In a time pre-dating the Romans, Britain and Ireland was inhabited by a race of people that are known to history as the Celts.
Gradually displaced by the incursions of Romans, Saxons, Vikings and Normans, these people were either intergrated or marginalised by the later cultures and became only a shadow of their former self. We hear some much about Celtic heritage, but who were they and what remains of them today? On the Atlantic borders there is still whisper of them, Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the English west coast all contain
evidence for these people, and Alistair Moffat has set out to find out about these people in The Sea Kingdoms.
One of the reasons that these people are so hard to trace is that subsequent invaders have either converted them or changed their virtues to vices and encouraged their downfall. The advent of christianity accelerated this process and the celtic pagan ways were changed into something sinister to be vilified. Thats not to say that if you know where to look you cant find their ghost in the most unlikely of places. There is much over looked evidence in the place names of the people, places once named continue to be called by the original name long after the founders have been surpassed. This is a theme that Moffat has empasised in his other books, particularly in Arthur and the Lost Kingdoms, a quest for Arthurian tradition in lowland Scotland, the place of his birth. Not just in place names, does the evidence shine forth, in peoples names and even in song, all of these are examined as the opening section of the book. An understanding of linguistics is not required as Moffat has a way of passing even the most detailed information on to the reader without becoming complex or condescending.
After examining the celtic spirit, describing one man as tempermental, "50% temper and 50% mental," a joking but not unwarranted summation of the firey celtic nature, the book moves into the realms of
history. Firstly the legends from the celtic dreamtime are examined to get an insight into the beliefs of the people,.
This is followed by a regional history of the celtic fringe, Ireland and the areas that border the Irish Sea, Scotland and the Outer Islands. From the Roman invasion the middle ages and throught to the present day, highlighting the history and plight of the celts and their descendants, Culloden, Boyne, Stirling Bridge, the highland clearances and Cromwells campaign in Ireland, ever major turn of events is examined.
An finally where are these people today, the millenia of celtic tradition is still to be seen in the people and the landscape of the Atlantic shore, Its a history of whispers and forgetfulness, but one that this book will retrace for you. Its is a mixture of history, anthropology, linguistics and mythology but is all you will need to find the celtic peoples still clinging to their traditions on their windswept and ancient shores.