The Celtic Image [antikvár]

Like a SPARKLINQ crystal, the image of the Celt has many beautiful and ^ varied facets. In this book it is our intention to touch on the various aspects, from the earliest known origins through to the present day. In order to do this, a brief historical perspective is necessary. The earliest recorded Celtic civilization dates from around 700 bc. These people, known as Keltoi by early classical writers, lived in tribal and nomadic communities, frequently engaging in territorial warfare with their neighbours. Hallstatt, a large prehistoric salt-mining area in Austria, was their main territory in the seventh and sixth centuries bc. Throughout the fifth century bc the La Téne area became a focus for the Celts, La Tene being a Swiss lakeside settlement on Lake Neuchatel. The fine metalwork of this era is well known. Venturing further afield in the fourth century bc, the Celts settled in northern Italy, invading Rome around 390 bc. Their itinerant and warfaring nature took them as far as Greece, where an invasion of Delphi is recorded in 279 bc. Soon after this, a group of Celts travelled even further into Galatia and subsequently settled there. During the second century bc, Roman military forces increased in strength. First southern France and subsequently the whole of Gaul was conquered by Julius Caesar's army The Celts were now forced to travel even further north. It was during this era that many Celts arrived in Britain. From the second century bc onwards, they are known to have established tribal communities throughout Britain: about thirty-three of these are historically recorded. Yet it is also possible that as early as 2000 bc communities with Celtic origins already existed in both Britain and Ireland, and were slowly joined and enlarged by traders and nomadic warriors from Europe. A major tin-trading route from Asia Minor to Cornwall, the Phoenician Trading Route, had been in existence since the first millennium bc and almost certainly some Celtic migrants came to Britain in this way At one nme, Cornwall was the largest tin-producing country in the Western world. 1 1