© Getty Images

The Celts - When you think of the Celts, your mind might jump to a barbaric group of people who are aggressive and not sophisticated. But on the contrary: the stereotype of a Celt is vastly outdated.

© Getty Images

Not one people - The Celts were not actually one people. They are now regarded as many tribes who shared a similar belief system, language, culture, and tradition.

© Getty Images

Europe - Even though Celts are often thought of as being specifically tied to Ireland and the UK, they actually originated in central Europe.

© Getty Images

The beginning - The Celtic culture is estimated to have begun in 1200 BCE. They soon spread throughout Europe. You can see traces of their language and culture in places like Galicia in Spain and Brittany in France.

© Getty Images

Records - The Celts didn’t have a written language until near the end of their existence. Therefore, most of what we know of them has been through other people writing about them.

© Getty Images

Records -

The first account comes from the seventh or eighth century BCE. The Roman Empire referred to them as Galli, which means "barbarian." However, they definitely were not.

© Getty Images

Europe - The Celts ruled over most of Europe in the 3rd century BCE. Everywhere north of the Alps belonged to Celtic peoples. This includes modern-day UK and Ireland.

© Getty Images

Pushed out -

In the 1st century BCE, Julius Caesar launched a campaign against the Celts. Historians used to think it was because they were a threat. Now it is thought that the fight was more to make Julius Caesar look good.

© Getty Images 

Pushed out - The Celts were pushed out of Europe by the Roman armies, forced into the Western islands of Britain and Ireland. Julius Caesar attempted to invade these islands, but failed.

© Getty Images

Prosperity -

After the 1st century BCE, the Celts prospered in Britain and Ireland, hence why there is a much stronger Celtic legacy there today. 

In order to understand who exactly the Celts were and their legacy, we need to understand the different prominent sects around Europe. Let’s start with the Galatians.

© Getty Images

The Gallaeci -

During the Hellenistic period (323-31 BCE), some Celts resided in the Asturias region of northern Spain. They were successful in fighting off the Romans and the Moors until the Romans assimilated them into the Empire.

© Getty Images

The Gallaeci - From 189 BCE, the Roman Empire sent someone to watch over the Gallaeci. However, they still kept their traditions and some exist even today. For example, the regional flag of Asturias uses the Celtic symbol Cruz de la Victoria.

© Getty Images

The Galatians - The Galatians also settled in Galicia. These days you will still find Celtic festivals with bagpipe playing and traditional ancient dancing.

© Getty Images

The Britons -

Two of the most known tribes, the Gauls and the Britons, settled in Brittany, France. Historians believe that Celtic traditions survived in Brittany because it is geographically isolated.

© Getty Images

Brittany - Nowadays, Celtic traditions still remain in Brittany. At festivals, you will see some Bretons wearing coiffes, hats made of lace. Some of them also speak a Celtic language similar to Welsh called Breton.

© Getty Images

Romans - After the death of Julius Caesar (44 BCE), the Romans mounted another attack to push the Celts out of Brittany. The tribes migrated from Brittany to Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland.

© Getty Images

Hadrian’s Wall - The Romans even built a huge wall, Hadrian’s Wall, to protect themselves from the angry Celts. The wall lies on the border between England and Scotland.

© Getty Images

Language - The language differed depending on the tribe. However, they are all quite similar. In Wales, the Celts spoke what we know as Welsh, but they called it Cymru.

© Getty Images

Language - In Cornwall they spoke Cornish, in Scotland they spoke Scottish Gaelic, and in Ireland they spoke Irish. The minority still speak these languages. In Ireland, Irish is still taught at school.

© Getty Images

Religion - As there are few written texts about the Celts from the time, it is difficult to say exactly what their religion was. Historians believe that they practiced Celtic paganism. It's a polytheistic religion, which means they worshipped many gods.

© Getty Images

Celtic paganism -

From the evidence, researchers deduct that the Celts worshipped deities that were related to nature. Although they had temples, their rituals took place outside near places of natural beauty.

© Getty Images

Romanisation - When the Romans finally conquered some Celtic tribes in mainland Europe, Celtic society became more Roman. Consequently, the Celtic religion morphed to synthesize parts of the Christian tradition.

© Getty Images

The Druids - You may be familiar with the term Druid from films and games such as Dungeons and Dragons, but the reality of the Druid class was a little different.

© Getty Images

The Druids -

There is no evidence to suggest that they were priests or magicians of any sort. The texts left behind, which are mostly Greek and Roman, suggest that the Druids were more like intellectual leaders of the educated class.

© Getty Images

Culture -

The Celts had a spoken literary tradition and so, while they did not write much down, their culture was rich with myths and folklore. You may be familiar with the famous story of Boudica.

© Getty Images

Boudica - The Celtic myth tells of a woman, Boudica, who leads an uprising against the Roman Empire in 60 CE. The uprising fails and so she poisons herself. She is seen as a British folk hero and is the inspiration for many films and art.

© Getty Images

Demise - The Celts ultimately disappeared because the different tribes could not unite against the might of the Roman Empire. Although some survived in enclaves of Britain and Ireland, the majority became Roman.

© Getty Images

Still a mystery -

Unfortunately, the 'best' sources about the Celts were written by the Greeks and Romans. They had much reason to present them as savages. Therefore, the true nature of Celtic society is unknown to us.

Sources: (Britannica) (History) (The Guardian)

See also: Sun worshippers: the history of the summer solstice

© Getty Images