HistoryThe Celts came from two early phases, the Hallstatt period and the La Tène period. The Hallstatt period started in the late 12th century, according to the book Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic Mythology. In this time, the Celts discovered bronze, which dubbed this age the “Bronze Age” and it transitioned into the early Iron Age. The Celts also established colonies in Massilia and set trade lands in Mediterranean countries such as early Greece and some parts of old Italy. The Hallstatt era was also the introduction of essential Celtic religion. In the book, there were many stories around the “Tuatha De Danann” or The Children of Nemed which were considered to be the “Old gods.”
Hallstatt: -Bronze Age -Early Iron Age -Established Colonies in Massilia -Essential To Celtic Religion/Old gods At the end of the Hallstatt period came the La Tène period, which was the Iron Age of the Celts. This is the period where they finally wiped out the Etruscans with their advanced light iron chariots, and their advanced weaponry. After they wiped out the Etruscans, they moved on to live in the Italian peninsula. Celts that lived in parts of Greece and Asia Minor settled in the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles.
La Tène: -Iron Age of the Celts -Wiped out Etruscans -Moved to Italian Peninsula -Settled in Greece and Asia Minor and Iberian Peninsula/British Isles |
Books of Invasion
- 1. Conquest of Nemed
- 2. Fir Bolg
- 3. Conquest of Tuatha De
- 4. Conquest by the Sons of Mil
In between these two periods came the beginning of the Celtic religion. The first book of the Celtic religion was called the Book of Invasions, which stored four stories of invasions altogether. The first story was called the Conquest of Nemed, which introduced the first of the Old gods, the “Tuatha De Danann.” There were other “Celts” in these tales that actually have a conflict with these gods, such as the second invasion called the Fir Bolg. In this invasion, the people called the Fir Bolg are enslaved by the Greeks. They want to escape Greece and run their own land. In that case, they fled the area using boats made of curraghs and made their escape to what is now known as Ireland. The Conquest that actually involves the conflict between the Fir Bolg and the Old gods is called the Conquest of Tuatha De. This is one of the four Books in which it tells about how Ireland came to be. It says that the Tuatha De fought along the Athenians against the Philistines. The Philistines started to overcome the Athenians and the Tuatha De, so the Tuatha De decided it was time for them to move on. They wondered where they should go, and they decided that Ireland was the land that was rightfully theirs. So, with that, they went to invade Ireland, which currently belonged to the Fir Bolg. They set sail to Ireland and landed near the shores of Ireland on the Festival of Beltain (May 1st), the most sacred of Celtic festivals. Once they landed unnoticed, they continued to invade Ireland, and conquered the land, driving the Fir Bolg out of it.
The last Invasion was called the Conquest by the Sons of Mil. “Though the Tuatha De was the most important for Celtic mythology, the Sons of Mil is the most important to Celtic history”- Druids, Gods & Heroes from Celtic Mythology. It started with three brothers from Spain named Emer, Don, and Eremon wanting to invade Ireland. The started by invading the seas of Ireland. Since the Tuatha De were powerful gods, the Tuatha De turned the whole island invisible. However, the three siblings were not repelled by this sorcery. They broke the spell, but with that, the loss of Donn. They proceeded to the shores of the island and started to invade them from there. After many bloodied battles, the Sons of Mil were victorious, creating a new nation of Celts called the Gaels. After some time, the Tuatha De and the Gaels made a truce, forever in peace.