The Celts. Bronze Age to New Age
06 Aug 04

“Historians have got it wrong about the Celts, they have survived not despite their disunity but because of it.”
- John Haywood

The Celts have survived through more than 2,500 years of turbulent history, from their origins in the Bronze Age to the Celtomania of today. At their height in the 4^th and 5^th centuries BC the Celts dominated the greater part of Europe, before being forced into a long fighting retreat by the Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Normans, French and English. Now the Celts are confined to the western fringes of Europe.

Celtic history is generally presented as a heroic, romantic struggle for survival against the odds, in which their failure to unite against their common enemies is considered to have been a fatal weakness. But is this the correct interpretation?

John Haywood has taken a step back to look at the whole history of the Celtic nations from their prehistoric origins through to today. Viewed from this perspective he has seen the patterns of Celtic life and now believes that their incredible survival is down to the very disunity that many credit as their major failing.

When the Celts did unite, they always lost and lost badly. The unifying leaders, many of whom, like Gallic chieftain Vercingetorix, have been anointed by history as heroic figures, were in fact architects of defeat.

When disunited the diffuse nature of Celtic society gave stronger and better organised opponents no clear target to attack. This enabled the Celts to sustain resistance against seemingly overwhelming odds and wear down their opponents’ resolve. Had the Celts been more centralised and more united, they would now be extinct.

This sweeping chronicle is the first sustained attempt to examine the real reasons for Celtic survival. Its conclusions are provocative and cast light on the way other relatively weak peoples have sustained their identities in face of the aggression of far stronger powers.

Lloyd Laing, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at Nottingham said: “This is a masterly and accessible account of the Celts from prehistory to the present day. As a result readers can readily understand the present political, archaeological and cultural debates about Celtic identity. It is an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to understand the Celts.”

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