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Introduction
Today the study of the former Celtic world is a remarkable multidisciplinary undertaking involving archaeology, linguistics, history and genetics. It is an investigation of a Celtic past that had its beginnings in prehistoric times and, in parts of western Europe, a lifespan that extended well into the early medieval era. This book is a historical exploration of how our understanding of the ancient Celts and the concept of a European-wide world inhabited by Celtic-speaking peoples developed over time. Some years ago, one historian writing of the legendary king Arthur identified three ‘worlds of Arthur’, which he characterized as the ‘Old’, the ‘Present’ and the ‘Mad’. 1 It is probably fair to say there are three similar Celtic worlds as well but this study, it must be emphasized, is firmly focused on the Celtic world of old in Continental Europe, in Britain and in Ireland. For many years the number of pioneering practitioners in this field of study, whether in archaeology or language and literature, was very small, so to a great extent this is their story too. Inevitably, any attempt to describe it has to be quite selective and has to mainly focus on those discoveries that contributed in a significant way to our understanding of how it all came about. In other words, this is an account of some of the major archaeological finds and linguistic developments that gave shape and substance to our present understanding of this former world. Almost from its inception the study of the Celtic past has been a disputed and debated territory. At different times a Celt has been defined by some or all of a host of characteristics such as language, material culture, art and race. In Britain in recent decades the term Celt has been questioned and opposed, and the notion of a Celtic world questioned. In outlining the development of the exploration of this ancient world, it will become clear, in this study, that a Celt was someone who first and foremost spoke a Celtic language. This was a language family that facilitated social contact at every level and archaeology offers abundant supportive evidence in the form of wide-ranging trade and exchange. Where goods and people travelled, so did stories, myths and religious beliefs. Celtic peoples first appear in the written record in Greek and Roman sources. In Greek they were the Keltoi , in Latin Celtae or Galli . These early historical references, along with inscriptions and place-names confirm their widespread presence across Europe, from Ireland in the west to Turkey in the east, perhaps even as far as Kazakhstan beyond the Caspian Sea. In most of Europe they and their language
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