Celtic+People

=**Celtic People**=

Almost everything about the Celtic people is disputed. The Celtics were a people around the Iron and Medieval ages of Europe; however, the exact place where they lived is commonly disputed. Many believe that the Celtic people originated from another civilization that flourished around 1200 B.C., which was during the Bronze Age. Another theory developed in the 19th century that suggested that the first signs of the Celtic people are found in Hallstat, Austria. These signs are found in the Iron Age of the Hallstat culture, which was around 800-450 B.C.

People are categorized as Celtic if they spoke Celtic languages and had cultural similarities. The first commonly disputed pieces of evidence regarding the Celtic language were the Lepontic inscriptions, which started circa 6th century B.C. While this is a highly recognized piece of evidence, many branches of Celtic languages are found in inscriptions around this time period.

No one is sure where the Celtic people got their name. Hecataeus of Miletus was the first person to refer to this group as the “Celts”, which was in 517 B.C. Julius Caesar wrote of the Gauls calling themselves “Celts” in the first century B.C. “Celt” itself is a modern word that was first used in 1707. When discussing the Celtic people today, 2 classifications are used. Continental Celts are Celtic-speaking people from mainland Europe; Insular Celts are Celtic-speaking people from the British and Irish islands and their descendants. The term “Celtic” is mostly only used in modern times to describe the language and culture of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, and Brittany.

Since a majority of southern France was occupied by Celtic people at one point, the Celtic influence is seen here. However, the Romans knew these people as the Gauls.