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The term Celt, normally pronounced "kɛlt", now refers primarily to a member of any of a number of peoples in Europe using the Celtic languages, which form a branch of the Indo-European languages. It can refer in a wider sense to a user of celtic culture. However, in ancient times the term 'celt' was used either to refer generally to barbarians in north-western Europe or to specific groups of tribes in the Iberian Peninsula and Gaul. The focus of this article is the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe, for the Celts of the present day see Modern Celts.
Although today restricted to the Atlantic coast of Western Europe, the so-called "Celtic fringe", Celtic languages were once predominant over much of Europe, from Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to northern Italy and Serbia in the east. Archaeological and historical sources show that at their maximum extent in the third century BC, Celtic peoples were also present in areas of Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.
The term Celt has been adopted as a label of self-identity for a variety of peoples at different times. However, it does not seem to have been used to refer to Celtic language speakers as a whole before the 18th century. In ancient times it was primarily used by Greeks and Romans as a label for groups of people who were distinguished from others by cultural characteristics.
Celticity refers to the concept which links these peoples. Historically, theories were developed that similar language, material artifacts, social organisation and mythological factors were indicative of a common racial origin, but later theories of culture spreading to differing indigenous peoples have discredited these theories. The current concept of a common cultural heritage has recently been supported by some genetic studies which show that populations consist of people with many origins.The Celtic culture seems to have had numerous diverse characteristics, thus the only commonality between these diverse peoples was the use of one of the Celtic languages.
The term Celtic as a noun means the family of languages but as an adjective it has the meaning "of the Celts" or "in the style of the Celts". The article on Celtic links to a number of applications of this term. It has also been used to refer to several archaeological cultures, defined by unique sets of artifacts. The link between language and artifacts is nothing more than assumption unless inscriptions are present. Thus the term Celtic is reserved by linguists for the language family but is commonly used to denote both linguistic and cultural groups.
The Celts themselves had an intricate, indigenous polytheistic religion and distinctive material and social culture. In the Iron Age they were spread from the Iberian Peninsula to Turkey and ancient Iberia at Caucasus, but their urheimat is a matter of controversy. Traditionally, scholars have placed the Celtic homeland in what is now southern Germany and Austria, associating the earliest Celtic peoples with the Hallstatt culture. However, modern linguistic studies seem to point to a north Balkan origin. The expansion of the Roman Empire from the south and the Germanic tribes from the north and east spelt the end of Celtic culture on the European mainland where Brittany alone maintained its Celtic language and identity, probably due to later immigrants from Great Britain. Julius Caesar described the term "Celt" as the word used by the people of central France (only) to refer to themselves, the Roman name being Gauls. The known names of Celtic peoples are given in the list of Celtic tribes.
The eventual development of Celtic Christianity in Ireland and Britain brought an early medieval renaissance of Celtic art between 400 and 1200, only ended by the Norman Conquest of Ireland in the late 12th century. Notable works produced during this period include the Book of Kells and the Ardagh Chalice. Antiquarian interest from the 17th century led to the term Celt being extended, and rising nationalism brought Celtic revivals from the 19th century in areas where the use of Celtic languages had continued.
Today, the term Celtic is often used to describe the languages and respective cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Brittany, regions where four Celtic languages are still spoken by minorities today as mother tongues, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton plus two recent revivals, Cornish (one of the Brythonic languages) and Manx (one of the Goidelic languages). It is also used for other regions from the Continental Europe of Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language has survived, which include the northern Iberian Peninsula (northern Portugal, and the Spanish historical regions of Galicia, Asturias and Cantabria), and in a lesser degree, France. (see the Modern Celts article)
The term Continental Celt refers to the celtic speaking people of mainland Europe, excluding Brittany which is a special case. The term insular celt refers to the people of Britain and Ireland.
The term Atlantic Celt had been introduced to refer to people in Iberia, France, Ireland and Britain with a celtic heritage. However, it has been asserted that since the assumption that there is a genetic link between Atlantic and Continental Celts.
In the last two decades of the twentieth century, multidisciplinary studies were brought to bear on the history of the Celts. Disciplines such as ancient history, palaeolinguistics, historical linguistics, archaeology, history of art, anthropology, population genetics, history of religion, ethnology, mythology and folklore studies all had an influence on celtic studies.
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