King of the Celts: Arthurian Legends and Celtic Tradition

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What may have gone hand-in-hand with the practice of human sacrifice is the fact that the Celts had a firm belief in an afterlife. This is evidently why they buried their dead with weapons, ornaments, and even food. In particular, the Celts also believed in reincarnation. This belief allegedly motivated them to be fierce warriors, since they were not afraid of dying in battle. However, it is also known that they believed in the concept of living in another realm. The exact relationship between these two different afterlives is not entirely clear. In any case, the otherworldly realm was envisioned as an island, similar to the Greek concept of Elysium or the Isles of the Blessed. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 5,121 articles in the main category, and specifying |topic= will aid in categorization. Ancient Celtic settlement Chysauster Village, a late Iron Age and Romano-British village of courtyard houses in Cornwall, England. Today, the term 'Celtic' generally refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany; also called the Celtic nations. These are the regions where Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent. The four are Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton; plus two recent revivals, Cornish (a Brittonic language) and Manx (a Goidelic language). There are also attempts to reconstruct Cumbric, a Brittonic language of northern Britain. Celtic regions of mainland Europe are those whose residents claim a Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language survives; these include western Iberia, i.e. Portugal and north-central Spain ( Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castile and León, Extremadura). [44]

In Wales, called Cymru by the Celts, the native tongue—Welsh—is a Celtic language, and it is still widely spoken in the region. In Cornwall (the westernmost county in England, and near Wales), some (although very few) speak Cornish, which is similar to Welsh and Breton. The earliest undisputed examples of Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions from the 6th century BC. [18] Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names. Insular Celtic languages are attested from the 4th century AD in Ogham inscriptions, though they were clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century AD. Elements of Celtic mythology are recorded in early Irish and early Welsh literature. Most written evidence of the early Celts comes from Greco-Roman writers, who often grouped the Celts as barbarian tribes. They followed an ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids.Roman soldiers are put into groups of around 6,000 men known as legions. The Roman army is well armed, very skilled at working together and heavily protected by armour. According to Plutarch, Caes. 27.8-10, Vercingetorix surrendered in a dramatic fashion, riding his beautifully adorned horse out of Alesia and around Caesar's camp before dismounting in front of Caesar, stripping himself of his armor and sitting down at his opponent's feet, where he remained motionless until he was taken away. [15] [16] Caesar provides a first-hand contradiction of this account, De Bell. Gal. 7.89, describing Vercingetorix's surrender much more modestly. [17] Imprisonment and death [ edit ] A plaque in the museum at the Mamertine Prison indicates Vercingetorix was beheaded there in 49 BC.

Vercingetorix throws down his arms at the feet of Julius Caesar, by Lionel Royer, 1899, via Musée Crozatier, Le Puy-en-VelayLike Welsh, the Irish language of Gaelic is a Celtic language. Gaelic largely disappeared in the 19th century, but the language is still spoken in the western part of the country. Celtic Designs Archaeologia Cambrensis (1846–1899) | BRUT Y TYWYSOGION: GWENTIAN CHRONICLE 1863 | 1863 | Welsh Journals – The National Library of Wales". journals.library.wales. p.5 . Retrieved 26 July 2022. In various [ clarification needed] academic disciplines the Celts were considered a Central European Iron Age phenomenon, through the cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. However, archaeological finds from the Halstatt and La Tène culture were rare in Iberia, southwestern France, northern and western Britain, southern Ireland and Galatia [68] [69] and did not provide enough evidence for a culture like that of Central Europe. It is equally difficult to maintain that the origin of the Iberian Celts can be linked to the preceding Urnfield culture. This has resulted in a newer theory that introduces a 'proto-Celtic' substratum and a process of Celticisation, having its initial roots in the Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture. [70] However, the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricum (near modern-day Bourges), a Gallic settlement directly in Caesar's path, was spared. Due to the town's strong protests, naturally defensible terrain, and apparently strong man-made reinforcing defenses, Vercingetorix decided against razing and burning it. Leaving the town to its fate, Vercingetorix camped well outside of Avaricum and focused on conducting harassing engagements of the advancing Roman units led by Caesar and his chief lieutenant Titus Labienus. Upon reaching Avaricum, however, the Romans laid siege and eventually captured the capital. Following a series of military defeats, the emperor Hadrian visits Britain and sets about establishing the northern limits of his empire by building a substantial wall to keep Romans and ‘barbarians’ apart. (Photo by: Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Mediterranean writers were keen to emphasise that the Celts practiced human sacrifice, something Romans found particularly abhorrent, and suggested that Celtic priests consulted human entrails for messages from the gods. Were it not for the archaeological evidence recovered from the bogs of northwestern Europe, we could explain all this as negative propaganda, examples of the Romans demonising their enemy. However, a variety of prehistoric bodies that have been dredged from the wetlands of Ireland, Denmark and southern Scandinavia have shown that human sacrifice was indeed carried out at times; the broad similarity of injuries recorded suggest that these executions were all part of the same ritual practice. Many other monumental statues of Vercingetorix were erected in France during the 19th century, including one by Frédéric Bartholdi on the Place de Jaude in Clermont-Ferrand. [20] Asteroid [ edit ] The Celtic cross represents the region’s unique take on the Catholic cross. In addition, many Celtic folklore stories, such as the legend of Cu Chulainn, are still told in Ireland. There are a few examples of large hillforts that seem to have been proper settlements. However, these were rare. It seems that the general Celtic populace during the Hallstatt era lived in relatively unfortified settlements. The mainstream view during most of the twentieth century is that the Celts and the proto-Celtic language arose out of the Urnfield culture of central Europe around 1000 BC, spreading westward and southward over the following few hundred years. [14] [48] [49] [50] The Urnfield culture was preeminent in central Europe during the late Bronze Age, circa 1200 BC to 700 BC. The spread of iron-working led to the Hallstatt culture (c. 800 to 500 BC) developing out of the Urnfield culture in a wide region north of the Alps. The Hallstatt culture developed into the La Tène culture from about 450 BC, which came to be identified with Celtic art. [ citation needed]

Celts of Britain

Julius Caesar: The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved February 15, 2015. Indeed, the Gallic cavalry was probably superior to the Roman, horseman for horseman. Rome's military superiority lay in its mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. In Gaul, Rome also had the advantage of being able to deal separately with dozens of relatively small, independent, and uncooperative states. Caesar conquered these piecemeal, and the concerted attempt made by a number of them in 52 BC to shake off the Roman yoke came too late. First, to become the chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Lugh had to present his credentials to the current king, Nuadu, who has a mechanical silver arm which some consider a handicap that makes him unfit to be ruler. Lugh informs the king that he is multi-skilled because he has the capabilities of a carpenter, smith, physician, warrior, sorcerer, and historian, amongst many others. Lugh impresses the court with his strength by throwing a huge flagstone and with his skill at playing the harp. Lugh then defeats Nuadu, and anyone else who cares to play, in a board-game called fidchell - a slightly unfair match since Lugh was credited with inventing it - and so he becomes the king. Preservation is, in certain individuals, so good that we can tell what their last meal was. In the case of Lindow Man, his stomach contained traces of mistletoe. Many of the French “Bretons” also wear traditional Celtic hats called coiffes (which means “hats of lace”), and roughly one-quarter of the region’s residents speak Breton, a Celtic language similar to Welsh. Vercingetorix ( Latin: [wɛrkɪŋˈɡɛtɔriːks]; Greek: Οὐερκιγγετόριξ [u.erkiŋɡeˈtoriks]; c. 80 – 46 BC) was a Gallic king and chieftain of the Arverni tribe who united the Gauls in a failed revolt against Roman forces during the last phase of Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars. After surrendering to Caesar and spending almost six years in prison, he was executed in Rome.