Celt

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

Celts pushed west by Germanic migration

Celts were pushed westwards by successive waves of Germanic invaders, perhaps themselves at times pressured by Huns and Scythians or simply population pressures in their homeland of Scandinavia and Northern Germany. With the fall of the Roman Empire the Celts of Gaul, Iberia and Britannia were "conquered" by tribes speaking Germanic languages.

Related Topics:
Germanic - Huns - Scythians - Scandinavia - Fall of the Roman Empire - Gaul - Britannia - Germanic language

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Elsewhere, the Celtic populations were assimilated by others, leaving behind them only a legend and a number of place names such as the Spanish province of Galicia (i.e., Gaul), Bohemia, after the Boii tribe which once lived there, or the Kingdom of Belgium, after the Belgae, a Celtic tribe of Northern Gaul and south-eastern England. Their mythology has been absorbed into the folklore of half a dozen other countries. For instance, the famous Medieval English Arthurian tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is almost certainly partially derived from the medieval Irish text Fled Bricrend (The Feast of Bricriu).

Related Topics:
Galicia - Bohemia - Belgium - Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Bricriu

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Argument rages in the academic world as to whether the Celts in Britain were mostly wiped out/pushed west as the lack of evidence for influence of the Celts on Anglo-Saxon society suggests, or whether the Anglo-Saxon migration consisted merely of the social elite and that the genocide was cultural rather than physical due to such relatively few numbers of Anglo-Saxons mixing with the far larger native population. Recent DNA studies have supported the idea that Anglo-Saxon England evolved from the imposition of a new culture on the previously Celtic people of England. Interestingly too, contrary to popular ideas of "Celtic Nationhood", DNA evidence in England shows greater representation of ancient British influence than in Scotland, which has more Scandinavian influence. {{fn|1}}. Great care should be taken in interpreting these results, however, as people have moved around within Britain during the last 1500 years, so the current genetic distribution is not necessarily the same as in the period just after the Anglo-Saxon invasions.

Related Topics:
Anglo-Saxon - Ancient British

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