The Celtic nations are territories in Northern and Western Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and cultural traits such as art, history, music, dance and literature have survived.
The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional territory or region. It is not synonymous with "sovereign state".
The six territories recognised as Celtic nations are Brittany (Breizh), Cornwall (Kernow), Ireland (Éire), the Isle of Man (Mannin), Scotland (Alba), and Wales (Cymru). Each of these regions has a Celtic language that is either still spoken or was spoken into modern times. In addition, areas of north-western Spain, particularly Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias, are sometimes identified as Celtic, due to the unique culture of the region. Unlike the others, however, no Celtic language has been spoken there in modern times. Before the expansions of the Roman Republic and Germanic tribes, a significant part of Europe was Celtic.
Read more about Celtic Nations: Six Celtic Nations, Celtic Identity, Terminology, Territories of The Ancient Celts, Celtic Diaspora
Famous quotes containing the words celtic and/or nations:
“Coming to Rome, much labour and little profit! The King whom you seek here, unless you bring Him with you you will not find Him.”
—Anonymous 9th century, Irish. “Epigram,” no. 121, A Celtic Miscellany (1951, revised 1971)
“As I drew a still fresher soil about the rows with my hoe, I disturbed the ashes of unchronicled nations who in primeval years lived under these heavens, and their small implements of war and hunting were brought to the light of this modern day.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)