| "Celticity" has been adopted as a node of | | | | fringe" found in Celticity an explanation for |
| self-identification by a variety of peoples | | | | their peripheral "otherness", as well as a |
| at different times. During the 19th century, | | | | source of pride which could galvanize them |
| French nationalists gave a privileged | | | | into demands for development and |
| significance to their descent from the Gauls. | | | | regeneration. Nationalists in Northern |
| The struggles of Vercingetorix were portrayed | | | | Ireland sought an end to endemic |
| as a forerunner of the 19th-century struggles | | | | discrimination with the Civil Rights |
| in defence of French nationalism, including | | | | Movement. Breton regionalists participated in |
| the wars of both Napoleons (Napoleon I of | | | | the May 1968 revolt under Breton flags and |
| France and Napoleon III of France). Basic | | | | with the slogan Bretagne=Colonie. The |
| French history textbooks could begin with the | | | | Republic of Ireland, on surpassing Britain's |
| famous words "Nos ancetres les Gaulois..." | | | | GDP per capita in the 1990s for the first |
| ("Our ancestors the Gauls..."). A similar use | | | | time in centuries, was given the moniker |
| of "celticity" for 19th century nationalism | | | | "Celtic tiger". Thanks in part to agitation |
| was made in Switzerland, when the Swiss were | | | | on the part of Cornish regionalists, Cornwall |
| seen to originate in the Celtic tribe of the | | | | was able to obtain Objective One funding from |
| Helvetii, a link still found in the official | | | | the European Union. Scotland and Wales |
| Latin name of Switzerland, Confoderatio | | | | obtained agencies like the Welsh Development |
| Helvetica, the source of the nation code CH. | | | | Agency, and Scottish and Welsh Nationalists |
| | | | have recently supported the institution of |
| At the same time, there was also a tendency | | | | the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly |
| to play up alternative heritages in the | | | | for Wales, which are seen by many as a first |
| British Isles at certain times, partially as | | | | step towards eventual independence from the |
| a rationale for non-English parts of the | | | | UK. More broadly, a distinct identity in |
| islands to fully participate in the British | | | | opposition to that of the metropolitan |
| Empire. For example, in the Isle of Man, in | | | | capitals has been forged and taken strong |
| the Victorian era, the "Viking" heritage was | | | | root. |
| emphasised, and in Scotland, both Norse and | | | | |
| Anglo-Saxon heritage was played up. | | | | These latter evolutions have proceeded hand |
| | | | in hand with the growth of an pan-Celtic or |
| With the advance of Indo-European studies, | | | | inter-Celtic dimension, seen in many |
| philologists also established that there was | | | | organizations and festivals operating across |
| a relationship between the Goidelic and | | | | various Celtic countries. Celtic studies |
| Brythonic languages, as well as a | | | | departments at many universities in Europe |
| relationship between these languages and the | | | | and beyond, have studied the various ancient |
| extinct Celtic languages such as Gaulish, | | | | and modern Celtic languages and associated |
| spoken in classical times. The term "Celtic" | | | | history and folklore under one roof. |
| therefore came to be widely applied (for the | | | | |
| first time) to the Goidelic and Brythonic | | | | The Celtic link is also claimed to come |
| languages, and by extension to the peoples | | | | mainly from: |
| that spoke them. | | | | |
| | | | language |
| A romantic image of the Celt as noble savage | | | | |
| was cultivated by the early William Butler | | | | music |
| Yeats, Lady Gregory, Lady Charlotte Guest, | | | | |
| Lady Llanover, James Macpherson, | | | | cultural events |
| Chateaubriand, Theodore Hersart de la | | | | |
| Villemarque and the many others influenced by | | | | sport |
| them. This image coloured not only the | | | | |
| English perception of their neighbours on the | | | | The roots revival, applied to Celtic music, |
| so-called "Celtic fringe" (compare the stage | | | | has brought much inter-Celtic |
| Irishman), but also Irish nationalism and its | | | | cross-fertilization, as, for instance, Welsh |
| analogues in the other Celtic-speaking | | | | musicians have revived the use of the |
| countries. Among the enduring products of | | | | mediaeval Welsh bagpipe under the influence |
| this resurgence of interest in a romantic, | | | | of the Breton biniou, Irish uillean pipes and |
| pre-industrial, brooding, mystical Celticity | | | | famous Scottish pipes, or the Scots have |
| are Gorseddau, the revival of the Cornish | | | | revived the bodhran from Irish influence. |
| language, and the revival of the Gaelic | | | | Sports such as Hurling and Shinty are seen as |
| Games. | | | | being 'Celtic', whilst the Irish fleadh is |
| | | | seen as an equivalent to the Breton fest noz. |
| In the decades leading up to World War II, | | | | |
| the various meanings attributed to Celtic | | | | The USA has also taken part in discussions of |
| "race" were widely discussed in Europe. The | | | | modern Celticity. For example, James H. Webb, |
| so-called Alpine race was identified with the | | | | in his 2004 book Born Fighting How the |
| ancient Celts and their descendants, and | | | | Scots-Irish Shaped America, controversially |
| classical sources were scoured for | | | | asserts that the early "pioneering" |
| appropriate stereotypes to apply to this | | | | immigrants to North America were of |
| race. | | | | Scots-Irish origins. He goes on to argue that |
| | | | their distinct "Celtic traits" (loyalty to |
| Modern 'Celticity' | | | | kin, mistrust of governmental authority, and |
| | | | military readiness), in contrast to the |
| After World War II, "race" went out of | | | | "Anglo-Saxon" settlers, helped construct the |
| fashion and "culture" took its place. Many of | | | | modern "American identity". Irish Americans |
| the same stereotypes and caricatures of | | | | also played an important role in the shaping |
| Celticity once attributed to the Celtic or | | | | of 19th-century Irish republicanism through |
| Alpine race, were thus recycled under the | | | | the Fenian movement, the development of a |
| label of culture. But since the 1960s, | | | | discourse of the Great Hunger as a British |
| Celticity has been put to a somewhat | | | | atrocity, and so on. |
| different use. The peoples of the "Celtic | | | | |