The modernCelts (/kɛlts/KELTS, seepronunciation ofCelt) are a related group ofethnicities who share similarCeltic languages, cultures, genetics, and artistic histories, and who live in or descend from one of theregions on the western extremities ofEurope populated by theCelts.[1][2]
A modern Celtic identity emerged inWestern Europe following the identification of the native peoples of the Atlantic fringe as Celts byEdward Lhuyd in the 18th century. Lhuyd and others (notably the 17th century Breton chronologistPezron) equated the Celts described byGreco-Roman writers with the pre-Roman peoples ofFrance,Great Britain, andIreland. They categorised the ancient Irish and British languages asCeltic languages. The descendants of these ancient languages are theBrittonic (Breton,Cornish, andWelsh variants) andGoidelic (Irish,Manx, andGaelic variants) languages, and the people who speak them are considered modern Celts.
The concept of modern Celtic identity evolved during the course of the 19th century into theCeltic Revival. By the late 19th century, it often took the form ofethnic nationalism, particularly within theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where theIrish War of Independence resulted in the secession of theIrish Free State, in 1922. There were also significantWelsh,Scottish, andBreton nationalist movements, giving rise to the concept ofCeltic nations. AfterWorld War II, the focus of the Celtic movement shifted tolinguistic revival andprotectionism, e.g. with the foundation of theCeltic League in 1961, dedicated to preserving the survivingCeltic languages.[3]
The Celtic revival also led to the emergence ofmusical andartistic styles identified as Celtic. Music typically drew on folk traditions within the Celtic nations. Art drew on the decorative styles ofCeltic art produced by the ancient Celts and early medieval Christianity, along with folk styles. Cultural events to promote "inter-Celtic" cultural exchange also emerged.
In the late 20th century, some authors criticised the idea of modern Celtic identity, usually by downplaying the value of the linguistic component in defining culture and cultural connection, sometimes also arguing that there never was a common Celtic culture, even in ancient times. Malcolm Chapman's 1992 bookThe Celts: The Construction of a Myth led to what archaeologistBarry Cunliffe has called a "politically correct disdain for the use of 'Celt.'"[4]
Traditionally, the essential defining criterion of Celticity is seen aspeoples and countries that do, or once did, use Celtic languages and it is asserted that an index of connectedness to theCeltic languages has to be borne in mind before branching out into other cultural domains.[5]
An alternative approach to definingthe Celts is the contemporary inclusive and associative definition proposed byVincent and Ruth Megaw (1996) andRaimund Karl (2010). It holds that a Celt is someone who uses a Celtic language or produces or uses a distinctive Celtic cultural expression (such as art or music) or has been referred to as a Celt in historical materials or has identified themselves or been identified by others as a Celt or has a demonstrated descent from the Celts (such as family history or DNA ancestry).[6][7]
Since theEnlightenment, the termCeltic has been applied to a wide variety of peoples and cultural traits present and past. Today,Celtic is often used to describe people of theCeltic nations (theBretons, theCornish, theIrish, theManx, theScots and theWelsh) and their respective cultures and languages.[8] Except for the Bretons (if discounting Norman and Channel Islander connections), all groups mentioned have been subject to strongAnglicisation since theEarly Modern period, and hence are also described as participating in anAnglo-Celtic macro-culture. By the same token, the Bretons have been subject to strongFrenchification since theEarly Modern period, and can similarly be described as participating in a Franco-Celtic macro-culture.
Less common is the assumption ofCelticity for European cultures deriving fromContinental Celtic roots (Gauls orCeltiberians). These were either Romanised or Germanised much earlier, before the Early Middle Ages. Nevertheless,Celtic origins are many times implied for continental groups such as theAsturians,Galicians,Portuguese,Swiss, NorthernItalians,Belgians[9] andAustrians. The names ofBelgium andAquitaine hark back toGallia Belgica andGallia Aquitania, respectively, in turn named for theBelgae and theAquitani.[10][11] The Latin name of theSwiss Confederacy,Confoederatio Helvetica, harks back to theHelvetii, the name ofGalicia to theGallaeci and theAuvergne of France to theAverni.
'Celt' has been adopted as a label of self-identification by a variety of peoples at different times. 'Celticity' can refer to the inferred links between them.
During the 19th century, French nationalists gave a privileged significance to their descent from theGauls. The struggles ofVercingetorix were portrayed as a forerunner of the 19th-century struggles in defence of French nationalism, including the wars of both Napoleons (Napoleon I of France andNapoleon III of France). Basic French history textbooks emphasised the ways in which Gauls ("Nos ancêtres les Gaulois...", 'our ancestors the Gauls') could be seen as an example of cultural assimilation.[12] In the late Middle Ages, some French writers believed (incorrectly) that their language was primarily Celtic, rather than Latin.[13] A similar use ofCelticity for 19th-century nationalism was made inSwitzerland, when the Swiss were seen to originate in the Celtic tribe of theHelvetii, a link still found in the official Latin name of Switzerland,Confœderatio Helvetica, the source of the nation code CH and the name used on postage stamps (Helvetia).
Before the advance ofIndo-European studies,philologists established that there was a relationship between theGoidelic andBrythonic languages, as well as a relationship between these languages and the extinct Celtic languages such asGaulish, spoken in classical times. The terms Goidelic and Brythonic were first used to describe the twoCeltic language families byEdward Lhuyd in his 1707 study and, according to theNational Museum Wales, during that century "people who spoke Celtic languages were seen as Celts."[8]
At the same time, there was also a tendency to stress other heritages in theBritish Isles at certain times. For example, in the Isle of Man, in theVictorian era, theViking heritage was emphasised, and in Scotland, both Norse andAnglo-Saxon heritage was emphasised.
Aromantic image of the Celt as anoble savage was cultivated by the earlyWilliam Butler Yeats,Lady Gregory,Lady Charlotte Guest,Lady Llanover,James Macpherson,Chateaubriand,Théodore Hersart de la Villemarqué and the many others influenced by them. This image coloured not only the English perception of their neighbours on the so-called "Celtic fringe" (compare thestage Irishman), but alsoIrish nationalism and its analogues in the other Celtic-speaking countries. Among the enduring products of this resurgence of interest in a romantic, pre-industrial, brooding, mystical Celticity areGorseddau, the revival of theCornish language,[14][15] and the revival of theGaelic games.
Themodern Celtic groups' distinctiveness asnational, as opposed to regional, minorities has been periodically recognised by major British newspapers. For example, aGuardian editorial in 1990 pointed to these differences, and said that they should be constitutionally recognised:
Smaller minorities also have equally proud visions of themselves as irreducibly Welsh, Irish, Manx or Cornish. These identities aredistinctly national in ways whichproud people fromYorkshire, much less proud people fromBerkshire will never know. Any new constitutional settlementwhich ignores these factors will be built on uneven ground.[16]
The Republic of Ireland, on surpassingBritain's GDP per capita in the 1990s for the first time, was given the moniker "Celtic tiger". Thanks in part to campaigning on the part of Cornish regionalists,Cornwall was able to obtainObjective One funding from theEuropean Union. Scotland and Wales obtained agencies like theWelsh Development Agency, and in the first two decades of the 21st century Scottish and Welsh Nationalists have supported the institutions of theScottish Parliament and theSenedd (Welsh Parliament). More broadly, distinct identities in opposition to that of the metropolitan capitals have been forged and taken strong root.[clarification needed]
These latter evolutions have proceeded hand in hand with the growth of apan-Celtic or inter-Celtic dimension, seen in many organisations and festivals operating across various Celtic countries. Celtic studies departments at many universities in Europe and beyond, have studied the various ancient and modern Celtic languages and associated history and folklore under one roof.
Some of the most vibrant aspects of modern Celtic culture are music, song and festivals. Under theMusic,Festivals andDance sections below, the richness of these aspects that have captured the world's attention are outlined.[17]
Sports such ashurling,Gaelic football andshinty are seen as being Celtic.
The USA has also taken part in discussions of modern Celticity. For example,VirginiaSenatorJames H. Webb, in his 2004 bookBorn Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America, controversially asserts that the early "pioneering" immigrants to North America were ofScots-Irish origins. He goes on to argue that their distinctCeltic traits (loyalty to kin, mistrust of governmental authority, and military readiness), in contrast to theAnglo-Saxon settlers, helped construct the modernAmerican identity. Irish Americans also played an important role in the shaping of 19th-centuryIrish republicanism through theFenian movement and the development of view that theGreat Hunger was a British atrocity.[18]
In 1996, Ruth Megaw[19] and Emeritus Professor Vincent Megaw[20] of Flinders University in theAntiquity article "Ancient Celts and modern ethnicity" examinedethnic identity particularly in relation toCeltic identity in arguing against critics seemingly motivated by an English nationalist agenda opposed to further integration with Europe who saw modern Celtic identity as a threat.[21][22]
In 1998,Simon James of the University of Leicester[23] in theAntiquity article "Celts, politics and motivation in archaeology" replied to Ruth and Vincent Megaw's article questioning the suitability of the termCeltic in the historic sense.[24] The core of his argument was that the Iron Age peoples of Britain should be considered not as generic Celts, but as a mosaic of different societies, each with their own traditions and histories.[24]Later in 1998, this line of reasoning came under criticism, being labelled an intellectual extension of modern British cultural colonialism, as well as for simplifying the anthropological correlation between material culture and ethnicity. Ruth and Vincent Megaw in the Antiquity article "The Mechanism of (Celtic) Dreams?': A Partial Response to Our Critics."[25] attacked 'Celt-sceptics' for being motivated by English nationalism or anxieties about the decline of British imperial power.
Simon James, in 1998, wrote a response arguing that the rejection of a Celtic past was not 'nationalist' but partly due to archaeological evidence, and usually by a post-colonial and multi-cultural agenda with recognition that Britain has always been home to multiple identities.[26]
Recently, the Insular Celts have increasingly been seen as part of an Atlantic trading-networked culture speaking Celtic languages of theAtlantic Bronze Age and probably earlier.[27]
In 2003, ProfessorJohn Collis[28] of the University of Sheffield wrote a book titledThe Celts: Origins, Myths and Invention, itself criticised in 2004 by Ruth and Vincent Megaw inAntiquity.[29]
Six nations tend to be most associated with a modernCeltic identity, and are considered the "Celtic nations".
These six nations alone are considered Celtic by theCeltic League and theCeltic Congress, amongst others.[30][31] These organisations ascribe to a definition of Celticity-based mainly upon language. Celtic languages have survived (or in some cases been revived) and continue to be used to varying degrees in these six geographical areas.[32] There are also Celtic nomads:Irish Travellers called "Pavee" that speak a language calledShelta that is a creole of Irish Gaelic and other languages, andIndigenous Highland Scottish Travellers called "Tinkers" who speak a language calledBeurla Reagaird that is anacrolect of Scottish Gaelic.[33][34]
A number of activists on behalf of other regions/nations have also sought recognition as modern Celts, reflecting the wide diffusion of ancient Celts across Europe. Notable regions includeGalicia,Northern Portugal,Asturias andCantabria.
A Celtic language did not survive in Galicia / Northern Portugal (together Gallaecia), Asturias nor Cantabria, and as such they fall outside of thelitmus test used by theCeltic League, and theCeltic Congress. Nevertheless, many organisations organised around Celticity consider thatGalicia / Northern Portugal (Douro,Minho andTras-os-Montes) andAsturias "can claim a Celtic cultural or historic heritage". These claims to Celticity are rooted in the long[35] historical existence of Celts in these regions and ethnic connections to other Atlantic Celtic peoples[36][37] (seeCeltiberians,Celtici andCastro culture). In 2009, the Gallaic Revival Movement, sponsored by the Liga Celtiga Galaica (the Galician Celtic League), claimed to be reconstructing the Q-Celtic Gallaic language based on theAtebivota Dictionary andOld Celtic Dictionary compiled by Vincent F. Pintado.[38][39][40]
Elements of Celtic music, dance, and folklore can be found within England (e.g.Yan Tan Tethera,well dressing,Halloween), and theCumbric language survived until the collapse of theKingdom of Strathclyde in about 1018.[41] England as a whole comprises many distinct regions, and some of these regions, such asCumbria,Lancashire,Northumbria, WesternYorkshire andDevon can claim more Celtic heritage than others.[42] In 2009, it was claimed that revival of theCumbric language was being attempted inCumberland, England,[43] however the idea that "Cumbric" was separate from OldWelsh has been criticised as stemming from the difficulty that many English historians have with accepting Old Welsh as the language once spoken all over England.[44] It was suggested by Colin Lewis inCarn magazine that revivalists in thenorth of England useModern Welsh to enable use of Welsh's existing rich cultural basis rather than having to "reinvent the wheel"[43] in much the same way as has been done successfully inDerbyshire,[45] another area where elements of Celtic culture survive.[42]
Similarly, in France outside of Brittany, inAuvergne chants are sung around bonfires remembering a Celtic god.[46] There are also modern attempts to revive the polytheistic religion of theGauls.[47][48]
A profound interest ingenealogy andfamily history is noted as a feature of the culture of the Celtic nations and regions and people with a Celtic heritage.[49][50] Historically, some people in Celtic areas could recite their genealogy back though the generations as history, moving rhythmically from one name to another using onlyChristian names[49] as illustrated by lyrics of theRunrig songSìol Ghoraidh "The Genealogy of Goraidh".[51]
The genetic disorderhereditary haemochromatosis has by far its highest prevalence rate among people of Celtic ancestry.[52] Other traits far more prevalent among people of Celtic ancestry includelactase persistence andred hair, with 46% of Irish and at least 36% of Highland Scots being carriers of red-head variants of theMC1R gene, possibly an adaptation to the cloudy weather of the areas where they live.[53][54][55]
Although they are not usually considered a Celtic nation, theFaroe Islands have a population with a large Celtic heritage in genetic terms. Recent DNA analyses have revealed thatY chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87%Scandinavian,[56] whereas themitochondrial DNA, tracing female descent, is 84% Celtic.[57] The same can be said aboutIcelanders. The founder population ofIceland came from Ireland, Scotland, and Scandinavia: studies of mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosomes indicate that 62% of Icelanders' matrilineal ancestry derives from Scotland and Ireland (with most of the rest being from Scandinavia), while 75% of their patrilineal ancestry derives from Scandinavia (with most of the rest being from the Irish and British Isles). In addition, there are some areas of the accepted Celtic countries whose population are mostly not of Celtic heritage: for example, theOrkney andShetland Islands in Scotland have populations of mostly Scandinavian descent.[58]
A significant portion of the populations of theUnited States,Canada,Australia andNew Zealand is composed of people whose ancestors were from one of the "Celtic nations". This concerns theIrish diaspora most significantly (see alsoIrish American), but to a lesser extent also theWelsh diaspora and theCornish diaspora.
There are three areas outside Europe with communities of Celtic language speakers:
The most common mother-tongue amongst theFathers of Confederation which saw the formation of Canada wasGaelic.[60]There is a movement inCape Breton for a separate province in Canada, as espoused by theCape Breton Labour Party and others.
In some former British colonies, or particular regions within them, the termAnglo-Celtic has emerged as a descriptor of an ethnic grouping. In particular,Anglo-Celtic Australian is a term comprising about 80% of the population.[61]
The claim that distinctly Celtic styles of music exist was made during the nineteenth century, and was associated with the revival of folk traditions and pan-Celtic ideology. The Welsh anthem "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" was adopted as a pan-Celtic anthem.[62] Though there are links between Scots Gaelic and Irish Gaelic folk musics, very different musical traditions existed in Wales and Brittany. Nevertheless, Gaelic styles were adopted as typically Celtic even by Breton revivalists such asPaul Ladmirault.[63]
Celticism came to be associated with thebagpipe and theharp. The harp is considered to be the national instrument of Wales and is used to accompanypenillion singing (orcerdd dant) where the harpist plays a melody and the singer sings in counterpoint to it.[64] Theroots revival, applied toCeltic music, has brought much inter-Celtic cross-fertilisation, as, for instance, the revival by Welsh musicians of the use of the mediaeval Welshbagpipe under the influence of the Bretonbinioù, Irishuilleann pipes and famous Scottish pipes,[65] or the Scots have revived thebodhran from Irish influence.[66]Charles le Goffic introduced theScottish Highland pipes to Brittany.
Unaccompanied orA cappella[67] styles of singing are performed across the modern Celtic world due to the folk music revival, popularity ofCeltic choirs, world music, scat singing[68] and hip hop rapping in Celtic languages.[69][70] Traditional rhythmic styles used to accompany dancing and now performed arePuirt a beul from Scotland, Ireland, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia,Sean-nós singing from Ireland andKan ha diskan from Brittany. Other traditional unaccompanied styles sung currently arewaulking songs andpsalm singing orlining out, both from Scotland.[71]
The emergence offolk-rock led to the creation of a popular music genre labelledCeltic music which "frequently involves the blending of traditional and modern forms, e.g. the Celtic-punk ofThe Pogues, the ambient music ofEnya ... the Celtic-rock ofRunrig,Rawlins Cross andHorslips."[72] Pan-Celtic music festivals were established, notably theFestival Interceltique de Lorient founded in 1971, which has occurred annually since.
The ScottishMod and IrishFleadh Cheoil (andGaelicCéilidh) are seen as an equivalent to the BretonFest Noz, CornishTroyl[73] and WelshEisteddfod.[74][75][76]
TheCeltic Media Festival is an annual 3-day event that promotes the languages and cultures of the Celtic Nations and Regions in media. This festival takes place in a different Celtic nation every year and has been running since 1980.
The birthdays of the most important Celtic Saints ofCeltic Christianity for eachCeltic nation have become the focus for festivals, feasts and marches: Ireland –Saint Patrick's Day,[77] Wales –Saint David's Day,[78] Scotland –Saint Andrew's Day,[79] Cornwall –Saint Piran's Day,[80] Isle of Man – StMaughold's Feast Day[81] and Brittany – Fête de laSt-Yves and Grand Pardon ofSainte-Anne-d'Auray Pilgrimage.[82][83][84]
Attitudes and customs associated with the routine of the year's work, religious beliefs and practices survived the coming of Christianity in the conservative rural areas of much of the Celtic countries.[85] All over these lands there were sacred places which had earned their status in pre-Christian times and which had only been gingerly adopted by the Christian church and given a garnish ofChristian names or dedications, hills, stones, and especially wells which can still be seen festooned with rags in observance of an old ritual.[85]
Certain days in the year were marked as festivals, and time was counted forward and backwards from them without reference to the ordinary calendar.[85] In her fine study of the festival of the beginning of harvest, in IrishLughnasa,Máire MacNeill has demonstrated the continuity between the myth known from the early Middle Ages and the customs which survive in the 21st century.[85] Lughnasa, calledCalan Awst in Welsh, is a summer feast and was dedicated to the godLug.[86][87] Of great interest is the use in theColigny calendar of the wordSaman, a word that is still in use in Gaelic refer toHallowe'en (evening of the saints), an important day and night and feast among the Celts (in Welsh it is calledCalan Gaeaf).[86][88] In Gaelic folklore, it was considered a particularly dangerous time, when magical spirits wandered through the land, particularly at nightfall.[86] The other important feast days that also continued to be celebrated under Christian guise, but often with a pagan spirit wereImbolc (Gŵyl Fair y Canhwyllau in Welsh),[89] the start of lambing, now the feast day of St Brigit andBeltane,[90] the spring feast, now May Day (Calan Mai in Welsh).[86][91][92]
In their pilgrimages the people combined the celebration of a holy place and a holy day.[93] Pilgrimages are still an important feature of country life, particularly in Ireland, Brittany and Galicia.[93] The most impressive pilgrimages includeCroagh Patrick on the west coast of Ireland on the last Sunday in July (the beginning of harvest) andSantiago de Compostela in Galicia.[93] The inspiration for famous Celtic singer and harpistLoreena McKennitt's million-selling CDThe Mask and the Mirror came in part from a visit to Galicia and in particular Santiago de Compostela.[94] Some of her songs are about Celtic feast days such asAll Souls Night aboutSamhain onThe Visit CD which featured in the erotic thriller filmJade starringDavid Caruso and "HuronBeltane Fire Dance" on theParallel Dreams CD.[95][96]
To signal the coming of summer and the return of real warmth, onBeltane (Bel's Fire), the May Day festival time, dances such as the'Obby 'Oss dance festival atPadstow in Cornwall are held with themaypole as its focus point.[97][98] The celebrations are tied to the promotion of fertility and a fruitful growing season with the 'Obby 'Oss dancing to the music through streets decked out in flowers, and sycamore, ash and maple boughs.[98] Shortly afterwards, on 8 May, the ancient rites of Spring are celebrated with theFurry Dance procession to an ancient tune made famous in the song "The Floral Dance" through the streets of nearbyHelston together with themystery playHal an Tow.[97][99] Fertility festivals like this used to be celebrated all over Britain.[100]
In the early 1980s seven-time world championstep-dancer,Michael Flatley toured the world withThe Chieftains and performed five solo dances (including a triple spin) atCarnegie Hall, New York, in a defining moment that led more than a decade later to a show at theEurovision Song Contest in Dublin that soon developed into the Irish dance extravaganza the world came to know asRiverdance[101][102]Jean Butler, one of the original leads, also worked with The Chieftains.[101] Flatley later put up his own show,Lord of the Dance.[101] The spectacular success of both shows can certainly take the credit for the revitalisedCeltomania of the last half of the 1990s.[101]
Revival ofCeltic art has been seen in theCeltic jewellery that revived ancient traditions based on the museum pieces that archaeologists had recovered.[103] An example is theCladdagh ring produced inGalway since at least 1700, but popularised in the 1840s.[104]
Textile craft industries based on Celtic fisher designs such asAran jumpers were developed in the early 1900s by enterprising island women to earn income.[105]
Following the authoritative publications on Celtic Art of theHallstatt andLa Tene periods by Joseph Déchelette (1908–1914) andPaul Jacobsthal (1944),[106][107] Scottish artistGeorge Bain popularized the revival of Celtic Art with his bestselling bookCeltic Art: The Methods of Construction first published in 1951.[108][109] Irish artist and writerJim Fitzpatrick started to hold popular attention from the mid-1970s adoptingIrish mythology in comic strip form in his series of books and postersNuada of the Silver Arm.[109][110][111] From the 1980s, public fascination with Celtic Art spawned a small industry in Celtic art books and reinterpretations of ancient Celtic art works, such as the works of Welsh artist Courtney Davies.[109][112]
Similarly, there has been a rebirth of interest in fantasy fiction based on Celtic themes inspired by history andthe vast body of Celtic myths and legends.[109]
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