The Celts were considered the fathers of Eruope. Their non-empire empire stretched from the British Isles to modern day Turkey. The Celts were a warlike, vocal, arguementative people who would often go naked into battle. They were polytheistic, with multiple deities occupying one persona. They were excellent craftspeople, and set the standard for gold and silver smithing that still stands to this day.
The Celts were the greatest traders of their day, with trade routes stretching from Ireland to Greece. they controlled the largest navy of their day, and also controlled the amount of tim that was produced, thus having a monopoly on the production of brass and bronze.
The Celts didn't believe in the written language; rather, the beauty of the oral tradition was encouraged, the voice the ultimate instrument, the word the ultimate tool. This didn't mean they were illiterate. They used Greek or Latin to sign contracts, and complete deals. Rather, their own languages were kept to the spoken word. It was this ability that helped them to develop poetry.
The Celts were a complicated people. Long thought to be savage, unwashed, unlearned, they were none of that. (In fact, the word for soap, sopa, is a Celtic word. They had high standards of hygiene.) They were and are a hard race to get to understand. The residual artwork, developments in medicine and learning, and so many other cultural items are the artifacts of this complicated and interesting race.
This page is for people that really need to find out who the Celts were, where they went, and what impact they had on the history, culture, and life of the modern world.
Copyright,1998-2003 - Brian G Witt
