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Table of Contents
The Celts were groups of people who lived in the Northwest of Europe and Britain during the Iron Age around 600 BC to 43 AD. Pronounced as ‘kelt’, Celts were an advanced society who learned how to make weapons from iron. Because of this, many know this era in time as the ‘Iron Age’.
See the fact file below for more information on the Celts or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Celts worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
INTRODUCTION
- The Celtic culture lived during the Iron Age from around 600 BC to 43 AD. This is the period when iron was discovered and used.
- Before the Iron Age, bronze was the only metal used in Britain to create tools. Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin (hence the Bronze Age).
- The Celts were a highly advanced society. For instance, they discovered ways to create weapons from iron, which is why we call the time they lived in the “Iron Age”.
- The Celts scattered throughout western Europe – including Britain, Ireland, France, and Spain – via migration.
- Their legacy continues to be most notable in Ireland and Great Britain, where evidence of their language and culture is still prominent today.
- Brythonic, Gaulic, and Gaelic were the three main branches of Celts in Europe.
DESCRIBING CELTS
- The Celts lived in tribes wherein all tribes had a chief, warriors, free farmers, and slaves. The majority of the tribes lived in protected villages, often on a hilltop.
- There were areas and pastures nearby for farming and raising cattle.
- The Celts were a highly advanced community, as they were one of the first people in Europe to work with iron. They created swords, shields, helmets, and gold and silver jewelry.
- The Celts never built cities, but they were fierce warriors.
- They never founded an empire. Instead, they lived in separate tribes but with similar languages, religion, and customs.
CELTS COME TO THE ISLAND
- A group of powerful fighters spread across Europe from their original home in the Alps over 2,500 years ago.
- This group of people never called themselves ‘Celts’. This name was created by 18th-century historians using the Greek word keltoi, which means barbarians.
- These people shared cultural traits and had a number of related languages, but they existed as a variety of independent tribes.
- Their usage of iron gave them an advantage, as it was stronger than the copper and bronze that was still used by many of the people they met. It is thought that they learned how to use iron from interaction with other iron-using cultures between 1,000 BC and 700 BC.
- Sometime around 500 BC, they transferred from mainland Europe to the United Kingdom, living on all the islands that make up the countries today known as Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.
- They quickly spread throughout the islands with their iron tools and replaced the Bronze Age cultures already living there.
- It is still not clear if the Celts replaced them by conquest or if the Celts arrived in large enough numbers that they absorbed the local people.
CELTS SETTLEMENT
- Once the Celts settled themselves on the islands, they created a number of small kingdoms called tuaths.
- All of the kingdoms had a hilltop fort where the king lived.
- It is these islands off Europe’s western coast in which Celtic culture was permitted to live, as the Roman Republic expanded on the European continent.
- Starting with the reign of Julius Caesar in the 1st century B.C., the Romans launched a military campaign against the Celts, killing them by the thousands and ruining their culture in much of mainland Europe.
- The Roman armies of Caesar attempted an invasion of Britain at this time but were unsuccessful, and thus, the Celtic people established a homeland there.
- As a result, many of their cultural traditions continue to be evident in present-day Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, even until now.
CELTIC WARFARE
- Celtic armies first caught the attention of historians when the Gauls, headed by their king Bran (Brennus), ravaged Rome in 390 BC, and again in 279 BC when they looted Delphi as they crossed through Greece going to Asia.
- In 225 BC, the Celts attacked the Romans again and were many mercenary allies of Carthage during the Punic Wars.
- Therefore, the Celts gained a reputation with Latin and Greek writers as fierce warriors and skilled horsemen who also fielded chariots in battle.
- Julius Caesar encountered them when he attacked Gaul. He describes the Celts as driven with great skill.
- Celtic warriors were recognized for their long hair and imposing structure.
- Celtic warriors are depicted in Greek art with their unique long shields (wooden panels covered in decorated hide) and long swords.
CELTIC LANGUAGE
- In Wales, called Cymru by the Celts, the native dialect of Welsh is a Celtic language. It is still broadly spoken in the region.
- In Cornwall (the westernmost county in England that is also near Wales), a few people speak Cornish, which is comparable to Welsh and Breton.
- The Celtic language known as Scottish Gaelic is still spoken in Scotland, although by a minority, and the local affiliate of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is known as BBC Alba, the Celtic name for the region.
- In addition, the bagpipes – the musical instrument for which Scotland is arguably famously known – can also trace their origin to Celtic times.
CELTIC RELIGION
- Both the Romans and the Anglo-Saxons, who took what is now England from the Romans in the 5th century AD, unsuccessfully invaded Ireland. Therefore, the Celtic tribes that had settled there – namely, the Gaels and the Irish – were allowed to survive and flourish their culture.
- When Christianity arrived in Ireland with St. Patrick in 432 AD, Catholicism turned into the dominant religion on the island following the mass killing of Druids, the religious leaders of the Gaels.
- The Irish language of Gaelic is a Celtic language that largely disappeared in the 19th century when the English colonized Ireland. However, the language is still spoken in the western part of the country.
Celts Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Celts across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Celts worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Celts which were groups of people who lived in the Northwest of Europe and Britain during the Iron Age around 600 BC to 43 AD. Pronounced as ‘kelt’, Celts were an advanced society who learned how to make weapons from iron. Because of this, many know this era in time as the ‘Iron Age’.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- Celts Facts
- Celts Summary
- Vocabulary Time
- The Celts
- Crossword Time
- Celts Warfare Timeline
- Celtic Art
- Headhunters
- All About Celts
- Famous Celts
- Life of a Celt
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Link will appear as Celts Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 2, 2020
Use With Any Curriculum
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