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What does Celtic mean?

The term Celt, basically refers to peoples in Europe using Celtic languages, as well as others whose language is unknown but where associated cultural traits such as Celtic art are found in archaeological evidence. People used to think that they all came from one single source, but now it seems that it refered to a wide range of people, who had different lifestyles and traditions.

The first reference to the Celtic people, is by the Greek historian Hecataeus in 517 BC, who mentions the Keltoi tribe in Rhenania (West/Southwest Germany). According to Greek mythology, Celtus was the son of Heracles and Keltine, the daughter of Bretannus and later became the primogenitor of Celts In Latin Celta came in turn from Herodotus' word for the Gauls, Keltoi. During the period of Roman expansion, they used Celtae to refer to continental Gauls, and possibly other peoples. Though the spread of the Roman empire led to continental Celts adopting Roman culture, the development of Celtic Christianity in Ireland and Britain brought an early medieval renaissance of Celtic art between 400 and 1200.

Celtic art itself is ornamental, avoiding straight lines and only occasionally using symmetry, without the imitation of nature or ideal of beauty central to the classical tradition. It includes a variety of styles and often incorporates subtly modified elements from other cultures, an example being the characteristic over-and-under interlacing which only arrived in the 6th century when it was already in use by Germanic artists.

They highpoint for the Celts co-incided with the 'La Tane' era, which flourished approximately 480-500 BC. During this time, heir craftsmen developed a particular style of decoration, made up of a rang of curvilinear motifs, such as spirals, interlacing and figurative forms of metal work. In Ireland, many of these styles could be found on earlier bronze and Iron age monuments and as such, could be seen as a continuation of this earlier from, albeit with subtle differences. Thus, this abstract nature made their art very versatile,. Christan artists chose to use the same patterns in the design of chalices, or the pages of manuscripts, drawing upon the previously pagan imagery and transposing it into christian ideals.

Today, "Celtic" is often used to describe the languages and respective cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and the French region of Brittany (see the Modern Celts article), but corresponds more accurately to the Celtic language family - of which six languages are spoken today (Manx and Cornish being recent revivals): Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx (Goidelic languages) and Welsh, Breton and Cornish (Brythonic languages).