A search for authentic Celtic culture and its scattered, endangered survivorsWhat has become of the Celtic peoples whose culture once spanned Europe from the Atlantic to the Black Sea? Does the current faddish interest in Celtic nationalism, music, and arts signal the beginning of a revival for Celtic communities, or the last flicker of a dying culture? Award-winning author Marcus Tanner has journeyed throughout the Celtic worldâ??from the wilds of Northwest Scotland to the Isle of Man, from Brittany to Patagonia, and from Boston to Cape Bretonâ??seeking to discover the Celtic past and what remains of authentic Celtic culture today. Weaving together extensive historical research with first-hand observations of Celtic people in far-flung communities, Tanner finds that talk of a Celtic
… read more...revival is largely misplaced. He describes the fading prospects of those who have maintained a Celtic identity in the face of powerful pressures to assimilate. Despite great public interest in all things â??Celtic,â? the threats to the worldâ??s remaining Celtic communities, their language, and their culture are relentless. A distinct Celtic identity may not survive, Tanner fears, and such a loss would impoverish us all. Marcus Tanner is a freelance writer and journalist.A Statement from Marcus TannerProbably at no time in history has the word Celt (or Celtic) been bandied about with such enthusiasm and such disregard for its real significance as now. In the fields of music, of design, of art, of sport, of religion, of politicsâ??even of sex, the prevalence of Celtic themes is striking, contributing to a stereotype of the Celts as a resurgent force in the modern world.But it is little more than a marketing device, invented to suit the desires and dreams of people in search of an identity. The Celtic reality is different. Journeying from the highlands of Scotland, through the Isle of Man, Wales, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany, Nova Scotia, and Patagonia, I found wasted, gossamer-thin cultures, which, after holding their ground against powerful English- and French-speakers for a millennium and a half â??are quietly expiring.As well as describing their position now, I tried to describe how an alliance of politicians, schoolteachers, and churchmen from the dominant English (or French) culture over many generations eroded the languages, cultural traditions, and beliefs of the set of peoples we know as Celts at exactly the same time as urban society in England and France appropriated and romanticized those same traditions. The process of penetration and appropriation continues to this day. I offer no remedy for what looks like an irreversible decline. My aim was simple. To remind the world of what is disappearing in front of their eyes and in their own time.Read More read less...
