On Furphies: what we really don't know about the 'Celts'

[la_marquise]

I have my professional hat on, today, over on the SF Novelists blog. I'm talking about the concept of 'Celts', the origin of myths about their history and the law around women. You can find the article here. You can comment here or there.

SKirt of the day: flippy blurred floral.

Comments

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

What I have found interesting is the classical writers' description of the diversity of the inhabitants of Britain - small and dark in the south west, tall and blond in the south east, tall and red-haired in the north. And for much of prehistory, culturally there were always major differences between the north and the south.

There was, by the way, a very good children's book about Welsh legends in my childhood - it was seminal for me. It contained retellings of the Four Branches and Culhwch and Olwen, and other later stories besides; it led me in the direction of the Emperor Arthur (and ultimately to so heretical an idea about him that I don't, at present, put it in writing, though it's at the root of my historical novel, which is totally devoid of any supernatural element. If you'd like to discuss this send me a PM and I'll send you my email address). I would, however, love to have the whole story hinted at in the "Triads" about Caesar's invasion, that turns the whole thing into a romance.

As a final thought, from the archaeological pov in particular, the dividing line between "Celts" and "Germans" seems to be very fuzzy; there even seems to be some fuzziness in linguistic features. Not that this last is particularly helpful, given the similarities of some grammatical features in Welsh and Ancient Egyptian.

[pengolodh-sc.livejournal.com]

There was, by the way, a very good children's book about Welsh legends in my childhood

In English or Welsh? If in English, what was the title?

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

English; something like "Welsh Legends and Folk Tales" by (wouldn't you guess) Jones - the one who back in the day did a translation of the Mabinogion.

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

Specifically, Gwyn Jones. Just found it on line - part of the Oxford Myths and Legends series (had to look for it there as I think my younger daughter has my copy at the moment)

[sharpwords.livejournal.com]

I have a copy of that, a Puffin paperback from the 80s which is now falling apart in a couple of places from 30 years of love.
(I had to go around all the shelves in the house till I found it; was worried I'd loaned it out too.)

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

Mine is hardback, which is probably just as well as it has had nearly twice that length of love from two generations.

It's actually rather funny. Both were born and brought up in London, but my elder daughter has always identified herself as Welsh while her sister was very emphatically English. But now that she's on the point of moving to North Wales she's suddenly discovered her roots (more helpful than mine; I'm from South Wales, which will be tricky, but her father's mother's family was from North Wales)

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

Yes, precisely. We are dealing with a category created by an outside group, who lumped all sorts of people's together mainly by geography, drew parallels between their cultures which may not have been considered parallels at all by the cultures themselves and then became Authorities due to historical accident.
I had that book too. Good stuff.