The Celts: Origins, Myths and Inventions

by John Collis

We use the word ‘Celtic’ fast and loose – it evokes something mythical and romantic about our past – but what exactly does it mean? Furthermore, why do people believe that there were Celts in Britain and what relationship do they have to the ancient Celts?This fascinating book focuses particularly on how the Celts were re-invented in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and how the legacy of mistaken interpretations still affects the way we understand the ancient sources and archaeological evidence.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Anthropology, Archaeology

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Rindis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been on my to-read/to-get list long enough that I don't remember just how it got there. Certainly in the period when I was looking a lot more at early Europe.

It isn't quite the book I'd been expecting, which would more be a history of the ancient Celts. This is instead a treatise trying to get at what was (is?) an ancient Celt. To that end, he spends a fair amount of time going over what the ancient authors said about Celts, and the history of the idea of the idea of the Celts from the Seventeenth Century on.

For someone studying the Iron Age in Western and Central Europe, this book may well be a must-get simply because he has a very good catalog of Ancient and Classical authors in historical order, to show what Greeks and Romans thought/knew about the Celts and how that changed over time. He also has a good summary of the history of Modern thought on the Ancient Celts.

That last doesn't quite say 'and here's where it all went wrong', but that is some of the intent. Collis dates to the wave of scholarship that discounted the 'fall' of Late Antiquity, and those sentiments do lead him to have some very pertinent questions about pre-Roman Europe, and the traditional maps showing La Tene 'Celts' invading and conquering large portions of Europe. He doesn't, naturally, have any hard and fast answers on what the proper reconstruction should be, but he does also provide a summary of the types of finds in various regions, and has some things to say about chronology. It was a bit dense for me, with my minimal background, but its yet another good catalog of data in one place in this book.

And really, despite his discussions of certain topics throughout the book, that's what the primary purpose is: reference. Ancient authors on the Celts, modern authors on the Celts, archaeological finds of the... possibly not Celt, but identified with them La Tene and Halstatt cultures, are all nicely cataloged in here, and that's why someone studying the subject should have this book. It will save a lot of hunting.

And La Tene and Halstatt are the core of the trouble. Archaeologists see the same types of goods in two places and start assuming they must share the same 'culture' (and the drift in the use of that word in archaeology is where things start to go wrong), despite differences in other goods, and differences in the evolution of patterns (types of burials, etc). The pre-WWII habit of equating culture -> people -> ethnicity was roundly dropped in the 40s to 50s in ancient Germanic studies, and Collis sees a need to do the same thing for the contemporary Celtic studies.

So, it's a well-constructed book, and important in many ways, but it was hitting a little above my specialty level. Other people with casual interest will find it rough going, but anyone diving at all deeper should have it just for the compendiums even if they disagree with the arguments.

[Maya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please read my review at Celtic Scholar's Reviews and Opinions

[Joan Barden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book even though Collis himself wrote that it was intended for archaeologists. I got bogged down occasionally on descriptions of artifacts and different methodologies but on the whole it was readable and informative about the history of archaeology and its underlying beliefs. It really made you think about how you are influenced by thoughts of others especially historically without ever examining them. I am not sure at this point what I believe about the idea of Celtic origins and distribution but welcome the thought that I can study and make up my own mind. His points about the use of archaeology being used by some groups to foster racism both by well observed examples as in 1940's Germany and in small examples of individuals, families and entrenched government practices are important to be aware of and resist. I will read my favorite writer of archaeology more carefully in the future. It took me a long time to read this book with many breaks to read quicker fiction but I am glad I persevered. I will keep the book to refer to as I read other books of this nature.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really great study of how assumptions get woven into a master narrative that can trap even the best scholars. Using the written sources, archeology, art history, linguistics, and DNA, Collis shows that our assumptions about who “the Celts” were rest on shaky foundations, often assuming that artistic styles and language constitute a “people.” For example, for some time it has been accepted that the “La Tène” style of artifacts represents the coming of “the Celts” into a given area populated by another people who used the “Hallstatt” style. Collis painstakingly demonstrates how the categories themselves are problematic in identifying “a people” and how there is often more continuity between the two styles than has previously been assumed. Because Collis does do this painstakingly, at times the onslaught of information can be dizzying, but it is a wonderful introduction to the great complexities of understanding Iron Age history.

[Ben Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well researched.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this monograph looking for something of a general treatment on the celts. Perhaps rightly the book takes a strongly archaeological focus but I felt this was somewhat at the expense of an historical one. It also draws a lot of parallels with modern concepts of race and ethnography the relevance of which I am not certain all readers would agree with.