I. Historical background

The Celts (pronounced with a hard C like "Claymore") appear in Europe as a group of peoples who spoke languages in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Other branches of the Indo-European family are Albanian, Anatolian, Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Germanic (includes English), Greek, Indo-Iranian, Italic (Latin based) and Tocharian. Celtic is closest to the Italic group. European languages *not* belonging to the Indo-European group are Basque, Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian and Lappish (also called Saami). Basque is notable in that it is almost certainly a remnant of the languages present in Europe before the Indo-European expansion. Hungarian, however, was brought from the East at a later date. Pictish (now extinct) was also probably non IE, more of this later.

The Celts evolved from the Urnfield Culture (given that name because of the burial system of cremation and placement of ashes in urns which in turn were buried in fields...) much earlier than the Romanized Celtic world of the late 500-400 BC.

I use the word "evolve" because it is difficult to define just when the Celts became a culture unto themselves. That said, a culture can be defined according to economic stability, shared religious beliefs and social structure.

Around 1500-1000BC, the Celts lived in an area which today is mostly in Eastern France. The area stretched from roughly where Luxemburg is today to a bit further south than Geneva and took in parts of modern day West Germany and Switzerland. It was an area a little bigger than the island of Ireland.

The Celts then expanded to cover an area covering most of Western Europe and Central Europe. Around 400BC, the Celts lived in what is now called Britain, Ireland, France (i.e. Gaul), Luxemburg, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. Celts also lived in parts of Spain (notable Galicia), northern Italy, The Netherlands, the southern half of Germany, and parts of Poland and Russia (source: "The Story of English", Faber and Faber; BBC books 1992).

After the height of their power, the Celts (the first Indo-European group to spread across Europe) were pushed north and west by sucessive waves of Indo-European peoples, notably Germanic and Latin based. The main migration was by the Galli or Gauls into France, northern Italy and the north of Europe.

From "The Celts", by Frank Delaney (Grafton Books, a division of Collins Publishing Group; copyright London 1986):

Hallstatt - This site at Hallstatt, Austria, was first uncovered by a George Ramsauer (a local) in 1846. It was not until 30 years later that a team of investigators from the Academy of Sciences in Vienna performed an exhaustive investigation of the local salt mine (the natural resource that had supported a local economy near Hallstatt for perhaps 4500 years) and the approximately 2500 grave sites there.

The time in European history of this snapshot of Celtic cultural development is approximately 800 B.C. The Celtic people here were an iron using people who traded salt to the south as far as Italy and as far north as Bohemia. "The grave goods - predominantly iron-made - ...indicated a sophisticated and hierarchical society. These people, superb iron-workers, owned and buried beautifully-decorated vessels, ornamented weaponry and horse trappings, all of a standard much advanced upon that recorded from earlier Europe, reflecting a decisive and recognizable social structure."

Prior to these discoveries at Hallstatt, the Iron Age map of Europe only included Rome and Greece as "civilizations". "But now 'the glory that was Greece, the grandeur that was Rome' had a proven tangible rival - the opulence and clear structure of the Celtic civilization."

"The Hallstatt Culture reflects the Celts in their state of development between the beginning of the ninth century B.C. and the middle of the seventh century B.C. - an iron-using, farming, trading people with fixed patterns of habitation and society." So, the term Hallstatt has more to do with the state of development of the whole society than the time at which this development was achieved. For example, artifacts found in Ireland dated four-hundred years later than those found at Hallstatt may still be described as Hallstatt based on the way in which they were made and the reflections of their local society.

La Tene -- In 1858, near Neuchatel, Switzerland, another trove of Celtic objects was uncovered. Subsequent excavations in this area indicated that "busy and continuous life" had existed by the lake at Neuchatel for hundreds of centuries.

As the Hallstatt cultural period of the Celts lasted from between 800/700 B.C. to 600/500 B.C., "La Tene denotes a period which took over from Hallstatt Culture". La Tene Culture can be divided into three periods: Early La Tene, 600-500 B.C.; Middle La Tene, 300-100 B.C.; and Late La Tene which leads into the end of Celtic dominance in central Europe as the Roman Empire began to expand north of the Alps.

"If Hallstatt Culture may be seen as survival and breakthrough from basic comfort to the nucleus of civilization, the Celts of La Tene Culture, luxuriated, shone, swaggered, thought, expressed themselves....La Tene meant more lavish burials, more advanced decoration on swords, helmets, brooches, more cosmopolitan influence."

"La Tene Culture lifts the Celts from being just another of the myriad European tribally-originated peoples who made an impact in the days before literacy. La Tene spirit establishes the Celts as a real 'civilization'".

"La Tene Culture finds the Celts amongst wealth and glory and possession and expression. They had mobility, style, trade, power. They had given themselves definition; they had acquired a considerable presence; and they had, for their elegance and heroism, earned respect, an assured people. The way of the Celts within that period, the five hundred years or so before Christ, fixed them in the popular imagination - mythological in splendour, glorious in their gold and jewels, mysterious in the tracery of their ornamentation, opulent in the evidence of their possessions."

"And the term 'La Tene' defines the essential vision of the Celts and their civilization, marks their major cultural presence in Europe, when their attitude , personality, style, came of age. Through La Tene, Europe saw them as importanantn t, powerful and fascinating. Their spread across the continent, their multifarious presence, made them a force to be reckoned with."

There are some Celtic artifacts in the Hungarian National History Museum in Budapest. Gellert Hill, which towers over the Danube on the Buda side of the river, was once a Celtic fort. After pushing through the area on their original journeys across Europe, Celtic peoples from what became from France returned to the area around the 4th century I believe. They introduced coinage to the area and traded. Outside of Budapest, there are Roman ruins which were built over the site of a Celtic village. The Romans called the place Aquinctum -- which was based on An-ke (I believe) which meant 'place near water' in the Celtic language of that particular group.

II. Reading material

This is an extensive list of Celtic studies research material. This was compiled by Denise Inglis and was compiled during research for her thesis. This list is also available to FTP from yeats.csufresno.edu /pub/misc/celtic_studies.bib

Celtic reading list compiled by Denise Inglis

First Light on an Irish Tomb (ancient tomb at Newgrange may have had astronomical function.) Science News 135 (Feb. 11, 1989) : 88ff.
Alcock, Leslie. Arthur's Britain : History and Archaeology - A. D. 367-634. London : Allen Lane, 1974.
Anderson, Marjorie O. The Celtic Church in Kinrimund. IN The Mediaeval Church of St. Andrews.
Arbesmann, Rudolph. The cervuli and anniculae in Caesarius of Arles. Traditio 35:89-119 1979.
Bamford, Christopher. Ecology and Holiness : The Heritage of Celtic Christianity. Epiphany : A Journal of Faith and Insight. No. 3, 66-78, Spring 1983.
Bammesberger, Alfred, and Wollmann, Alfred, eds. Britain 400-600: language and history [conf pprs, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon lang & hist, Eichstatt, W Germany, 1988; indexed selectively]. Anglistische Forschungen, 205. Heidelberg, Germany : Carl Winter Universitatsverlag, 1990.
Barton, Beverly. Sketches and Reflections on a Celtic Pilgrimage. illus, by M. Bowes & A. Mitchell. Epiphany : A Journal of Faith and Insight 6 No. 4, 70-75 Summer, 1986.
Beaulieu, Jean-Baptiste Colbert de. La monnaie au nom des rois Gesatorix et Ecritusirus. IN Studia Paulo Naster Oblata, 1; ed by S Scheers, 1982. pp. 305-322.
Bede. Opera Historica. Loeb Classical Library, 2 vol. Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 1954.
Biel, Jorg. A Celtic Grave in Hochdorf, Germany. Archaeology 40 (Nov - Dec, 1987) : 22ff.
Biel, Jorg. Treasure From a Celtic Tomb. National Geographic 157 (March 1980) : 428-438.
Bieler, Ludwig. Ancient Hagiography and the Lives of St. Patrick. IN Forma futuri : studi in onone de Cardinale Michele Pelligrino. ed. Antonio Maddalena. 650-655, 1975. Turin : Bottega d'Erasmo.
Bieler, Ludwig. Christian Ireland's Graeco-Latin Heritage. Studia Patristica 13 (part 2) ed. Elizabeth Livingstone. Berlin : Akademie-Verlag, 1975, 3-9.
Bieler, Ludwig. Ireland: Harbinger of the Middle Ages. New York : Oxford University Press.
Bieler, Ludwig. Patrick's Synod: A Revision. Melange Offerts a Mademoiselle C. Mohrmann ed. T. N. Hamess et. al. Utrecht/Anvers : Spectrum Editeurs, 1963, 96-102
Bieler, Ludwig. The Celtic Hagiographer. Studia Patristica vol. 5, (1964) 243-265.
Bieler, Ludwig. The Irish Penitentials : Their Religious and Social Background. Studia Patristica vol. 18 (Part II) ed. by F. L. Cross. Berlin, 1966, 329-339.
Bieler, Ludwig. The Life and Legend of St. Patrick. Dublin : Clonmore and Reynolds, 1949.
Binchy, Daniel A. A pre-Christian survival in mediaeval Irish hagiography. IN Ireland in early medieval Europe; ed by D Whitelock; et al., 1982. pp. 165-178.
Birley, Eric. The Deities of Roman Britain. IN Principat 18,1 : Heidentum : Dei religiosen Verhaltnisse in den Provinzen. Aufsteig und Niedergang der romischen Welt 2, 18: 1, ed. by Wolfgang Haase. Berlin : Walter de Gruyter, 1986, pp. 3-112.
Boyd, Robin. Ireland: Christianity discredited or pilgrim's progress? Risk no. 37:1-127, 1988.
Boyle, Alexander. The Birthplace of St. Patrick. Scottish Historical Review 60 No.2, 156 160, October 1981.
Bradshaw, Brendan. The wild and woolly West: early Irish Christianity and Latin orthodoxy. The churches, Ireland and the Irish; ed by W Sheils and D. Wood, 1989. pp. 1-23.
Brenneman, Walter L. Serpents, Cows and Ladies : Contrasting Symbolism in Irish and Indo-European Cattle Raiding Myth. History of Religion 28 : 340-354, May 1989.
Brown, T. J. An Historical Introduction to the Use of Classical Latin Authors in the British Isles From the 5th to the 11th Century. IN La Cultura antica nell'Occidente Latinodal 7 all 11 secolo. ed, Jeauneau, Edouard. 237-293, 1975. (22nd Conference Centro Italiano di Studi sull'alto Medioevo. Spoleto, Italy : Centro Italiano di Studisull'alto Medioevo.)
Browne, Ray Broadus. The Celtic Cross, Studies in Irish Culture and Literature. Freeport, New York : Books for Libraries Press, 1970.
Butler, L. A. S. Continuity of settlement in Wales in the central Middle Ages. IN Studies in Celtic survival; ed by L. Laing, 1977. pp. 61-66.
Carey, John. Ireland and the Antipodes: the heterodoxy of Virgil of Salzburg. Speculum 64 : 1-10, January 1989.
Carmichael, Alexander, ed. Sun [Celtic poem fr The Sun Dance, 1960]. Epiphany 6 No 1:78, Fall 1985.
Carmichael, Alexander, ed. The voice of thunder [Celtic poem fr The Sun Dance, 1960]. Epiphany 6 No. 1:79, Fall 1985.
Carmichael, Alexander, ed. The new moon [Celtic poem fr The Sun Dance, 1960]. Epiphany 6 No 1:79, Fall 1985.
Cathasaigh, Donal O. The cult of Brigid: a study of pagan-Christian syncretism in Ireland (bibliog, maps, photos). IN Mother worship: theme and variations; ed by J. Preston, 1982. pp. 75-94.
Chadwick, Nora K. Celtic Britain. Ancient People and Places Series, vol. 34, ed. Dr. Glyn Daniel. New York : Frederick A. Praeger, 1963.
Chadwick, Nora K. Studies in the Early British Church. London : Cambridge University Press, 1958.
Chadwick, Nora K. The Celts. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England : Penguin Books, 1970.
Chadwick, Nora K. The Druids.
Chaney, W. A. Royal Role in the Conversion of England. Journal of Church and State 9 : 317-331, August 1967.
Charriere, Georges. Feux, buchers, et autodafes bien de chez nous. Revue de l'histoire des religion 194 : 23-64, July 1978.
Chute, Desmond. On St Columban of Bobbio [Vita S Columbani]. Downside Review 67:170-182,304-314, 1949.
Confren, Mary. The Serpent and the Goddess : Women Religion, and Power in Celtic Ireland. 1st ed. San Francisco : Harper and Row, 1989.
Cooke, Richard Joseph, Bp, 1853-1931. The ancient British and Ephesian succession theories. Methodist Review 80:249-269 Mr 1898.
Corbett, Deborah. The voice of the Celtic harp [photos; Celtic modal scales]. Epiphany 5 No. 1 : 22-26, Fall 1984.
Cowan, Edward J. Myth and identity in early medieval Scotland. Scottish Historical Review 63 : 111-135, October 1984.
Cowdrey, Herbert E. J. Bede and the 'English people'. Journal of Religious History 11, 501 - 523, December 1981.
Creban, Joseph H. The Theology of Eucharistic Consecration : Role of the Priest in Celtic Liturgy (periglawr). Theological Studies 40, 334-343. June1979.
Cunliffe, Barry. Celtic death rituals [Danebury pit burials; photos]. Archaeology 41 no 2:39-43, 1988.
Curran, M. Sacratissimi Martyres and Early Irish Latin Hymns. Studia Patristica 15, pt. 1, 539-544, 1984.
Davidson, H R Ellis. Mithraism and the Gunderstrup bowl [figs]. IN Mithraic studies, v 2; ed by J Hinnells, 1975. pp. 494-506.
Davies, Wendy. Celtic Women in the Early Middle Ages. IN Images of Women in Antiquity 145-166, 1983. ed. Averil Cameron and Amelie Kurt. Detroit, Michigan : Wayne State University Press, 1983.
Davies, Wendy. Property rights and property claims in Welsh vitae of the eleventh century. IN Hagiographie cultures et societies; by F Dolbeau, et al., 1981. pp. 515-533.
Davies, Wendy. The Latin charter-tradition in western Britain, Brittany and Ireland in the early mediaeval period. IN: Ireland in early medieval Europe; ed by D Whitelock; et al., 1982. pp. 258-280.
De Vries, Jan. La religion des Celts. The religion of Mankind Series, No. 18. Paris : Payot, 1984.
De Waal, Esther. The extraordinary in the ordinary (Celtic sacramental practice of verse in daily life). Weavings 2 : 6-15 May - June, 1987.
Deanesly, Margaret. The Pre-Conquest Church in England. New York : Oxford University Pres, 1961.
Debarge, Louis. Le syncretism religieux : druidisme et Christianisme. Melanges de Sciences Religieuses 46 : 5-21, March 1989.
Delaney, John J. ed. Saints for All Seasons. Garden City, New York : Doubleday, 1978.
Demoule, Jean-Paul. L'analyse archeologique de cimitieres et l'example des necropoles celtiques. IN La mort et les morts dans la societes anciennes. ed. Cherardo Anoli et Jean Pierre Vernant, 319-337, 1982. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1982.
Dillon, Myles. Early Irish Literature. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1948.
Dillon, Myles. The Cycles of the Kings. London : Oxford University Press, 1946.
Dooley, Kate. From Penance to Confession : The Celtic Contribution. Bijdragen : Tijdschrift voor Philosophie en Theologie 43 : 390-411, 1982.
Draak, Maartje. Migration over sea [Celtic gods in Irish mythology]. Numen 9:81-98, 1962.
Drury, P. J. Non-classical religious buildings in iron age and Roman Britain : a review [maps; bibliog]. IN Temples, churches and religion, pt 1; ed by W Rodwell, 1980. pp. 45-78.
Dumville, David N. Beowulf and the Celtic world: the uses of evidence [figs]. Traditio 37:109-160, 1981.
Duncan, Archibald A. Bede, Iona and the Picts. IN Writing of History in the Middle Ages : Essays Presented to Richard William Southern. 1-42, 1981. ed. John M. Wallace-Hadrill, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1981.
Duval, Paul M. Observation sur les dieux de la Gaule. Revue de l'histoire des religions 145 (January - March, 54) : 5-17.
Enright, Michael J. The Sutton Hoo whetstone sceptre: a study in iconography and cultural milieu. IN: Anglo-Saxon England, 11; ed by P Clemoes, 1983. pp. 119-134.
Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Fairy-faith in Celtic Countries. New Hyde Park, New York : University Books, 1966.
Laing, Lloyd. The Origins of Britain. New York : Schribner, 1980.
Farmer, David H. Benedict's Disciples. Leominster, Great Britain : Fowler Wright Books, Ltd., 1980.
Fenn, R. W. D. Age of the Saints. IN A History of the Church in Wales. ed. by David Walker 1-23, 1976. Penarth, Wales : Church in Wales Publishing, 1976.
Ferguson, Everett, et al., eds. Encyclopedia of Early Christianity New York : Garland Publishing, Inc., 1990.
Ford, Patrick K. Celtic Women : the Opposing Sex. IN Viator, vol 19 : Medieval and Renaissance Studies, eds. Benson, Robert L.; A. R. Branmuller, Robert I. Burns et al. Berkeley, California : University of California Press, 1988.
Forrester, Duncan B. and Douglas M. Murray, ed. Studies in the History of Worship in Scotland. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1984.
Fox, Cyril, Sir. The Early Cultures of North-west Europe. H. M. Chadwick Memorial Studies. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1950.
Frend, William H. C. Ecclesia Britannica Prelude or Dead End? Journal of Ecclesiastical History 30 : 129-144, April 1979.
Frey, Otto-Herman. The chariot tomb from Adria: some notes on Celtic horsemanship and chariotry [photos; il; bibliog]. IN To illustrate the monuments; ed by J Megaw, 1976. pp. 171-179.
Frye, Roland M. Christ and Ingeld. (Anglo-Saxon myth) Theology Today 11, 225-232, July, 1954.
Grant, R. M. Christianity in Roman Britain. Anglican Theological Review 51 : 79-96 April 1969.
Green, Miranda J. Triplism and plurality: intensity and symbolism in Celtic religious expression [bibliog, photos] IN Sacred and profane; ed by P Garwood, et al., 1991. pp. 100-108.
Green, Miranda. The Gods of the Celts. Totowa, New Jersey : Barnes & Noble, 1986.
Green, Miranda. Theomorphism [photos; history of eastern influences in Great Britain]. IN Roman life and art in Britain, 2; J Munby and M Henig, eds., 1977. pp. 297-326.
Greene, David H, ed. An Anthology of Irish Literature. New York : The Modern Library. 1954.
Gwynn, Aubrey and R. Neville Hadcock. Medieval Religious Houses : Ireland. Harlow : Longmans, 1970.
Hanson, R. P. C. St. Patrick, a saint for all traditions. 193-196. IN Askum Thyateira : Festschrift Archbishop Methodios of Thyateira and Great Britain. London, England : Thyateira House, 1985.
Hanson, R. P. C. The Life and Writings of St. Patrick. New York : Seabury Press, 1983.
Hanson, R. P. C. Patrick and the Mensura fidei. IN Studia Patristica vol. 10, pt. 1, ed. F. Cross, 109-111, 1970.
Hanson, R. P. C. St. Patrick, His Origins and Career. London : Oxford University Press, 1968.
Hanson, R. P. C. The Omissions in the Text of the Confession of St. Patrick in the Book of Armagh. IN Studia Patristica vol. 12, pt. 1, ed. Elizabeth Livingstone 91-95, 1975.
Hatchett, Marion J. The eucharistic rite of the Stowe missal Time and community; ed by J. Alexander, 1990. pp. 153-170
Heailidhe, Padraig O. Crosses and slabs at St Berrihert's Kyle in the Glen of Aherlow. IN North Munster studies; Essays for M Moloney; ed by E Rynne, 1967. pp. 102-132.
Heist, William H. Hagiography, chiefly Celtic, and recent developments in folklore. IN Hagiographie cultures et societies; by F. Dolbeau, et al., 1981. pp. 121-141.
Heist, William W. Irish Saints' Lives, Romance and Cultural History. IN Medieval Hagiography and Romance ed. P. Clogan 25-40, 1975. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. (Medievalia et Humanistica, new series, No. 6.)
Henry, Franoise. Irish Art in the Early Christian Period (to 800 A. D.) Ithaca, New York : Cornell University Press, 1965.
Henry, Patrick Leo. The Early English and Celtic Lyric. London : Allen and Unwin, 1966.
Herbert, Maire. The Bible in early Iona [bibliog]. IN The Bible in Scottish life and literature; ed by D Wright, 1988. pp. 131-139.
Horgan, John. Irish Mist; A Tomb in Ireland May be the Oldest Astronomical Structure. Scientific American, 260 (April, 1989) : 22ff.
Hubert, Henri. The Greatness and Decline of the Celts. London, K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1934.
Hughes, Kathleen. Evidence for Contacts Between Churches of the Irish and English From the Synod of Whitby to the Viking Age (664 - 9th Century). IN England Before the Conquest : Studies in Primary Sources Presented to Dorothy Whitelock. ed. Peter Clemoes and Kathleen Hughes 49-67, 1971, Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1971.
Hughes, Kathleen. Sanctity and Secularity in the Early Irish Church. IN Sanctity and Secularity : Paper Read at the 11th Summer Meeting and the 12th Winter meeting of the Ecclesiastical History Society. ed. Derek Baker, 21-37, 1973. Oxford : Basil Blackwell Press. Studies in Church History Vol. 10.
Hyde, Douglas. A Literary History of Ireland From Earliest Times to the Present Day. New York : Barnes & Noble, 1967.
Jackson, Kenneth. Language and History in Early Britain : A Chronological Survey of the Brittonic Languages, 1st to 12th century A. D. Edinburgh : University Press, 1971.
John, Eric. The social and political problems of the early English church. Land, church and people; ed by J Thirsk, 1970. pp. 39-63.
Jones, W. R. Medieval State-building and the Churches of the Celtic Fringe. Journal of Church and State 16 : 407-419, August, 1974.
Joyce, P. W. Old Celtic Romances. London : Longmans, Green & Co., 1920.
Keane, Edward. St. Patrick's Journey Through West Limerick. IN North Munster Studies : Essays for M. Moloney. ed. by E. Rynne. 169-171, 1967. Limerick : The Thomond Archaeological Society, 1967.
Kelly, Joseph F. T. Books, Learning, and Sanctity in Early Christian Ireland. Thought LIV (1979).
Kelly, Joseph F. T. The Virgin Birth in Hiberno-Latin Theology. Studia Patristica 15, pt 1, 328-335, 1984.
Kelly, Joseph F. T. The Escape of St. Patrick From Ireland (Confessio 17 - 19; 23). Studia Patristica 18, vol 1, 41-45, 1986.
Kelly, Joseph F. T. The Attitudes Toward Paganism in Early Christian Ireland. IN Diakonia : Studies in Honor of Robert T. Meyer. 214-223, 1986. ed. Thomas Halton, and Joseph P. Williamson, Washington, D. C. : Catholic University of America Press, 1986.
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Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A History of the Expansion of Christianity : Vol II. The Thousand Years of Uncertainty. Grand Rapids, Michigan : Zondervan, 1970.
Laurence, Anne. Irish Studies and Myth History. History Today 37 December, 1987 : 8ff.
Lehane, Brendan. The Quest for Three Abbots. New York : Viking Press, 1968.
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McNeill, John T. The Celtic Churches : A History A. D. 200 to 1200. Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1974.
McNeill, John T. Makers of Christianity.
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Miller, Terry E. Oral Tradition Psalmody Surviving in England and Scotland (tunes and sources of Gaelic Psalm Singing ; tune examples) The Hymn 35, 15-22 January, 1984.
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Insular Celtic is divided into:

• P-Celtic, also called Brythonic or British
• Q-Celtic, also called Goidelic or Gaelic

P-Celtic consists of:

• Cumbric (extinct)
• Welsh
• Cornish
• Breton

Q-Celtic consists of:

• Irish
• Scots Gaelic
• Manx

There were two waves of invasions to the British Isles which gave rise to the P/Q variaties we have today. The first invasion was to Ireland in the 4th century BC, probably from Western France. This variant became Gaelic and spread from Ireland to the Isle of Man and Scotland. The second invasion (P-Celtic) was to southern England and Wales and from there (in 5th century AD) to Brittany. Celtic languages have also spread from Britain. 150 Welsh speakers started a Welsh colony in Patagonia in 1865, and there is also a Scots Gaelic community in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. (about 1,000 speakers today). Breton is not classified as continental Celtic because it came to Brittany from Britain. There was a Gaelic speaking community in the Carolinas but this died out in the early 20th century.

Pictish: The Picts were Celts but spoke a mixture of languages. They spoke a pre-Celtic language for ritualistic purposes (source: Prof Derek Thompson - "Why Gaelic matters"), and Pictish at other times. Pictish is mentioned The Cambridge Encyclopedia of language as possibly being Celtic or possibly being a non-Indo-European isolate like Basque. Thompson says "It is clear from the evidence of place names that there was much common ground between [Brythonic] and the Celtic constituent of Pictish". There is some debate as to whether Pictish was non IE or not, as there is so little information available on it.
Many of the Scottish Island names including Arran, Skye, Lewis and Jura are Pictish. For more information on placenames: (W.F.H. Nicolaisen "Scottish Place Names", Batsford, London 1976).

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