The Celtic World

by Jennifer Paxton

Following the surge of interest and pride in Celtic identity since the 19th century, much of what we thought we knew about the Celts has been radically transformed. From the warriors who nearly defeated Julius Caesar to druids who, contrary to popular opinion, definitely did not worship at Stonehenge, get to know the real Celts.

In The Celtic World, discover the incredible story of the Celtic-speaking peoples, whose art, language, and culture once spread from Ireland to Austria. This series of 24 enlightening lectures explains the traditional historical view of who the Celts were, then contrasts it with brand-new evidence from DNA analysis and archeology that totally changes our perspective on where the Celts came from. European history and culture have been profoundly affected by the Celts, from the myth of King Arthur to the very map of the United Kingdom, where the English confronted the peoples of the "Celtic Fringe."

Listening Length: 12 hours and 52 minutes

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Ireland, Historical, Anthropology, Mythology

13 pages, Audible Audio

First published March 31, 2018

About the author

Dr. Jennifer Paxton is Professorial Lecturer in History at Georgetown University, where she has taught for more than a decade, and Visiting Assistant Professor of History at The Catholic University of America. The holder of a doctorate in history from Harvard University, where she has also taught and earned a Certificate of Distinction, Professor Paxton is both a widely published award-winning writer and a highly regarded scholar, earning both a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities and a Frank Knox Memorial Traveling Fellowship. She lectures regularly on medieval history at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia, and has also been invited to speak on British history at the Smithsonian Institution and the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. Professor Paxton’s research focuses on England from the reign of King Alfred to the late 12th century, particularly the intersection between the authority of church and state and the representation of the past in historical texts, especially those produced by religious communities. She is currently completing a book, Chronicle and Community in Twelfth Century England, that will be published by Oxford University Press. It examines how monastic historians shaped their narratives to project present polemical concerns onto the past.

Jennifer is the daughter of well-known folk singer Tom Paxton.

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was getting close to St. Patrick’s Day and invitations had been accepted, “wearing of the green” had been anticipated, thus my thoughts were turned to Irish celebrations. I had meant to start The Celtic World and this seemed like a good time to push ahead.

Paxton offers us 24 lectures and I found them both interesting and entertaining. She is head of the Honors Program at Catholic University and a good lecturer as well. Early on she states: “The story we had for a long time was of a single, unified cultural group that emerged in the central part of Europe, migrated westward, and were finally all but pushed off the continent by conflict with Roman legions and Germanic tribes. However, over the past several decades, new research in archaeology, linguistics, and even DNA has revealed surprising new information—and raised quite a few more questions—about who the Celts really were and are.”

She also concedes that knowledge can be advanced (in the absence of answers) just by knowing that the old answers are no longer useful or correct. In these lectures, she does a very good job of organization; something that isn’t easy. Though we cover over 2000 years of history and touch on Brittany, Spain and even the Greek Islands, it is a coherent presentation that gives us a full sense of The Celtic World. (And, may inspire you toward further investigation in a number of directions.)

I learned a great deal about language and culture and some lectures were particularly “useful.” For instance, “Celtic Britain after Rome” was a nice addition to the historical novels I had been reading of that period. I also learned a lot about the Welsh in addition to a great deal of new material about the Scots and Irish. This is a fine series and well-worth the time.

[Desirae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a big subject, in fact part of me wishes this had either been expanded into a 46 lecture course, or even divided into two or three different courses focusing in turn on each perspective area.

Nevertheless, I loved everything going on here. Everything from Vercengetrix (Rix - meaning ruler/king) down to the Tudor troubles with the seemingly forgotten Shane O'Neill. I also loved learning more about Macbeth (the man himself) and how it was ultimately the Scot's themselves who turned him into dark, blood-thirsty king of Shakespeare's "Scottish Play," as well as further illumination on William Wallace and the Braveheart film. Professor Paxton did lay all her cards in the table for a free discussion on why she disliked the movie, but I would argue historical inaccuracies have never, and will never, be a major focus in any Hollywood film, and I would challenge that the film itself represents the oppression and repression of the common man, and as we can see from history in our own times it has been used as a propaganda piece in Scotland's Independence movement to this day.

This was my first lecture series by Jennifer Paxton, and I definitely look forward to future collaborations with The Great Courses Plus. She's both an engaging lecturer and an excellent guide on this Celtic journey.

Is fearr Gaeilge briste, ná Béarla clíste.

Go n-eirí an t-ádh leat.

P. S.
Here is my Scottish Clan Tartan on my father's side:



And my Irish Clan Tartan on my mother's side:

[Stuart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings Together Most Recent Theories on Origins of Celtic Peoples/Languages/Culture
This is a very handy overview of the various theories of how the Celtic people, languages, and culture arose, background on the various population movements, historical kingdoms, and resurgence in interest in Celtic heritage in various countries. Covers some familiar territory with other things I've read, but good to have it all in one place, and Dr. Paxton is always enthusiastic on her topics.

[Lexxi Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book about, well the title says it all, 'The Celtic World'. From their bumping against the Romans (actually a good long while before that), to the world of today, with something like 'Celtic' people in Scotland, Wales, Cornwall (England), Ireland, Brittany (France), Galicia (Spain), and the Isle of Man.

Covers what is and what is not Celtic (basically, is it the language? The culture? The genetic material of the people? - answer, it's hard to be 100% certain as to what is and what is not Celtic, and, for that matter, where they came from both in geographic location and in their langue relationship to the rest of the Indo-European languages.

Basically a deep look into the 'Celts' over 13 or however many hours it was.

Rating: 4.55

September 30 2020

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good general overview. Paxton does a great job of dealing with the different strands as well incorporating the various revivals and literature.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasing voice with some interesting tales and details about the Celts, including the latest findings that make this ethnic identity even harder to define and clarify in history. Paxton explores both the historical evidence for the existence of the Celts as a group, as well as explores the various facets of the culture itself, including music and literature. She also explores the nineteenth century creation of the idea of the Celts and the reasons behind it. While I found her repeated promises that "we'll cover this in a later lecture" in the early discs to be annoying, these became less common as the series progressed. A great addition to the series!

[Yaaresse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent.

Dr. Paxton is becoming one of my favorite Great Course presenters. She's a wonderful storyteller with a gentle, yet dry, sense of humor and such deep knowledge of her subject. The gilding of the lily was listening to her breeze through pronunciations of people and place names in various Celtic-based languages. When is that not a treat?

I especially enjoyed the sections on Wales and Celtic music. Her take on the Book of Invasions was hugely entertaining, no doubt far more so than slogging through the actual text must have been. No doubt she burst a lot of bubbles of those who romanticize their DNA tests by debunking the whole "ancient family tartan" thing or the white-robed druid fixation of New Agers. She may have broken a few hearts about Braveheart, too, but it needed to be done. (Boy, did it ever!)

I look forward to more GCs by this presenter.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Paxton starts by debunking the coherence of the concept of “Celts”. Shouldn’t the later lectures therefore lean more to critiques of ideological, aesthetic, & popular myths?

[Chris Aldrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first 3/4ths the most for their density and my lack of general familiarity. The end was a bit less dense and went to quickly. Overall this was a great introduction with a lot of cultural sensitivity and nuance. I really appreciate some of the modern coverage and overview which is sometimes difficult to find withot a lot of additional political baggage.

[Koit · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite directly an overview of the Celts as it is understood by the most recent researchers: Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Man, Ireland, Britanny, Gaul and Galicia are treated alongside a brief look into the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures -- though not all of these places at the same level of detail. Literature, art and modern conceptions of the former peoples are all treated in some detail, and the connection of the past to the present is done very nicely.

I found the information on the modern revival of the Celts the most interesting aspect, and perhaps the topic which was littered with the most interesting details. As an example of one such, I was not aware previously that the tartans being as they are today came about through standardisation in the British Army and a later-on distribution of these to clans by a group of people in London.  

However, the definite negative is that the work does not give as thorough a look into Gaul (pre-Roman) as it could. It barely touches on Galicia and Galatia, no matter how unlikely these are people by the same "keltoi" we see inhabiting the British Isles. The historical comparison to the people who lived in the same "Celtic" areas before and after also was not as thorough as it could have been, and I can say that I did not get what I was looking for out of this text. 

Originally posted here.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert the Bruce, but no Larry the Bird?
Professor Paxton comes well-prepared, with a pleasant delivery style and a wonderful dry humor that can sometimes come right out of the blue.
The course must have been difficult to organize since it covers such a wide range of time and cultures. But this survey course succeeds in providing a firm basis to begin to tackle some of the specific topics in more detail (e.g. 'The Irish Identity and the King Arthur legend). Since I am of Welsh heritage, I appreciated the background provided about Wales, particularly in their struggle against King John. I'd love to get into Welsh history in a bit more detail.

The course of lectures is as entertaining as it is informative, even if it lacked any details about possibly the greatest Celt in the seventh game of the 1984 NBA Final.
Dr Paxton is great and the course is a winner! Sale...coupon...you know the drill.

[Jim Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five Stars! Another great course from The Teaching Company.

Of course, one more that I am going to have to listen to again.

[Malum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview that briefly touches on many topics of Celtic culture and history from ancient times to today. If you want a very detailed discussion of Celtic history, you won't find it here. If you just want an introduction and overview of everything Celtic, however, this is a fantastic resource.

[Nicole (bookwyrm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this lecture course. It has a great blend of history, myth, and music. Paxton has an easy voice to listen to as well. Highly recommended.

[Dermo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some very interesting stuff here. Most of it I had learned (and forgot) in Celtic 101 in uni but worth a listen.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very broad introduction to Celtic history. It turns out that the question of who exactly is a Celt and where the Celts came from is a question up for debate; like many, I'd been told that the Celts of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales were descended from the same Celtic tribes that went up against the Roman Empire and controlled Gaul and much of western Europe at that time. However, in some of the first lectures this is pointed out to be probably not true. Despite this assertion, we do still learn a little about these ancient Celts of the European continent before focusing more closely on the Celts of the British Isles, primarily on the Irish. We're introduced to a lot of Celtic art and Celtic stories, and the lectures follow the history up until roughly the present.

My main issues with this series was that at times, it was hard to follow. It felt like the topics, places, and time periods jumped around a lot, and it wasn't very clear some of the time whether we were talking about Celts related to those of the British Isles or the unrelated Celts of the continent. I'm still not sure if the Celts of Gaul are related to the Celts in, say Scotland. With as much topic jumping as the series did, I'm also unsure about the timeline of the Celtic settlement of the British Isles. It's clear that most of them came from Ireland first, but then the lecturer also makes a distinction between the Celtic language types of Ireland and Scotland vs. Wales and Cornwall, suggesting there was a different Celtic migration involved. It's all very confusing, and was not presented in a clear manner in my opinion. It is definitely a challenge to present so much history in so little time, but I do feel like the information could have been organized better.

However, I do think it does serve as a decent enough introduction to Celtic history and serves as a good jumping off point for your own research (I certainly have a lot of reading up to do to answer my questions). If you purchased this course with the guidebook, the guidebook does list a lot of suggested readings and resources, which I've created a list of here. Though broad and a bit confusing, I did enjoy watching and listening to this series and learned a lot. I never learned too much about the Celts in school (only adjacent to the English and the Romans), so much of the information was new to me. I really enjoyed the segments about Celtic art, music, and literature, and honestly wish there was a Great Courses series just for that. Despite the confusing presentation, I do still recommend this course for those interested in The Celtic World but don't have much background if you already subscribe to The Great Courses in some fashion.

If you're wondering which version to buy, audio or video, I would recommend video because the lecture does include a lot of visual aids and pictures of Celtic art. If you do purchase the audio version, I'd recommend getting a version bundled with the guidebook, as this also contains the images included in the video lectures.

[Lucy Cummin · Rating 5 out of 5]

These lectures tread that narrow margin of TMI and not enough I, and pleasing the likely listeners (e.g. interested but not scholars) but I can give this series an A for being a great tour of the subject.When Paxton simplifies she admits she is doing so, saying (in effect) "I can't tell you the whole convoluted story, so I am telling you the pared down version." Paxton starts in the way back with pre-history and moves through the myths and folklore, trying to distinguish between the made up and the truly ancient and what is just very mixed up. (Like MacPherson's Ossian poems which are based on the old stories, but not written by the poet Ossian who is an entirely fictional person.) There are considerations, must a folkway be truly ancient to count, say, preservation of the gaelic language in your community? Is a mix of old and new ok? Does celticness like every other cultural phenomenon, undergo gradual change without losing its core essence? Folklore, music, arts, literature and a few sports (hurling, for one) how old do these traditions have to be to count as authentic? If not, then what in the world is celtic?

The bottom line (to simplify horribly) is that consensus (of a sort) is slowly being reached by scholars and scientists, at least, that the 'celtic fringe' of Western Europe is more of a cultural choice (or preference or attraction) than anything based on 'race' (a concept growing flimsier by the nanosecond). Some distinct differences, especially Ireland and Wales endured. (I would put music, along with Irish language, at the top of the list.) The nineteenth century saw many revivals and even new customs, such as the wearing of clan tartans, arise. (Back in the day you just whatever tartan was made in your area, had nothing to do with clan). So . . . do they count? Paxton concludes, that if you want to include the clan tartan, go for it.

The lectures cover a lot of geographical ground -- mainly focussed on Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Brittany and a bit on some fringier celtic wannabes, Cornwall, Galicia. They cover a lot of cultural ground too, from the arts to law and everything in between.

I was fascinated by the workings of Brehon law--based on custom, and practiced by 'wandering' lawyers rather than on 'case' law. As Paxton doesn't go into true depth about anything, I don't fully understand it and may well pursue that subject. It was a truly different system of justice from English law, squashed in after the full conquest of Ireland. Lawyers were highly regarded and free to roam the different parts of Ireland to practice (along with the musicians and poets!). Also the Darwinian inheritance practices such that within a kin group the strongest would fight for the chieftanship, no such thing as primogeniture. A madhouse, but no more unfair than primogeniture. Hierarchical but not from the top down, more that within each group everyone had their status defined, however, on the whole you could say that comparatively the Irish hierarchy had a wider spread and also, within each kin group more room for moving upward, than the English method that evolved with one person (king, queen) at the top and then working down to the serf.

I know too much about the music to have been entirely satisfied by the section on music, but Paxton did all right. If you are interested in things celtic and like audiobooks, you'll enjoy these lectures. I wasn't sure of Jennifer Paxton at first, the author and narrator, but she did a terrific job with a huge subject! *****

[Flash Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Professor Paxton’s lectures, and largely agree with tommyd555’s largely favorable review, so I’ll mainly give a few grumbles, trying to be understanding about the lack of hard data. The main one is something I complained about much more seriously for “Greece and Rome: An Integrated History”: Chronological exposition is deeply unfashionable in contemporary academia, but that sort of discipline is what we’re paying The Great Courses for. In particular, I wish that the multiple lectures on the British Isles had started with background on the pre-Celtic substrate, then explained the Picts (about whom I would have appreciated more detail), and then the later invaders in their own separate lectures.
    I also share the general disgruntlement here with the fashionable denigration of genetic continuity. Of course there has been much genetic drift (much of it gender-specific) over the millennia, but my brief reading of a few articles suggests that there has also been some genetic continuity, even if the correlation with redheadedness seems to be mostly an old wives’ tale.
    The linguistic exposition was probably good for beginners; for more information, the best I was able to find was the Celtic chapter in Fortson’s “Indo-European Language and Culture.”
    I listened to a mix of video and audio; obviously visuals are important for the lecture on art, though I was disappointed that it didn’t give us the sound of a carnyx. I will conclude by reluctantly noting two misuses of “literally” in lecture 13.

[Christine]

I Loved this Audiobook!  Paxton's amazing audiobook meanders all around the Celtic World, along with a lot of description about what defines the Celtic World.  There is a lot of information to digest within this audiobooks.  Some things that are taken as fact are disproved, with accompanying explanations, as well as alternate theories.  This covers everything from St. Patrick, Druids, even King Arthur.  Paxton is careful to ensure that theories as well as alternate theories are covered along with the evidence for all.  I really enjoyed that Paxton would interrupt her lectures to add in details that were missed during the initial reading.  You were able to tell that the audiobook was edited and Paxton cared enough to add in these details. 


This lecture is over 12 hours long.  If you are interested in the Celtic World, or even Ancient History or Britain, then this is a great listen for you.  If you want "the Facts" about Celtic history, forget about it.  For "Facts" you always have to ignore the reality that for a great deal of this period of history there is no written history.  Even the written history that we do have are either translated by people that have heard stories that mutate through the telling, think an inter-generational game of telephone, or are written by the winners.  Paxton is careful to get these points across, you can choose which of the presented theories you like, but all are explored.  This is the kind of history book I really enjoy.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it.

Dr. Jennifer Paxton did an amazing job. Great speaker, passionate, perfectly executed learning path for each of the sections she divided The Celtic World in, with fun and engaging delivery. I look forward to her other Great Courses in the future, 1066: The Year that Changed everything and From King Author to the Tudor Conquest.

I didn't really know a whole lot about Celtic history coming into this, aside from their art, a little bit about druids, and all the imagery that modern film has portrayed them to be... great barrel chested warriors swinging axes on the battlefield, so on and so forth.

I wasn't too far off! These guys reputation holds true when it comes to waging war. From spiking their hair, to aggressive war music, to being 'the painted ones', rumors of fighting naked, their affinity for severed heads on display, how actually horrific and grotesque Celtic Druidism was back in the day, etc. etc.!

All of that at the same time, being very prolific artists and having major impacts across the world from their influence. I especially enjoyed the Scotland history within this as I am 34% Scottish per my ancestry.com DNA results. I learned a ton about Scotland that I hadn't the slightest clue about... especially its connection to ancient Egypt! Wow!

Highly recommend this one! Especially if you have any Celtic/Irish/Scottish/English heritage!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Althoygh i know Celtic is pronounced *Kel-Tic*, i am from boston, and in my head keep pronouncing it *Cell-Tic", like the basketball team.

The Celtic World is a great courses plus lecture series that has been consolidation into one audiobook for audible. It's included in my audible subscription, and I am very much loving having all these series included.

The Celtic world covers the overarching history of the people known as the Celtics. It breaks down previously assumed believes, and clarifies the history of expansion and invasion of the Celtic World. This book touches not only the history, but also on Celtic religion, Law, and culture


I learned alot on this series. My previous knowledge of the Celtic world was pretty limited, but I was to follow the lecture fairly easily. At times though the lecturer would says "Oh and obviously that was *insert name I have never heard here*" and I felt a little embarrassed I didn't know who they were talking about. I'm not sure if I noticed this phrase just because I didn't obviously know, though.

I think that this series did a great job interweaving Celtic History, and current Celtic Revial trends in modern times. It also provided alot of information about more recent Irish history, which was great to have included.


I enjoyed this book, and would reccomend it to anyone looking to learn more.

[Silas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a solid look at what we know about the Celts (though the lecturer has issues with them as a homogenous group) through history, archaeology, linguistics, and whatever other disciplines are available. I appreciated that it didn't just focus on Ireland like many pan-Celtic studies do, though they are the subject of some of the later lectures. I appreciated the focus on prehistoric and classical sources, though apparently scholarship on those times appear to be in transition. I appreciated the lecturer's candor on that, and her efforts to provide the best information she could. I didn't always agree with her conclusions, but she did make an effort to make it clear when she was giving her own opinion, which was helpful. I do feel like I learned some things and bridged some of the islands of knowledge I had about Ireland, Wales, and Gaul, and feel like this is a good primer for understanding this diverse group through a long stretch of time.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the start of this audio, I knew essentially nothing of the Celtic World – which is why I chose to listen to it! Now I know a much more, but wonder how much of that will change as we discover even more connections. The understanding of that history has changed since the Great Course lecturer, Jennifer Paxton, was a college student. The Celtic area mostly consists of Ireland, Scotland, Whales Brittany and Galicia. Apparently they were settled by ancient European and Turkish warriors who went exploring on the waters and settled around the edges of Europe. Similar languages define them. Paxton concentrates on the history, archeology, language, literature, art and dance of the areas. Her twenty four, 30 minute, lectures are always interesting, focused and informative.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't dislike this lecture series, but it presented very little new material to someone who has a pretty cursory knowledge of the areas concerned. I was hoping she would spend a lot more time on recent archaeological research than she did, and frankly I would be pleased to never hear about Julius Caesar's opinions of the Gauls again. She did debunk the idea that there was a unified or cohesive Celtic culture pretty thoroughly, which roughly lines up with my knowledge from other sources.

I hadn't heard of the theory that the Celtic languages arose as a result of sea trade on the western edges of Europe, so I'm curious to poke around that a little more.

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not exactly read . . . through Kanopy I watched 24 lectures by Ms. Paxton on the Celtic World. Entertaining, informative (I did the DNA testing for ancestry and was surprised at how little "Irish" blood I had--mother's maiden name is Milligan.) Not surprised anymore. Normans, Vikings, Danes, Anglos, Romans--who didn't invade/colonize/move in to Ireland & UK? Strong on art/music as well. Paxton highly praised an animated film, THE SECRET OF KELLS, which I also watched through Kanopy. Terrific film (AA nominee). Well worth the time, as is getting the Kanopy app and linking your local library. Amazing number of Great Courses available for free.

[Gilbert Stack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Great Courses volume offers a fascinating history about what we know about the Celtic peoples from ancient history through the Middle Ages. It’s broken into very digestible lectures and helps to clarify who the Celts were and how our understanding of them has evolved over the past couple of centuries. It also looks at the Celtic revival in the Celtic fringe and how that revival has moved out of the realm of sports, music, art and literature to influence politics. It was a fascinating book—so much so that I’ve decided to move on to a history of Ireland.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I lived for 2 years in Scotland and have always been intrigued by the Celtic art, music, literature, etc. This audio book is comprised of >20 lectures that unravel some of the mysteries of the Celtic world from ancient times to the present. Did you know that there are multiple nations and parts of nations that claim to be Celtic, including regions in France and Spain? Just one random fact extracted from this deep dive into the history, politics, culture, and language of the Celtic World. Great stuff!

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of lectures covers not just Iron Age Celts, but also medieval and a bit of modern history of Celtic regions - Ireland, Scotland, and to some extent Wales and Brittany. I had previously listened to a very archeological-heavy history that was too dry and academic for me. These lectures were much more approachable for the non-learned listener. The professor incorporated modern research. I'll admit I'm still a bit confused about how Celtic language and culture migrated across Europe, but maybe that's a good thing, as it sounds like historians don't really know either.

[Kevin Potter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and reasonably comprehensive.

There is depressingly little information about the continental Celts post-Julius a Cesar. But there is so little information about them during this period, so we must forgive her for this.

I have to admit, this course debunks many of the commonly believed myths about the Celts and Celtic society.

I definitely recommend this for anyone interested in Celtic history.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short series covering a lot of history, and something I need to listen to again at some point to be able to connect the dots better. It's nice to finally learn more about the different Celtic regions and how they've changed over time. Gauls, Druids, Celtic art, Irish Literature, Picts, post-Roman Celts in Britain, Galicia, and vikings were some of the lecture topics. I was hoping to learn a little more about modern Celtic culture, but the last 100 years was saved for the final lecture.