Celtic Britain
Read about who the Celts were. Then complete the sentences below. The word Celt comes from the Greek word, Keltoi, which means barbarians and is properly pronounced as "Kelt". No-one called the people living in Britain during the Iron Age, Celts until the eighteenth century. In fact the Romans called these people Britons, not Celts. The name Celts is a 'modern' name and is used to collectively describe all the many tribes of people living during the Iron Age. The Iron Age Celts lived here 750 years before the birth of Christ. The Iron Age ended in AD43 (43 years after Jesus was born) when the Romans invaded Britain.
The name 'Iron Age' comes from the discovery of a new metal called iron. We can find out a lot about the Celts through looking at objects made of iron and other materials which have survived over time, such as the Tal-y-Llyn plaque. Before the Iron Age the only metal used in Britain to make tools was bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin (hence the Bronze Age). The Tal-y-Llyn plaque was found in 1963 on Cadair Idris in north Wales. The pair of plaques are decorated with human faces. The faces have staring eyes, and straight hair. Archaeologists believe that the head was greatly respected by the Celts. Northwest Europe was dominated by three main Celtic groups:
the Gauls the Britons the Gaels
Before the Romans arrived, Britain consisted of a patchwork of tribal areas, each with its own king. Life was hard for the Celtic tribes. They were mainly farmers who grew, gathered or hunted for their own food. They were also fierce warriors who were often at war with each other. The small tribes of Brythonic Celts grew over the years into larger tribes with their own distinctive identities and living in their own special regions throughout Britain. Each tribe had its own name.
The Celts lived across most of Europe during the Iron Age. Today the Celts live in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and in Brittany, France. Their culture lives on in language, music, song and literature. Learn much more on http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/celts.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts/
Fact File The Iron Age Celts lived in Britain from …750 BC to 43 AD…………………………………………………………… The word Celt comes from …the Greek word Keltoi………… and it means …barbarians……. Romans called them ……Britons…………………. Before the Iron Age tools were made of …bronze………. The three main Celtic groups were ………the Gauls, the Britons and the Gaels……………… They were mainly ……farmers…… and …warriors………. Nowadays the Celts in Britain live in …Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man and Cornwall… ……………………………………………………………………………………………….
Listen to the following story on http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts/index.shtml?1
Complete the sentences:
1.
The story takes place at a ……roundhouse…………… and a …pool……
2.
Ffion is preparing …porridge……….
3.
Dion and his father, Gwion, are ……sleeping………….
4.
Ffion has run out of …water……….
5.
Dion thinks doing what his mum asked him could be …dangerous…………
These are some of the objects you can find in the house. Can you remember their names?
Cauldron
Weaving loom
Stone quern
Spear
Shield
Could you put all these chores to be done in the exact order Ffion mentions them?
6 Children to be nursed 1 Grain to be ground 3 Wood to be chopped 5 Walls to be painted 7 Bread to be made 2 Chickens to be fed 4 Fields to be ploughed
Sword
Answer the following questions about the story:
1.
Who does he meet at the forest? He meets Sabrina, water goddess of the river.
2.
What does she ask him? She asks him to give her a gift in exchange of water from her pool.
3.
What is the last object the goddess asks him to throw in the pool? The sword.
4.
Does he finally throw it? Why or why not? No, he doesn’t. His mum comes and avoids it.
5.
Is he worried about something? Yes, he thinks his mum will get angry when she finds out all the things he threw into the pool.
Learn about Celtic lifestyle
EVERYDAY TASKS Have a look at the tasks gallery on the following link and read the texts accompanying the images: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/ironage_tasks_gallery.shtml
Ask your partner about three of the tasks and fill in the corresponding information in the chart:
Which tasks did you choose? I chose……………………………………………………….
What did you learn about them? I learnt that ……………………………………….
RELEVANT INFORMATION TASK 1
TASK 2
TASK 3
Learn more about Life in the Iron Age and do the interactive activities: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/ironage_life/index_embed.shtml
Also check the following links to learn about houses, food, clothes, hill forts, leisure, religion… http://www.primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/celts/index.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/british_prehistory/ironage_intro_01.shtml
CELTIC LANGUAGES Read this article and then complete the information: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/society/language_celticbritons.shtml
ORIGIN
MAIN GROUPS
ALSO KNOWN AS
RELATED LANGUAGES
Goidelic
Q-Celtic
Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx
Brittonic / Brythonic
P-Celtic
Welsh, Cornish and Breton
Indo-European
CELTIC MYTHOLOGY Search information on the net about this topic and write about 5 characters related to Celtic mythology.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
POSTER MAKING Get into teams of three and apply all the knowledge you have acquired to make a poster on one of these topics: -A general outlook of Celtic Britain -Celtic lifestyle (you can focus on a particular aspect: food, house, clothes, religion, hill forts‌ or leave it more general) -Celtic mythology -Celtic languages A) Agree with your team on basic things you will need for your poster: MATERIALS: PICTURES / PHOTOGRAPHS: ONLINE REFERENCES FOR CAPTIONS:
DISPLAY:
PLAYING JEWELLERS Make your own designs. You can use the ones on this link for inspiration: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/celts/craft/content/metallicmakes.shtml
CELTIC BOOKMARKS Design yours. Use Celtic symbols and language. Here are some sentences you might want to use. Search the net to find any others if you prefer.
Gra, Dilseacht, Cairdeas -- love, loyalty, friendship Cha d'dhùin doras nach d'fhosgail doras -- No door ever closed, but another opened Ceileann searc ainimh 's locht -- Love is blind Tada gan iarracht -- Nothing without effort Is fhearr fheuchainn na bhith san duil -- It's better to try than to hope Is binn béal ina thost –- Silence is golden Eist moran agus can beagan –- Hear much and say little
Think about what you have learnt about Celts and Celtic culture in Britain. I especially liked to learn about …………………………………………………
My favourite activity was ……………………………………………………………
I didn’t like …………………………………………………………………………………