The Mythology of the British Islands: An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and RomanceSquire, Charles
General
The Mythology of the British Islands: An Introduction to Celtic Myth, Legend, Poetry, and Romance
Squire, Charles
Celts -- Folklore; Mythology, Celtic
Professor Rhys also puts forward evidence to show that the Goidels and
the Brythons had already separated before they first left Gaul for our
islands.[15] He finds them as two distinct peoples there. We do not
expect so much nowadays from “the merest school-boy” as we did in
Macaulay’s time, but even the modern descendant of that paragon could
probably tell us that all Gaul was divided into three parts, one of
which was inhabited by the Belgae, another by the Aquitani, and the
third by those who called themselves Celtae, but were termed Galli by
the Romans; and that they all differed from one another in language,
customs, and laws.[16] Of these, Professor Rhys identifies the Belgae
with the Brythons, and the Celtae with the Goidels, the third people,
the Aquitani, being non-Celtic and non-Aryan, part of the great
Hamitic-speaking Iberian stock.[17] The Celtae, with their Goidelic
dialect of Celtic, which survives to-day in the Gaelic languages of
Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, were the first to come over to
Britain, pushed forward, probably, by the Belgae, who, Caesar tells us,
were the bravest of the Gauls.[18] Here they conquered the native
Iberians, driving them out of the fertile parts into the rugged
districts of the north and west. Later came the Belgae themselves,
compelled by press of population; and they, bringing better weapons and
a higher civilization, treated the Goidels as those had treated the
Iberians. Thus harried, the Goidels probably combined with the Iberians
against what was now the common foe, and became to a large degree
amalgamated with them. The result was that during the Roman domination
the British Islands were roughly divided with regard to race as follows:
The Brythons, or second Celtic race, held all Britain south of the
Tweed, with the exception of the extreme west, while the first Celtic
race, the Goidelic, had most of Ireland, as well as the Isle of Man,
Cumberland, the West Highlands, Cornwall, Devon, and North Wales. North
of the Grampians lived the Picts, who were probably more or less
Goidelicized Iberians, the aboriginal race also holding out, unmixed, in
South Wales and parts of Ireland.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account