Celts (modern)
[1][2] A modern Celtic identity emerged in Western Europe following the identification of the native peoples of the Atlantic fringe as Celts by Edward Lhuyd in the 18th century.
Lhuyd and others (notably the 17th century Breton chronologist Pezron) equated the Celts described by Greco-Roman writers with the pre-Roman peoples of France, Great Britain, and Ireland.
There were also significant Welsh, Scottish, and Breton nationalist movements, giving rise to the concept of Celtic nations.
Malcolm Chapman's 1992 book The Celts: The Construction of a Myth led to what archaeologist Barry Cunliffe has called a "politically correct disdain for the use of 'Celt.
[5] An alternative approach to defining the Celts is the contemporary inclusive and associative definition proposed by Vincent and Ruth Megaw (1996) and Raimund Karl (2010).
[8] Except for the Bretons (if discounting Norman and Channel Islander connections), all groups mentioned have been subject to strong Anglicisation since the Early Modern period, and hence are also described as participating in an Anglo-Celtic macro-culture.
By the same token, the Bretons have been subject to strong Frenchification since the Early Modern period, and can similarly be described as participating in a Franco-Celtic macro-culture.
Nevertheless, Celtic origins are many times implied for continental groups such as the Asturians, Galicians, Portuguese, Swiss, Northern Italians, Belgians[9] and Austrians.
[12] In the late Middle Ages, some French writers believed (incorrectly) that their language was primarily Celtic, rather than Latin.
[13] A similar use of Celticity for 19th-century nationalism was made in Switzerland, when the Swiss were seen to originate in the Celtic tribe of the Helvetii, a link still found in the official Latin name of Switzerland, Confœderatio Helvetica, the source of the nation code CH and the name used on postage stamps (Helvetia).
This image coloured not only the English perception of their neighbours on the so-called "Celtic fringe" (compare the stage Irishman), but also Irish nationalism and its analogues in the other Celtic-speaking countries.
The modern Celtic groups' distinctiveness as national, as opposed to regional, minorities has been periodically recognised by major British newspapers.
For example, a Guardian editorial in 1990 pointed to these differences, and said that they should be constitutionally recognised: Smaller minorities also have equally proud visions of themselves as irreducibly Welsh, Irish, Manx or Cornish.
He goes on to argue that their distinct Celtic traits (loyalty to kin, mistrust of governmental authority, and military readiness), in contrast to the Anglo-Saxon settlers, helped construct the modern American identity.
[24] The core of his argument was that the Iron Age peoples of Britain should be considered not as generic Celts, but as a mosaic of different societies, each with their own traditions and histories.
Simon James, in 1998, wrote a response arguing that the rejection of a Celtic past was not 'nationalist' but partly due to archaeological evidence, and usually by a post-colonial and multi-cultural agenda with recognition that Britain has always been home to multiple identities.
[27] In 2003, Professor John Collis[28] of the University of Sheffield wrote a book titled The Celts: Origins, Myths and Invention, itself criticised in 2004 by Ruth and Vincent Megaw in Antiquity.
[38][39][40] Elements of Celtic music, dance, and folklore can be found within England (e.g. Yan Tan Tethera, well dressing, Halloween), and the Cumbric language survived until the collapse of the Kingdom of Strathclyde in about 1018.
[52] Other traits far more prevalent among people of Celtic ancestry include lactase persistence and red hair, with 46% of Irish and at least 36% of Highland Scots being carriers of red-head variants of the MC1R gene, possibly an adaptation to the cloudy weather of the areas where they live.
[58] A significant portion of the populations of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is composed of people whose ancestors were from one of the "Celtic nations".
There are three areas outside Europe with communities of Celtic language speakers: The most common mother-tongue amongst the Fathers of Confederation which saw the formation of Canada was Gaelic.
[61] The claim that distinctly Celtic styles of music exist was made during the nineteenth century, and was associated with the revival of folk traditions and pan-Celtic ideology.
The Scottish Mod and Irish Fleadh Cheoil (and Gaelic Céilidh) are seen as an equivalent to the Breton Fest Noz, Cornish Troyl[73] and Welsh Eisteddfod.
[82][83][84] Attitudes and customs associated with the routine of the year's work, religious beliefs and practices survived the coming of Christianity in the conservative rural areas of much of the Celtic countries.
[85] In her fine study of the festival of the beginning of harvest, in Irish Lughnasa, Máire MacNeill has demonstrated the continuity between the myth known from the early Middle Ages and the customs which survive in the 21st century.
[93] The most impressive pilgrimages include Croagh Patrick on the west coast of Ireland on the last Sunday in July (the beginning of harvest) and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.
[93] The inspiration for famous Celtic singer and harpist Loreena McKennitt's million-selling CD The Mask and the Mirror came in part from a visit to Galicia and in particular Santiago de Compostela.
[97][98] The celebrations are tied to the promotion of fertility and a fruitful growing season with the 'Obby 'Oss dancing to the music through streets decked out in flowers, and sycamore, ash and maple boughs.
[104] Textile craft industries based on Celtic fisher designs such as Aran jumpers were developed in the early 1900s by enterprising island women to earn income.
