When people assume Celtic = Irish I get a strong urge to stab myself in the eye.
No no no no no no.
Sit down we must have a conversation.
There were 6 Celtic nations.
Éire, Cymru, Alba, Kernow, Breizh, and Ellan Vannin.
Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Mann respectively.
They’re all related, but not the same. They all have different languages descended from a similar group, Irish (Gaeilge), Scottish (Gàidhlig), Manx (Gaelg), Welsh (Cymraeg), Cornish (Kernowek), and Breton (Brezhoneg). Some are more widely spoken than others, for example Welsh is still commonly spoken in Wales, whereas hearing Cornish in Cornwall instead of English is rare.
All Celtic nations have varied mythology and culture.
Irish Mythology is different from Breton Mythology, and even Welsh and Cornish mythology (arguably the most related Celtic Nations) have subtle differences to each other. I wish I could add more about the cultures at this time but my knowledge of Celtic nations is primarily made up of the history and languages of those regions, particularly Cornwall.You might have notice that England and English are missing from this, because the English descended from Anglo-Saxons, who were German invaders that came to the isles right around the Fall of the Roman empire in the 5th Century, erasing the Celtic influence in what is now England.
So what this all really means is that Celtic is an umbrella term, and just because it’s Celtic doesn’t mean it has anything to do with Ireland at all. So don’t assume that just because someone’s talking about something Celtic that they’re talking about something Irish.
I actually didn’t know this. Thank you, tumblr person
The north or Spain have celtic roots too. They can’t be included among the Celtic Nations because they don’t keep a true celtic language. But they are obviously celtic in their traditions, folklore and music.
The “Celts”, as this assortment of different tribes was called by the Romans, were about as homogeneous as native American tribes were when European invaded North America.
Their territories spread from France through middle and Southern Germany in the North and Spain in the South all the way to Galatia, as mentioned in the Galatians letter by the Apostle Paul. That’s in Western Asia, namely the Anatolia regions in today’s Turkey.
Galatasaray Istanbul even still carries it in its name.Alright, then came the Romans and kinda invaded their lands and forced their culture on them, but hey….
But yeah, 50BC Celts where everywhere
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.
.
Except the British Isles or Ireland.
(via adelindschade)
