Figure 1.--Here Scottish school children show off Gaelic culture at the launch of the Royal National Mod in Glasgow (2019). The Mod which goes on for 9 days, is a festival of music, arts, and sports. The 2019 includes a performance by the London Gaelic Choir. Such celebrations of Scotland’s Gaelic culture are increasingly populsar. Along with this, there is also an interest in the Celtic language. We even see schools that teach in Gaelic which includes families have no links to the lnguage. /i>

Celtic was the language of a large part of the Brirish people before the Roman conquest (1st century AD). It is not altogether clear to what extent Latin was adopted during the Roman period (1st-5th century). It seems likely that Latin was essentially an urban language and that Celtic survived in the countryside. This is suggest by the fact that the language of the Britons driven west by the Anglo-Saxons was Celtic (5th-6th century). It appears that the Romanized urban populatioins were wiped out and it was the rural Celtic population that survived, albeit in the remote corners of the west. The Welsh and Cornish lanugages are Celtic languages. The Celtic influence on Old English is relatively limited. The Celtic and Germanic tribes were in contact with each other on the Continent before the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain. There were word borrowings during this period. The words involved seem to be primarily related to the military, reflecting the fact that Celtic armies could be hired. Very few Celtic words entered Old English during the Anglo-Saxon conquest (5th-6th centuries). The sole exceoption here appeas to be plzce names, places conquered by the Anglo-Saxons. [Lovis] The reason for the lack of borrowings seems to reflect the nature of the Anglo-Saxon conquest. The Anglo-Saxons did not integrate with the Britons. The conducted a war of extermination. Thus the Britons were forced to die or flee into thre remopte west. This probably explains the lack of Celtic words entering Old English. There were some Celtic words that entered Old English after the conquest. This was the influence of Irish monks that participated in the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons. The important word "cross" from the Celtic-Gaelic "crois", was used alongside the Old English "rood" for several centuries before it eventually became an English word. And then according to one scholar, "... the efficiency of the Norman conquest created a linguistic hierarchy with Celtic languages entrenched firmly at the bottom." [Lovis] The limited borrowings from Celtic include bucket, car, crockery, noggin, gob, slogan and flannel, truant and gaol, but these words entered Middle English during the Norman period. [Lovis] The remanents of Celtic in Britain have two branches. Goidelic (Gaelic) consists of Irish, Highland Scottish and Manx. Brythonic (British) consists of Welsh, Cornish and Breton. All have largely disappered, although preservationists and nationalists are striving to keep the languages alive.

The Celts

The Greeks called the Celts living to the north of them the Keltoi, but the origin of the term is unknown. It does appear to be origin of the modern term Celt. The geographical and ethnic origins of the Celtic people of Europe are largely unknown. They are believed to have appeared in Europe during the 2nd millennium BC. Most historians believe that they were one of the more war-like Caucasian tribes. The original Celts appeared to a have conquered and merged with existing non-Indo European tribes. The Celts became the dominate force in north-central Europe. Celtic language , customs, religion, and traditions were gradually adopted by subjected peoples. There are thought to have been about 150 distinct Celtic tribes, among which the Britons and Gauls are today the best known. Toward the end of the 2nd millennium, the Gauls became increasingly dominant in north central Europe. The Gauls from the 5th-2nd century BC expanded their area of influence, moving south of the Alps into Italy, even sacking Rome (390 BC). They also moved into Spain, Greece, and Turkey. At the end of the 2nd century BC, these wide spread deployments had weakened their power in central Europe. The Gauls wee less able to resist pressure from German tribes east of the Rhine. The Roman Gaius Marius defeated the Gauls south of the Alps. Caesar defeated the Gauls, especially the Belgae north of the Alps (58-50 BC). Within the Empire, slowly Latin replaced the Celtic language. The Celts unlike Roman men wore trousers and the word breaches, the first form of trousers worn by European men.

Celtic-German Relationship

The Celts dominated most of northern Europe at the time of the Roman Empire. There were as a result extensive contacts between the Celtic and Germanic tribes.

Celtic Settlement of Britain (6th Century BC-5th Century AD)

Very little is known about the early inhabitants of the British Isles, although archeological work has unearthened some fascinating informatin in recent years. The Celtic peoples appear to have begun migrating to Britain at about the tme Rome began to emerge in Italy (about 600 BC). There is some evidence that the Celts integrated the existing population. Thus there was about 1,000 yeatrs of Celtic occuption at the time of the Anglo-Saxon occupation. This was punctuated by Roman conquest (1st Century AD), but relatively few Romans moved to Britain. The population remained overwealmingly Celtic. The Roman cultural influence appears to be largely concentrated in the cities.

Roman Britain

The Roman conquest of Brition ws characterically brutal. It took longer than Caesar's conquest of Gaul. But the impact on Celtic Britain began even while the conquest was underway. Eventually Roman armies subjugated the British Celts and the era of Roman Britain began. The Romans called their new province Britannia. Some of the luxuries of the Roman Empire had reached Britain even before the conquest. There were cultural and economic links with the Celtic tribes in Gaul and these cotavts continued after the Roman conquest. The Romans brought with them many new technologies in agriculture, industry and architecture. One of the most significant imprint on Celtic Britain was urban life--a hallmark of Roman civilization. And with urbanization came a variety of luxuries. These luxuries were coveted by the Britanii. The British army built forts throughout Briton. Some were temporary emplacements. Others forts became the beginning of the major cities of Roman Britain. Almost from the beginning the Romans began constructing roads connecting these forts. The salaries paid the soldiers from an early period began attracting Celts willing to perform services of value to the soldiers and Roman officials. This included artisans, bakers, laborors, launderers, smiths, and many others. These people at first settled outside the Roman forts. The forts and Celtic selllements developed into cities. These Celts over time became Romanized to varying degrees. The Romans established definiticely that Briton was an island when Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola dispatched a naval expedition to explore the northern reaches of the island (80s AD). Caesar left an account of his expeditions. And there are accounts of the conquest, but unfortunately very few written records of Roman Britannia have been found either in Briton or Rome itself. This probably testifies to the titality of the Anglo-Saxon assault on Roman Briton. Most of what we now know comes from archaeological and epigraphic work. With the withdrawl of the Legions (407 AD), Roman Briton was soon destroyed by Anglo-Saxon invaders. Some of the British retreated west, but the suyrvivors seem for Celtic than Roman.

Celtic Briton: Languages

Celtic was, however, the language of a large part of the Brirish people before the Roman conquest (1st century AD). The Celts were to an extent Romanized during roughly three centuries of Roman rule. I am not sure to what extent they adopted Latin. We know that Latin had largely replaced Celtic in Gaul. The same process was probably underway in Roman Britain. It is not altogether clear to what extent Latin was adopted during the Roman period (1st-5th century). It seems likely that Latin was essentially an urban language and that Celtic survived in the countryside. With the departure of the Legions from the islands, the Romanized Celts had to face the Anglo-Saxon invasions. This is suggest by the fact that the language of the Britons driven west by the Anglo-Saxons was Celtic (5th-6th century).

Anglo-Saxon Invasions (5th-6th Centuries)

The Anglo-Saxons, after the departure of the Roman Legions, overwhelmed Romanized Britons and drove them into the remote west. Many historic accounts focus on the Goths and other Germanuc tribes over running the Wesern Empire. A more limited, but historically important Germanic invasion took place in the north, the invasion of Roman Britain. The invasions took place after the last Roman garison withdrew from Britain (407 AD) abd was largely accomplished by the time St Augustine arrived (end of the 6th century). The Germaniv invasions significantly changed the democraphic and ethnic pattern of Britain, especially what we now call England. The make up of the population, language, political structure, and other institutions were fundamentally changed. The Germanic invaders replaced the Romanized Celts who might be called the British. Historians have differed over the interactions between Germanic invaders and British. The disappearance of Latin and Celtic suggested that the Germanic invaders did not absorbe the Celts, but rather conducted a war of extinction. Modern DNA studies tends to confirm this. Not only did Germanic dialects (which evolved into Old English) replace Latin and Celtic, but loose knit and often feuding hereditary kingships replaced the more centrally governed system of provinces left by the Romans. [Myres] Urban life desintegrated and the Roman cities were largely abandoned. The problem for historians is that the victors were the Germanic tribes or Anglo-Saxons who were not literate at the time and thus there are no surviving contemprary written accounts.

Nature of the Conquest

The Anglo-Saxons were apparently not interested in integrating the Romanized Britons and Celts. They appear to have conducted a ear of extinction. It appears that the Romanized urban populations were wiped out and it was the rural Celtic population that survived, albeit in the remote corners of the west. The Welsh and Cornish lanugages are Celtic languages. Historians have for some time debated the fate of the Romanized Britons and Celts. Some have argued that they intermarried with the Anglo-Saxons. The disappearance of the Celtic language, however, suggests a more brutal war of extinction. And this eventuality has been confirmed by modern DNA studies. The Arthurian legends are believed to reflect the resistance of the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons. Some Celts survived in the remote west of Great Britain (i.e., modern Wales) and of course Ireland.

Celtic Influence on Old English

The Celtic influence on Old English is relatively limited. The Celtic and Germanic tribes were in contact with each other on the Continent before the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain. There were word borrowings during this period. The words involved seem to be primarily related to the military, reflecting the fact that Celtic armies could be hired. Very few Celtic words entered Old English during the Anglo-Saxon conquest (5th-6th centuries). The sole exceoption here appeas to be plzce names, places conquered by the Anglo-Saxons. [Lovis] The reason for the lack of borrowings seems to reflect the nature of the Anglo-Saxon conquest. The Anglo-Saxons did not integrate with the Britons. The conducted a war of extermination. Thus the Britons were forced to die or flee into thre remopte west. This probably explains the lack of Celtic words entering Old English. There were some Celtic words that entered Old English after the conquest. This was the influence of Irish monks that participated in the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons. The important word "cross" from the Celtic-Gaelic "crois", was used alongside the Old English "rood" for several centuries before it eventually became an English word.

Literature

The Celts are a pre-literary people. Thus there are no literary remnants.

Norman Period

And then according to one scholar, "... the efficiency of the Norman conquest created a linguistic hierarchy with Celtic languages entrenched firmly at the bottom." [Lovis] The limited borrowings from Celtic include bucket, car, crockery, noggin, gob, slogan and flannel, truant and gaol, but these words entered Middle English during the Norman period. [Lovis]

Modern Remanents

The remanents of Celtic in Britain have two branches. Goidelic (Gaelic) consists of Irish, Highland Scottish and Manx. Brythonic (British) consists of Welsh, Cornish and Breton. All have largely disappered, although preservationists and nationalists are striving to keep the languages alive.

Sources

Lovis, Claire. Celtic Influence on the English Language (2006).