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The Celts, a group of tribal societies, left a resounding imprint on Ireland’s cultural landscape. With their arrival, they introduced unique artistry, language, and societal frameworks. Tracing their origins and delving into their societal makeup offers a deep understanding of their influence on Ireland.
- Overview
- Political and social organization
- Rural economy and living conditions
- Early political history
- Irish raids and migrations
Politically, Ireland was organized into a number of petty kingdoms, or clans (tuatha), each of which was quite independent under its elected king. Groups of tuatha tended to combine, but the king who claimed overlordship in each group had a primacy of honour rather than of jurisdiction. Not until the 10th century ad was there a king of all Ireland (árd rí Éireann). A division of the country into five groups of tuatha, known as the Five Fifths (Cuíg Cuígí), occurred about the beginning of the Christian era. These were Ulster (Ulaidh), Meath (Midhe), Leinster (Laighin), Munster (Mumhain), and Connaught (Connacht).
Surrounding a king was an aristocracy (airi aicme, the upper class), whose land and property rights were clearly defined by law and whose main wealth was in cattle. Greater landowners were supported by céilí, or clients. These and other grades of society, minutely classified and described by legal writers, tilled the soil and tended the cattle. Individual families were the real units of society and collectively exercised powers of ownership over their farms and territory. At law the family (fine) did not merely act corporately but was, by one of the oldest customs, held responsible for the observance of the law by its kindred, serfs, and slaves.
Politically, Ireland was organized into a number of petty kingdoms, or clans (tuatha), each of which was quite independent under its elected king. Groups of tuatha tended to combine, but the king who claimed overlordship in each group had a primacy of honour rather than of jurisdiction. Not until the 10th century ad was there a king of all Ireland (árd rí Éireann). A division of the country into five groups of tuatha, known as the Five Fifths (Cuíg Cuígí), occurred about the beginning of the Christian era. These were Ulster (Ulaidh), Meath (Midhe), Leinster (Laighin), Munster (Mumhain), and Connaught (Connacht).
Surrounding a king was an aristocracy (airi aicme, the upper class), whose land and property rights were clearly defined by law and whose main wealth was in cattle. Greater landowners were supported by céilí, or clients. These and other grades of society, minutely classified and described by legal writers, tilled the soil and tended the cattle. Individual families were the real units of society and collectively exercised powers of ownership over their farms and territory. At law the family (fine) did not merely act corporately but was, by one of the oldest customs, held responsible for the observance of the law by its kindred, serfs, and slaves.
There were no urban centres, and the economic basis of society was cattle rearing and agriculture. The principal crops were wheat, barley, oats, flax, and hay. The land was tilled with plows drawn by oxen. Sheep appear to have been bred principally for their wool, and the only animal reared specifically for slaughter was the pig. Fishing, hunting, fowling, and trapping provided additional food. The transport of goods over land was by packhorse, for wheeled vehicles appear to have been few. Sea transport was by curragh, a wicker-framed boat covered with hides; the normal freshwater craft was the dugout.
The dwellings of the period were built by the post-and-wattle technique, and some were situated within the protected sites archaeologists call ring forts. Excavations have shown that some of these may have existed even in the Bronze Age and that they remained a normal place of habitation until medieval times. Advantage was also taken of the relative security of islands in rivers or lakes as dwelling places; and artificial islands, called crannogs, were also extensively made.
The documentary history of Ireland begins only in the 7th century, which saw the production in both Latin and Irish of sufficiently rich and numerous records of all sorts. For events before that time, historians rely on literary sources such as the sagas, many of whose characters may represent only poetic imagination and in which the social or poli...
Latin writings from about the mid-3rd century make frequent reference to raiding expeditions carried out by the Irish, who were now given the new name Scoti rather than the older one Hiberni. In the second half of the 4th century, when Roman power in Britain was beginning to crumble seriously, the raids became incessant, and settlements were made a...
Continental Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of mainland Europe and Insular Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of the British and Irish islands, and their descendants. The Celts of Brittany derive their language from migrating Insular Celts from Britain and so are grouped accordingly.
30 de nov. de 2017 · It’s believed that the Celtic culture started to evolve as early as 1200 B.C. The Celts spread throughout western Europe—including Britain, Ireland, France and Spain—via migration.
1 de jul. de 2024 · The Celtic settlement of Britain and Ireland is deduced mainly from archaeological and linguistic considerations. The only direct historical source for the identification of an insular people with the Celts is Caesar’s report of the migration of Belgic tribes to Britain, but the inhabitants of both islands were regarded by the Romans as ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
8 de abr. de 2021 · Who were the Celts? With settlements stretching from Ireland to Turkey, this Iron Age culture used their metalworking skills to build extensive trade networks with ancient Greece and Rome.
28 de mai. de 2024 · The Celts arrived in Ireland approx 800BC - 400BC. The Celts brought language, jewellery and unique artwork to Ireland which would be loved for years.
