Prior to Anglo Saxon Age: Celtic Tribes

Iron Age (800 BC to 43 AD)

Tribes

• Celts: collection of tribes including Gauls, Britons, Gaels and others with their origins in Central Europe, arrived in England around 800-500 B.C.
• Iron age began in England with their settlement
• They established tribal kingdoms in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland
• Then Britons (defined as typical barbarians) came and captured most of present time England.

Evidence:

• Hillforts (fortified or defended settlement for defensive advantages) like Maiden Castle in Dorset (South West England)
• Battersea Shield (Highly decorated bronze shield for display or rituals rather than a weapon)

Lifestyle:

• Agricultural societies
• More advanced in metal works
• Complex social structures
• Regional identities developed
• Trade with continental Europe 

Britons:

• Britons or Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons migrated to Great Britain during Iron Age
• Their developed language was known as Common Brittonic, a celtic language
• They lived in rural settlement and in hillforts

Celtic Culture:

Social Structure:

• Led by kings or chiefs
• Brave warriors were highly valued
• Druids or Celtic priests were powerful and used to advice rulers
• Craftsmen and farmers were there

Religion:

• They used to worship Nature, spirits (e.g. Aos si from Gaelic folklore) and different gods like
  • Lugh or Lug: Ancient Celtic god of Sun or light
  • Cernunnos: Ancient Celtic (Gaelic) god nature, flora (plants), fauna (animals), and fertility
• Hills, rivers, trees were holy to them
• They believed in appeasing gods for victory, protection and fertility
• Druids or Celtic priests used to perform sacrifices and other rituals
• Human sacrifices or ritual killing by the Druids were evident

Art:

• Oral traditions were practiced by the Bards 
• Stories, poems for entertainment and to pass down tribal histories
• Metalwork using gold, bronze, iron etc.
• Decorative jewelry, brooches with engravings and weapons like helmets and swords

Language:

• Celtic languages like Brittonic (Britons), Gaelic (Irish, Scots)

Festivals:

1. Bealtaine or Beltane:

• Gaelic May Day festival
• Mostly observed in Scotland and Ireland 
• It signified the beginning of summer
• Special bonfires at sunset and other rituals were performed to encourage growth, to celebrate fertility and to ask for the protection of crops, cattle and people
• Decorating homes with May flowers
• Earliest Irish literature has records of this festival
• Today this festival is locally celebrated with some of its old customs on 30th April or 1st May by Wiccans
  • Wiccans are modern Pagans, earth-centered religion practitioners

2. Samhain or Sauin:

• Gaelic festival on 1st November
• Marked the end of the harvest and beginning of winter season
• Celebrated to pay homage to the dead and to mark the end of the harvest season
• Earliest Irish literature has records of this festival

Famous Celtic Bards/Poets:

1. Taliesin:

• Brittonic poet, a welsh bard of 6th century whose poems still exist
• Believed to be chief bard in the courts of 3 kings of Britain

Works:

a) Book of Taliesin

• Middle Welsh manuscript
• It contains some 60 Welsh poems
• Theme of these poems varied from elegies, praise poems, hymns, philosophies etc.

2. Ossian:

• Scottish mythical bard of 3rd century
• In 1762, Scottish poet James Macpherson discovered and translated Ossian’s works under the title “The Poems of Ossian”
• Ossianic poems influenced the romantic writers like William Wordsworth 

Roman Invasions:

Julius Caesar

• Julius Caesar (100BC- 44BC), a Roman general and statesman, invaded Britain twice:

  • 55BC: He examined the coast of Kent but “did not dare  leave his ship and entrust himself to the barbarians.”

  • 54BC: Caesar marched inland took some regions but left England with his armies without enforcing settlement.

Claudius

• In 43AD Claudius (10 BC- 54AD), the Roman emperor, invaded Britain and settled
• Romans established straight roads, bridges, forts, well built houses
• The system of law or legal system was introduced by the Romans
• They introduced the system of Census (procedure of acquiring information about members of a given population)
• Towns were created
• In the late 2^nd century Christianity was introduced in present day England
• Roman stayed in Britain for 400 long years

Celts During Roman Invasions:

• Some Celts adapted to Roman rules and their Latin customs
• Others resisted and moved to Wales, Scotland and Cornwall

410 AD

• In 410AD Roman withdrew their army from Britain
• Italy was attacked by several Muslim countries
• Romans thought the wealth of England has come to its end
• Romans left England