Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T14:28:27.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - The Celtic kingdoms

from PART I - THE SIXTH CENTURY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

Paul Fouracre
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Get access

Summary

Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Wales, south-western Britain (Cornwall and Devon) and Brittany were the principal Celtic countries in the sixth and seventh centuries, although some other parts of western Europe still had a Celtic vernacular language at that time. This was certainly the case in north-west Spain and in parts of England, but may also have been so in central France. These Celtic countries are defined linguistically: they are the areas in which Celtic languages were normally and primarily used. The languages themselves fall into two broad groups, Brittonic (a type of P-Celtic) and Goidelic (Q-Celtic), the language groups of Britain and Ireland respectively. During this period some distinctions between the constituent Brittonic languages developed, but these were relatively slight and did not prevent communication across the group; Primitive Cumbric, therefore, the language of southern Scotland and northwest England, was little different from Primitive Welsh, which was itself little different from Primitive Cornish. Primitive Breton was at this stage indistinguishable from Cornish, although it remains a matter of debate whether Breton was introduced to north-west France by immigrants from Britain or whether some dialects were the natural (or reinforced or brittonised) continuation of the P-Celtic Gaulish that had once been spoken over much of western Europe. The main Pictish language, the language of eastern and northern Scotland, appears to have been a rather different form of P-Celtic (possibly closer to Gaulish) and may or may not have been immediately intelligible to speakers of Cumbric to the south. Though we might expect some regional differences within it, speakers of the Goidelic group were largely confined to Ireland and spoke a single Primitive Irish.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ÓCróinín, D. (1995), Early Medieval Ireland, 400–1200, London
Anderson, M. O. (1973), Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland, Edinburgh
Astill, G. and Davies, W. (1997), A Breton Landscape, London
Baillie, M. G. L. (1995), ‘Patrick, comets and Christianity’, Emania 13Google Scholar
Barrow, G. W. S. (1973), The Kingdom of the Scots, London
Bartrum, P. C. (ed.) (1966), Early Welsh Genealogical Tracts, Cardiff
Bernier, G. (1982), Les Chrétientés bretonnes continentales depuis les origines jusqu’au IXème siècle (Dossiers du Centre Régional Archéologique d’Alet E), Rennes
Byrne, F. J. (1973), Irish Kings and High Kings, London
Campbell, E. (1984), ‘E ware and Aquitaine – a reconsideration of the petrological evidence’, Scottish Archaeological Review 3Google Scholar
Campbell, E. and Lane, A. (1992), ‘Celtic and Germanic interaction in Dalriada: the seventh-century metalworking site at Dunadd’, in Higgitt, J. and Spearman, M. (eds.), The Age of Migrating Ideas: Early Medieval Art in Britain and Ireland, EdinburghGoogle Scholar
Carney, J. (1955), Studies in Irish Literature and History, Dublin
Dark, K. (1993), Civitas to Kingdom: British Political Continuity 300–800, Leicester
Davies, W. (1978), An Early Welsh Microcosm: Studies in the Llandaff Charters (Royal Historical Society), London
Davies, W. (1978), An Early Welsh Microcosm, London
Davies, W. (1979a), The Llandaff Charters, Aberystwyth
Davies, W. (1979b), ‘Roman settlements and post-Roman estates in south-east Wales’, in Casey, P. J. (ed.), The End of Roman Britain (BAR British Series 71), OxfordGoogle Scholar
Davies, W. (1982a), Wales in the Early Middle Ages, Leicester
Davies, W. (1982b), ‘The Latin charter-tradition in western Britain, Brittany and Ireland in the early mediaeval period’, in Whitelock, D., McKitterick, R. and Dumville, D. (eds.), Ireland in Early Mediaeval Europe, CambridgeGoogle Scholar
Davies, W. (1993), ‘Celtic kingships in the early middle ages’, in Duggan, A. J. (ed.), Kings and Kingship in Medieval Europe, LondonGoogle Scholar
Dumville, D. N. (1972–74), ‘Some aspects of chronology of the Historia Brittonum’, Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies 25Google Scholar
Dumville, D. N. (1975–76), ‘“Nennius” and the Historia Brittonum’, Studia Celtica 10–11Google Scholar
Dumville, D. N. (1985), see Primary Sources
Falc’hun, F. (1963), Histoire de la langue bretonne d’après la géographie linguistique, 2 vols., Rennes
Falc’hun, F. (1970), Les noms de lieux celtiques, Rennes
Fleuriot, L. (1980), Les Origines de la Bretagne, Paris
Fleuriot, L. (1980), Les origines de la Bretagne, Paris
Forsyth, K. (1997), ‘Pictish symbols as a formal writing system’, in Henry, D. (ed.), The Worm, the Germ and the Thorn, BalgaviesGoogle Scholar
Galliou, P. and Jones, M. (1991), The Bretons, Oxford
Goodburn, R., Hassall, M. W. C. and Tomlin, R. S. O. (1978), ‘Roman Britain in 1977’, Britannia 9Google Scholar
Grabowski, K. and Dumville, D. (1984), Chronicles and Annals of Mediaeval Ireland and Wales, Woodbridge
Henderson, I. (1967), The Picts, London
Henderson, I. (1975), ‘Pictish territorial divisions’, in McNeill, P. and Nicholson, R. (eds.), A Historical Atlas of Scotland c. 400–1600, St AndrewsGoogle Scholar
Herren, M. W. (1974–87), The Hisperica Famina, 2 vols., Toronto
Hill, P. (1997), Whithorn and Saint Ninian: The Excavation of a Monastic Town 1984–91, Whithorn
Hughes, K. (1972), Early Christian Ireland: Introduction to the Sources, London
Jackson, K. H. (1953), Language and History in Early Britain, Edinburgh
Jackson, K. H. (1963), ‘On the northern British section in Nennius’, in Chadwick, N. K. et al., Celt and Saxon, Cambridge
Jackson, K. H. (1967), A Historical Phonology of Breton, Dublin
Jackson, K. H. (1980), ‘The Pictish language’, in Wainwright, F. T. (ed.), The Problem of the Picts, Perth (revision of Wainwright 1955)Google Scholar
Koch, J. T. (1995), ‘The conversion and the transition from Primitive to Old Irish, c.367–c.637’, Emania 13Google Scholar
Koch, J. T. (1997), The Aneirin of Gododdin, Cardiff
La Borderie, A. Moyne (1896–1904), Histoire de Bretagne, 6 vols., Rennes and Paris
Lane, A. (1984), ‘Some Pictish problems at Dunadd’, in Friell, J. G. P. and Watson, W. G. (eds.), Pictish Studies: Settlement, Burial and Art in Dark Age Northern Britain (BAR British Series 125), OxfordGoogle Scholar
Lane, A. and Campbell, E. (1993), Excavations at Dunadd, Edinburgh
Lapidge, M. (1984), ‘Gildas’s education and the Latin culture of sub-Roman Britain’, in Lapidge, and Dumville, (1984)
Lapidge, M. and Dumville, D. (eds.) (1984), Gildas: New Approaches, Woodbridge
Macalister, R. A. S., Corpus Inscriptionum Insularum Celticarum, 2 vols., Dublin (1945, 1949)
McCone, K. (1982), ‘Brigit in the seventh century’, Peritia 1Google Scholar
McManus, D. (1991), A Guide to Ogam, Dublin
Meckler, M. (1997), ‘The Annals of Ulster and the date of the meeting at Druim Cett’, Peritia 11Google Scholar
Murphy, G. (1952), ‘On the dates of two sources used in Thurneysen’s Heldensage i: Baile Chuind and the date of Cín Dromma Snechtaí’, Ériu 16Google Scholar
Ní Dhonnchadha, M. (1982), ‘The guarantor list of Cáin Adomnáin, 697’, Peritia 1Google Scholar
Nash-Williams, V. E. (1950), The Early Christian Monuments of Wales, Cardiff
O’Brien, M. A. (ed.), Corpus Genealogiarum Hiberniae, Dublin (1962)
Okasha, E. (1993), Corpus of Early Christian Inscribed Stones of South-West Britain, London and New York
Okasha, E. (1993), Corpus of Early Inscribed Stones of South-West Britain, Leicester
Padel, O. J. (1981), ‘The Cornish background of the Tristan stories’, Cambridge Medieval Celtic Studies 1Google Scholar
Pearce, S. M. (1978), The Kingdom of Dumnonia, Padstow
Radford, C. A. R. (1951), ‘Report on the excavations at Castle Dore’, Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall n. s. 1, AppendixGoogle Scholar
Rowland, J. (1990), Early Welsh Saga Poetry, Cambridge
Small, A. (ed.) (1987), The Picts: A New Look at Old Problems, Dundee
Smyth, A. P. (1972), ‘The earliest Irish annals: their first contemporary entries, and the earliest centres of recording’, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 72cGoogle Scholar
Thomas, C. (1968), ‘The evidence from north Britain’, in Barley, M. W. and Hanson, R. P. C. (eds.), Christianity in Britain, 300–700, LeicesterGoogle Scholar
Thomas, C. (1990), ‘“Gallici Nautae de Galliarum Provinciis” – a sixth/seventh century trade with Gaul, reconsidered’, Medieval Archaeology 34Google Scholar
Thomas, C. (1994), And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? Post-Roman Inscriptions in Western Britain, Cardiff
Tonnerre, N.-Y. (1994), Naissance de la Bretagne, Angers
Wainwright, F. T. (ed.) (1955), The Problem of the Picts, Edinburgh and London (repr. with revisions, 1980)
Weir, D. A. (1993), ‘Dark ages and the pollen record’, Emania 11Google Scholar
Wood, I. (1988), ‘Forgery in Merovingian hagiography’, in Fälschungen im Mittelalter. Internationaler Kongress der Monumenta Germaniae Historica, München, 16–17 September 1986 (MGH Schriften 33, pt 5, Fingierte Briefe, Frömmigkeit und Fälschungen, Realienfälschungen), HanoverGoogle Scholar
Wood, I. (1988), ‘Forgery in Merovingian hagiography’, in Fälschungen im Mittelalter, 6 vols., Hanover (1988–90), vGoogle Scholar
Wooding, J. M. (1996), Communication and Commerce along the Western Sealanes AD 400–800 (BAR International Series 654), Oxford

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×