The Celts and Historical and Cultural Origins of Atlantic Europe

     Ramón Sainero

     Director del Instituto de Estudios Celtas

     Profesor Titular de Literatura Celta e Irlandesa en la UNED

Nowadays the commonly maintained theory is that the Celts, or at least Celtic civilization, originated in central Europe, with Halstatt in Austria being one of the principal sources of information on these origins. Although it appears evident that Central Europe was a key settlement site, from which the Celtic culture spread outwards, this does not mean that it is written in stone that the Celts, or the Celtic culture, originated from that part of Europe. The Danube, the Mediterranean Sea and Spain could also have constituted the site from which this invasive wave made its way into the interior of Europe, and this is a possibility that we should not discard. We have developed, with historical, archaeological, linguistic and cultural proofs, a theory that during centuries was considered only as mythology. Our studies appeared first published in 1987 in the book: The Celtic Heritage in Spain and Ireland (La huella celta en España e Irlanda), with some surprising evidences as that the pre-Iberian alphabet of Tartessos os very similar or the same as continental runes. Years later these studies were expanded in the following book: The Celts and Historical and Cultural Origins of Atlantic Europe (The Celtic-Scythians in the Leabhar Gabhala). This book was handed down to Academica Press and Maunsel at the end of 2001 for its possible publication and a contract was signed in june  2012. Meanwhile it was published in Spain with Abada (Madrid): Los orígenes celtas del reino de Brigantia: la genesis de España (The Celtic origins of the kingdom of Brigantia: the genesis of Spain), contract signed in Madrid in 2003 and published in 2007, due the delay for publications for severe illness of the author. This year, 2012, is published with Abada (Madrid) the theory of the origins of the Celtic languages: Una Reconstrucción histórica y lingüística del celta de la Península Ibérica (A Historical and Linguistic reconstruction of Celt of  the Iberian Peninsula). In these books appear a new way of  studying the primitive history and culture of the West Atlantic.

     At the estuary of the River Danube (Thrace) , around the Black Sea and the eastern end of the Mediterranean, artistic, cultural and archaeological remains exist, some of which predate the 7th century BC, which point to the existence of a people, or series of peoples, with a shared religion and culture. The nearest inhabitants to them at that time, the Greeks, referred to them as Scythians, and many hypotheses exist that indicate that the Celtic culture was influenced by them in its origins, despite the fact that more complex forms were subsequently to develop. It was these Scythians who, according to the Irish manuscript Leabhar Gabhála (Book of Invasions), on their journey across the Mediterranean would sometimes, but not always, make their settlements first in Greece, then in Egypt, subsequently in Spain and finally in Ireland. It was their descendents who were to go on to create the early Celtic kingdoms of Spain and Ireland. Up to this point, the aforementioned book has been considered by many specialists to be a fabulous story full of fantasy. We will offer here a series of surprising data on this topic, that perhaps may demonstrate how many of the historical events described in this manuscript were not pure invention and that, moreover, provide a historical and literary interpretation much more truthful than has so far been thought to be the case.

     One important and fundamental consideration in this book is that, when we refer to the Scythians and the Celto-Scythians, we are in fact referring to Indo-European peoples who emanated out from the plains bordering on the Black Sea in a series of waves towards Central Europe, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. It would perhaps be more accurate to speak of tribes, clans or waves of Indo-European migrants, but it is the Celtic manuscripts that speak of the Scythians and it is the early writers who mention the Celtic origins in the Scythian world. The aim of this work is not to reject any historical or archaeological theory, but rather to contribute further to our existing body of knowledge. The term Scythian could often also refer, as we will go on to describe, to a clan, or a specific people, related to the Greeks, Medes, Phoenicians or other clans, rather than to the "Celts" or  "Scythians", in the stricter sense, as we currently conceive them.

     It is important to point out that the Scythians did not leave behind any written documentation. Presumably, they did not have a written language in this sense, but their Greek, Persian, Assyrian and Phoenician neighbours did, and indeed left us clear information on their history and culture. These early writings describe nomadic peoples that lived on the plains around the Black Sea, possessed their own culture, who worked with gold and other metals prodigious for their times. Communities of shepherds, and of skilled horsemen, with neither towns nor permanent settlements, covering massive territories on horseback; their migrations were sometimes rapidly undertaken and took them long distances from their previous site, on which basis it is not surprising that the primitive documents, acceptable or not, make references to Scythians in Ireland, and even in other places on the European continent, such as Hispania or primitive Gaul. We should also credit them with possessing a significant army, capable of defeating, at certain times in history, the most fearsome armies of the era, such as the Medes, Persians and Assyrians, penetrating the very gates of Egypt during their incursions and settlements.

In 1946 T. F. O´Rahilly affirmed in his book Early Irish History and Mythology in reference to the early history of Ireland that both the invasions of the Tuatha De Danann and those of the Sons of Milidh of Spain were mythical, and the pure invention of the scribes. Unfortunately he did not offer an in-depth study of his reasoning, or any well-documented explanations to substantiate such a theory, although there are other specialists who support O´Rahilly’s point of view. However, the works of Dumezil and other researchers on the Scythians and the Celtic world, with their great profusion of data, of greater or lesser credibility, once again throw open the gates of this remote Celtic world, submerged in the mists of time, and invite us to step inside. What we can be discerned among these mists follows in the pages of this book.

It may be worthwhile, by means of comparison, to look at the way in which the Swabians, Vandals, Alans, Visigoths, Sarmatians and other “barbaric” peoples were responsible, in the 2nd century AD, for breaking down the borders of the Roman Empire. The origin of each of them is pinpointed by the specialists, at a moment in history, as the plains to the north of the Black Sea, or the surrounding area, from which some, such as the Visigoths and the Sarmats, began their invasion of Central Europe, penetrating as far as the British Isles. Others arrived in Hispania via the north of Africa, as did the Vandals and Alans, these latter originating north of the Caucasus, a territory inhabited by the Scythians for more than 1500 years previously. These were nomadic peoples with armies formed of skilled horsemen and warriors who would go on to conquer Europe, assimilating little by little the religion and customs of their subjects, giving rise to a new civilization: Western Christian civilization, although we cannot say that this civilization was created by any one sole clan, be it be the Swabians, Sarmats or Visigoths, since the number of persons and their cultural influence was scant in the face of far more numerous populations, with a considerably more sophisticated civilisation. However, we should consider that they took their customs and cultural heritage with them, and this would in some form impact on the peoples they conquered. It is sufficient to observe how early English literature originated on the continent in Germanic lands, and how the Germanic peoples, when they invaded Great Britain in the 5^th Century AD, brought with them their oral culture. The plot of the poem Beowulf, one of the jewels of Medieval English literature, features Germanic heroes linked to the territory of the Jutland Peninsula, Denmark. 

     Our comparison, following on from the above example is this: Approximately one thousand two hundred years previously, the peoples settled on the plains on the shores of the Caucasus Sea, the Scythians and other nearby communities with settlements in Greece or Asia Minor, also nomadic and skilled warriors and horsemen, were able, our evidence shows, to conquer some territories in Europe and, assimilating the culture of those they conquered, to go on to create a new civilisation: the Celtic civilization, although we cannot attribute the creation of this civilization to the Scythians (¿Thracians?), the Greeks or the Phoenicians, since these were also scant in numbers. We could also say the same of the Muslim invasion of Hispania, which was scant in numbers but rich in culture, the consequences of which are evident in, for example, Mozarabic art.

                                             R. Sainero Bibliography on this theory

Lorca y Synge ¿Un mundo maldito? Ed. Complutense (Madrid), 1983. Leyendas celtas en la literatura irlandesa. Ed. Akal (Madrid), 1985. Leabhar Ghabhála (Libro de las Invasiones), Introducción, traducción, glosario y notas,  Ed. Akal (Madrid), 1987. La huella celta en España e Irlanda, Ed. Akal (Madrid), 1987. Los grandes mitos celtas y su influencia en la literatura, Ed. Edicomunicación (Barcelona), 1988. Sagas celtas primitivas en la literatura inglesa, Ed. Akal (Madrid), 1993. Lenguas y literaturas celtas: origen y evolución, Ed. Aula Abierta (UNED), 1994. La literatura anglo-irlandesa y sus orígenes, Ed. Akal (Madrid), 1995. Diccionario Akal de mitología celta, Ed. Akal, (Madrid), 1999. Literatura Inglesa: Problemas y técnicas en la traducción e interpretación de sus textos. Ed. UNED (Madrid), 1999. Los orígenes celtas del reino de Brigantia (La génesis de España), Ed. Abada (Madrid), 2008. Os orígenes do pobo de Breogán, Ed. Biblos (A Coruña) 2008. The Celts and Historical and Cultural Origins of Western Europe, Ed. Academica Pr. (Massachussett), 2012. La leyenda de Breogán y sus orígenes Ed Akal (Madrid), 2012. Una  reconstrucción histórica y lingüística del celta hispano, Ed. Abada (Madrid), 2012.