Figure 1.--Here is an artists conception of Celtic Britains inside their home. We are unsure as to who the illustrator was. Rge reader who sent the image to us tells us that illustrates the Celtic iron fire support on display in the British Museum. It is unclear just what chronological era it meant to illustrate. The bulk of the Celtic migration to Britain seems to have occurred by the time the Celys had assismilated Irin Age technology.

Very little is known about the early inhabitants of the British Isles, although archeological work has unearthened some fascinating information in recent years. The Celtic peoples appear to have begun migrating to Britain at about the time Rome began to emerge in Italy (about 600 BC). There is some evidence that the Celts integrated the existing population. The Celts were a pre-literate society. Thus there are no written records. In fact, the first written accounts of Celtic Britain are provided by Julius Ceasar during his military expeditions (55-54 BC). Ceasar learned a good bit about the Britons and Celts while in Britain. The British war techhnology was more advanced than he anticipated. He was surprised to find the Britons had war chariots. He was also astonished to find that the Britons would rub their bodies with woad before going into battle. He picked up useful information about the Gauls. King Commius of the Atrebates, who founded a dynasty in modern Sussex and Hampshire, was a source of information. Celtic legend was that he Druids, Celtic priests, had originally come from Britain and not Gaul itself. Caesar's assessment was that the Britons, much like the Gauls, were a quarrelsome tribal society. Even with the Roman Army in Britain, the various tribes seem primarily concerned with long standing tribal differences. Cassivellaunus appears to have been the most powerful of the Celtic tribes in southern Britain. Mandubracius, chief of the Trinovantes, north of the Thames in East Anglia, was attacked by Cassivellaunus and sought Ceasar's protection. Ceasar did not fully understsand the tribal relations, in particular whether the warring Britons were separate tribes or sub-groups of the same tribe. Very little is known of the Britons at this time because there are not British written records. One of the few sources of information or coins minted by the various British tribes. Many of these coins had the names of the tribal chiefs. Archeologists have found coins from the Dobunni (Gloucestershire), Durotriges (Dorset), Iceni (East Anglia), and Corieltauvi (Leicestershire, Lincolnshire).

Neolitic Britain

Very little is known about the early inhabitants of the British Isles, although archeological work has unearthened some fascinating information in recent years. Human remains dated more than 250,000 years have been found in Britain. The Bronze age in Britain began about 1,000 BC, before the Celtic migrations. There are finds showing undefended villages suggesting periods of relative peace. This changed with the Iron Age invasion of Celtic peoples.

Celtic Migration (7th century BC)

The Celtic people dominated much of northern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. They pressed south against both the Balkan and Italian Peninsulas. They might have overwealmed Greece and Romne (which had just emerged from Etruscan dominance), but the Celts were never united. Celtic bands were more interest in raiding and the plunder it brought rather than territirial conquest. They also began to move north into the British Isles. Celtic peoples appear to have begun migrating to Britain at about the time Rome began to emerge in Italy (about 600 BC). The Celtic migrations seem to have begun at about the same time Iron Age technology was introduced to Britain. There is some evidence that the Celts integrated the existing population. The Celts were a pre-literate society. Thus there are no written records of the Celtic migrations, only archeological evidence supplemented in recent years by DNA evidence. There seem to have been a series of successive waves. Histirians today tend to believe that the Celts did not invade Britain in a military sence. They were too divided among themselves to accomplish this. Rather they came in relatively small numbers (as suggeted by DNA ecidence) and assisimalted into the existing Britian culture. Bringing with them Iron Age technology would have helped establish themselves and gradually change Britain into a Celtic culture. As a result, by the time the Romans arrived the Britons were culturaly Celtic.

Pre-Invasion Britain

The archeoligal finds tell us a great deal about Celtic technology and life style and even political conditions. There are also There was no unified Celtic nation. Thus various Celtic tribes warred with each other. The undefended villages common in the Neolithic Age changed with the Iron Age invasions. We begin to see fortified hill-top camps. The fortifications were crude, mafe primarily of timber, but they clearly suggest war-like conditions. They were not merely places of refuge in time of crisis, but places inhabited over long periods and reflecting tribal wars. [Churchill, p. 10.] The last of the Celtic migration waves were Belgae who conquered large areas of southeastern Britain. Perhaps because of their military dominance, they were less prone to bill hill-top forts and built in the valleys. They appear to have subjegated the existing population as a ruling aristocracy. Some of their important villages layed the foundation for modern English cities: St. Albans, Colchester, Winchester, and others.

Ceasar's Expeditions (55-54 BC)

The first written accounts of Celtic Britain are provided by Julius Ceasar during his military expeditions (55-54 BC). Ceasar was aware that people related to the Gauls inhabited the lands north of Gaul, although he knew little about them or the gepgraphy of Britain. British volunteers had joined the Celtic tribes he fought in Gaul. At the time there rumors of gold and pearls swirled around what lay across the Channel. Briain was seen as the prime center of the Drudical religion that the Celts practiced. He launched two campaigns across the Channel. One was a limited expedition (55 BC) the subsequent one was a much larger campaign (54 BC). He saw the conquest of Gaul was a necessary part of subjegating the northern Barbarians. [Churchill, pp. 3-4.] Neither expedition deployed a force capable of conquering Britain. Had Ceasar not been assasinated, almost surely he would have returned with a massive force. As it was, Ceasar learned a great deal about the Britain and the Celts while campaigning there. The British war techhnology was more advanced than he anticipated. He was surprised to find the Britons had war chariots. He was also astonished to find that the Britons would rub their bodies with woad before going into battle. He picked up useful information about the Gauls. King Commius of the Atrebates, who founded a dynasty in modern Sussex and Hampshire, was a source of information.

Celtic Legends

Celtic legend was that the Druids, Celtic priests, had originally come from Britain and not Gaul itself.

Tribal Structure

Caesar's assessment was that the Britons, much like the Gauls, were a quarrelsome tribal society. Even with the Roman Army in Britain, the various tribes seem primarily concerned with long standing tribal differences. Cassivellaunus appears to have been the most powerful of the Celtic tribes in southern Britain. Mandubracius, chief of the Trinovantes, north of the Thames in East Anglia, was attacked by Cassivellaunus and sought Ceasar's protection. Ceasar did not fully understsand the tribal relations, in particular whether the warring Britons were separate tribes or sub-groups of the same tribe.

Coins

Very little is known of the Britons at this time because there are not British written records. One of the few sources of information or coins minted by the various British tribes. Many of these coins had the names of the tribal chiefs. Archeologists have found coins from the Dobunni (Gloucestershire), Durotriges (Dorset), Iceni (East Anglia), and Corieltauvi (Leicestershire, Lincolnshire).

Roman Conquest (43-80 AD)

Julius Caesar while campaigning in Gaul launched two expeditions accross the Channel (55 and 54 BC). Ceasar decided against a major military expedition. It is not enirely sure why. His focus at the time was on Gaul. Presumably he concluded the conquest would not justify the expense, especially when the situation in Gaul itself was not yet settled. Ceaser did, however, report on these explots to his adoring public back in Rome. The subsequent Roman invasion came a century later. Roman attempted to bring Britain within the Empire through diplomatic initiatives. By the time Rome initiated the conquest of Britain, Gaul had been firmly Romanized. Rome's new emperor, Claudius (43 AD), athorized The invasion. It was Claudiu's first foreign expedition. Successful military expeditions were important in establishing a prestigious reputation. Claudius assigned Aulus Plautius to carry out the invasion. The Britons were a Celtic people, related to the tribes of Gaul which Ceasar had conquered. The British proved to be a substantial military challenge, taking several decades to accomplish. Eventually Roman armies subjugated the British Celts and the era of Roman Britain began. The Roman conquest of Brition ws characterically brutal. It took longer than Caesar's conquest of Gaul.

Language

Celtic was the language of a large part of the Brirish people before the Roman conquest (1st century AD). Very few modern English words, however, have Celtic origins. 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).

Impact

Although the Celts dominated Britain for more than a half a millenium, there impact on England seems very limited. Few Celtic words have enterec the English language, exceot as place names. Not did Celtic institutions survive the Roman and Saxon conquests.

The People

The principal Celtic impact on England seems to be contribution to the ethnic stock of the English people. DNA evidence suggests that many Celtic people survived the Roman, Anhlo-Saxon, and Scandinavian invasions. The Romans were brutal, but never colonized the islands with large-scale migration. This is cinfirned by both the historical record and DNA evidence. The Anglo-Saxons of course did. Modern researchers have attempted to determine the ethnic origins of modern Britains. The results show great regional variation and there is somne disagreement as to the overall pattern. A stufy by Sykes and Oppenheimer found that the English are of predominantly "Celtic"/pre-Celtic origins. Weale and Capelli found substantial Anglo-Scandinavian settlement. One study found eastern English Y DNA was linked to northwestrn Europe/ North Sea origins (Netherlands to Denmark but not Scandinavian). Oppenheimer thinks this could well be due to pre-Anglo-Saxon invasion connections. The DNA studies are still relatively new and no one has yet managed a xomprehensive synthesis of the various studues that are emerging.

Sources

Churchill, Winston. The Birth of Brisin Vol. I of A History of the English Speaking Prople (Barnes & Nobels: New York, 2005), 458p. The book was first published in 1956.

Sykes and Oppenheimer .

Weale and Capelli.

Created: 12:14 AM 12/24/2008
Last updated: 5:24 PM 3/17/2012