Who were the Celts?

The Iron Age Celts, referring to a time beginning as far back as 1500BC, were a tribe of people who lived all over Europe about two thousand years ago. At one time, you could find tribes of Celts in modern day Spain, France, northern Italy, and as far east as Russia. Around 500 BCE, the ancient Celts migrated and settled in modern day Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and the Isle of Man.

The Celts were a proud and honorable people. They were also very clean. The Celts are credited with the invention of soap! They were fierce warriors. But they never founded an empire. They never built cities. They lived in small farming communities. They loved music. They loved to boast. And they loved to make up stories, especially stories about the little people - fairies, elves, leprechauns. Their culture lives on today in music, story, and song.

Celtic Attire

The ancient Celts loved color. They used huge looms to weave richly dyed wool in colorful plaids. They made tunics to wear from some of their fabrics. Both men and women wore tunics, now called kilts. A man's tunic stopped at the knees. A woman's was floor length. They were both loosely gathered at the waist with a belt. Both men and women wore shawls over their tunics, wrapped loosely around their shoulders. They wore leather sandals.

Women wore their thick hair in braids decorated with beads. Men wore their swords and daggers at all times, for decoration and protection.

The Celts loved jewelry. Gold was hard to get. Silver was even harder to find. Jewelry made of gold or silver was highly coveted. But they made jewelry from many things, including horn, feathers, stones, pewter, bronze and beads. Both men and women were fond of wide necklaces worn like a collar around the neck. They decked themselves out with arm bands, bracelets, ankle bracelets, rings (lots of rings), and ornate belts. They fastened their cloaks with jewelry brooches and ornate pins. They loved glitter and color.

How did they live and the origin of the clan?

The Fine: The smallest group in Celtic society was the Fine. A fine is an extended family group that included grandparents and parents and their kids, and could include aunts, uncles, cousins and their kids. The individual was not important. The fine was a unit, and was treated like one person. Everything belonged to the fine. A person could not break the law. If a member of a fine broke the law, the fine was responsible. By the same token, there was no such thing as individual glory. The fine was victorious.

The Clan: The next step up was the clan. Each clan was made up of several fines. In some cases, a fine would be so large that it was a clan in itself. You were part of a clan for life and beyond. Clans went back many generations.

Each clan had a leader. You did not inherit leadership from your father. Any male could be chosen as long as he had a blood relationship to the clan. Each clan expected certain things of their leaders. Leaders had to be strong warriors. They had to be able to work out disagreements with other clans and conduct trade and raids on neighboring clans. Most importantly, they had to be rich enough to throw really good festivals.

Festivals: Festivals were very important to the ancient Celts. Festivals were held for many reasons - to honor their gods, to cement clan relationships, to provide a place for the young to meet and marry, and to provide recreation for members of the clan, rich and poor. Some festivals were just for men, others were just for women. Most festivals were for everyone. Festivals were common. At festivals, people competed in contests of skill and strength. They sang and listened to music. There was a great deal of drinking. The Celts made a honey-based beer called mead. Fights would break out on occasion. And always, at festivals, or any time, the ancient Celts spent a great deal of time boasting and bragging and telling stories.

The Celts were loyal to their clans: Clans stuck together. Members of a clan supported each other. That is one of the major reasons the Celts never developed an empire. To have an empire, you need a central government, with one leader who ruled all the people. The ancient Celts would never had allowed this. Their loyalty was to their fine and to their clan.

Stories: Anytime was a good time for a celtic tale. The ancient Celts told stories of battle and victory, stories about their children, stories about funny things that had happened, stories about their many gods and goddesses, and of course, stories about the little people.

Music: Music, both vocal and instrumental, was very important to the ancient Celts. Each night, as they sat around the campfire, they played music on instruments they made. Kids learned on their parents instruments. When a child reached the age of 14 or 15, they started to make their own musical instrument. It was something all Celts did, whatever their clan. Instruments included flutes, whistles, the bagpipes, the Celtic harp, a drum played with a two-headed stick, and the fiddle.

Bards: Music was so important to the ancient Celts that a group evolved called the Bards. Brads were wandering singers, storytellers, and poets. If a bard made up a really nasty story about you, and put it into the form of a song or a story, what that bard was saying would be believed. In time, the Bards became as powerful as the druids (priests and teachers). The bards could destroy your reputation with a song.

Dancing: Irish jig, Scottish reels, any old thing. Dancing, like music, was a joyous activity to the ancient Celts. As long as it was lively and athletic, they loved it.