Celt - Celtic social system and arts

The term Celts (pronounced "kelts" or "selts")[1] refers to any of a number of ancient peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages, which form a branch of Indo-European languages, as well as others whose language is unknown but where associated cultural traits such as Celtic art are found in archaeological evidence. Historical theories were developed that these factors were indicat ...

Including:

Celt - Development of the term Celt
Celt - Population genetics
Celt - Origins and geographical distribution Celt - Celts in Ireland and Britain Celt - Roman influence
Celt - Examples of Romanization Celt - Celtic Christianity
Celt - Celts pushed west by Germanic migration Celt - Celtic social system and arts Celt - Celtic Religous Patterns Celt - Celts as head-hunters Celt - Names for Celts
Celt - The name Gauls Celt - The word Welsh Celt - The name Celts Celt - Endnotes

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See also:

Celt, Celt - Development of the term Celt, Celt - Population genetics, Celt - Origins and geographical distribution, Celt - Celts in Ireland and Britain, Celt - Roman influence, Celt - Examples of Romanization, Celt - Celtic Christianity, Celt - Celts pushed west by Germanic migration, Celt - Celtic social system and arts, Celt - Celtic Religous Patterns, Celt - Celts as head-hunters, Celt - Names for Celts, Celt - The name Gauls, Celt - The word Welsh, Celt - The name Celts, Celt - Endnotes

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The pre-Christian Celts had a well-organized social structure, based on class and kinship, with the religion we call Celtic polytheism. Elected Kings led the tribes, and society was divided into three groups: a warrior aristocracy, an intellectual class including druids, poets, and jurists, and everyone else. Women participated both in warfare and in kingship, and all the offices of high and low kings were filled by election under the system of tanistry, both factors which would confuse Norman writers expecting the feudal principle of primog ...

See also:

Celt, Celt - Development of the term Celt, Celt - Population genetics, Celt - Origins and geographical distribution, Celt - Celts in Ireland and Britain, Celt - Roman influence, Celt - Examples of Romanization, Celt - Celtic Christianity, Celt - Celts pushed west by Germanic migration, Celt - Celtic social system and arts, Celt - Celtic Religious Patterns, Celt - Celts as head-hunters, Celt - Names for Celts, Celt - The name Gauls, Celt - The word Welsh, Celt - The name Celts, Celt - Bibliography

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Celtic Marriage

This article is not just for those interested in the traditions of Celtic Marriage, it is also a look into the complex body of law that governed the ancient Celts.

For the ancient Celts, marriage was a very different thing than what we conceive of as "marriage" today. For them, marriage or handfasting as some know it was a form of contract that had several purposes. These included the protection of property rights, the care of progeny (children), and the rights of the individuals involved in the relationships themselves.

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Why Wicca is Not Celtic Paganism

There are many out there who believe that Wicca and its related forms of NeoPagism are a type of Celtic Paganism (and vice versa),  but this is simply not true. The following article is meant to be a comparison of Wicca and Celtic Paganism in order to demonstrate this, and to educate the public about Celtic Paganism. While Wicca certainly contains elements of Celtic mythology, folk magic and religious belief, its basic tenets and beliefs are radically different from those of Celtic Pagans.

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Celtic art is art associated with various peoples known as Celts speaking the Celtic languages in Europe from pre-history through to the medieval period and beyond, as well as art of ancient peoples whose language is unknown but where cultural and stylistic similarities lead archaeologists to consider it probable that they were predecessors of those known to speak Celtic languages, and Celtic revival art from the 18th century to the modern era which began as a conscious effort by Modern Celt ...

Including:

Celtic art - Background Celtic art - Early Middle Ages
Celtic art - Ireland Celtic art - Picts Celtic art - Wales
Celtic art - Celtic revival Celtic art - Celtic art terms

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Celtic belt, also known as the Celtic Fringe, the Celt belt refers to a geographical area on the western and northern fringes of Europe where indiginous Celtic traditions and languages have survived. The terms "celtic fringe" and "celtic belt" are sometimes interpreted as derogatory terms and residents of these lands refer their collective homelands as the Celtic Nations. Celt belt - See Also. Celts Celtic Nations Modern Celts Celtic Revival Celtic Mu ...

Including:

Celt belt - See Also

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Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the apparent religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celtic peoples in close contact with Rome, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, their mythology did not survive the Roman empire, their subsequent conversion to Christianity, and the loss of their Celtic languages. Ironically it is through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that what we do know of their belie ...

Including:

Celtic mythology - Historical sources
Celtic mythology - Julius Caesar’s comments on Celtic Religion and their significance
Celtic mythology - Branches of Celtic mythology Celtic mythology - Celtic deities
Celtic mythology - The gods of the ancient Celts Celtic mythology - The gods of Ireland Celtic mythology - The gods of Wales Celtic mythology - The Dagda Celtic mythology - The Morrígan Celtic mythology - Belenus Celtic mythology - Lúgh/Lug Celtic mythology - Other gods
Celtic mythology - Temples Celtic mythology - Celtic worship Celtic mythology - The druids
Celtic mythology - Significance of Prophecy in Druidic Ritual
Celtic mythology - Modern remnants
Celtic mythology - Druidism?

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The words Celt and Celtic can have a variety of meanings. Sometimes a pronunciation distinction is maintained - see Pronunciation of Celtic. The following may be pronounced either /kelt(ik)/ or /selt(ik)/, but in academic use there is a clear preference for /kelt(ik)/: the European Celtic people, either ancient or Modern Celts the Celtic languages, descending from the Proto-Celtic language, spoken by these people and their modern descendants Celtic mythology the Celti ...

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Celtic polytheism (also called Druidic polytheism) is the term for the religious beliefs and practices of the ancient Celts. Celtic polytheism - Extent of Celtic polytheism. As the religion of the ancient Celts, the shifts in the fortunes of Celtic Polytheism coincided with those of its people. The Celts, like other ancient Indo-European peoples, practised a form of polytheism, which reached the apogee of its influence and territorial expansion during the 4th century BC, extending across the length o ...

Including:

Celtic polytheism - Extent of Celtic polytheism Celtic polytheism - Research Celtic polytheism - Syncretism with other forms of polytheism Celtic polytheism - Cosmology and eschatology Celtic polytheism - Worship Celtic polytheism - Religious castes
Celtic polytheism - Druids Celtic polytheism - Bards and filid
Celtic polytheism - Festivals
Celtic polytheism - Beltane Celtic polytheism - Samhain
Celtic polytheism - Cults within Celtic polytheism
Celtic polytheism - Cult of Lugus-Mercurius Celtic polytheism - Cults of tribalism lordly power and thunderous force Celtic polytheism - Cult of radiance or healing Celtic polytheism - Cult of youthful masculinity Celtic polytheism - Cult of thermal spring-water Celtic polytheism - Cult of impressiveness Celtic polytheism - Cult of exaltedness Celtic polytheism - Cult of Sucellos Celtic polytheism - Cults of maritime forces Celtic polytheism - Cults of craftsmanship Celtic polytheism - Cults of agricultural gods Celtic polytheism - Cult of terrestrial bounty Celtic polytheism - Cult of the power of boggy terrain Celtic polytheism - Cult of maternity Celtic polytheism - Cults of femininity & majesty Celtic polytheism - Cults of cyclicality in nature Celtic polytheism - Cult of the trinitarian war-goddess Celtic polytheism - Cults of fluvial water Celtic polytheism - Cult of the stag’s vitality Celtic polytheism - Cult of the bullish vitality Celtic polytheism - Cult of horse power and horsemanship
Celtic polytheism - Deities Celtic polytheism - The effect of Christianity Celtic polytheism - Literature

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The term Celtic calendar is used to refer to a variety of calendars used by Celtic-speaking peoples at different times in history. Celtic calendar - Neolithic Calendar?. A neolithic engraved stone found at Knowth, Ireland, may be a graphical representation of a lunar calendar. While pre-dating the Celts, Brennan (1994) speculates that it operates on the same principle as the Coligny calendar. Irish calendar, Celtic art Celtic calendar - Continental Celt ...

Including:

Celtic calendar - Neolithic Calendar? Celtic calendar - Continental Celtic Calendar Celtic calendar - Mediaeval Irish and Welsh Calendars Celtic calendar - Neo-Pagan calendars

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The Celtic languages are the languages descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", spoken by ancient and modern Celts alike. The Celtic languages are a family of the greater Indo-European language field. Anciently, during the 1st millennium BC, they were spoken across Europe, from the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea, up the Rhine and down the Danube to the Black Sea and the Upper Balkan Peninsula, and into Asia Minor (Galatia). Today, Celtic languages are now limited to a few enclaves in the British Isles, eastern Canada, Patagonia, scattered groups in the United States and ...

Including:

Celtic languages - Classification Celtic languages - Characteristics of Celtic languages Celtic languages - Mixed languages

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The Celts practised human sacrifice on a limited scale as part of their religious rituals. Animal sacrifice was more commonplace along with ritual deposition of tools, weapons and jewelry. The evidence for human sacrifices comes from: Writings by Romans and Greeks often at second hand or hearsay Irish medieval texts Archaeological data All these sources are, however, open to interpretation and subject to bias. Julius Caesar wrote in his Gallic Wars: [The Gauls] believ ...

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This article is about the ancient form of Christianity in Britain and Ireland, which was addressed at the Synod of Whitby[citation needed] in 664 in an attempt to reconcile it with the Roman rite. The existence of a Celtic Church, or a Celtic Catholic Church (also known as "Culdee Church"), is generally agreed upon by Roman sources but highly debated among scholars. Celtic Christianity - What is Celtic Christianity?. Celtic Christianity, or The Celtic Church, is thought to be a form ...

Including:

Celtic Christianity - What is Celtic Christianity? Celtic Christianity - The Debate about the Church's Existence
Celtic Christianity - Antiquity of the Celtic Church: Tradition & Legend Celtic Christianity - Antiquity of the Celtic Church: Known and Generally Accepted
Celtic Christianity - Ecclesiastical Structure: How separate was the Celtic church? Celtic Christianity - Differences from the rest of Catholicism Celtic Christianity - The Easter problem Celtic Christianity - Celtic Saints Celtic Christianity - Celtic Christianity today

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The social structure of Iron Age Celtic society was highly developed. It was a tribal society that was bonded together by a complex system of laws and social customs. The established body of Law was known as 'Fenechas', the law of the Feine (Freemen), or more commonly, the Brehon Laws. This body served the People for centuries. The most common body of Brehon Laws was codified in 438, by the order of Laighaire, a High King of Ireland. The proceedings by which this work was done by three Kings, three Brehona (Recitors of the Law), and t ...

Including:

Celtic law - Sources

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The Celtic Revival, also known as the Irish Literary Revival, was begun by Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and William Butler Yeats in Ireland in 1896. The Revival stimulated new appreciation of traditional Irish literature. The movement also encouraged the creation of works written in the spirit of Irish culture, as distinct from English culture. See also. Gaelic Revival Abbey Theatre Modern Celts ...

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Celtic Football Club, more commonly referred to simply as Celtic (pronounced 'seltik'), is one of the world's most famous football clubs. Based in the Scottish city of Glasgow, the club is officially nicknamed the Bhoys, or unofficially the Hoops. Together with their city rivals Rangers, they have dominated Scottish football for over 100 years as part of the Old Firm, forming one o ...

Including:

Celtic F.C. - History Celtic F.C. - Celtic and the media Celtic F.C. - An anti-Celtic agenda? Celtic F.C. - Recent Achievements
Celtic F.C. - 2003-2004 Celtic F.C. - 2004-2005 Celtic F.C. - 2005-2006
Celtic F.C. - Club records Celtic F.C. - Honours Celtic F.C. - All time scorers Celtic F.C. - Current squad Celtic F.C. - Celtic managers Celtic F.C. - Famous Celts Celtic F.C. - Famous Celtic fans

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Celtic Wicca is a synthesis of Wicca with Celtic or Celtic-inspired traditions. Some Celtic Wiccans claim that the tradition is an ancient practice, which originated in the British Isles and has not been attributed to one teacher. Other Celtic Wiccans, and most mainstream scholarship, views Celtic Wicca as derived from Wicca combined with elements from attempted reconstructions of ancient Celtic religions. Wicca as established by Gardner contained Celtic elements, along with elements from many other cultures. Celtic Wicc ...

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Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism (CR) is a Neopagan religious movement. It is an effort to reconstruct, in a modern context, an ancient Celtic religious framework. Neopagan reconstructionists have been around since the 1970s but little of it has been specifically Celtic. Many of the people who went on to establish CR were involved in Neopagan groups in the seventies and eighties. Often these groups contained many Celtic elements that eventually found their way into core CR practice. This period, and these groups, are often ref ...

Including:

Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism - First Modern Appearance of the Term and Other Historical Data Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism - Celtic Reconstructionism and Neo-Druidry Celtic Reconstructionist Paganism - Bibliography

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Celtic knots are a variety of (endless) knots and stylized graphical representations of knots used for decoration, first known to have been used by the Celts. Though Celtic knots were being created in pre-Christian times, these knots are most known for their use in the ornamentation of Christian monuments and manuscripts like the 8th century Book of Kells. Celtic knot - History. Not much history of the knots is available before the beginning of the Christian influence on the Celts in about A.D. 450. There i ...

Including:

Celtic knot - History Celtic knot - Significance

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