About The Book...
Most ancient civilizations contributed something that, for better or worse, was passed on to the modern world. Romans gave us well organized road systems, Egyptians perfected the embalming process, Greeks began to explore ways to better understand human physiology, the Chinese invented gunpowder and were the the first to use rockets in battle and for signaling. Amongst all the contributions made by these and many others who came and went, it's easy to forget a group responsible for the mapping out of modern civilization and how most of us live.
The Celts originated in central Europe and spread outwards. The Ancient Greeks were aware of the Celts and called them Keltoi . As they settled in places like Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, the Celts encountered the Vikings. Originally hostile to each other, they later formed alliances and intermarried. Many Vikings traveled to Ireland and Britain to find mates. Celtic woman were strong, beautiful and fought alongside the men just like Viking women. The big difference was that they did not come with the family or political obligations that accompanied Viking women.
One huge difference between the Celts and the Vikings was expansion. The name Vikings, which was one given to them by others, means those who Vike or raid. They called themselves Northmen or Norse. They would plunder an area, then move on unless it offered some sort of agricultural or location benefit. Ireland, for example, was used as a place to store their plunder. Their ships were able to come and go rapidly and, because Ireland was isolated unless you had access to ships and warriors to man them, the Vikings established ports and towns there in Dublin, Wexford, Waterford, Cork and Limerick.
The Celts also expanded by battle, when needed. However, they did not plunder as much as they planted. The Celts established self governing, self sufficient villages which became the model for towns and cities throughout Europe and elsewhere. They had a huge influence on the Vikings that made alliances with them and adopted their way of expansion over time. The Celts had a great respect for nature and the arts. Sadly, they also came with some frightening baggage.
A cult of nature worshipping priests, later known as the Druids, dominated the Celts for many centuries beginning around 3000 B.C. They appear to have started off with the best intentions acting as learned teachers and judges, but soon disintegrated into a dangerous cult that had a tremendous amount of political power and kept it through fear, intimidation and indoctrination of the young. They worshiped in Oak Tree Forests believing the tree to have mystical powers and represent the blueprint of their beliefs.
While in Gaul (France, Belgium, Luxembourg) and later in Britain, Julius Caesar recognised that it was not politically expedient for Rome to allow the Druids to continue exerting so much influence. He began to dismantle the Druid power structure through conquest. The Romans encountered them throughout Europe, but unlike other peoples, Rome refused to accept tribute from them or negotiate any peace agreements with the Druids due to their savage rituals. Human sacrifice was illegal in the Roman Empire. Caesar was horrified at some of the Druid rituals he observed in Gaul and wrote about them:
“The whole Gallic nation is virtually a prey to superstition, and this makes the serious invalids or those engaged in battle or dangerous exploits sacrifice men instead of animals. They even vow to immolate themselves, using the Druids as their ministers for this purpose. They feel that the spirit of the gods cannot be appeased unless a man's life is given for a life. Public sacrifices of the same sort are common. Another practice is to make images of enormous size, with the limbs woven from osiers [willows]. Living human beings are fitted into these, and, when they are set on fire, the men are engulfed in the flames and perish. The general feeling is that the immortal gods are better pleased with the sacrifice of those caught in theft, robbery or some other crime. But if a supply of such criminals is lacking, then they resort to the sacrifice of completely innocent victims. . . "
The "innocent victims” that Caesar wrote about were men, women and children. See if this sounds familiar… Druid Priests would walk door to door the night of a “burning man" style mass human sacrifice. They would ask families for a sickly relative or young child as 'voluntary’ participants in the ceremony. If the family refused, the priests would use local ruffians to deface or damage their property in some way. If they provided a sacrifice the priests left a cored out pumpkin with a lit candle at their doorstep to indicate their cooperation. The family and the 'volunteers’ were given rare and expensive candy as a gratuity.
Halloween originated in Ireland. My guess is that the 'Trick or Treat’ ritual began as a way to commemorate past sacrifices once the practice ended. The Roman Emperor Claudius outlawed the Druids within the Roman Empire in 55 A.D. The Roman Governor of Britain outlawed the Druids in Britain in 54 A.D. As Celtic Peoples experienced growth and good fortune without the repressive Druids, they put that period behind them and moved on.
The Celts kept the Druid love of nature and the arts. Music, dancing, poetry, literature and art are a huge part of all Nations where Celts settled. That includes most of the Old and New World. Viking genes introduced red hair and freckles to the Celtic gene pool as the two groups mingled. Red hair and freckles exist on people in Norway and other places in Scandinavia.
Erik The Red, the famous Viking explorer and raider (Erik Thorvaldsson), was so called due to his long flowing, bright red hair. He discovered Greenland and lived in the Tenth Century A.D. By that time Vikings were also a Celtic People and visa versa due to all the voluntary and involuntary intermingling. Today we use technology patented in 1997 and named for Harald "Bluetooth" Gormsson, a King of Denmark and Norway. He introduced Christianity to his realm and, therefore, caused another big change. Christianity was ultimately accepted in all Celtic realms. The symbol for Bluetooth Technology is the runic symbol for the King’s initials.
Apart from the establishment of self governing, self sufficient towns and villages which helped introduce the idea of democracy versus royalty or a dictatorship, the Celts gave us near pure Celtic People from Ireland that contributed much more to the modern world than just Guinness Beer. Jonathan Swift, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker and George Bernard Shaw all wrote books that have become classic works of literature. Robert Boyle’s research and conclusions provided the foundations of modern chemistry. John Joly invented Color Photography. Walter Gordon Wilson invented the military tank and Harry Ferguson designed and built the first modern Farm Tractor. And on it goes.
This book answers the questions most people have about these ancient people and explains why it is likely that you may have a Celtic heritage of your own.
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