THE CELTS

From around 750 BC to 12 BC, the Celts were a population of warriors and the most powerful
people in central and northern Europe (especially what are now Austria, Switzerland, southern
France and Spain). Over several years, they spread outwards, taking over France and Belgium,
and crossing to Britain.

There were many groups (tribes) of Celts, speaking a vaguely common language. Northwest
Europe was dominated by three main Celtic groups:

the Gauls
the Britons
the Gaels

The name Celts is a 'modern' name and the initial consonant of the English
words Celt and Celtic can be realized either as /k/ or /s/ (that is, either hard or soft), both variants
being recognized by modern dictionaries.
The Celts used to tattoo or paint their bodies in blue, both for decorative purposes and to scare
their enemies in battle.
They extracted the blue dye from a plant, called woad, and would often fight naked.
The highest position in Celtic society was held by the Druids, the oak-knowers, who acted as
judges, teachers, astronomers, and would often foretell the future (in particular observing birds
flying). They were the link between the supernatural world and the ordinary human one, they
believed in the immortality of the soul and in the transmigration of the soul after death from one
person to another. They used an alphabet called Ogham.
They held their rites in circles of stone in woods. Very little is known about these rites. Many
circles of stones can still be found throughout Britain. They are for the most part rather small if
confronted with Stonehenge.
Apart from stone circles and Stonehenge, also dolmens (from Celtic dol=wide and men=stone)
and menhirs (from Celtic men=stone and hir=high) belong to Celtic tradition.

A CELTIC LEGEND
BOUDICCA QUEEN OF THE ICENI
The story of a Celtic woman warrior (33 60/61 A.C.)

According to the story told by Tacitus, after the death of the king of the Celtic tribe of the Iceni, the
Romans annexed his kingdom and brutally humiliated his wife, Queen Boudicca, and her
daughters. This humiliation urged Boudicca to lead a revolt against Rome.
Boudicca led the Iceni, along with other Celtic tribes, in a rebellion which destroyed the Roman
colonia of Camulodunum (Colchester).
Her army then burned to the ground the twenty-year-old settlement of Londinium (London) and
destroyed Verulamium (St Albans), killing an estimated 70,000-80,000 people.
Ultimately Boudicca was defeated at Walling Street (near the river Anker) and according to a
legend she killed herself.
The name boudka, victorious derived from the Celtic word bouda, victory. In London
(Westminster) a statue is dedicated to her as a symbol of British resistance to invaders.