The Celts
THEY CALLED THEMSELVES
THE SHOUTY ONES
Kελτoí, Keltoi, in Greek means ‘the shouty ones’, is what groups of people from Early Iron Age central France called themselves. The term survived the ages because it was written in Greek texts.
Where did Celtic people originate?
Celts were never a pan-European culture, meaning that they were not found everywhere in Europe. At their height, the texts suggest that they settled in groups from the mouth of the Rhine River in present-day Netherlands to the source of the Danube River in present-day Germany. The archaeological discoveries which coincide with the time of the first Greek mentions of ‘Celts’ reveal a number of well-documented groups living at points along river valleys in present-day northeast France and southwest Germany.
However, there was never something like a Celtic ‘empire’ or ‘state’, as Professor John Collis FSAScot, leading expert on the European Iron Age, reminds us. Instead, each Celtic ‘social group’ was independent and may have seen themselves as distinct from other groups, even between valleys in the same region.
Despite this, they were undoubtedly connected by social and economic ties. A lavish burial which took place at 500 BC (2,500 years ago) at Vix, now in modern Burgundy in France, is a perfect example of these relationships. Here, an elder woman was buried beneath a large mound with a massive metal vessel from Greece called a Krater (which could hold 1,100 litres of wine). She wore a gold torc (neck ring), a symbol of Celtic authority, and was a descendent of a series of earlier women—buried in high-status barrows (mounds)—who had connections east to Germany and Austria.
VALIANT
WOMEN
Burial Archaeology has now demonstrated that women were likely to achieve high social status, and were respected as rightfully equal to men.
The Fate of the Language
Tynged yr Laith
Welsh belongs to us all. It’s rooted deep in our very being. It’s part of what makes us ‘us’. So, yes, it’s our responsibility-every single one of us- to come together to ensure a prosperous future for our language, and it’s also a chance for us to remember that everyone has a part to play, everyone has a voice- Cymraeg belongs to us all.
Diolch yn fawr.
Jeremy Miles MS, Minister for Education and the Welsh Language
Featured Welsh Music Artist
Yws Gwynedd - Drwy Dy Lygid Di
Welsh singer/songwriter Ywain 'Yws' Gwynedd first came to prominence in the Welsh Language music scene with his band 'Frizbee', who released 3 albums before Yws took a break from music to work in television. In 2014, Yws returned to music with a brand new band, singing under his own name. The band has achieved huge success since then with well over 1 Million streams on Spotify after their debut album Codi / \ Cysgu won Best LP at Y Selar music awards and was nominated for best Welsh-language album of the year at the National Eisteddfod in 2015.
Imbolc
Middle Irish, “milking”
An ancient Celtic religious festival, celebrated on February 1 to mark the beginning of spring. The festival was a feast of purification for farmers and has been compared to the Roman
Celtic Archaeology
Attempting to define Celts as a cultural entity is nonsensical; these groups did not represent an ethnicity. Instead, we know from the archaeology that we are dealing with a nickname for a multiplicity of prehistoric groups. It is important to make clear that regional archaeological traditions do not perform the same role as early 20th century “cultures,” tied as ethnicity to large-scale linguistics spreads.
DRIVEN UNDERGROUND
The Milesians attacked and won a war against the Tuatha de Danann, eventually driving them underground.
Tuatha de Danann
In Celtic mythology, the "Tuatha de Danann" refers to a race of supernatural beings considered the "people of the goddess Danu," often depicted as skilled in magic and believed to have ruled Ireland before the arrival of the Milesians, the ancestors of modern Irish people; essentially, they are considered the ancient gods of Ireland within Celtic mythology.
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DRIVEN UNDERGROUND?
The Milesians attacked and won a war against the Tuatha de Danann, eventually driving them underground. The Tuatha de Danann used their innate magic to become the Sidhe (pronounced Shee) – today known as the “fairies”, “little people” or the “wee folk”.
The Travellers
John Doe preparing for Glastonbury 2024
In the run-up to Glastonbury 2024, Romany Gypsies and Travellers pulled into the Atchin Tan at the festival with two bow tops and a dray for the first time in 30 years.
The Arches of Tintern Abbey
These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines of supportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms, green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke.
Sent up, in silence, from among the trees! With some uncertain notice, as might seem
Of vagrant dwellers in the houseless woods,
Or of some Hermit's cave, where by his fire
The Hermit sits alone.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
The Folklore and Traditions of
Journey through the flora of the hedgerow. The fruits, herbs, and flowers. The young leaves of the hawthorn can be eaten in salad, or made into an infusion to help a weak heart. The fruit of the bramble (blackberry) can be eaten and its leaves made into a tasty tea. The uses of the various plants are many and here you may find something of interest.
