History of the Celts. Origin and early history of the Celts; sources

In speaking of the nature of ancient Celtic society we are immediately confronted with a problem which differs in two essential respects from the problems involved in defining and describing the society of many other ancient peoples. To begin with, the Celts did not have a great material civilization to suddenly discover, such as the civilization of ancient Babylonia and Assyria. The sophisticated world of the ancient Egyptians or the sophisticated cities of the Mediterranean had little in common with the simple hamlets of the mobile, almost nomadic Celts. In fact they left very few lasting structures, and the Celtic forts and burials, shrines and chattels scattered throughout Europe and the British Isles cover centuries in both temporal and social terms. There were no significant concentrations of population in Celtic society. Moreover, unlike the creators of great civilizations Ancient world the Celts were practically illiterate (as far as their own languages were concerned): most of what we know about the early forms of their speech and their spiritual culture comes from very limited and often hostile sources: for example, in the stories of ancient authors about the Celts names of tribes, localities and the names of leaders are found. The names of the places speak for themselves - they are motionless and permanent. The names of chiefs and tribes appear on many Celtic coins and reveal much about trade, economics and politics; epigraphy gives the ancient forms of the Celtic names of gods and names of donors. Apart from these linguistic fragments, only a small number of Celtic phrases have come down to us, which appear in the inscriptions (Fig. 1). However for early period There are no long lists of kings or mythological legends in Celtic history until those recorded by Irish Christian scribes; there are no intricate poems in praise of kings and chiefs, which we know were performed in the homes of aristocrats; there are no lists of the names of the gods, no instructions to the priests on how to perform their duties and monitor the correctness of the ritual. So the first aspect of the problem is that we are dealing with a dispersed, barbaric society, and not with the great urban civilization of antiquity. And although we know that the Celts were educated, cultured people(or at least able to easily absorb cultural influences), it is obvious that the education of the Celts bore little resemblance to education in our sense of the word. The culture of the Celts was also not at all striking: it could only be discovered and appreciated using the most diverse and dissimilar methods.

Rice. 1. Celtic inscription: "Korisios" (Korisius), written in Greek letters on a sword discovered along with other weapons in an old riverbed at Porte (in Petinesca antiquity), Switzerland.

The world of the Celts differs from the world of other ancient civilizations in that the Celts survived: in certain limited geographical areas, Celtic society in a certain recognizable form cannot be said to have ever ceased to exist at any particular period in antiquity. The ancient Celtic languages continue to be spoken in parts of the British Isles and Brittany, and are still living languages in places in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Brittany. Much of the social structure and organization of the Celts survives, as well as their oral literary tradition, their tales and folk superstitions. Sometimes, in some places, certain features of this ancient way of life can be traced to this day, for example, among the peasants of the west coast of Scotland and Ireland. In Wales, where the Celtic language is now most preserved strong positions, everything is somewhat different, and the story about this is beyond the scope of our book. That some aspects of Celtic society have survived to this day is in itself remarkable, and will help us to think more meaningfully about the difficult task of telling the story of the daily life of the pagan Celts in Europe and the British Isles.

Since we must somehow limit the scope of our study, it seems reasonable to accept the year 500 AD. e. as its upper limit. By this time Christianity was already fully established in Ireland and the rest of the Celtic world. However, it should be remembered that much of the literary data from which we draw much information about the Celtic past was written down in Ireland after the pagan period and under the auspices of the Christian church. Many aspects of Celtic society were characterized by impressive continuity and longevity, and so, although this time boundary is convenient, it is essentially artificial.

Celtic peoples

So who are the Celts whose daily life we are going to talk about here? For different people the word "Celt" has very different meanings.

To a linguist, the Celts are a people who spoke (and still speak) very ancient Indo-European languages. From the original Common Celtic language came two distinct groups of Celtic dialects; We do not know when this division occurred. Philologists call one of these groups Q-Celtic or Goidelic because the original Indo-European qv was preserved in it as q (later it began to sound like k, but was written c). The Celtic language belonging to this branch was spoken and written in Ireland. The language was later brought to Scotland by Irish settlers from the kingdom of Dal Riada at the end of the 5th century AD. e. The same language was spoken on the Isle of Man; some of its remains still remain. There are some traces of Q-Celtic languages on the continent, but we know little about their distribution there.

The second group is called p-Celtic or "Britonic". In it, the original Indo-European qv turned into p; Thus, in the Goidelic group the word “head” sounds like “cenn”, in the Brythonic group it sounds like “penn”. This branch of the Celtic languages was widespread on the continent, where the languages related to it are called Gaulish or Gallo-Brythonic. It was this language that Iron Age settlers brought from the continent to Britain (the Celtic language of Britain is called “British”). This language was spoken in Britain during the period of Roman rule. Later it split into Cornish (already extinct as colloquial, although there is now an active struggle for its revival), Welsh and Breton.

For archaeologists, Celts are people who can be classified into a particular group on the basis of their distinctive material culture, and who can be identified as Celts based on the evidence of authors outside their own society. The word “Celts” has a completely different meaning for modern Celtic nationalists, but this is no longer relevant to our topic.

First of all, we will try to find out how to recognize this people, which was formed over such a large territory and existed for so long (albeit limited space). Since the Celts did not leave any pre-Christian written historical records or legends that would tell about the most ancient period of their history, we will be forced to use data obtained by inference. The earliest and perhaps most reliable (albeit very limited) source of information is archaeology. The later historical writings of the Greeks and Romans about the manners and customs of the Celts, combined with what can be gleaned from the early Irish literary tradition, provide us with further detail and help to bring to life the somewhat sketchy picture we have drawn through archaeology.

The belligerence of these peoples was clearly manifested in their relations with the Romans, who considered the Belgae the most stubborn and unyielding of all the Celts of Britain and Gaul. Apparently, it was the Belgians who brought the plow to Britain, as well as the enameling technique and their own version La Tène art. The Belgian ceramics are also very unique. In addition, the Belgae were the first to mint their own coins in Britain. These tribes created urban settlements - actual cities, in fact, such as St. Albans (Verulamium), Silchester (Calleva), Winchester (Venta) and Colchester (Camulodunum).

The migration of the Celts to Ireland also represents more problems. This is partly due to the fact that all the wealth of ancient narrative literature is practically not reflected in archaeology. However, this appears to be because until recently there has been relatively little genuine scientific archaeological research carried out in Ireland. Many careless excavations only complicate the interpretation of the data obtained. But now Irish archaeologists are doing a great job, and the results obtained allow us to hope that in the future we will get closer to solving the problem.

As we have already seen, the Q-Celtic or Goidelic language was widespread in Ireland, Gaelic Scotland and, until recently, among the local inhabitants of the Isle of Man. For Celticologists, this language itself poses a problem. So far we do not know who and where brought the Q-Celtic language to Ireland, and we are not even sure that this issue can be resolved at all. All we can say now is that the British speech of the aristocrats of Yorkshire and the south-west Scottish colonists of Ulster was completely absorbed by the Goidelic language, which we can assume was spoken there. Scientists have put forward many different theories, both archaeological and linguistic, but so far no sufficiently convincing assumptions have been made. It can be assumed that the Goidelic (or Q-Celtic) form of the Celtic language is more ancient, and perhaps even the language of the Hallstatt Celts was Goidelic. If so, early colonists brought it with them to Ireland around the 6th century BC. e. The question arises: was the Goidelic language elsewhere absorbed by the language of immigrants who had higher technology and fighting techniques and spoke Briton? We cannot yet answer this question, but the Goidelic language continued to dominate in Ireland, despite all the British immigrations to Ulster, which we know took place for several centuries before the beginning of our era. Only the combined efforts of archaeologists and philologists can help answer these questions. For now, the amazing phenomenon of the Q-Celtic language remains an inexplicable mystery to us.

The Hallstatt colonization of Ireland may have partly come from Britain, but there is evidence that it passed directly from the continent and the Celts entered Ireland through north-eastern Scotland. The available evidence for the introduction of La Tène culture into Ireland shows that there may have been two main sources of immigration: one, already mentioned, through Britain around the 1st century BC. e. with the main concentration in the northeast, and another, earlier movement directly from the continent, which dates from around the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd century BC. e. This was a move to western Ireland. This assumption is based not only on archaeological material, but also on the early literary tradition, where we see the primordial rivalry between Connacht in the west and Ulster in the northeast. The tradition recorded in the texts reinforces the archaeological evidence and illuminates aspects of the daily life of at least some of the ancient Celtic peoples.

Ancient writers about the Celtic peoples

Now we must consider another source of data about the ancient Celts, namely the writings of ancient authors. Some of their evidence of Celtic migrations and settlements is very fragmentary, others are more detailed. All of this evidence must be used with caution, but on the whole it conveys information that we should accept as genuine - making allowance, of course, for the author's emotions and political leanings.

The first two authors to mention the Celts were the Greeks Hecataeus, who wrote around the second half of the 6th century BC. e., and Herodotus, who wrote a little later, in the 5th century BC. e. Hecataeus mentioned the founding of a Greek trading colony in Massilia (Marseille), which was located in the territory of the Ligurians, adjacent to the land of the Celts. Herodotus also mentions the Celts and states that the source of the Danube River is located in Celtic lands. It testifies to the widespread settlement of the Celts in Spain and Portugal, where the merging of the cultures of the two peoples led to the fact that these tribes began to be called Celtiberians. Although Herodotus was wrong about geographical location Danube, considering that it is located on the Iberian Peninsula, perhaps his statement is explained by some tradition about the connection of the Celts with the sources of this river. Author of the 4th century BC. e. Ephorus considered the Celts to be one of the four great barbarian nations; others are Persians, Scythians and Libyans. This suggests that the Celts, as before, were considered a separate people. Although they had practically no political unity, the Celts were characterized by a common language, a unique material culture and similar religious ideas. All these features are distinct from the inevitable local cultural traditions that arose from the fusion of the traditions of the Celts with the traditions of the peoples among whom they settled over a large area of Europe (Fig. 2).

The main social unit of the Celts was the tribe. Each tribe had its own name, while the common name for the whole people was “Celtae” (Celtae). The name Celtici continued to exist in southwestern Spain until Roman times. However, it is now believed that the creators of this name were the Romans themselves, who, being familiar with the Gauls, were able to recognize the Celts in Spain, and therefore called them Celtici. We have no evidence of the use of this term in relation to the Celts who lived in ancient times in the British Isles; There is also no evidence that the Celtic inhabitants of these areas called themselves by a common name, although this could have been the case. The Greek form of the word "Keltoi" comes from the oral tradition of the Celts themselves.

There are two other names for the Celts: Galli (as the Romans called the Celts) and Galatae (Galatae), a word often used by Greek authors. Thus we have two Greek forms - Keltoi and Galatae - and their equivalent Roman forms - Celtae and Galli. Indeed, Caesar writes that the Gauls call themselves “Celts,” and it seems clear that, in addition to their individual tribal names, this is what they called themselves.

The Romans called the region south of the Alps Cisalpine Gaul and the region beyond the Alps Transalpine Gaul. Around 400 BC. e. Celtic tribes coming from Switzerland and southern Germany, led by the Insubri, invaded northern Italy. They captured Etruria and marched along the Italian peninsula all the way to Mediolan (Milan). Other tribes followed their example. Large-scale resettlement occurred. Warriors setting off on a campaign of conquest were accompanied by their families, servants and belongings in heavy and uncomfortable carts. This is also evidenced by one interesting place in the Irish epic “The Rape of the Bull from Cualnge”: “And again the army set out on a campaign. It was not an easy path for the warriors, for many people, families and relatives moved with them, so that they would not have to part and everyone could see their relatives, friends and loved ones.”

Using the conquered lands as a base, bands of skilled warriors raided vast areas. In 390 BC. e. they successfully attacked Rome. In 279, the Galatians, led by a leader (although more likely a Celtic deity) named Brennus, attacked Delphi. The Galatians, led by Brennus and Bolgius, penetrated into Macedonia (most likely, both were not leaders, but gods) and tried to settle there. The Greeks stubbornly resisted. After the attack on Delphi, the Celts were defeated; nevertheless, they remained in the Balkans. The three tribes moved to Asia Minor and, after several skirmishes, settled in northern Phrygia, which became known as Galatia. Here they had a sanctuary called Drunemeton, "oak grove." The Galatians also had their own fortresses, and they retained their national identity for quite a long time. The letter of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians is well known. If the archeology of Galatia ever becomes a separate, well-developed discipline, then we will have another interesting panorama of local civilization within the vast world of the Celts.

When we think of the Celts today, we usually think of peoples who spoke Celtic languages on the periphery of western Europe: Brittany, Wales, Ireland and Gaelic Scotland, as well as their last representatives on the Isle of Man. However, it should always be borne in mind that for archaeologists the Celts are a people whose culture covers vast territories and long periods of time. For archaeologists of Eastern Europe, the Celts who lived further to the East are just as important and interesting as the better-known Celts of the West. Much more archaeological and linguistic research will be needed across all Celtic areas, with onomastics (the study of place names) being particularly important, before we can paint a more or less complete picture.

But let's return to the early history of the Celts - as it was seen by ancient writers. Already by 225, the Celts began to lose control of Cisalpine Gaul: this process began with the crushing defeat that the Romans inflicted on the huge Celtic army at Telamon. Among the Celts' troops were the famous Gesati "spearmen", spectacular Gallic mercenaries who entered the service of any tribe or alliance of tribes that needed their help. These bands are somewhat reminiscent of the Irish Fenians (Fiana), bands of warriors who lived outside the tribal system and roamed the country, fighting and hunting, under the leadership of their legendary leader Finn Mac Cumal. Writing about the Battle of Telamon, the Roman author Polybius vividly describes the Gesati. His remarks about appearance The Celts in general will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2. Polybius says that the Celtic tribes who took part in the battle - the Insubri and Boii - wore trousers and cloaks, but the Gesati fought naked. The Roman consul Guy died at the very beginning of the battle and, according to Celtic custom, was beheaded. But then the Romans managed to lure the Celts into a trap, sandwiching them between two Roman armies, and, despite all their suicidal courage and endurance, they were completely defeated. Thus began the retreat of the Celts from Cisalpine Gaul. In 192, the Romans, having defeated the Boii in their very stronghold - present-day Bologna - finally achieved dominance over all of Cisalpine Gaul. From that moment on, the same thing began to happen everywhere: the territory of the independent Celts was gradually shrinking, and the Roman Empire was advancing and growing. By the 1st century BC. e. Gaul, which at that time remained the only independent Celtic country on the continent, became part of the Roman Empire after the final defeat inflicted on the Gauls by Julius Caesar in the war that began in 58. It took Caesar about seven years to complete the conquest of Gaul, and after that the rapid Romanization of the country began.

Celtic speech and religious traditions continued to live under the auspices of Rome, and they had to change and adapt to Roman ideology. Latin was widely used among the privileged classes. The Celtic priests - the Druids - were officially banned, but the reason for this was not only their cruel religious rituals, which allegedly offended the sensibilities of the Romans (human sacrifice had long ceased in the Roman world), but also because they threatened Roman political dominance. Much of the information we have about Celtic life and religion in both Gaul and Britain has to be literally picked out from under the Roman varnish. Local religious cults also need to be separated from ancient layers, although sometimes this is not easy and sometimes almost impossible. Nevertheless, we have enough information and comparative material to paint a fairly convincing picture of Celtic life in Roman Gaul and Britain. The arrival of Christianity also brought with it significant changes, as did the eventual conquest of the Roman Empire by barbarian hordes from northern Europe. After this the Celtic world, with the exception of Ireland, dies, and in those areas which after this period retained the Celtic language it became a relic of the past, and this is beyond the scope of our book.

Let's return to the British Isles. We know little about the history of the Celts here from written sources - in fact, much less than we know about the Celts in Europe. Caesar's account of the Belgian migration to south-eastern Britain is the first truly historical account of Celtic migration to the British Isles, but beyond the archaeological evidence we have one or two more nuggets of information. The poem “The Sea Route” (“Ora maritima”), written in the 4th century by Rufus Festus Avienus, preserves fragments of a lost manual for sailors compiled in Massilia and called the “Periplus of Massaliot.” It dates back to around 600 BC. e. and was a story about a journey that began in Massilia (Marseille); then the route continues along the eastern coast of Spain to the city of Tartessos, which, apparently, was located near the mouth of the Guadalquivir. This story included mention of the inhabitants of two big islands- Ierne and Albion, that is, Ireland and Britain, who were said to trade with the inhabitants of the Estrymnides, the inhabitants of what is now Brittany. These names are the Greek form of names that were preserved among the Celts, who spoke Goydel languages. We are talking about the Old Irish names “Eriu” and “Albu”. These are words of Indo-European, most likely Celtic origin.

In addition, we have accounts of Pytheas's journey from Massilia, which took place around 325 BC. e. Here Britain and Ireland are called pretannikae, "Pretan Islands", apparently also a Celtic word. The inhabitants of these islands were to be called "Pritani" or "Priteni". The name "Prytane" is preserved in the Welsh word "Prydain" and apparently denoted Britain. This word was misunderstood and appears in Caesar's story as "Britannia" and "Britannians".

Rome and the coming of Christianity

After several waves of Celtic migrations to the British Isles, which we have already discussed, the next major event in the history of ancient Britain was, of course, its entry into the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar arrived in Britain in 55 and again in 54 BC. e. Emperor Claudius began the final subjugation of the south of the island in 43 AD. e. The era of Roman expansion, military conquest and Roman civil rule began, when the most prominent local princes were Romanized. In a word, about the same thing happened here as in Gaul, but the process was less complex and large-scale; local languages survived, although the aristocracy used Latin, as in Gaul. In Britain they adopted Roman customs, built cities in the Mediterranean style and erected stone temples according to classical models, where the British and ancient gods were worshiped side by side. Gradually local elements began to come to the fore, and by the 4th century AD. e. we see a revival of interest in local religious cults; one or two impressive temples dedicated to Celtic deities were built, such as the temple of Nodonta in Lydney Park on the Severn Estuary and the temple of an unknown deity with a bronze image of a bull with three goddesses on its back at Maiden Castle, Dorset. Each of these temples was on the site of an Iron Age hill fort. Christianity also appeared, which brought with it its changes and influenced the local society.

We have looked at the background against which the daily life of the Celts took place. As we have already seen, we are talking about a very extensive time and geographical framework - from about 700 BC. e. before 500 AD e. We have learned that between the age of Herodotus and the age of Julius Caesar, fate lifted the Celts to dizzying heights, from which they fell just as dramatically. The Celtic language (with its two main branches) was, in one form or another, common to the entire Celtic world, and the religious beliefs of the Celts were also common. By virtue of this individuality or "nationality", if this word can be applied to a people who did not have a strong central political power, more developed and educated neighbors distinguished and recognized the Celts. It is partly the observations of these neighbors that tell us about the Celtic way of life that distinguishes the Celts as a separate people, and other data about the early Celts help us to gain deeper insight into this problem. We must now try to find out more about the domestic, personal side of life among the pagan Celtic peoples; we want to know about how they expressed themselves in literature, about their religious ideas, about the laws that governed them everyday life. We learn what the structure of their society was, what they looked like and how they dressed - in a word, about what, in the eyes of ancient writers, distinguished them from other tribes. Ancient authors said that the Celts were one of the four barbarian peoples of the inhabited world. What did they mean by this? How can we check this? How reliable are these sources? Later in this book we will try to answer at least some of these questions.

Celts- one of the most famous and mysterious ancient peoples. There was a time when the sphere of their military activity covered most of Europe, but by the beginning of the new era, only a tiny part of this people in the very north-west of the continent retained independence. During the period of maximum power ancient celts their speech sounded from Spain and Brittany in the west to Asia Minor in the east, from Britain in the north to Italy in the south. Celtic culture belongs to the basic foundations of a number of cultures of modern Western and Central Europe. Some of the Celtic peoples still exist today. The peculiar art of the Celts still amazes both professional art historians and a wide range of connoisseurs, and the religion that embodied their subtle and complex worldview remains a mystery. Even after the unified Celtic civilization left the historical scene, its legacy in different forms experienced a revival more than once.

These people were called Celts, the Romans called them Gauls(roosters), but what they called themselves, and whether they had a single name, is unknown. The ancient Greek and Latin (Roman) authors probably wrote more about the Celts than about other peoples of Europe, which is quite consistent with the importance of these northern neighbors in the life of ancient civilization.

Map. Celts in Europe in the 1st millennium BC.

The entry of the Celts into the historical arena

First news about the ancient Celts found in written sources around 500 BC. e. It says that these people had several cities and were warlike neighbors of the Ligurians, a tribe that lived near the Greek colony of Massalia (now the French city of Marseille).

In the work of the “father of history” Herodotus, completed no later than 431 or 425 BC. e., it was reported that the Celts inhabited the upper reaches of the Danube (and, according to the Greeks, the source of this river is in the Pyrenees Mountains), their proximity to the Kinetes, the westernmost people of Europe, was mentioned.

Around 400 BC e. the tribes of this people invaded Northern Italy and occupied it, subjugating the Etruscans, Ligurians, and Umbrians who lived here. Around 396 BC e. The Celtic and Subrians founded the city of Mediolan (now Italian Milan). In 387 BC. e. The Celtic people, led by Brenn, defeated the Roman army at Alia, and then. True, the city Kremlin (Capitol) was never captured. The origin of the Roman saying “ Geese saved Rome" According to legend, the Celts marched at night to storm the Capitol. The Roman guards were asleep. But the invaders were noticed by geese from the temple of the goddess Vesta. They made a noise and woke up the guards. The attack was repulsed, and Rome was saved from capture.

In those years, Celtic raids reached the south of Italy until they were stopped by Rome, which sought hegemony in Italy and relied on a reformed army. Having encountered such resistance, some groups in 358 BC. e. moved to Illyria (northwest of the Balkan Peninsula), where their movement encountered counter pressure from the Macedonians. And already in 335 BC. e. Celtic ambassadors entered into negotiations with Alexander the Great. Probably, the concluded agreement on the division of spheres of influence allowed the Macedonians and Greeks to go to 334 BC. e. to conquer Persia, without fear for his rear, and gave the Celts the opportunity to establish themselves in the Middle Danube.

From 299 BC e. The military activity of the Celts in Italy resumed; they managed to defeat the Romans at Clusium and annex a number of tribes dissatisfied with Rome. However, just four years later, in 295 BC. e., the Romans took revenge, uniting and subjugating a significant part of Italy. In 283 BC. e. they occupied the lands of the Senone Celts, cutting off access to the Adriatic Sea for their other tribesmen. In 280 BC. e. inflicted a crushing defeat on the Northern Italian Celts and their allies on Lake Vadimon.

Then it intensified military expansion of the Celts in southeastern Europe. Perhaps it was the outflow of forces in this direction that weakened their onslaught in Italy. By 298 BC. e. includes information about their penetration into the territory of modern Bulgaria, although unsuccessful. In 281 BC. e. Numerous Celtic troops flooded a number of regions of the Balkan Peninsula, and on the 20th, a thousand-strong army of Celts-Galates was hired by Nicomedes I, king of Bithynia (in the territory of modern Turkey), for a war in Asia Minor. A huge Celtic army led by Brennus in 279 BC. e. , plundering, among other things, the sanctuary at Delphi, especially revered by the Greeks. And although the barbarians were driven out of Greece and Macedonia, they remained the dominant force in the more northern regions of the Balkans, establishing several kingdoms there. In 278 BC. e. Nicomedes I again invited the Galatians to Asia Minor, where they strengthened themselves, establishing in 270 BC. e. in the area of modern Ankara, a federation governed by 12 leaders. The Federation did not last long: after the defeats of 240-230. BC e. she has lost her independence. These same or some other Galatians in the second half of the 3rd or early 2nd century. BC e. appear among the tribes that threatened Olbia on the northern shore of the Black Sea.

In 232 BC. e. again conflict broke out and the Celts in Italy, and in 225 BC. e. The local Gauls and their relatives summoned from beyond the Alps were brutally defeated. At the site of the battle, the Romans built a memorial temple, where many years later they thanked the gods for the victory. This defeat marked the beginning of the decline of the military power of the Celts. Carthaginian commander Hannibal, moving in 218 BC. e. from Africa through Spain, the south of France and the Alps to Rome, he counted on an alliance with the Celts in Italy, but the latter, weakened by previous defeats, were unable to help him to the extent he had hoped. In 212 BC. e. uprisings of the local population put an end to Celtic rule in the Balkans.

Having ended the war with Carthage, the Celtic people. In 196 BC. e. defeated the Insubrians in 192 BC. e. - Boii, and their center Bononia (modern Bologna) was destroyed. The remnants of the Boii went north and settled on the territory of what is now the Czech Republic (from them came the name of one of the regions of the Czech Republic - Bohemia). By 190 BC. e. All lands south of the Alps were captured by the Romans, later (82 BC) establishing the province of Cisalpine Gaul here. In 181 BC. e. Not far from modern Venice, Roman colonists founded Aquileia, which became a stronghold for the expansion of Roman influence in the Danube region. During another war by 146 BC. e. The Romans took possessions in Iberia (present-day Spain) from the Carthaginians, and by 133 BC. e. finally subjugated the Celto-Iberian tribes living there, taking their last stronghold - Numatia. In 121 BC. e. under the pretext of protecting Massalia from the attacks of its neighbors, Rome occupied the south of modern France, conquering the local Celts and Ligurians, and in 118. BC e. the province of Narbonese Gaul was created there.

At the end of the 2nd century. BC e. Roman historians wrote about the onslaught on the Celts from their northeastern neighbors - the Germans. Shortly before 113 BC e. The Boii repelled the attack of the German tribe of the Cimbri. But they moved south, united with the Teutons (who were probably Celts), defeated a number of Celtic tribes and Roman armies, but in 101 BC. e. The Cimbri were almost completely destroyed by the Roman commander Marius. Later, other Germanic tribes nevertheless pushed the Boii out of the Czech Republic into the Danube regions.

By 85 BC. e. The Romans broke the resistance of the Scordisci living at the mouth of the Sava, the last stronghold of the Celts in the northern Balkans. Around 60 BC e. The Teurisci and Boii were almost destroyed by the Dacians under the leadership of Burebista, which is probably part of the events associated with the expansion of the Thracian tribes, which crushed Celtic dominance in the territory east and north of the Middle Danube.

Shortly before 59 BC. e., taking advantage of civil strife in Gaul, the Suevi and some other Germanic tribes led by Ariovistus captured part of the territory of the Sequani, one of the strongest Celtic tribes. This was the reason for the Romans to intervene. In 58 BC. e. Julius Caesar, then proconsul of Illyria, Cisalpine and Narbonese Gaul, defeated the union of Ariovistus, and soon basically took control of the rest of the “shaggy” Gaul. In response, the ancient Celts rebelled (54 BC), but in 52 BC. e. Alesia, the base of the most active leader of the rebels, Vercingetorix, fell, and by 51 BC. e. Caesar finally suppressed the Celtic resistance.

During a series of campaigns from 35 to 9 BC. e. The Romans established themselves on the right bank of the Middle Danube, conquering the Celtic and other local tribes. Later the province of Pannonia arose here. In 25 BC. e. Galatia in Asia Minor submitted to Rome, having lost the remnants of independence, but the descendants of the Celts continued to live on these lands, preserving their language for several more centuries. In 16 BC. e. The “kingdom of Noricum”, which united their possessions in the Upper Danube, became part of the Roman state in 16 AD. e. The Roman provinces of Noricum and Raetia were formed here.

Following the waves of Celtic settlers, the Romans came to Britain. Julius Caesar visited there in 55 and 54. BC e. By 43 AD e., under Emperor Caligula, the Romans, having suppressed the stubborn resistance of the Celts, captured southern Britain, and by 80, during the reign of Agricola, the border of Roman possessions on these islands was formed.

Thus, in the 1st century. The Celts remained free only in Ireland.

origin of name

The appearance of the word “Celtic” in English occurred in the 17th century. The Oxford-based Welsh linguist Edward Lloyd drew attention to the similarities inherent in the languages spoken in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. He called these languages “Celtic” - and the name stuck. The word "Celtic" is also used to describe the "scroll" style of a variety of jewelry sold in gift shops in Ireland. However, there is no evidence that this design was created by an ethnically homogeneous group of people.

Story

The internecine wars that weakened the Celts contributed to the invasion of the Germans from the east and the Romans from the south. The Germans pushed back some of the Celts in the 1st century BC. e. beyond the Rhine. Julius Caesar in 58 BC e. - 51 BC e. took possession of all of Gaul. Under Augustus, the Romans conquered areas along the upper Danube, northern Spain, Galatia, and under Claudius (mid-1st century AD) a significant part of Britain. The Celts, who wished to remain on the territory of the Roman Empire, underwent strong Romanization.

Contacts with ancient civilizations

The Celts were one of the most warlike peoples in Europe. To intimidate the enemy before the battle, the Celts uttered deafening screams and blew war trumpets - carnyxes, the bells of which were made in the form of animal heads.

Roman name Gauls was used to a greater extent in relation to the tribes that lived north of Massalia, near the Ocean and at the Gerkinsky mountain. Gauls(from Latin Gallus - “rooster”) - the name given by the Romans to a group of Celtic tribes, mostly living in the territory of modern France. This etymology is due to the fact that the battle helmets of the ancient Gauls were decorated with rooster feathers, since the first acquaintance of the Romans with the Gauls occurred initially, mainly on the battlefields.

The Eastern Celts, settled along the Danube valley, penetrated far to the east in 281 BC. e. to Thrace in northern Greece, the Greeks called them Galatians.

While settling, the Celts mixed with local tribes: Iberians, Illyrians, Thracians, but some of them managed to maintain the “purity” of the race for a long time (Lingones, Boii), which was one of the reasons for their small numbers. So, for example, in 58 AD. e. there were 263,000 Helvetii and only 32,000 Boii [the argument here is controversial, because the Dacian king Burebista dealt mercilessly with the Boii after the death of Julius Caesar]. The Celts of southern France developed in conditions of active interaction with ancient city-states and therefore were distinguished by the highest level of culture. Driven out by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. e. from the north of Italy (from the so-called Cisalpine Gaul), the Celts settled in central and northwestern Bohemia (these were the Boii tribes, from which the territory received the name Boiohaemum - the homeland of the Boii - Bohemia).

According to DNA genealogist B. Sykes, the Celts of the British Isles are genetically related not to the Celts of mainland Europe, but to more ancient newcomers from Iberia, who brought agriculture to Britain in the early Neolithic era.

The most numerous tribes of the Celts were the Helvetii, Belgians, and Arverni

It should also be noted that the Celtic origin of the Arverni is still in question, and most of the Belgian tribal union had Germanic roots. The Biturigs and Volci were also not native Celtic tribes.

Celtic beliefs

Irish law

The original national law, which had been in force in Ireland since ancient times, was abolished by the English government at the beginning of the 17th century and doomed to oblivion, like everything that could remind the Irish of their former national existence. But in 1852, the English government commissioned Irish scientists to find and publish monuments of ancient Irish law.

It is believed that the legal provisions contained in Great Book of Ancient Law, developed under the influence of the Bregons, approximately in 1st century AD, and the legal treatises, which serve as the basis of the collection and the subject of the later gloss, were compiled during the era of the introduction of Christianity in Ireland, that is, in the first half of the 5th century, then were preserved by oral tradition for several centuries, and were written down in the 8th century. The oldest manuscript that has come down to us dates back to the 14th century. For the study of the original foundations and evolution of primitive Indo-European law, there is no other source - with the possible exception of the laws of Manu - that would surpass in importance the ancient Irish laws. Senchus-Mor consists of 5 books, of which the first two treat legal proceedings, the last three deal with the upbringing of children, various forms of tenancy, and the relations of different persons among themselves, as well as with the church.

The book of Aicillus, another source of information on Celtic law, was based on two works, one by King Cormac (circa 250 AD) and the other by Cennfelads, who lived four centuries later; its manuscripts are no older than the 15th century, but the book itself was compiled much earlier, and the institutions described in it date back to remote antiquity.

In addition to these two main sources, other monuments of ancient Irish literature can serve, especially church texts - the confession of St. Patrick, Collatio canonum hibernica, etc.

All these monuments find the people in a state of tribal life, the highest manifestation of which was the clan. Along with clan relations, and sometimes in addition to them, a dependence similar to the vassal relations of the feudal system was established through the lease of land. The basis of the lease, which, however, could be free, that is, not to establish a dependent relationship between the tenant and the owner, was actually the giving for use not of land, but of livestock (the so-called shetel, cheptel, from the Celtic chatal or chetal - livestock) .

The owner by name was in fact only the manager of the common family estate, burdened with duties for the benefit of the family. Marriage was concluded through the purchase of wives and, before the introduction of Christianity, apparently could be performed for one year. The ransom for the daughter went in favor of the father, but in subsequent marriages a certain part of it, which gradually increased with each new marriage (the law provides for 21 marriages), was turned in favor of the daughter. When a brother replaced a father, he received half of what the father was due. When the spouses were equal both in social status and in the contributions they made to compile a common property fund, then the wife enjoyed the same rights as her husband and one could not enter into transactions without the other; in the case of an unequal marriage, priority in household affairs belongs to the spouse who made the contribution. Along with these cases, Senkhus-Mor provides for 7 more forms of marriage relations, reminiscent of irregular marriages, which are mentioned in the laws of Manu. When spouses separate, each takes their entire contribution, while acquired property is distributed between them on the basis of special rules that provide for the smallest details.

There was quite a complex system family relations, which was applied not only to the distribution of inherited property, but also to the distribution of monetary fines that took the place of blood feud: relatives were called upon to pay and receive these fines in the same manner as to inheritance. The reward for killing a free person (the price of blood, eric) was determined at 7 slaves (a slave was a common unit of value among the Celts) or 21 milk cows. In addition, there was also a price for honor (enechlann), the size of which depended on the wealth and social position of the victim. It was up to the relatives of the criminal to either pay for him, or abandon him and doom him to exile. Accidental killing did not exempt from payment of reward; murder by secret or ambush carried a double fine. There was a tariff of fines for injuries and beatings. The amount of remuneration for losses was in direct relation to the rank of the victim and inversely to the rank of the one who caused the harm. The initial stage of the process was the arrest, which was imposed by the plaintiff on the property (livestock) of the defendant and at the same time served as security for the claim. If the defendant did not have any property, then he was subjected to personal detention and taken to the plaintiff with shackles on his legs and a chain around his neck; the plaintiff was obliged to give him only a cup of meat broth a day. If the plaintiff and defendant belonged to different tribes and the seizure of the latter’s property was inconvenient, then the plaintiff could detain any person from the defendant’s tribe. The hostage paid for his fellow tribesman and had the right to claim back against him. If, by seizing property, it was impossible to induce the defendant to appear in court, then the case ended in a duel, the conditions of which were established by custom and which, in any case, took place in front of witnesses.

The court belonged to the head of the clan or the people's assembly, but in general it had an arbitration character. When making a decision, he was guided by the opinion Bregon(actually brithem, then brehon - judge), who in the pagan era belonged to the filé (filé - clairvoyant, prophet) - the category of priests who directly followed the Druids; in the Middle Ages they became a hereditary corporation. Bregons are the broadcasters of law, the custodians of formulas and rather complex rituals of the process, characterized by the formalism usual in antiquity; in their conclusions they do not create law, but only reveal and formulate those legal norms that lie in the legal consciousness of the people. The Bregons were also poets and were at the head of schools in which law was studied through oral transmission, along with the rules of poetic creativity. In the pagan era, the Bregons’ belonging to the number of priests imparted their religious authority to the conclusions, especially since the fillet was attributed with supernatural power, the ability to bring all sorts of troubles to the rebellious. At that time, at the head of the Phile class was the so-called ollaw, corresponding in position to the chief druid of the Gauls. And after the introduction of Christianity, the conclusions of the Bregons did not lose their mystical connotations: various magical actions of Oregon were performed at the trial, which were supposed to cause supernatural revelations. Then the evidence was a judicial duel, an oath, ordeals, and the support of fellow jurors.

Celtic War

The ancient Celts were terrible in battle - they did not wear any clothes and painted themselves blue. The spectacle of a crowd of naked blue warriors in itself terrified the enemy, as even Julius Caesar wrote about. In addition to this, they covered their hair with white lime and their bodies with tattoos.

Celtic names in modern Europe

Amiens - on behalf of the Gallic Ambian tribe;
Belgium - on behalf of the Belgian tribe;
Belfast - in Celtic “bel fersde” - “ford of the sandbank”;
Bohemia (obsolete name of the historical region of the Czech Republic) - on behalf of the Boj tribe;
Brittany (region in France) - named after the Briton tribe;
Britain is the same;
Burj - on behalf of the Biturigian tribe;
Galatia (historical region in the territory of modern Turkey) - from the name of the Celts by the Greeks “Galatians”;
Galicia (province in Spain), Galicia, Gaul - the same;
Dublin - Irish for “black lake”;
Quimper - Breton for “confluence of rivers”;
Cambrian Mountains - from the ancient self-name of the Welsh, Cymry;
Langres - from the name of the Gaulish tribe Lingones;
Lyon - “Fortress of Lug”, from the ancient name “Lugdunum” (Lug - Gallic god of the Sun, Gallic “dun” - fortress, hill);
Nantes - on behalf of the Namnet tribe;
Auvergne - on behalf of the Arverni tribe;
Paris - from the name of the Celtic tribe of Parisians;
Poitiers - from the name of the Picton (Pictavi) tribe;
Seine (river in France), from Gaulish Sequana;
Tur - on behalf of the Turon tribe;
Troyes - on behalf of the Tricasse tribe.

Modern Celtic peoples

Irish (self-name - Irish. Muintir na hÉireann or Irish. na hÉireannaigh, singular - Éireannach, name of the language - An Ghaeilge, name of the state - Poblacht na hÉireann (Republic of Ireland))
Welsh (self-name - Welsh. Cymry, singular - Cymro, name of the language - Cymraeg, name of the country - Cymru, name of the administrative-territorial entity - Tywysogaeth Cymru (Principality of Wales))
Scots (self-name - Gaelic. Albannaich, name of the language - Gàidhlig, name of the country - Alba, name of the administrative-territorial entity - Rìoghachd na h-Alba (Kingdom of Scotland))
Bretons (self-name - Bret. Brezhoned, name of the language - Brezhoneg, name of the province - Breizh)
Cornish people (self-name - Kernowyon, language name - Kernowek, county name - Kernow (Cornwall))

Literature

//
// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
Shirokova N. S. Celtic Druids and the book of Francoise Leroux // Francoise Leroux. Druids. SPb., 2003, p. 7-23
D. Collis. Celts: origins, history, myth. - M.: Veche, 2007. - 288 p. - ISBN 978-5-9533-1855-6

Links

The Gospel of Kells is a masterpiece of 9th-century Celtic miniature painting

Celts
Ancient Celts

Celts- one of the most famous and mysterious ancient peoples. There was a time when the sphere of their military activity covered most of Europe, but by the beginning of the new era, only a tiny part of this people in the very north-west of the continent retained independence. During the period of maximum power ancient celts their speech sounded from Spain and Brittany in the west to Asia Minor in the east, from Britain in the north to Italy in the south. Celtic culture belongs to the basic foundations of a number of cultures of modern Western and Central Europe. Some of the Celtic peoples still exist today. The peculiar art of the Celts still amazes both professional art historians and a wide range of connoisseurs, and the religion that embodied their subtle and complex worldview remains a mystery. Even after the unified Celtic civilization left the historical scene, its heritage in various forms experienced a revival more than once.

Map. Celts in Europe in the 1st millennium BC.

The entry of the Celts into the historical arena

Thus, in the 1st century. The Celts remained free only in Ireland.

Where did the Celts live?

King Arthur and the knights round table, the wise wizard Merlin, the fairy-tale elves from Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings”, all these semi-legendary characters well known to us actually came into modern times popular culture straight from ancient Celtic folklore. In those distant times, when ancient civilizations flourished in the south of Europe and the Mediterranean, the mysterious people of the Celts lived in the north of Europe. Mysterious largely due to the fact that, having a developed culture, rich mythology, interesting traditions, he did not leave behind any written evidence. All that we know about the Celts from written sources is mainly the works of ancient Roman historians, who cannot be objective due to the fact that the Romans and the Celts often fought, and the Celts themselves were seen by the Romans as sort of savages, barbarians, who must certainly be conquered and “ civilize".

Where did the Celts live?

At the height of their civilization, the ancient Celts lived in vast European territories, occupying modern Ireland, England, France, Belgium, part of Germany and Austria.

Map of the settlement of the Celts.

However, being lovers of wandering, some Celtic tribes even wandered into Asia Minor, were in the Balkans and in Spain. As for our country Ukraine, there is a hypothesis according to which the Celts lived in the Carpathians and, in particular, our Hutsuls are distant descendants of the Celts. But this is just a hypothesis, an assumption, there is no direct evidence that the Hutsuls are descendants of the Celts. But the modern Irish, Scots, Bretons, Welsh are indeed distant descendants of those same ancient Celts.

Origin of the Celts

First of all, it is worth noting that the very name of this people “Celts” is not true. That’s what the ancient Greeks called them, but the Romans called them Gauls, which means “roosters,” probably because of the warlike nature of the Celts, who were said to be as pugnacious as roosters. Unfortunately, we do not know what the Celts called themselves, since they did not have a written language, and they did not leave any written sources about themselves.

We also do not know the exact place where the Celts appeared on the historical stage. The Celts were first mentioned in the works of the “father of history” Herodotus; according to him, they lived in the upper reaches of the Danube, and were adjacent to the Cynets, the extreme western tribe, according to the Greeks. However, archaeological data tell us that already in the 5th century BC. That is, the Celts inhabited a vast territory, from England to the upper reaches of the Danube; where was the source of the emergence of the Celtic civilization, alas, is not known for certain.

History of the Celts

Throughout its history, the Celtic civilization seemed to compete with the ancient one, represented by ancient Rome. Moreover, she competed, sometimes quite successfully, so when Rome was just gaining strength, the Celts invaded northern Italy, won a number of brilliant victories and even besieged the “eternal city.” And they would have captured and plundered it if not for the geese; according to legend, the Celts decided to launch a night assault when the Roman guards fell asleep. But the unwanted guests were noticed by geese from the temple of the goddess Vesta and made such a noise that the whole city was on its feet, ready to repel the attack. This is where the saying “Geese saved Rome” came from. Although, most likely this is just a poetic legend.

But let's return to the Celts, in addition to Italy, they invaded the Balkans and the territory ancient Greece, and to Asia Minor, for example, the king of Bithynia (modern Turkey) Nicomedes I hired a large army of Galatian Celts for wars with local nomads. And Alexander the Great, setting out on his famous campaign against Greece, concluded a so-called non-aggression pact with the Celts, thus securing his rear, since Celtic raids on Greek territory were quite real.

Meanwhile, Rome was gaining its strength and power, subjugating all of Italy, it began external expansion, and now Roman troops invaded the Celtic lands, conquering first Gaul (modern France), and then Britain. Roman legionaries and Celtic tribes are successfully pushing back on the Danube and the Balkans.

Why were the Celts unable to repel the Roman invasion and, as a result, found themselves conquered by the Romans, because they were always brave and courageous warriors, owned significant territories, and enjoyed great influence in Europe at that time? Probably the whole point is the lack of unity and discipline; living from Britain to the Balkans, having a common culture, religion, traditions, rituals, and customs, the Celts were never able to create a single centralized state. The Celts were divided, while the Romans, on the contrary, created a strong centralized state. Also in military affairs, yes, the Celts were strong and brave warriors, but, like other barbarian tribes, they could not do anything against the well-coordinated Roman legion.

Celts versus Romans.

The Celts conquered by the Romans gradually adopted their culture, customs, learned to write, and later many of them themselves entered Roman service. Of course, sometimes there were Celtic uprisings against Roman rule, the largest such uprising was the uprising in Gaul in 54 BC. e. under the leadership of the Gallic leader Vercingetrix. The talented Roman military leader and future Roman Emperor Julius Caesar managed to suppress this uprising. It was he who broke the final resistance of the Celts, in addition to Gaul, also conquering Britain. From then on, the Celtic civilization disappeared from the historical scene forever.

Celtic culture

Although the Celts did not leave us written sources about themselves, we nevertheless know a lot about the culture of the ancient Celts from numerous archaeological finds throughout Europe. In particular, we know that:

The Celts were among the first to learn how to produce iron and steel.
The Celts were the first to learn how to obtain copper, mercury, lead and tin from deep deposits.
The Celtic horse-drawn carriages were the best in the ancient world.
The Celts were the first to mine gold on Alpine rivers.

This is only a small part of the historical facts about the Celts, obtained through archaeology. We also know that the Celts were skilled architects: for example, in the territory of modern Bavaria alone, the Celts erected 250 religious temples and founded eight large cities. In particular, it was the Celts who founded such famous modern cities as Paris, Turin and Budapest.

And the most famous architectural monument of the Celts is, of course, the famous Stonehenge in England.

Scientists are still arguing about the purpose of this grandiose structure. And the fact that the positions of the Stonehenge stones can be linked to astronomical phenomena speaks of the deep knowledge of the ancient Celts in astronomy, and some scientists even believe that Stonehenge itself was not only a temple, but also a giant observatory.

Now let's give the floor to Roman historians and chroniclers, according to their description, all the Celts were born horsemen, their women were distinguished by their panache, they shaved their eyebrows and wore narrow belts. Women in Celtic society enjoyed great freedom, in particular they could easily obtain a divorce and even take their dowry from their husband. Men wore mustaches and gold rings around their necks, and women wore bracelets on their legs.

Interesting fact: the Celts had a law according to which everyone had to be thin, and whoever did not fit a standard belt was fined for being overweight. Therefore, in order to avoid a fine, everyone played sports intensively.

At the head of the Celtic society were special people - the Druids, who were not just priests - clergy in Celtic society, but also performed many other important social functions, in particular they were:

healers, as they were well versed in various medicinal herbs,
judges, resolving disputes between ordinary members of the community,
teachers for those who were going to become a druid in the future,
historians, or rather keepers of ancient tales, legends, stories about the past. All information was transmitted orally, so the Druids must have had a very good memory.

Celtic Druids.

As we wrote above, the Celts did not have single state, the maximum they created tribal unions, at the head of each tribe was a leader. But the leader’s power was not absolute; in their decisions, the Celtic leaders often consulted with the Druids, and it happened that the last word it was up to the Druids, who in certain matters had even more power than the leaders.

In general, the comic image of the Celts is very cheerfully conveyed in the good old French cartoon “Asterisk and Obelisk”.

Celtic art

Surely many works of Celtic art have not survived to this day. But from the things that have survived, we can safely say that the Celts were very skillful in terms of artistic ornamentation on metal. Ornaments were applied to metal products by engraving, and later relief images began to be made. The Celtic ornaments themselves are dominated by geometric, plant and zoomorphic elements.

Celtic sculpture was strongly influenced by ancient art, although original Celtic works are also found.

Celtic religion

The Celts had their own pagan religion, many gods they worshiped, and a rich mythology. True, the mythology of the Celts, unlike the ancient Greek mythology, is, alas, far from being so promoted and popular, but that makes it no less interesting.

Among the gods of the Celtic pantheon one can note such characters as:

Lug is the patron god of crafts and arts. Including the art of war, therefore the Celts named many military fortresses after him, for example the French city of Lyon, also founded by the Celts, in ancient times was called Lugundun - Fortress of Luga.
Taranis is the thunder god, patron of natural elements: winds, storms, thunderstorms, rain. He was depicted with a hammer in his hands, in many ways similar to our Slavic god Perun.
Cernun is the patron god of the forest kingdom, trees and all plants and animals.
Brigid is the female goddess of love, fertility and healing; the Celts believed that it was Brigid who helped women during childbirth.

In addition to the gods, the Celts also revered certain plants, such as the evergreen shrub mistletoe, which was considered sacred. The Druids, considering the properties of mistletoe to be miraculous, cut it with a special golden sickle at a strictly defined astronomical time, in order to then use it in certain cleansing ceremonies.

The beliefs of the Celts about the afterlife were very interesting; in particular, like the Hindus, they believed in reincarnation, the rebirth of the soul after death in another body. But according to the Celtic religion, the soul is not reborn immediately, but ends up in the afterlife, some paradise islands, where it indulges in heavenly bliss until it is reborn in our material world.

The well-known Halloween holiday actually has Celtic roots, its original Celtic name is Samhain (or Samhain or Shroud). According to the beliefs of the Celts, on this day, October 31, the doors between the world of the living and the world of the dead open. With the advent of Christianity, this holiday acquired a Christian connotation, it began to be called “All Hallows Eve”, and the tradition of going to cemeteries and remembering dead relatives comes from Celtic beliefs.
Funerals among the Celts are strikingly different from those among other peoples; if it is usually customary to cry at a wake, then for the Celts everything was exactly the opposite; at the wake they had frantic fun, celebrating the return of the soul of the deceased to the afterlife, where heavenly bliss awaits him. In our time interesting tradition having fun at funerals was preserved among the Irish - descendants of the Celts.
The Celts also very interestingly explained the crying of newborn babies in accordance with their beliefs about the afterlife, they say, they cry for the lost other world and the heavenly bliss in which they remained after death until the moment of their new birth - reincarnation.
The Celts believed in the existence of various magical creatures, elves, trolls, and gnomes. Now you know where the English writer and linguist John Tolkien got ideas for his works. True, Tolkien's elves and elves in Celtic beliefs, of course, have many differences. The same goes for gnomes, trolls and other goblins.

Celts, video

And finally, we invite you to watch an interesting documentary about the Celts.

Map. Celts in Europe in the 1st millennium BC.

The entry of the Celts into the historical arena

origin of name

Story

Contacts with ancient civilizations

Celtic beliefs

Irish law

Celtic War

Celtic names in modern Europe

Modern Celtic peoples

see also

Literature

Links

Map. Celts in Europe in the 1st millennium BC.

The entry of the Celts into the historical arena

Where did the Celts live?

Origin of the Celts

History of the Celts

Celtic culture

Celtic art

Celtic religion

Celts, video

Read also