Celt

:This article is about the European people. For the tool, see celt (tool).

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The term Celts refers to any of a number of ancient peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages which form a branch of Indo-European languages, as well as others whose language is unknown but where associated cultural traits such as Celtic art are found in archaeological evidence. Historical theories were developed that these factors were indicative of a common origin, but later theories of culture spreading to differing indigenous peoples have recently been supported by genetic studies.

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Though the spread of the Roman empire led to continental Celts adopting Roman culture, the development of Celtic Christianity in Ireland and Britain brought an early medieval renaissance of Celtic art between 400 and 1200. Antiquarian interest from the 17th century led to the term Celt being developed, and rising nationalism brought Celtic revivals from the 19th century in areas where the use of Celtic languages had continued.

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Today, "Celtic" is often used to describe the people and respective cultures and languages of several ethnic groups known as Modern Celts in Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, the French region of Brittany and the Spanish historical nation of Galicia who are claimed to share many of the same common traits in their cultures and/or languages as the original Celts but whose ancestors in ancient times were not necessarily considered related to them by outsiders. (Tribes or nations, such as the Belgae, Atrebates, Menapii, and Parisii, from mainland Celtic regions, including Gaul and Belgium, are recorded as having established presences in Great Britain and may have reached Ireland. Some archaeologists suggest, however, that the continuity in the British archaeological record is such that the numbers involved must have been small.)

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Celtic languages: Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, both those spoken by the ancient Celts, and those used by their modern descendants, the Irish, Manx, Scots, Welsh, Cornish and Bretons. The Celtic languages are classified as a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. They w...

Indo-European languages: The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe, as well as many languages of Southwest and South Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. Contemporary languages in thi...

Celtic art: Celtic art is art associated with various peoples known as Celts speaking the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the medieval period and beyond, as well as art of ancient peoples whose language is unknown but where cultural and stylistic similarities lead archaeologists to consid...