| The term Celt, refers to a member of any of a | | | | turn from Herodotus' word for the Gauls, Keltoi. |
| number of peoples in Europe using the Celtic | | | | The Romans used Celtae to refer to continental |
| languages, which form a branch of Indo-European | | | | Gauls, but apparently not to Insular Celts. The |
| languages, as well as others whose language is | | | | latter were long divided linguistically into Goidhels |
| unknown but where associated cultural traits such | | | | and Brythons (see Insular Celtic languages), |
| as Celtic art are found in archaeological evidence. | | | | although other research provides a more complex |
| Historical theories were developed that these | | | | picture (see below under "Classification"). |
| factors were indicative of a common origin, but | | | | The term in English |
| later theories of culture spreading to differing | | | | The English word is modern, attested from 1707 |
| indigenous peoples have recently been supported | | | | in the writings of Edward Lhuyd whose work, |
| by some genetic studies. | | | | along with that of other late 17th century |
| The Celts themselves had an intricate, indigenous | | | | scholars, brought academic attention to the |
| polytheistic religion and distinctive culture, though | | | | languages and history of these early inhabitants of |
| the spread of the Roman Empire led to | | | | Great Britain.[2] In the 18th century the interest in |
| continental Celts adopting Roman culture. The | | | | "primitivism" which led to the idea of the "noble |
| eventual development of Celtic Christianity in | | | | savage" brought a wave of enthusiasm for all |
| Ireland and Britain brought an early medieval | | | | things "Celtic". The antiquarian William Stukeley |
| renaissance of Celtic art between 400 and 1200, | | | | pictured a race of "Ancient Britons" putting up the |
| only ended by the Norman Conquest of Ireland in | | | | "Temples of the Ancient Celts" such as |
| the late 12th century. Antiquarian interest from | | | | Stonehenge before he decided in 1733 to recast |
| the 17th century led to the term Celt being | | | | the Celts in his book as Druids. The Ossian fables |
| extended, and rising nationalism brought Celtic | | | | written by James Macpherson and portrayed as |
| revivals from the 19th century in areas where | | | | ancient Scottish Gaelic language poems added to |
| the use of Celtic languages had continued. | | | | this romantic enthusiasm. The "Irish revival" came |
| Today, "Celtic" is often used to describe the | | | | after the Catholic Emancipation Act of 1829 as a |
| languages and respective cultures of Ireland, | | | | conscious attempt to demonstrate an Irish |
| Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and | | | | national identity, and with its counterpart in other |
| Brittany (see the Modern Celts article) but, in | | | | countries subsequently became the "Celtic revival". |
| some opinions, corresponds more accurately to | | | | Nowadays "Celt" and "Celtic" derived from a |
| the Celtic language family - of which four are | | | | Greek root keltoi, when referring to the ethnic |
| spoken today as mother tongues plus two recent | | | | group and its languages. The pronunciation derived |
| revivals, Manx and Cornish: Irish, Scottish Gaelic | | | | from the French celtique, is mainly used for the |
| and Manx (Goidelic languages) and Welsh, Breton | | | | names of sports teams (for example the NBA |
| and Cornish (Brythonic languages). | | | | team, Boston Celtics and the SPL side, Celtic F.C. |
| In the last two decades of the twentieth century | | | | in Glasgow. |
| multidisciplinary studies were brought to bear on | | | | Modern uses |
| the history of the Celts. Disciplines such as ancient | | | | In a historical context, the terms "Celt" and |
| history, palaeolinguistics, archaeology, history of | | | | "Celtic" can be used in several senses: they can |
| art, anthropology, population genetics, history of | | | | denote peoples speaking Celtic languages; the |
| religion, ethnology, mythology and folklore studies | | | | peoples of prehistoric and early historic Europe |
| all had an influence on celtic studies. | | | | who shared common cultural traits which are |
| The first literary reference to the Celtic people, | | | | thought to have originated in the Hallstatt and La |
| as keltoi is by the Greek historian Hecataeus in | | | | Tene cultures; or the peoples known to the |
| 517 BC; he locates the Keltoi tribe in Rhenania | | | | Greeks as Keltoi, to the Romans as Celtae and to |
| (West/Southwest Germany). According to Greek | | | | either by cognate terms such as Gallae or |
| mythology, Celtus was the son of Heracles and | | | | Galatae. The extent to which each of these |
| Keltine, the daughter of Bretannus. Celtus became | | | | meanings refers to the same group of people is a |
| the primogenitor of Celts. In Latin Celta came in | | | | matter of debate. |