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MANY PEOPLE, ONE CULTURE
First of all, who were the Celts? Were they one race of people, or were they diverse groups that adopted a common language and culture? The facts of the matter are that the Celts were and are a diverse collection of ethnic origins that adopted a common language and many common cultural traits. Thus the term Celt is a linguistic, rather than a racial, term.
Even the word Celt itself and its' origin is surrounded in considerable controversy. It does not appear in any of the Celtic languages of today. The consensus is that the word comes from the Greek Keltoi, which means hidden people. The earliest known use of the term appears to be the Greek Hectaeus who wrote of a reclusive people in the 6th century BCE. By the time the Greek Empire began to form in the 9th century BC, the Celts had were already firmly entrenched across most of Europe from the headlands of the Danube, Rhine and Rhone rivers (all Celtic names) to the western coast. By the 6th century BCE, they could be found in the countries now known as France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the British Isles, Spain and Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey and most of Europe east to the Ural Mountains in Russia. Traders and entrepreneurs, they could be found in almost every port and along the trade routes from central Europe to the Mediterranean and into the Orient. In spite of preconceived stereotypes, the various Celtic languages have been spoken by a wide range of physical types, including both short and tall, and dark and fair.
CELTIC DIVERSITY
Though one may speak of two groups from a linguistic sense, they were were a scattered and diverse group. Distinctly identified are the Gaulish Celts of France, the Celt-Iberians, the Lepontics and Ligurians of northern Italy, the Galatians of Turkey, the Urn-field culture that began in central Europe as well as the Brythonics in Britain and the Goedels of Ireland. While we still don't have all of the connections figured out, we do know that the Celtic Tree was an ancient one with many varied branches.
Today, a Celtic language is spoken by only an estimated 2 million people living in scattered locations along the East Coast of Europe and the British Isles. In every case, the old language competes for survival with the national language such as English and French. The result is severe restriction to literary creativity in the ancient hereditary vernacular among the waning body of speakers.
In the last few centuries, the considerable body of writers of Celtic origin has written in the main national languages. Therefor, Celtic languages continue to exist only through strong cultural impetus to preserve Celtic cultural identity that is embedded deeply in the very history of Europe itself.
The perceived importance of the endangered Celtic heritage has spurred interest and research into many areas of importance in those countries where the culture is considered historically Celtic. Thus, considerable ongoing effort is being devoted to archeology, anthropology, dendrochronolgy, mythology, folklore, genetics, etc., especially in the British Isles.
FOLKLORE
The general impression of the past seems to have been the unfortunate assumption that the Celtic lore of Europe is simple folklore with no historical value. Further, in spite of its volume and complexity, it cannot possibly be compared to the great literary cultures of Europe such as the Greek, Roman, Germanic, Norse, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is the Celtic heritage unique in the variety and vigor of its folklore and mythology, it is also expressed in many here-to-fore less noted, and less explored, aspects. In such areas as art, science, metallurgy, literature and even various languages of Europe and their alphabets were influenced, advanced or contributed to by the Celts.
It was not until the beginning of the last century that the scholars of Europe began to understand the widespread influence of the Celtic cultures across the continent. Finally, faced by the growing evidence, scholars have begun to put aside their biased preconceptions and accept the idea of Celtic contribution to European culture. Gradually, the view of the Celts as barbaric intruders into the 'real' culture, which almost universally arrived with either the Roman occupations or the expansion of Christianity, has begun to fade. Not too surprisingly, the literary exercise of comparing the Celtic mythologies to the Greco-Roman is putting the cart before the horse. Celtic folklore and mythology is by far the older and perhaps provided much of the inspiration for both Greek and Roman.
ART
Another subject considerably misunderstood in the past is the Celtic art form. It was not until mid-twentieth century that Celtic art of pre-Roman Europe was identified. Then, the 'experts' tried to link the newly recognized form with the Mediterranean area. Even today, despite many studies to the contrary, there are those that still see "Celtic Art" as crude and secondary manifestations of classical art form. While some experts with the old mindset disagree, the considerable influence of the Celtic art form is being recognized as by an ever greater number as a principle form of European artistic expression, which laid considerable of the foundation of the classical art forms of Europe. In fact, it now seems likely that the Celtic form was the ancestor of Gothic art with its striking creatures, monsters and similar penchant for the twining plant themes, which create the shifting, multiple aspect view that can be transformed according to the imagination or perception of the viewer.
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