BrainPick in search of ancient Celts

[Rich.]

Hi everyone,

What pops into your head when you hear the words, ancient Celt?

(I ask for the purposes of research, gauging perceptions )

And what do you think of when you hear ancient Britain?

And Roman Britain?

But mostly ancient Celt. That's the one I really want to know about.

Any and all replies will be gratefully received.

¡Muchas gracias! ¡Olé!

 

[Rob Reid]

I think of people living in the British Isles (including Ireland) in pre-Christian times, before and during the Roman occupation.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Tacitus....Germania.

Not as often portrayed, the keltoi. Tall, big, fair.

The Picts...fineboned, dark.

 

[Barbara]

Firstly, history isn't my strength.

ancient Celt

Celts: Swords, battles, tribes, mud, no dentists, earth, bronze things like cauldrons, stone tablets, no specific religion but pick any which suits, mayhem, people tending to land, chickens in coops. (whether or not any of this is actually typically Celtic, I don't know.) And weirdly when I hear the word 'Celts' I think of England, although I'm fairly sure the Celts were all over Europe, Switzerland esp, but I've forgotten all that. Also, for some reason I'm reminded of the Vikings, but that might be my own historically confused mind. I must say I've forgotten pretty much most things to do with who the Celts are. I think the Celts aren't the usual feature in stories, but I don't know. If so, this might be a good thing as you're working on an open canvas as far as readers are concerned.

I won't mention a little Gaul with a moustache and his fat friend with stiped trousers and a menhir on his back.

ancient Britain

Anything before the 18th Century. For me 'ancient' is a umbrella term and I don't see not much other than old stuff. But a medieval image with castles is strongest (porb because I came here first as a 'foreign language tourist' being herded around castles).

Roman Britain

Roman ships arriving at the south coast, hoards of soldiers spilling out of the ships, building roads and bridges, 'slapping down' the locals, cobbles and other square stones, burying the dead on the side of the roads and not particularly caring but they can just lie about, postal pigeons, orgies abroad, orgies abroad that go out of hand but who cares cos we can be corrupt and do all sorts being abroad I mean who is going to report it back to Rome. Soldiers leaving home. Bringing modern ways to the locals. Amphorae full of wine. Also when I think of Roman Britain, I can't help but see Rome in my mind's eye, like the octopus with its tentacles.

Not sure this is helpful to you.

 

[Steve C]

Not done any research as that would kinda defeat the object of giving my thoughts.
Ancient Celt to me means the non-english in the UK and Ireland. The Brits against the Celts. They are wild and savage.
Ancient Britain is in the time of Bodecia and her fight with the Romans.
Roman Britain is the time after the Romans conquered Britain but couldn't conquer the Celts so they builts roads instead and Hadrians wall to keep the Celts out.
History was never my subject!

 

[Paul Whybrow]

My first thought on seeing the word 'Celt' is of a black T-shirt with that word on it in white on the front, along with a Celtic scroll on the back.

I bought it for £4.50 in Liskeard Public Library, the day before I left Cornwall to live in Atlanta, Georgia in 2000. It often attracted comments when I wore it, as no one there knew what a Celt was. I still own it!

I live in a Celtic nation—Cornwall is known as Kernow in the Cornish Language. We're part of The Celtic League alongside Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the Isle of Man. The Celtic League preserves and promotes the Celtic identity and culture.

 

[CageSage]

Recently, Alice Roberts (with some serious letters attached to her name) has done some serious work on the pre-Roman peoples of the islands that now make up the UK. It might be a good place to start. She's written up some evidence that states both before and after Roman settlement that most of the peoples in the east coast had one language (mainly for trade purposes) that linked them to a purpose, and the west coast had a different group of trading partners, and therefore a slightly different language and trade goods. However, she's found that it wasn't the Angles or Saxons who invaded, it was a gradual coming together through the business of trade and intermarriage. The language drifted with the usage and the new speakers, along with the rituals and stories. The Dark Ages wasn't as dark or as lacking as current historical stories would have us believe.
You should check out some of her sources.

 

[Rich.]

Thanks everyone! It's curious how the Celts seem to be a more obscure people to modern eyes than, say, the Romans or Vikings, who immediately conjure images of togas and longships. It makes for a cleaner canvas to work with, which probably makes things harder – there's less to play up to and less to subvert. From my own research I'm discovering they're not who I thought they were.

But anyway, they were the people in Britain when the Romans invaded. They were present at the point where British history begins (that's not strictly true, but they had no written language of their own, so it's a reasonable statement to make: British pre-history is everything before the Romans arrived). And that's an inflection point about which stories can be told, I reckon. And... I've identified a group of authors among whom my stories might fit, market-wise (bestselling authors, no less! oh, how we dream!).

Many of the Celts in southern Britain were already Romanized long before the invasion. Several Celtic "kings" invited the Romans in, were happy to embrace subjugation to preserve their own power and gain access to Roman wealth, technology and status. All kinds of stories about identity there. And action of course, lots of bloody action.

Recently, Alice Roberts...

Love Alice Roberts!

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Map of the tribes pre- invasion Tribal Politics in Pre-Roman Britain

 

[Lady F]

I think of druids and fairies - merrymaking and lovemaking the entire time.

 

[Boopadoo]

Arthur of The Britons

I remember watching it with my brothers on PBS as a kid. My mother considered it educational, so she'd let me stay up past normal bedtime. I became so enthralled, I did a grammar school research report from the perspective of an archeologist working on the site of a Celtic village. I got an A and a note to my parents commending how sophisticated it was.