Back to the Celtic Millenia!

OK Let's expand on the people we are talking about.
When did the first Christian enter Britain and where did he/she come from?				[email protected] Of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, Norman, German and Scandinavian blood.   *********The Origins of the Celts.********* From over a 1000 years before Christ in the middle of Europe, Celtic cultures were already in place. Hallstatt La Tene What it is important for us to find out about the Celts is their beginnings, how they spread from their original sites, and who they replaced or amalgamated with in their new regions. From some of the history, it is not unreasonable to think of a Celtic empire existing before that of Rome. Not monolithic like that of Rome, but diffused in hierarchy that eventually covered from Ireland to Galatia. So the stereotypical image of a Celt as some kind of alcoholic leprechaun is somewhat amiss. The original Celts were tall and fair but the culture spread and was adopted by a range of people including short, dark-haired tribes. Of particular interest is the origin of the gene for red hair. The Irish are well-known for red hair as are the Scandinavians. Since Dublin originated as a Viking slave market, perhaps it is something that permeated from the north.   **Their Neighbours.** To their north the Germans and Scandinavians, probably some of whom were neolithic. To their south the Etruscans, Romans, Greeks. Eastwards Phoenicians, metamorphosing into Carthaginians, westwards Britain where originally there were neolithic peoples, such as the Picts. Who were the Picts? They are described as shortish with dark hair. This may mean that they were of Mediterranean origin. An interesting thesis on the development of these peoples around the English Channel is given by Euan MacKie, in Megalith Builders. Eventually many races around the English Channel, Irish Sea and Bay of Biscay were to be mixed and then differentiated by language.       **Their Migrations.** By the first millenium BC, the Celts were already on the move, sacking both Delphi and Rome in passing. Mainly moving east and west rather than north and south, they colonised Britain and Ireland and set up the nation particularly known to us from Saint Paul as Galatia. Even to this day the French are termed Gallic and there is a province of Spain known as Galicia. Although the Celts were originally much seen as tall and fair like their Germanic neighbours, their language was Celtic, related but not very similar to the Teutonic languages. Eventually the Celtic culture had spread so far that short, dark-haired people were speaking it as their native language.   My friends' home pages, favorite URLs, other pages on my web site.   Talk City chat rooms where you'll find me.   Back To The Beginning - Page1. On To Page 3. - The Vikings. TownTalk - Great place to meet people.