- Preface-
between classical and Celtic Europe; and Sean McGrail discusses the vital issue
of how goods and people were transported. Parts VI and VII are concerned with
technology, craftsmanship and Celtic art: bronze-and goldworking are examined
by Peter Northover, whilst William Manning explores the extraction of iron and
the blacksmith's craft. The use of wood for building and, in particular, for making
vehicles is dealt with by Stuart Piggott. The craft of the Celtic potters is treated by
Alex Gibson, who is especially interested in technological and artistic development.
Ruth and Vincent Megaw discuss the enigma of Celtic art, its nature, function and
interpretation; Martyn Jope concentrates on the Celtic artist; Sara Champion
analyses the specific art forms associated with personal ornament, as found in
both settlements and graves, and argues that such items are important not only
intrinsically but as indicators of rank and relationships within society. In Part VIII
Anne Ross discusses priests and aspects of ritual, including festivals; Jane Webster's
chapter explores the concept of sacred space and, in particular, expresses doubts
about the usual interpretation of the literary evidence. Miranda Green's survey of
the evidence for divinities and for Celtic perceptions of the supernatural is balanced
by Gerald Wait's examination of burial ritual and the implications that may be drawn
from this material about beliefs concerning the dead and the afterlife.
The Celts jn their different geographical settings are considered in Parts IX and
X: in the former, Celtic settlement in Italy and Spain is discussed by Otto-Herman
Frey and Majolie Lenerz-de Wilde respectively; surveys of the Celts in France and
eastern Europe are presented by Olivier Biichsenschiitz and Elizabeth Jerem; the
problems of ethnicity in identifying the relationship between Celts and Germanic
peoples in the Rhineland regions are explored by Colin Wells. Part X is concerned
with the western Celts: here, the Britons under the influence of romanization are
surveyed by Graham Webster but, by contrast, Barry Raftery looks at Ireland, an
area virtually free from the overlay of Roman tradition. The evidence from Scotland
and Wales, discussed by Euan Mackie and Jeffrey Davies respectively, presents
aspects of Celtic culture in lands which were frontier zones, areas with a Roman
military presence but never fully integrated into the Roman Empire.
Finally, although the central focus of the book deals with ancient Celtic Europe
between 600 Be and AD 600, Parts XI and XII extend the chronological framework
to examine Celtic culture in the early medieval period and to look at Celtic traditions
in the modern world. In Part XI, Thomas Charles-Edwards explores the relation-
ships both between language and nationality and between language and status
among British and Irish Celts from AD 400 to AD 1000; he looks also at the wider
perspective of connections between Britain/Ireland and the wider world. Mark
Redknap specifically studies the evidence for early Christianity in the Celtic West,
focusing upon religious centres and monuments. This chapter is balanced by
appraisals of the vernacular mythological tradition in Wales and Ireland, presented
by Sioned Davies and Proinsias Mac Cana. This mythic literature was compiled in
the medieval period but draws on pagan material which may well incorporate
pre-Christian oral tradition. The concluding section, Part XII, deals with present-day
Celts: Wynne Lloyd discusses the inextricable links between language and Welsh
identity from the perspective of a Welsh-speaking Welshman; Glanville Price surveys
the six surviving Celtic languages, their respective status in modern culture and the
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