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Celts
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This term has other meanings, see Celt.
An approximate area of settlement of the Celts in Europe.
The area of settlement of proto Celts (the ancestors of future Celts) in 1500-1000 BC is highlighted in blue; the borders of modern states are shown in pink for various Celtic tribes in 400 BC.
Indo Europeans
Indo European languages Anatolian · Albanian
Armenian · Baltic · Veneti
German · Greek • Illyrian
Aryan: Nuristan, Iranian, Indo Aryan, Dardic
Italian (Romanesque)
Celtic · Paleobalkan
Slavic · Tocharian
dead language groups are highlighted in italics
Indo Europeans Albanians * Armenians · Balts
Veneti · Germans · Greeks
Illyrians · Iranians · Indo Aryans
Italians (Romanians) · Celts
Cimmerians · Slavs · Tohary
Thracians · Hittites
italics indicate the now defunct communities of Proto Indo Europeans Language · Ancestral homeland · Religion
Indo European Studies
p·o·r
The Celts (Latin Celtae, Bret. Kelted, wall. y Celtiaid, irl. na Ceiltigh, Gaelic. Ceilteach, mansk. ny Celtiee, kornsk. Kelt) — tribes of Indo European origin, similar in language and material culture, in ancient times at the turn of the era occupied a vast territory in Western and Central Europe.
Content
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1 Origin of the name 2 History 3 Contacts with ancient civilizations 4 Celtic Beliefs 5 Celtic settlements 6 Celtic Mythology 7 Irish law 8 Celtic names in modern Europe 9 Modern Celtic peoples 10 See also 11 Literature 12 References
Origin of the name[edit / edit wiki text]
The appearance of the word "Celtic" in English occurred in the XVII century.
The Welsh linguist Edward Lluyd, who lives in Oxford, 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 "curly" style of various jewelry sold in souvenir shops in Ireland.
However, there is no evidence that such a design was invented by an ethnically homogeneous group of people.
Internecine wars, which 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 I century BC over the Rhine.
Julius Caesar in 58 BC - 51 BC took possession of all of Gaul.
Under Augustus, the Romans conquered the regions along the upper Danube, northern Spain, Galatia, and under Claudius (mid — I century AD) - a significant part of Britain.
The Celts, who wished to remain in the territory of the Roman Empire, underwent a strong Romanization.
Contacts with ancient civilizations[edit / edit wiki text]
The Celts were one of the most warlike peoples in Europe.
To intimidate the enemy before the battle, the Celts issued deafening screams and blew battle trumpets carnixes, the trumpets of which were made in the form of animal heads.
The Roman name "Gauls" was used to a greater extent in relation to the tribes that lived north of Massalia, near the Ocean and near the Gerkin Mountain.
In 390 BC, the invading Celts sacked Rome, simultaneously destroying all Roman historical records made up to that time.
The ancient world first learned about the Celts through the Greek colony of Massilia (modern Marseille, founded around 600 BC).
The Eastern Celts, settled along the Danube Valley, penetrated far to the east in 281 BC to Thrace in northern Greece, the Greeks called them Galatians.
In 279 BC, the Celtic leader Brennus, who led a large army, intended to desecrate and plunder the temple of Apollo at Delphi, but, allegedly, he was frightened by a thunderstorm that broke out, which he considered an ominous omen.
In 278 BC, about ten thousand Celts (including women, children and slaves) crossed to Asia Minor at the invitation of King Nicomedes I of Bithynia, who needed support in the dynastic struggle.
Later they settled in eastern Phrygia, Cappadocia and central Anatolia and created the state of Galatia, which existed until 230 BC.
When settling, the Celts mixed with local tribes: Iberians, Illyrians, Thracians, but some of them managed to maintain their identity for a long time (Lingons, Boii), which was one of the reasons for their small number.
For example, in 58 BC, according to Julius Caesar, there were 263,000 Helvetii and only 32,000 boii [here the argument is controversial, because the Dacian king Burebista mercilessly dealt with the Boii around 60 BC].
The Celts of southern France developed in conditions of active interaction with ancient city states and therefore differed in the highest level of culture.
Displaced by the Romans in the II century BC from the north of Italy (from the so — called Cisalpine Gaul), the Celts settled in central and northwestern Bohemia (these were the tribes of the Boii, from whom the territory was called Boiohaemum — the homeland of the Boii Bohemia).
The most numerous tribes of the Celts were the Helvetians, Belgians, and Arverns.
The most significant are: Helvetii, boii, Senones, Biturigs, Volki.
It should also be noted that the Celtic origin of the Arverns is still questionable, and most of the tribal union of the Belgians had Germanic roots; in any case, most experts consider their tribes as probably having a mixed, Germanic Celtic origin.
The Biturigs and Volki were also not originally Celtic tribes.
However, the very formulation of the question of origin needs to be clarified, formulating which scientists come to the conclusion that during the migrations of the Bronze and Iron Ages, aliens (in different historical periods it could be Celts, Germans and others) they did not so much displace (or exterminate) the defeated autochthonous population, as they were involved with them in the process of mutual assimilation, the result of which was the formation of new ethnic groups that retained one of the previous ethnonyms.
Celtic beliefs[edit / edit wiki text]
The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus wrote that after killing the enemy, the Celtic warriors " cut off their heads and hang their horses on their necks, and after bringing them home, they nail them to the entrances of their homes.
They preserved the severed heads of defeated enemies in cedar oil…
And some boasted that they would not give these heads even for the same amount of gold by weight..."
The fact is that for the Celts, the head is the home of the soul.
And to cut off the enemy's head meant that his soul was separated from his body, and he would not be able to revive…
Probably, the severed heads of the enemies not only constituted the most significant trophy of the winner, but were also part of the cult.
During excavations in Rokepertuz (France), a low portico with niches containing human skulls was discovered.
Celtic settlements[edit / edit wiki text]
Celtic Cross
The Celts (mainly in southern France) built fortified settlements ("oppidums") with stone buildings, surrounded by massive walls of stone blocks.
They then turned into fortress cities and trade and craft centers (Bibrakta, Gergovia, Alesia, Stradonice, etc.).
Agriculture and fishing were developed.
They skillfully processed the metal.
Celtic mythology[edit / edit wiki text]
Main article: Celtic Mythology
The Celts had a rich pantheon of gods, although not much information about them has been preserved.
At the heart of religion is the idea of a world tree (the oak was considered such).
Human sacrifices were made only in the most extreme cases, when the country was threatened with imminent death.
Great influence among the Celts was enjoyed by druids priests, in whose hands the implementation of religious worship, the highest judicial power and education were concentrated.
The druids jealously guarded their knowledge, as they were afraid of losing their influence.
Therefore, the training of druids was carried out exclusively orally, and the student first of all developed memory in order to remember a huge amount of information.
The Celts lived according to the laws of tribal society. .
Their culture was very rich in legends and legends, which were passed down from mouth to mouth for centuries and, as a rule, have been preserved in several versions, as, indeed, the Celtic names and names themselves.
The archaeological excavations carried out recently have helped to replenish the knowledge about the lifestyle and traditions of the people.
Just like most ancient peoples, the Celts believed in an afterlife and left many household items with the deceased during burial: plates, dishes, tools, weapons, jewelry, up to carts and carts with horses.
The central role in mythology was occupied by the belief in the transmigration of souls, which reduced the fear of death and during wars supported courage and selflessness.
Speaking of ancient Celtic (Gaulish and, to a lesser extent, British) deities, the following names are usually called: Taranis, Cernunnus, Ezus, Teutates, Lug, Belenus, Ogmios, Brigantia.
Irish law[edit / edit wiki text]
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 XVII 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 norms contained in the Great Book of Ancient Law were formed under the influence of the Bregons, approximately in the I century AD, and the legal treatises that serve as the basis of the collection and the subject of the later gloss were compiled during the introduction of Christianity in Ireland, that is, in the first half of the V century, then were preserved by oral tradition for several centuries, and were recorded in the VIII century.
The oldest extant manuscript dates back to the XIV century.
There is no other source for studying the initial foundations and evolution of primitive Indo — European law — with the exception of the laws of Manu that would surpass the ancient Irish laws in its importance.
Senkhus Mor consists of 5 books, of which the first two treat about legal proceedings, the last three about the upbringing of children, about various forms of rent and about the relations of different persons among themselves, as well as to the church.
The material for the book of Aicillus, another source of information about Celtic law, was two works, one of which belongs to King Cormac (about 250 AD), and the other to Tsennfelads, who lived four centuries later; its manuscripts are no older than the XV century, but the book itself was compiled much earlier, and the institutions described in it belong to the remotest 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 the tribal relations, and sometimes in addition to them, a dependence was established by renting land, similar to the vassal relations of the feudal system.
The lease, which, however, could also be free, that is, not to establish a dependent relationship between the tenant and the owner, was based on the actual return to use not of land, but of livestock (the so — called shetel, cheptel, from Celts. chatal or chetal cattle).
The owner by name was in reality only the manager of the common ancestral estate, burdened with duties in favor 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 during subsequent marriages, a certain part of it, which gradually increased with each new marriage (the law provides for 21 times marriage), turned in favor of the daughter.
When his brother replaced his father, he received half of what was due to his father.
When the spouses were equal both in social status and in terms of the contributions they made to compile a common property fund, the wife enjoyed the same rights with the husband and one could not enter into transactions without the other; in the case of an unequal marriage, the priority in household affairs belongs to the one of the spouses who made the contribution.
Along with these cases, Senchus Mor provides for 7 more forms of marriage relations, which resemble incorrect marriage connections, which are referred to in the laws of Manu.
When the spouses are separated, everyone takes their entire contribution, while the acquired property is distributed among them on the basis of special rules that provide for the smallest details.
There was a very complex system of kinship 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 to pay and receive these fines in the same order as to inheritance.
The reward for killing a free person (the price of blood, eric) was determined in 7 slaves (a slave is a common unit of value among the Celts) or 21 cash cows.
In addition, there was also the price of honor (enechlann), the amount of which depended on the condition and social status of the victim.
It depended on the relatives of the criminal either to pay for him, or to abandon him and condemn him to exile.
Accidental murder did not exempt from payment of remuneration; murder in secret or from an ambush entailed a double fine.
There was a tariff of fines for injuries and beatings.
The amount of compensation for losses was in direct relation to the title of the victim and in reverse to the title of the harmer.
The initial stage of the process was the arrest, which was imposed by the plaintiff on the property (cattle) of the defendant and at the same time served as security for the claim.
If the defendant had no property, he was subjected to personal detention and was 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 the defendant belonged to different tribes and the seizure of the property of the latter was not feasible, then the plaintiff could detain any person from the defendant's tribe.
The hostage paid for his fellow tribesman and had the right to demand the opposite to him.
If it was impossible to induce the defendant to appear at the trial by seizing property, 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 generally had an arbitration character.
In making the decision, he was guided by the opinion of the Bregons (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 keepers of formulas and rather complex rituals of the process, which was distinguished by the usual formalism in ancient times; in their conclusions they do not create law, but only reveal and formulate those legal norms that are hidden in the legal consciousness of the people.
The Bregons were also poets and were at the head of schools in which law was studied together with the rules of poetic creativity by oral transmission.
In the pagan era, the belonging of the Bregons to the number of priests informed the conclusions of their religious authority, especially since philae was attributed supernatural power, the ability to bring down all sorts of troubles on the disobedient.
At that time, the so called olav (ollaw) stood at the head of the Philae estate, corresponding in his position to the supreme druid of the Gauls.
And after the introduction of Christianity, the Bregons ' conclusions did not lose their mystical connotation: 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 the co jurors.
Celtic names in modern Europe[edit / edit wiki text]
Votive Berlin Golden Hat.
Amiens on behalf of the Gallic tribe of Ambians; Belgium — on behalf of the Belgae tribe; Belfast in Celtic "bel fersde" — "the ford of the sandbank"; Bohemia (the obsolete name of the historical region of the Czech Republic) - on behalf of the Bojev tribe; Brittany (a region in France) - named after the tribe of the Britons; Britain is the same; Burj — on behalf of the Biturigi tribe; Galatia (a historical region on the territory of modern Turkey) - from the name of the Celts by the Greeks " Galatians"; Galicia (a province in Spain); Gaul — (a historical region on the territory of modern France, Belgium, parts of Switzerland, Germany and Northern Italy); Dublin — in Irish, "black lake"; Cardiff; Quimper — in Breton, "confluence of rivers";
The Cambrian Mountains from the ancient self name of the Welsh, the Cymry; Langre from the name of the Gallic tribe of Lingons; Lyon — "Fortress of the Meadow", from the ancient name "Lugdunum" (Lug — the Gallic god of the Sun, Gal. "dun" - fortress, hill); Nant — on behalf of the Namnet tribe; Auvergne — on behalf of the Arvern tribe; Paris from the name of the Celtic tribe of the Parisians; Perigord — (historical region in France); Poitiers from the name of the Picton tribe (Pictavs); Seine (river in France), from the Gallic Sequana; Tur — on behalf of the Turon tribe; Troyes on behalf of the Tricasse tribe.
Modern Celtic peoples[edit / edit wiki text]
The Irish (self name Irl.
Muintir na hÉireann or IRL. na hÉireannaigh, singular — Éireannach, the name of the language — An Ghaeilge, the name of the state — Poblacht na hÉireann (the Republic of Ireland)) Welsh (self — Vall.
Cymry, a single number — Cymro, the name of the language, Cymraeg, the name of the country is Cymru, the name of the administrative territorial entity — Tywysogaeth Cymru (the Principality of Wales)) The Scots (self name Gaelic.
Albannaich, the name of the language — Gàidhlig, the name of the country Alba, the name of the administrative territorial entity — Rìoghachd na h Alba (Kingdom of Scotland)) The Bretons (self name Bret.
Brezhoned, the name of the language is Brezhoneg, the name of the province is Breizh) Cornish (self name Kernowyon, the name of the language — Kernowek, the name of the county Kernow (Cornwall)) Manx (self name Ny Manninee, language name Gaelg, Gailck (Manx), country name Ellan Vannin (Isle of Man))
See also[edit / edit wiki text]
Celts on Wikimedia Commons?
There is an article "Celt"in the Wiktionary
List of Celtic tribes Pre Celtic population of Western Europe Celtic paganism Celtic art Celts of the Iberian Peninsula Celtic regions Gauls (tribes)
References[pra edit / edit wiki text]
Belova N. N., Mongayt A. L. Celts / / BSE.
- 1969-1978 Gauls or Celts // Brockhaus and Efron's Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 vols.
(82 volumes and 4 supplements).
- St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Celts // Brockhaus and Efron's Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 vols.
(82 volumes and 4 supplements).
- St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
Collis D.
The Celts: origins, history, myth.
- Moscow: Veche, 2007 — - 288 p.
— ISBN 978-5-9533-1855-6.
Shirokova N. S. Celtic druids and the book of Francoise Leroux / / Leroux Francoise.
Druids.
- St. Petersburg, 2003, pp.
7-23
When writing this article, we used material from the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (1890-1907).
Links[edit / edit wiki text]
The Gospel of Kells — a masterpiece of Celtic miniature of the IX century Celtic ornament
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Celtology People Name • Gaels • Britons • Picts • Gauls • Celtiberians • See also: Pre Celtic population of Western Europe Places Gaelic Ireland • Dal Riada / Alba • Prehistoric Ireland • Prehistoric Wales • Prehistoric Scotland • British Iron Age / Roman Britain / Sub Roman Britain •
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