King of the Celts: Arthurian Legends and Celtic Tradition

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The existence of the Celts was first documented in the seventh or eighth century B.C. The Roman Empire, which ruled much of southern Europe at that time, referred to the Celts as “Galli,” meaning barbarians. Vercingetorix scorched much of the land marching north with his army from Gergovia in an attempt to deprive Caesar of the resources and safe haven of the towns and villages along Caesar's march south. Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Indeed, the Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish and Galatians were all Celtic tribes. Centuries later, after the Roman Empire had conquered several Celtic tribes in the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain) that the Romans called the Gallaeci, Julius Caesar embarked on the nine-year Gallic Wars to defeat the Celts and various other tribal kingdoms in Gaul (modern France). Caesar wrote about the conquest of Gaul with a mix of disgust and respect for his Celtic enemies.

Having been appointed governor of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis (modern Provence) in 58 BC, Julius Caesar proceeded to conquer the Gallic tribes beyond over the next few years, maintaining control through a careful divide and rule strategy. He made use of the factionalism among the Gallic elites, favouring certain noblemen over others with political support and Roman luxuries such as wine. Attempts at revolt, such as that of Ambiorix in 54 BC, had secured only local support, but Vercingetorix, whose father, Celtillus, had been put to death by his own countrymen for seeking to rule all of Gaul, managed to unify the Gallic tribes against the Romans and adopted more current styles of warfare. However, the capital of the Bituriges, Avaricum (near modern-day Bourges), a Gallic settlement directly in Caesar's path, was spared. Due to the town's strong protests, naturally defensible terrain, and apparently strong man-made reinforcing defenses, Vercingetorix decided against razing and burning it. Leaving the town to its fate, Vercingetorix camped well outside of Avaricum and focused on conducting harassing engagements of the advancing Roman units led by Caesar and his chief lieutenant Titus Labienus. Upon reaching Avaricum, however, the Romans laid siege and eventually captured the capital.

Princely glory

Across Europe, the Celts have been credited with many artistic innovations, including intricate stone carving and fine metalworking. The Romans conquered Britain in 43 A.C. under Claudius, and the Celts were slowly subjugated and Romanized. They didn’t go down without a fight, though. The legendary Celtic queen Boudicca led a bloody revolt against the Romans in 61 A.C. in which her forces destroyed the Roman stronghold of Londinium and massacred the inhabitants, according to Roman sources. Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Errance. ISBN 9782877723695. The economy of the Celts was founded on cattle raising, sheep farming, and crop production. It can be fairly said that most Celtic settlements were essentially farming communities. In Britain, for example, there is clear evidence of extensive organization in the ancient division of fields all over the country. Even the sides of hills were cultivated since the land was valuable and could not be wasted. Cattle were very valuable to the Celts. A rich chieftain, by necessity, had a large herd of cattle. Beef made up a large proportion of the food eaten by the Celts, and milk was also consumed in large quantities. Sheep were valued for their wool and celtic clothes were made from this useful commodity. Clothes were also made out of animal skins, again showing the importance of cattle and sheep within Celtic society. There is evidence that sheep were also used for meat, although not nearly as much as cows.

Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, Everyman's Edition, 1953 (Trans: John Warrington); Book VII, sect. 89. As a result, elaborate Celtic designs in artifacts crafted from gold, silver and precious gemstones are a major part of museum collections throughout Europe and North America. Sources Plutarch. "The Life of Julius Caesar". The Parallel Lives. Loeb Classical Library Edition . Retrieved 15 July 2015. Ancient Celtic settlement Chysauster Village, a late Iron Age and Romano-British village of courtyard houses in Cornwall, England. Cunobelinus' son Adminius, from the evidence of his coins, had control of Kent but was banished by Cunobeline, in about 40 AD, he fled to Rome and made attempts to persuade Emperor Gaius Caligula to invade Britain. Although Caligula did assemble forces of about 200,000 troops with an enormous amount of supplies, the planned expedition never materialized and was abandoned in farcical circumstances. Caligula, an unstable personality, advanced from Germany to the English Channel where he lined up his legions at the seashore. He then sailed into the Channel in a ship and returned to shore

Austrian origins

The Cornish language has been extinct for many years. Its last reputed monolingual speaker was Dorothy Pentreath of Mousehole, who died in 1777, her gravestone with its Cornish inscription can be seen at St. Paul's church at Mousehole. A further candidate for the last native speaker of the language was John Davey of Zennor, who died as late as 1891. Fishermen were known to count fish in Cornish up until the 1940s. In 1904 Henry Jenner (1848 - 1934), a Celtic scholar and cultural activist, published a Handbook of the Cornish Language which began the revival of Cornish as a living, spoken language. The Cornish Language has undergone a number of revivals since that time. We care about our planet! We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere. France: The Roman conquest". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved April 6, 2015. Because of chronic internal rivalries, Gallic resistance was easily broken, though Vercingetorix's Great Rebellion of 52 BC had notable successes.

Known to the Celts as Caer Uisc, Exeter later became the capital of the Dumnonian Britons up until circa 936 when the Saxon King Athelstan expelled them. The eastern boundary of Dumnonia receeded over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex conquered its territory. By the middle of the ninth century, during the West Saxon advance, the seat of the kings of Dumnonia may have been relocated further to the west, at Lis-Cerruyt (Liskeard). The tribal kingsCunobeline, known in Latin as Cunobelinus, was a Celtic king of Britain in the period immediately before the Roman conquest. He controlled a substantial part of south-eastern Britain and ruled from the late first century BC until around 42 AD and is the most famous British leader prior to the Roman occupation. His name possibly means "hound of Belenus" from the Brythonic Celtic koun "hound" combined with the name of the god Belenus. Coin of Cunobeline

Dobbs, Maighréad Ní C. (1952). "Le nom de Vercingétorix en Irlande". Études celtiques. 6 (1): 195. doi: 10.3406/ecelt.1952.1251. Lugh is involved in other minor episodes such as his vengeance on the murderers of his father Cian. The killers are Brian, Iuchair, and Iucharba, three sons of Tuireann. Lugh discovers his father's crushed body, and the earth around it tells of his fate and who did this terrible deed. Lugh sets the three killers a series of impossible tasks, and two of them die in a battle while Brian is killed by Lugh. It is from this trio and their great labours that Lugh acquires his magical spear and his dog Failinis. Julius Caesar: The first triumvirate and the conquest of Gaul". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved February 15, 2015. Indeed, the Gallic cavalry was probably superior to the Roman, horseman for horseman. Rome's military superiority lay in its mastery of strategy, tactics, discipline, and military engineering. In Gaul, Rome also had the advantage of being able to deal separately with dozens of relatively small, independent, and uncooperative states. Caesar conquered these piecemeal, and the concerted attempt made by a number of them in 52 BC to shake off the Roman yoke came too late.However, this changed during the La Tène era which immediately followed the Hallstatt era. During this period of Celtic history, hillforts became commonly used as settlements for tribes. Many existing hillforts were greatly expanded and more heavily fortified. They became the true towns and cities of the Celts.