Who were the Celts?
Who were the Celts?
Before going any further it is important to explain what
is meant by the term ‘Celtic’.
The story of the Celts begins around 750BC. At this time
they lived around Hallstatt in Austria and became
wealthy and powerful from Hallstatt’s profitable salt and
copper mines, they also traded in iron.
They had a reputation for being fierce warriors who
mainly travelled on horse-back. They were feared and
respected. The Celts were made up of lots of different
tribes, not just one big kingdom. They gradually started
to move to other parts of Europe, this is called migration.
The Celts migrate
The years 400 to 200BC
are a time of movement.
Celts move northwards to
Germany and southwards
to Italy. Some also invade
Hungary, then head south
into Greece. Another
group of Celts settled in
Turkey. At the same time,
other Celtic peoples
moved into south-western
France, Spain, Portugal,
Britain and Ireland.
Celts Vs Romans
These migrations brought the
Celts face to face with the
Roman army – the strongest
fighting force in Europe. For
the next 200 years, Romans
and Celts were at war. By
around 60AD, Celtic power
was completely destroyed.
Only in remote areas such as
Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
Galicia and Brittany did Celtic
traditions survive. Surviving
Celtic parts of the world are
shown on the map opposite.
The making of Scotland
The Romans were in Scotland
from around 80AD and during this
time there are many battles
between them and the various
Celtic tribes, particularly the Picts.
The Romans leave Scotland in
410AD probably because the army
was needed elsewhere in the
Roman Empire. By this time four
main kingdoms emerged: the
Picts, the Scots, the Angles & the
Britons.
Celtic Scotland
Have you ever wondered why Scotland is
called Scotland? Well the story which
follows may surprise you.
Scotland was anything but a united nation,
nor was it even called Scotland. The
Romans referred to the area north of
Hadrian’s wall as Caledonia and it was
made up of many warring Celtic tribes.
Hadrian’s wall was built by the
Romans possibly to keep the
Celts at bay.
Caledonia or Scotland
Even after the Romans leave we still have fighting
between these kingdoms.It’s not until AD843 that
things start to take shape. Two kingdoms unite.
The Scots of Dalriada and the Picts unite to form
what became known as Alba under King Kenneth
McAlpin. Marriage between tribes probably had a
lot to with this:
A Nation is Born
So Scotland starts to form. It usually
comes as a surprise to hear that Scotland
gets its name from a tribe from Ireland.
Yes, the Scots were from Ireland!
Marriage between men & women in
different kingdoms may have been one
reason why unification took place.
However, there was an even bigger reasonthe arrival of Christianity played a major
part in the shaping of our nation.
We will see later how the spread of
Christianity helped make Scotland a nation
Celtic religion
When Christians first arrive in Scotland they are faced with
different Celtic tribes practicing pagan religions. The Celts
worshipped gods who protected the tribe and gave strength
in war, and goddesses who protected homes and brought
fertility. The gods were associated with the sky and the
goddesses with the earth. Gods and spirits controlled the
elements and natural forces, such as water and thunder, and
they were given different names in different parts of the
Celtic world. Both gods and goddesses were worshipped
close to water and in groves of trees. Rich offerings were
left for them. The Celts believed that terrible things would
happen if they did not make sacrifices of their most
valuable possessions, including living things, to the gods.
Their priests were called the druids.
There is no direct record of druids in Scotland, but it is
assumed that some kind of learned men or women did
exist to mediate between people and gods by
conducting ceremonies. There is little surviving
evidence of how the dead were treated since burials are
seldom found in Scotland in this period. Sacred
places included mountains, woodlands and rocks.
Water was always important
and pools and wells were
special sites. Sacrifices of
animals, objects or even people
were made to the gods in these
special places.
Christianity makes an impact
So this is what the Christians were up against.
Bringing Christianity to the Celts would not be
easy as the Celts had strong beliefs already –
beliefs that were very different.
Nonetheless, we will now see that Christianity did
gradually become accepted by the Celts. This was
thanks to the efforts of some of the Celtic
Christian missionaries such as Ninian and
Cuthbert. We will look at them later.
Now read the information sheet on the Celts and
complete the two activities which follow.