The Celts - Episode 2 of 2 - Full Documentary
In this two-part history documentary series we take a fascinating journey through the history of the Celtic culture, following the trail back to pre-Roman times when the Celts were regarded as the first masters of Iron Age Europe. The appeal of being a Celt has rarely diminished over the centuries. Their leaders were men and women of legend - King Arthur of the Britons, the Warrior Queen Boudicca, and Vercingetorix the Gaul. However few people understand who the Celts actually were or what their true legacy is, they had powerful priests called Druids who memorised the secret knowledge of generations, but it all ended in tragedy. This vibrant culture was wiped out of Europe and the Celts were driven to the Atlantic fringes by the legions of Rome. They became the eternal victims, the romantic underdogs of history. Yet, 2,000 years later, their impact still casts its spell today, but how much is myth and how much is true? This powerful series cuts through the romanticism and clichéd images to give a true picture of Celtic culture, and investigates what ‘Celtic’ actually means, from the first time the term was used in the 7th century BC to the ‘Celtic Christianity’ of the early Middle Ages. There are also insights into various aspects of ‘Celtic’ life and language taken from interviews with a number of historians. Presenter Richard Rudgley follows the trail back to pre-Roman times, looking into every aspect of Celtic life to show how they adapted to change.
In this second and final episode, a monument in the Shetland Islands is one of the largest and most mysterious of Iron Age Britain. In Wales, a reconstructed hill fort and roundhouses echoes the way of European Celtic society, the people were warriors, but also farmers using iron tools – ones which we still use today. Roman writing tells of Britons who spoke a language similar to the Celts of Gaul and shared a class of religious leaders unique in the Celtic world – Druids. Two million people in Britain and Ireland speak a Celtic Language – the greatest number is Welsh. Does this make an even stronger connection between the people of the British Isles and Celts of Europe? In Ireland a rocky crag soaring vertically seven hundred feet out of the Atlantic Ocean sums up the unique spirit of what became Celtic Christianity.
In this second and final episode, a monument in the Shetland Islands is one of the largest and most mysterious of Iron Age Britain. In Wales, a reconstructed hill fort and roundhouses echoes the way of European Celtic society, the people were warriors, but also farmers using iron tools – ones which we still use today. Roman writing tells of Britons who spoke a language similar to the Celts of Gaul and shared a class of religious leaders unique in the Celtic world – Druids. Two million people in Britain and Ireland speak a Celtic Language – the greatest number is Welsh. Does this make an even stronger connection between the people of the British Isles and Celts of Europe? In Ireland a rocky crag soaring vertically seven hundred feet out of the Atlantic Ocean sums up the unique spirit of what became Celtic Christianity.