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 he beginnings of the Celtic Cultures are shrouded in the mists of time. Their apparent place of origin lies somewhere in Eastern Europe, near the present day Ural Mountains. The matter of when that culture first coalesced is one of considerable disagreement among scholars and researchers. However, ongoing archaeological research is adding more and more to our knowledge and refuting previously held theories. For one thing, we are beginning to understand that there was considerable diversity among those labeled Celt, in spite of a shared language.
It is also becoming apparent that originally there were likely two main branches. First there were the so-called "Lowland Celts" whose central point of influence seems to have been the region around the Danube. Agriculturists, herders and craftsmen, they were also skilled in the working of metal, including copper, tin, bronze, gold and silver. Then there were the more war-like Highland Celts, often-labeled barbarian by the early classical writers such as Strabo, Pliny and others. This latter group appears east of the Rhine prior to the sixth century BC. Their homeland seems to have been the mountainous regions of the Balkans and Carpathians. They too were apparently skilled in agriculture and various crafts, but they were also war-like and patriarchal, unlike their more matrilineal and less aggressive cousins. The indications are that these two main branches of Celts began to diverge in the 2nd millenium BC or earlier. It was during this time that the Celtic language also began to develop into a number of variations.
LANGUAGE
Of the many fields that need further examination is the language. Language by definition is the expression of culture. It is within the Celtic languages that the Celts described themselves, their culture, mores, beliefs, laws and approach to life. In itself, the simple word is often enigmatic and sometimes confusing. Yet when the language is used as the tool of analysis, the scattered pieces of the puzzle become much more revealing in detail. Before we get too immersed in detail however, let's take a look at basics.
From a linguistic standpoint, one current theory is that the two linguistic groups (Q-Celt and P-Celt) branched in the first millenium BCE. For example, a fairly recent find of a fairly large engraved runic inscription in north-eastern Italy has been dated at least to the 7th century BCE and is decidedly P Celtic in form. However, some recent findings by European researchers indicate the divergence may be even earlier. It seems logical to me to suspect language divergence coincidentally with the cultural divergence noted above. So as work continues, we may well have to make further adjustment to current theories and extend our historical calendar further back in time. In my view, a divergence date of prior to the second millenium BCE is not only within the realm of possibility, it is a probability.
Until recent years, Celtic language has been considered to have developed into two variations; "P" Celt and "Q" Celt. However, the unfortunate fact is that this theory is based almost exclusively on the languages of the British Islands and Gaul. Recent discoveries reflect that the language had a much wider range of diversity than previously thought. Now it is discovered that other distinct versions of the Celtic language existed in what is now northern Italy (Lepontic and Ligurian), Galatia, and the Iberian Peninsula (Celt-Iberian), Breton (Early Brythonic), Ireland (Goidelic) and Britain (Late Brythonic). So in fact, we find considerable diversity in the spoken language used by the Celts of Europe, with many groups speaking their own unique dialect
A WRITTEN LANGUAGE?
Contrary to what seems popular belief, writing was known to many branches of the Celts. The earliest archeological evidence is finds in present day Italy that date to the 9th century BCE. It is generally agreed that the Celts did not invent a unique form of writing, but rather adapted the runic form used by the Phoenicians with whom they had extensive trading contact. Considering the facts that the Phoenicians had a complete runic alphabet by 1200 BC and at the same time were in extensive trading contact with several branches of the Celts, an earlier than 900 BCE date for a written Celtic alphabet is certainly possible. However, unlike other cultures who "borrowed" from the Phoenicians, the religion of the Celts prohibited open use of written language to record their "sacred wisdom." Thus, sacred knowledge was indeed recorded, but was carefully shielded from exposure outside of the sacred schools of wisdom. Still, in spite of such a taboo, considerable evidence of Celtic writing from the pre-common era is being found.
Recent findings include several inscriptions in Lepontic Celt, including a bronze tablet unearthed at Golasecca (Italy) dated the 6th century BC, a bronze tesera inscribed in Celtiberian found at Contrebia (Spain) dated 1st century BC and a bronze tablet found at Botaritta (Spain) also dated 1st century, among others. Further, several classical authors, such as Pliny, Strabo, Aethicus and Plutarch, commented on the manuscripts and libraries found in visits to Ireland in the 1st and 2nd centuries. In short, the Celtic peoples were for the most part literate, including the Irish long before the advent of Christian invasions. However, it was not until the Common Era that a change in religious perceptions allowed the shedding of restrictions on committing their considerable knowledge to written form. Thus, beginning in the 6th century (Common Era), extensive documents and manuscripts survive attesting to the existence of Celtic languages and the recording of one of the oldest mythologies of Europe.
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