Edward I’s death before committing
suicide by drowning in the River Conwy. Edward had ordered that all the
bards in Wales be killed, as the bards were held in high regard and were the
keepers of the oral tradition and history. LINK
• 1760-1763 CE - James Macpherson writes the epic poems of Ossian.
Macpherson claimed to have translated the work from Gaelic material which
was collected from word-of-mouth stories. Ossian (Oisín) was the son of Finn
McCool (Fionn mac Cumhaill), a prominent figure in Irish mythology. The work
was very popular internationally, counting Napoleon as a Ossian enthusiast.
The work is regarded as fraudulent today, and it is believed that Macpherson
wrote the work himself based on old folk tales.
• 1774 CE - Thomas Jones paints “The Bard,” inspired by Thomas Gray’s poem.

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Part 2: The Celts macgeoffster@gmail.com
• 1790s - 1850 The wider Romantic Era focused on emotion, individualism, and
glorification of the past (not the Classical period!), and nature. (Reaction to
the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment.)
• 1801 CE - Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson paints “Ossian Receiving the
Ghosts of French Heroes.” LINK
• Start of 19th century - Celtic Revival comes to Ireland, inspired by
archeological discoveries.
• 1849 CE - The Clarendon Brooch is presented to Queen Victoria as a Christmas
gift by Prince Albert, after a visit to Dublin. It is modern, inspired by an
ancient brooch and is an excellent example of the Celtic Revival style.
• 1851 CE - The Great Exhibition of London. This was either the first or second
World’s Fair and was co-organized by Prince Albert. Victoria received a copy
of the Tara brooch at the fair.
• 1853 CE - The Great Industrial Exhibition of Dublin. Victoria receives the
Queen’s Brooch.
• 1856 CE - Owen Jones produces the “Grammar of Ornament,” a master work
of design in the Victorian Era. It was designed to provide designers to use
design principles in their work. Celtic art and patterns are featured on
several plates. LINK
• 1857 CE - Sir William Wilde, a Celtic Revivalist, cataloged the antiquities
owned by the Museum of the Royal Irish Academy, producing 3 volumes. This
included important metalwork of the Insular style, including the Tara brooch
(produced in 700 CE). The brooch actually has no connection to Tara. Naming
the brooch after the Hill of Tara was a product of the Romantic Era, and a
desire to sell copies. The Tara brooch attracted the attention of the people of
Victorian Era due to its beauty and craftsmanship. Sir William’s son, Oscar,
was named after a character in the Ossian poems.
• 1859 CE - Irish sculptor John Henry Foley produces “Caractacus” (Welsh
hero).
• In the period before WWI, a wave of nationalism swept across Europe and
Britain. This is the period of German and Italian unification. Debate about
language and the idea of a Celtic ‘race’ raged in the face of British national
identity.
• 1870 CE - John Hill Burton produces a seven volume “History of Scotland,” in
which he calls the pagan Celts a “degenerate race.” He uses terms like
“lazy,” “improvident,” “feckless,” and “intransigent.” The Teutons, by
contrast, are disciplined and rational-thinking.
• Scottish lowland intellectuals made great effort to dissociate themselves
from the Celtic regions of Scotland.
• 1889 CE - Rev. Isaac Taylor produces “The Origin of the Aryans,” in which he
claims that the Lowland Scot was even more purely Teutonic than the English.
• 1911 CE - Oliver Sheppard sculpts “The Dying Cuchulain” as a metaphor for
Irish independence and the resolve of the Irish people to obtain it. It was
moved to the General Post Office in 1935.

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Gaelic Language and Culture
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Part 2: The Celts macgeoffster@gmail.com
As the populations of Brittany and Wales are speakers of the other family of Celtic
languages, we will not be looking at their histories beyond what follows.

• Summary: Brittany (300 CE - 1532 CE)

• 300 CE - Britons start moving in, fleeing Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britannia
• 460s CE - Roman Rule, but Franks lay claim
• 600s CE - Frankish overlordship
• 691 CE - Full independence again
• 778 CE - Franks establish a military frontier zone between themselves and
Brittany
• 800s CE - Vikings prefer Frankish lands (Normandy). Vikings & Bretons work
together to defeat Franks
• 851 CE - Kingdom of Brittany established
• 900s CE - Vikings conquer Brittany for a short time
• 936 CE - Breton independent again, but reduced in stature
• 990s CE - Norman influence rises
• 1066 CE - 20% of England held by Bretons who came with William I
• 1050s and later CE - Emigration; upper class to England, Normandy, and Italy,;
poorer people to Frances and are mocked for their language
• 1156 CE - Angevin satellite (Henry of Anjou is King of England)
• 1341 CE - Disputed succession dragged Brittany into the 100 Years War
• 1342 CE - Civil war, proxy between France & England
• 1454 CE - England defeats Brittany
• 1488 CE - Bretons crushed in battle by France
• 1491 CE - Heiress of Brittany married to King Charles VIII of France
• 1532 CE - Duchy of Brittany incorporated into the Kingdom of France. Breton
parliament survives though continually weakened until the French Revolution.
French government discriminates against Bretons.

• Summary: Wales (550 CE to 1536 CE)

• 550 CE - Tide turns towards Anglo-Saxons, who take the best farmland. This gives
them an advantage.
• 600 CE - Britons divided into 3 territories:
• Strathclyde (more at a later time)
• Wales (Name comes from Anglo-Saxon “waelisc,” meaning “foreigners.”)
• Cornwall & Devon (politically ended after wars with Wessex. Cornish endures
to the 18th century)
• 700 CE - Welsh language becomes distinct
• 790 CE - Mercian King Offa (Anglo-Saxon) builds 185 mi long rampart, “Offa’s
Dyke,” along Welsh border to prevent Welsh raiding.
• 870s CE - King Rhodri Mawr (d.877) and his kingdom of Gwynedd try to unify the
Welsh, but fail.
• 10th-11th centuries - Various rulers tried to unite the Welsh. English raid into
Wales, keeping them weak and as vassals.

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• 1195-1240 CE - Llywelyn “The Great” of Gwynedd conquers all the Welsh
kingdoms.
• 1246 CE - Dafydd (son of Llywelyn) was weak and the kingdom collapsed.
• 1246-1282 CE - Llywelyn “The Last” of Gruffydd reunited Wales. (Llywelyn is the
nephew of Dafydd)
• 1258 CE - Llywelyn is made Prince of Wales.
• 1267 CE - Henry III of England recognizes Llywelyn’s lands and status as Prince of
Wales in the Treaty of Mongomery.
• 1272 CE - Edward I succeeds Henry III.
• 1274 CE - Llywelyn refused to attend Edward’s coronation, and refused to pay
homage. He then plans to marry the daughter of Simon de Montfort, who was a
leader of a baronial revolt against Henry III.
• 1276 CE - Edward prepares to invade Wales.
• 1277 CE - Edward invades Wales - The First War of Welsh Independence. At the
war’s conclusion, Llywelyn’s principality is dismembered in the Treaty of
Aberconwy. Llywelyn’s brother had fought in the war for Edward and was
rewarded.
• 1282 CE - Dafydd, Llwelyn’s brother, is unhappy with his rewards and rebels.
Llywelyn answers Dafydd’s call for help. Llywelyn is killed in battle during the
Second War of Welsh Independence.
• 1283 CE - Dafydd had made many enemies. He was betrayed to the English and
executed. Welsh rulers who fought Edward were dispossessed.
• 1284 CE - Statute of Rhuddlan - English law was imposed on Wales. This is the
period of castle building.
• 1294-1295 CE - Rebellion suppressed successfully.
• 1348-1349 CE & 1361-1362 CE - Black Death!
• 1400-1415 CE - Glyndŵr’s Revolt! Last War of Welsh Independence (Previous to
this, small revolts occurred.)
• 1405 CE - All of Wales affected by revolts. English allies, the Percy’s and
Mortimer families, agreed to split England three ways. They formed an alliance
with France.
• 1406 CE - The French withdraw.
• 1408 CE - English reclaim South and Mid Wales.
• 1410 CE - Glyndŵr goes into hiding.
• 1415 CE - Glyndŵr refuses offer of pardon from Henry V and disappears from
history.
• Wales is devastated. Anti-Welsh legislation remained in force until the Tutors
come to the throne in 1485 CE.
• 1536 CE - Act of Union with England.

©2017 Geoffrey Sammons, All Rights Reserved.
 Updated 1/2/17


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Gaelic Language and Culture
 www.gaelicseattle.com
Part 2: The Celts macgeoffster@gmail.com

Text Sources:
‣ Farley, Julia and Fraser Hunter, editors, Celts: Art and Identity, The Trustees of the
British Museum and National Museums Scotland, 2015, 304 pages.
‣ Haywood, John, The Historical Atlas of the Celtic World, Thames & Hudson, 2009,
144 pages.
‣ Leins, Ian, Celts: Art and Identity, The Trustees of the British Museum, 2015, 56
pages.

©2017 Geoffrey Sammons, All Rights Reserved.
 Updated 1/2/17


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