The Celtic Kingdom of Dumnonia existed between the fourth and eighth centuries. The name derives from the Celtic tribal people the Dumnonii who inhabited the area which is now known as Cornwall (Kernow), Devon (Dyfneint- meaning 'deep valley dwellers') and Somerset (the 'Summer Land' of the Mabinogion).

If ever the Celts needed a leader it was now and if they did not have one, he would need to be invented. Step forward Arthur, styled “King of the Britons” by some writers, although history mostly records him as a war leader. Some believe that Arthur was an authentic historical figure while others think him a romantic wish fulfilling myth, indeed the very name Arthur can be traced to a number of possible roots such as the Roman Artorius (meaning ploughman) or to the Welsh “Art” meaning “Bear”. Tag this to “Ur”, old Welsh for “Man” and we have Arthur or Bear Man, i.e., man of strength. For at least 1,000 years the name Celt was not used at all, and nobody called themselves Celts or Celtic, until from about 1700, after the word 'Celtic' was rediscovered in classical texts, it was applied for the first time to the distinctive culture, history, traditions, language of the modern Celtic nations – Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man. [37] 'Celt' is a modern English word, first attested in 1707 in the writing of Edward Lhuyd, whose work, along with that of other late 17th-century scholars, brought academic attention to the languages and history of the early Celtic inhabitants of Great Britain. [38] The English words Gaul, Gauls ( pl.) and Gaulish (first recorded in the 16–17th centuries) come from French Gaule and Gaulois, a borrowing from Frankish * Walholant, "Roman land" (see Gaul: Name), the root of which is Proto-Germanic * walha-, "foreigner, Roman, Celt", whence the English word 'Welsh' ( Old English wælisċ). Proto-Germanic *walha comes from the name of the Volcae, [39] a Celtic tribe who lived first in southern Germany and central Europe, then migrated to Gaul. [40] This means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia (which should have produced * Jaille in French), though it does refer to the same ancient region. [ citation needed] Cornwall alone then held out against the Saxons, the natural fortress of Cornwall became a place of refuge for many of the Celts after they were driven westwards by Saxon conquerors. The name Cornwall derives from the old English pre seventh century Cornwealas tribe, from Kernow, the native name that the Cornish used to refer to themselves, it is of uncertain etymology, perhaps connected with a Celtic element meaning "horn" or "headland" compounded with the Anglo-Saxon "Wealas" "strangers", or "Foreigners".

The earliest undisputed examples of Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions from the 6th century BC. [18] Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names. Insular Celtic languages are attested from the 4th century AD in Ogham inscriptions, though they were clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century AD. Elements of Celtic mythology are recorded in early Irish and early Welsh literature. Most written evidence of the early Celts comes from Greco-Roman writers, who often grouped the Celts as barbarian tribes. They followed an ancient Celtic religion overseen by druids. The Celtic cross represents the region’s unique take on the Catholic cross. In addition, many Celtic folklore stories, such as the legend of Cu Chulainn, are still told in Ireland. The existence of the Celts was first documented in the seventh or eighth century B.C. The Roman Empire, which ruled much of southern Europe at that time, referred to the Celts as “Galli,” meaning barbarians. Lugh's wives are variously given as Bui, Nás, Echtach, or Énglic, although in some sources he has all four. The Luigni, an ancient tribe inhabiting what is today County Meath and County Sligo in the north of Ireland, considered themselves descendants of Lugh, even if in many sources he has no children. When he does have a son, it is Cú Chulainn, the great hero of the epic Ulster Cycle, whose mother is Deichtine. Deichtine either swallows a miniaturised version of Lugh while drinking a cup of water or dreams of the god so that she miraculously becomes pregnant with Cú Chulainn. Finally, Lugh has s a faithful dog, Failinis. The Tuatha Dé Danann

In the first century BC, Roman leader Julius Caesar reported that the Gauls called themselves 'Celts', Latin: Celtae, in their own tongue. [30] Thus whether it was given to them by others or not, it was used by the Celts themselves. Greek geographer Strabo, writing about Gaul towards the end of the first century BC, refers to the "race which is now called both Gallic and Galatic", though he also uses Celtica as another name for Gaul. He reports Celtic peoples in Iberia too, calling them Celtiberi and Celtici. [31] Pliny the Elder noted the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, [32] which epigraphic findings have confirmed. [33] [34]In various [ clarification needed] academic disciplines the Celts were considered a Central European Iron Age phenomenon, through the cultures of Hallstatt and La Tène. However, archaeological finds from the Halstatt and La Tène culture were rare in Iberia, southwestern France, northern and western Britain, southern Ireland and Galatia [68] [69] and did not provide enough evidence for a culture like that of Central Europe. It is equally difficult to maintain that the origin of the Iberian Celts can be linked to the preceding Urnfield culture. This has resulted in a newer theory that introduces a 'proto-Celtic' substratum and a process of Celticisation, having its initial roots in the Bronze Age Bell Beaker culture. [70] Vercingetorix was the son of Celtillus the Arvernian, leader of the Gallic tribes. Vercingetorix came to power after his formal designation as chieftain of the Arverni at the oppidum Gergovia in 52 BC. He immediately established an alliance with other Gallic tribes, took command, combined all forces and led them in the Celts' most significant revolt against Roman power. He won the Battle of Gergovia against Julius Caesar in which several thousand Romans and their allies were killed and the Roman legions withdrew.

Boudicca: I am Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni. When my husband died, he left his kingdom both to me and the Roman emperor, Nero, to share. Because Classical writers did not call the inhabitants of Britain and Ireland Κελτοί ( Keltoi) or Celtae, [5] [8] [9] some scholars prefer not to use the term for the Iron Age inhabitants of those islands. [5] [8] [9] [10] However, they spoke Celtic languages, shared other cultural traits, and Roman historian Tacitus says the Britons resembled the Gauls in customs and religion. [11] Modern Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. The Romans knew the Celts then living in present-day France as Gauls. The territory of these peoples probably included the Low Countries, the Alps and present-day northern Italy. Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars described the 1st-century BC descendants of those Gauls. [ citation needed]

Celts of Britain

Ancient Celtic settlement Chysauster Village, a late Iron Age and Romano-British village of courtyard houses in Cornwall, England. He is said to have had nine sons and the early Welsh kingdoms of Ceredigion and Meirionyydd were supposedly named after his two sons, Ceredig and Meirion. Cunedda’s successors went on to establish the kingdom of Gwynedd. Alliances and mergers were constantly being made and broken as noted by Tacitus many years before, the situation being further muddled by the interference of Rome who would award the title “King of the Britons” to whoever was currently in favour. Vercingetorix was imprisoned in the Tullianum in Rome for almost six years before being publicly displayed in the first of Caesar's four triumphs in 46 BC. He was ceremonially strangled at the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus after the triumph. [18] A plaque in the Tullianum indicates that he was beheaded in 49 BC. Roman soldiers are put into groups of around 6,000 men known as legions. The Roman army is well armed, very skilled at working together and heavily protected by armour. Plutarch. "The Life of Julius Caesar". The Parallel Lives. Loeb Classical Library Edition . Retrieved 15 July 2015.