Celtic nations

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The Six Nations considered the heartland of the modern Celts

Celtic nations are areas of Europe inhabited by members of Celtic cultures, specifically speakers of Celtic languages. Since the mid-20th century, people of many nations and regions have used modern 'Celticity' to express their identity. Over time, these nations have come to be more or less widely labeled as Celtic. These Celtic places in Europe are sometimes also referred to as the "Celt belt" or "Celtic Fringe" owing to their location in the generally north-western part of the regions that they inhabit (e.g. Brittany is in the northwest of France, the Gaelic-speaking parts of Scotland and Ireland are in the northwest and west, respectively). However, these terms are sometimes interpreted as derogatory, so residents of these lands tend to prefer the term "Celtic nations".

At one time the whole British Isles was predominantly Cruthin/Celtic. The Romans called Britain Britannias and Britanniae after Britto meaning Cruithne, resulting in the word British, which in Old English implied an association with the whole British Isles[1]. Successive invasions supplanted the Brythonic language from most of Great Britain, but the prefix Brit- is now more closely associated with Great Britain than with its Celtic roots.

1 The 'Six Nations'
2 Other claims
3 The Americas and beyond
4 See also
- 4.1 References
- 4.2 External links

[edit] The 'Six Nations'

Nations that are usually included in this identifier include:

It is these 'Six Nations' that (alone) are considered Celtic by the Celtic League, Celtic Congress, and various other pan-Celtic groups. Each of the six can boast a Celtic language of its own – the key criterion of Celticity for the organizations named.

Four of the 'Six Nations' (Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales) contain areas where a Celtic language is still used in a community (see Gaeltacht, Gàidhealtachd, and compare also Breizh-Izel and areas by Welsh language). [2] Generally these communities are in the west of the countries, in upland or island areas, and sometimes claim to be more Celtic than the anglicised/gallicised areas of the east, and big cities.

[edit] Other claims

In general most countries of Western and Central Europe can be considered to have been influenced by the Celts. In a number of them, there are also 'Celtic' movements, wanting recognition as a Celtic Nation. None of them have a living Celtic language, unlike "the Six", and for those who base claims of Celticity round linguistics, this is a matter of controversy.

[edit] The Iberian Peninsula

The Celts in Europe, past and present:
present-day Celtic-speaking areas other parts of the six most commonly recognized 'Celtic nations' and where a celtic language is spoken but not the dominating language other parts of Europe once peopled by Celts; modern-day inhabitants of many of these areas often claim a Celtic heritage and/or culture

Galicia (extended to Minho and Trás-os-Montes in northern Portugal), Asturias, Cantabria and León are most often highlighted as areas most influenced by Celtic culture.

In none of these regions (Galicia, northern Portugal and Asturias) has a Celtic language survived (except in some place names), which means that the most common criteria for Celticity such as language could not apply. However, Before the Roman invasion, a series of tribes lived in the region, having — according to Strabo, Pliny, Herodotus and others — a similar culture and customs which most likely included a Celtic language.

However, speakers of a Brittonic (P-Celtic) language did historically emigrate to parts of Galicia and Asturias, as well as areas now in Portugal. A certain bishop Mahiloc (Old Welsh Mailoc) signed the Acta of the Second Council of Braga in 572. The Bishopric of Bretoña (from Britonia) existed until at least 830 and the area was known as Britonia until 1156 according to a privilegia of Alphonso III. This were not part of the pre-Roman Celtiberian group (a Q-Celtic group), but was settled as part of the same process of emigration from insular Britain that formed Brittany from the fifth century onwards.^[1]

The main basis for these regions' present-day claim to Celticity is, rather, Celtic consciousness itself, which derives from a factual long-time tradition of Celtism in these regions, due to the fact that numerous Celtic tribes settled in the Iberian Peninsula (see Celtiberians) and left their mark, culturally and genetically. Consequently, similarities in both the cultural (music, dance, folklore) and genetic aspects [[3]][4] can be found among the nations of the Northern Spain and other Celtic Nations [5] [6].

Cantabria (whose name is Celtic), Leon and Portugal ("Lusitania") are suggested as other Celtic regions.

See also Nationalities in Spain.

[edit] Formerly Gaulish regions

Repartition of Gaul ca. 54 BC

Many of the French people themselves identify actively with the Gauls.

The French- and Arpitan-speaking Aosta Valley region in Italy also presents a casual claim of Celtic heritage and the Northern League autonomist party often exalts what it claims are the Celtic roots of Padania. Reportedly, Friuli also has an ephemeral claim to Celticity.

Walloons are sometimes characterized as "Celts", mainly opposed to "Teutonic" Flemish and "Latin" French identities; the word "Walloon" derives from a Germanic word meaning "foreign", cognate with "Welsh" and "Vlach".

[edit] England

Celtic traditions and customs have continued in England, particularly in extremities of the south west and the north (see Devon, Northumbria and Cumbria). As a whole, England is not a Celtic country because it lacks a Celtic language; during the 'Celtic' era, Great Britain was populated by a number of regional Celtic tribes, none of whom directly ended up forming the English nation. In Celtic languages, it is usually referred to as "Saxon-land" (Sasana, Pow Saws, Bro-Saoz etc), and in Welsh as Lloegr.

Unlike many of the above examples, there is little political motivation behind this search for a more complex identity, but a recognition that local linguistic and cultural peculiarities can be traced back to Celtic origins. Cumbria, for example, retains some Celtic influences from local sports (Cumberland wrestling) to superstitions, and traces of Cumbric are still spoken, famously by shepherds to count their sheep. There has been a suggestion to bring back Cumbrian as a language and about 50 words of a reconstructed, hypothetical "Cumbric" exist. However, most competent scholars believe that it would be little different from an archaic dialect of Northern Welsh, but the evidence is far too slight to make a meaningful attempt. The county is also home to the Rheged discovery centre profiling the Celtic history of Cumbria. Its name is cognate with Cymru, the Welsh name for Wales meaning Land of Comrades.

English Celtic revivalism has not always been popular with its neighbours, many of whose own revivals have sought to counteract the majority culture of England within the United Kingdom. It also tends to be apolitical, in strict contrast to that of the "Six", Galicia or even Padania. Early revivalism concentrated on King Arthur, fairy and folklore and also Boudicca, whose statue stands outside the Palace of Westminster. Boudicca, who fought Roman imperialism, was looked up to by one or two Victorian English imperialists, who claimed "her new empire" was bigger than the Roman. Modern revivalism has focused more on music, mythology, rituals such as the Druids and a better understanding of Celtic festivals that have been observed in England since the Celtic period, and dialect or language.

[edit] The Americas and beyond

In other regions, people with a heritage from one of the 'Celtic Nations' also associate with the Celtic identity. In these areas, Celtic traditions and languages are significant components of local culture. These include the Chubut valley of Patagonia with Welsh speaking Argentinians (known as "Y Wladfa"), Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, with Gaelic-speaking Canadians and southeast Newfoundland with Irish-speaking Canadians. Also at one point in 1900's there were well over 12,000 Gaelic Scots from the Isle of Lewis living in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada, with place names that still exist today recalling those inhabitants.

In addition to these, a number of people from the USA, Australia and other parts of the former British Empire may consider themselves to have 'Celtic nationality'.