3611
Online museum and repository for historical and ancestral knowledge.
Map of Ireland by Greek polymath Claudius Ptolemy, circa AD 140. 🇮🇪 This would be the oldest known, and likely first ever, map of Ireland.
Ptolemy’s map shows places, features and peoples that are recognizable today, as well as from later Irish literature and other historical sources. The rivers Boyne and Shannon, for example, are clearly marked out as “Buvinda” and “Senus”. Peoples such as the Iverni, Auteini, Nagnatae, Voluntii, Darini, and Robogdii can clearly be identified in later Irish literature. They correspond —in order— to the Érainn of Munster, the Uaithni of Munster, the Fir Ól nÉchmacht who once ruled Connacht, the Ulaid who gave their name to Ulster, the Dál Fiatach, who were an Ulster branch of the Érainn, known as “Dáirine”, while the Robogdii would seem to be the Clanna Rudraige of the mythological Ulster Cycle (they later split into the Dál nAraide, Uí Echach Cobo, and Conaille Muirtheimne). In the case of settlements, it’s a bit less clear. Rhegia (“royal seat”?) in the north might be the Emain Macha of the Ulster Cycle, and Rhaeba has been speculated to be the royal seat of Connacht, Crúachan Aí, also called Ráth Crúachain. Nagnata on the west coast would seem to be Sligo. The site of Eblana north of the Liffey estuary is likely Loughshinny, where there appears to have been a Roman trading outpost. Macolicum might correspond to Emly, which was an important royal seat in Munster before being overshadowed by Cashel.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ptolemy seems to attest extensive colonization of Ireland by Brythonic Celts. Thus we find the Brigantes of northern England/southern Scotland also living in south Leinster. The Venicnii shown in what’s now county Donegal would seem to correspond to the Pictish Venicones of Angus and the Mearns in Scotland. The Gangani of southwest Ireland are also attested in Ptolemy’s map of Britain, living on the Llyn peninsula of Wales, though it’s just as possible that they represent an Irish community in Britain. Finally, the Manapi shown around the Liffey estuary —with an eponymous settlement near where Dún Laoghaire would be today— have been speculated to be Manx settlers, as Pliny the Elder recorded the Isle of Man as “Monapia”.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Pictish symbol stone depicting a battle against Anglo-Saxon invaders, from the churchyard of Aberlemno, in Angus; Scotland. 🏴⚔️🏴
The stone is thought to depict the Battle of Dún Nechtáin, fought on May 20 of the year AD 685, between the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria and the Pictish Kingdom of Foirtriu. Northumbria had been extending its power northward into Scotland, trying to subdue and annex the whole of northern Britain. Resistance seems to have coalesced around the Pictish king of Foirtriu, Bridei III, son of Beli. The Anglian king Ecgfrith, son of Oswiu, led an immense army into Scotland in hopes of finally crushing that resistance. According to the English historian Bede, the Picts lured the Anglo-Saxon army deep into Scotland to a pre-selected battlefield, where it was defeated and cut to pieces in one of the bloodiest battles of that entire period. Ecgfrith himself was killed —the stone seems to show him in the lower right, being eaten by a raven— along with his entire army. The Picts not only shook off Northumbrian domination, they permanently broke the kingdom’s power; Northumbria would never again achieve hegemony in Britain.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
☝🏻A shout out to my friends over at @novaultreia 🇪🇸
Читать полностью…
A pair of swords —still in their bronze scabbards— were recently unearthed from a Gallic necropolis near Creuzier-le-Neuf, in Auvergne, France; 4th or 3rd century B.C. ⚜️🇫🇷 The scabbards were decorated in La Tène style, with the shorter sword also featuring swastikas. The longer weapon was accompanied by a set of rings; part of the belt contraption attaching it to the belt.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Stone carving on a lintel of Cong Abbey, in county Galway, Ireland. 🇮🇪 The carving is a portrait of High King of Ireland Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair (Anglicized: Rory O’Connor).
O’Connor was High King from 1166-1198, being the second of his line to hold the title. His father, Toirdelbach, had been the first king of Connacht in several centuries to achieve pre-eminence and gain the title of High King (1119-1156). What Ruaidrí’s reign is most remembered for was that the Normans invaded Ireland for the first time. They came at the behest of king Diarmaid mac Murchadha (Anglicized: Dermot McMurrough) of Leinster, whom O’Connor and his allies had ousted from Ireland. O’Connor’s response to the English invasions is considered to have been generally incompetent. He suffered an embarrassing defeat when he besieged them in Dublin in the year 1171, then submitted to king Henry II of England later that same year when the latter crossed over to exact obedience from the Norman barons who’d been carrying out the conquest. O’Connor was able to somewhat redeem himself three years later, when he teamed up with king Domnall Ua Briain (Anglicized: Donal O’Brien) of Thomond to inflict a devastating defeat on the Normans at the Battle of Thurles, thus crushing their attempt to conquer north Munster. But the following year, O’Connor accepted the Treaty of Windsor, again submitting to Henry II and agreeing to pay tribute, in exchange for England agreeing not to claim any Irish lands beyond the province of Leinster. Individual Norman barons did not respect the treaty and continued invading Irish lands and interfering in Irish affairs, leading to much back and forth bloodshed.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Bronze pin/garment fastener with terminal in the shape of a human head, found among the ruins of the Gallic town of Manching, in Bavaria, Germany; 2nd or 1st century B.C. 🇩🇪
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Bronze age treasure hoard; 14.9 kilos of gold found at Caldas de Reis, in Galicia, Spain; 16th century B.C. 🇪🇸
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Iron scissors found at the ancient Gallic town of Manching, in Bavaria, Germany; 2nd century B.C. 🇩🇪
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Rannoch Moor looking toward Glen Etive and Glencoe, in Argyll, Scotland. 🏴
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Carved stone stele from Lombera, in Cantabria province, Spain; 1st century B.C. 🇪🇸
The reverse side of the stone displays a five-armed swastika, while the obverse shows a (solar?) symbol known today as a lábaro. Stones with lábaro carvings are known only from Cantabria, so the symbol has come to be associated with the province. It’s believed the name stems from a Celtic word meaning “speech” or “to speak” (i.e. like Old Irish labrad). It’s also thought that the symbol came to be displayed on standards of the Roman army made up of Cantabrian auxiliaries. Christian apologists Tertullian and Minucius Felix mentioned pagan Roman veneration of military standards, among which they list a type known as cantabra. Their descriptions imply that these were cross-shaped, and it has thus been conjectured that this refers to the X-like shape of the symbol found on the stones. A Roman legal treatise, the Codex Theodosianus, also mentions standards called labarum (whence we get the modern term “lábaro”) that were carried by standard-bearers known as cantabrarii. It’s likely that it was describing the same thing, labarum and cantabra being different terms for the same type of standard. Nonetheless, that the symbol found on the stones would have been the same one displayed on the standards, remains unproven.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Seal impression of king Llewelyn the Great, son of Iorwerth of Gwynedd (1195-1240). 🏴 From a charter dated 25 November 1209, in which the king granted land to the monks of Strata Marcella in Powys, Wales. The king is shown as an armored knight charging into battle.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
View from the ascent to Pico Tres Mares; Palencia and Cantabria provinces, Spain. 🇪🇸
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Irish ring-pommel swords in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. 🇮🇪 The central piece is a replica of a sword from a private collection, dating to the 16th century. It is an Irish version of a German longsword. The other two would date to an earlier period, probably 14th century.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
The Corlea Trackway (Irish: Bóthar Chorr Liath; “Road of the Grey Crane/Heron”), in county Longford, Ireland. 🇮🇪 First image is a modern reconstruction.
Based on tree-ring studies of the wooden planks, it’s known that the Corlea Trackway was built around 148-147 B.C. The ancients bridged a large marsh with a wooden track made from large oak planks, 3 to 3.5 meters long, placed over two rails of (mostly) birchwood. The track was around 1km long, leading to an island in the middle of the bog, from where another track of similar size was built that would take the traveler to dry land. The trackway was remembered in the tale Tochmarc Étaíne, where we find the Irish king Eochu Airem (“Eochu the Plowman”) winning wagered games of fidchell (Celtic chess) against the otherworldly being Midir, and demanding that he carry out certain tasks to make good on their agreement. One such task was the building of a road across a bog, known as the Móin Lámraige.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Iron weapons from the cremation burial of a Celtiberian warrior, found near San Miguel de Bernuy, in Segovia province, Spain; 4th century B.C. 🇪🇸 The finds included a shield-boss, Bernorio-Miraveche type dagger and sheath, javelin, spearhead, a piece of unknown purpose, and a brooch.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
The Vercors Massif viewed from the west, in the Drôme Department of France; iconic lavender fields of southern France in the foreground. ⚜️🇫🇷 Part of the Prealps, or Alpine Foothills, the Vercors still bears the name of Gallic tribe who inhabited the region: the Vertamocorii, an offshoot of the Vocontii.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Pictish carved stone featuring a wild boar, together with what appears to be a “mirror and case” symbol; 7th century AD. 🏴 The stone was found on a farm just south of Inverness, Scotland, and the boar is nearly identical to one found carved on a stone among the ruins of Dunadd —the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Dàl Riata— located in Argyll.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Golden helmet decorated with solar and lunar symbols, found at Leiro in Galicia province, Spain; 9th century B.C. 🇪🇸
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
The White Caterthun, hill-fort with massive stone ramparts in Angus, Scotland; believed to have been built and inhabited between the 1st and 4th centuries AD 🏴
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
The Houelt Cross, found inside the monastery of Llantwit Major (Welsh: Llanilltud Fawr; “St. Illtud’s Great Church”), in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales; 9th century AD. 🏴
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
The town of Jedburgh, in the Scottish Borders. 🏴🏴🏴 Pictures include the famous Abbey and Castle, both originally founded by king David I of Scotland (AD 1124-1153); the current ruins/buildings are later constructions.
Jedburgh has been identified by some as the Urbs Iudeu mentioned by Bede in his account of the AD 655 Battle of the Winwaed, a conflict between rival Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. Penda of Mercia —at the head of a huge army that included Welsh allies and also kings Aethelhere of East Anglia and Aethelwald of Deira—besieged Oswiu of Bernicia there. In a desperate situation, Oswiu offered his submission and a huge treasure to Penda if he’d spare him and grant him peace. Penda at length accepted and marched home, distributing the treasure among his Welsh allies. But Oswiu hastily assembled an army and went in pursuit, catching Penda unawares at the river Winwaed, somewhere in northern England. Before the encounter, the Welsh king of Gwynedd, Cadafael, son of Cynfeddw, abandoned Penda and marched home, earning the nickname Cadomedd (“battle-shirker”). Likewise, Aethelwald of Deira withdrew his forces and watched the battle from a distance. In the midst of heavy rain, Penda’s army was cut to pieces, with many drowning in the river. He himself was killed, as was Arthelhere of East Anglia and thirty of their top commanders. The battle was a turning point in England, as it marked the demise of Anglo-Saxon paganism; the pagan Penda having been defeated by a much smaller Christian army persuaded most people to embrace the new faith as that of a triumphant, more powerful God. Oswiu (who’d spent much of his life in Scotland and Ireland and spoke fluent Gaelic) became the most powerful king in all of Britain. His nephew Talorgan, son of Eanfrith, ruled as king of the Picts and helped Oswiu establish a degree of dominance over Scotland. Talorgan may have even helped Oswiu by sending a Pictish contingent to fight at Winwaed as well, though this is unknown. Oswiu also went on to destroy the Welsh kingdom of Pengwern in the English midlands, since it had helped Penda in the past, particularly in the killing of his brother king Oswald of Northumbria at the 642 Battle of Maserfield.
Many centuries later, the region of the Scottish Borders would be reconquered from the Northumbrians by the Kingdom of Scotland. The Scottish kings built up Jedburgh and even occasionally used it as a royal residence.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/education/how-to-learn-irish-for-free
Читать полностью…
Resources for learning Scottish Gaelic: 🏴
https://learngaelic.net/lg-beginners/index.jsp
https://speakgaelic.scot
http://www.gaidhliggachlatha.com
Have fun and share!
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Genetic data suggests the Celts are very much still alive and present, not merely in the British Isles, but also on the European continent, particularly in France and Spain, and even in Portugal, Wallonia, Switzerland and Southwest Germany.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
8th century AD brooch from Bettystown, county Meath, Ireland. Known as the “Tara brooch”, it is regarded as the finest piece of insular metalwork ever produced. The brooch is made from gilt silver with enamel and amber fittings; some parts are also made of copper-alloy. It is now displayed at the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin. 🇮🇪
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Bronze wine flagons from the burial of a Gallic chieftain at Basse-Yutz, in the Moselle department of France; 5th century B.C. ⚜️🇫🇷 The vessels display some Etruscan influence in addition to the overall La Tène style, as well as animal motifs (wolves and ducks). They are inlaid with 120 pieces of red coral and glass and were coated with resin on the inside to make them watertight.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Pictish symbol stone depicting a salmon and a bird (probably an eagle; broken off at top), from Achtercairn, in Wester Ross, Scotland; 7th century AD. 🏴
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Romanche valley, in the Dauphiné Alps of France; glacier-covered La Meije in the background. ⚜️🇫🇷
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Pre-Roman peoples of northern Italy and the Alps. 🇮🇹🇫🇷🇨🇭🇱🇮🇦🇹🇸🇮🇭🇷
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope
Modern reenactors as 14th century Breton knights. 🇫🇷 Location unknown, possibly Russia.
Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): /channel/CelticEurope