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Exploring the World
Exploring the World of the Celts
"The whole race...is madly fond of war, high-spirited and quick to battle...and on whatever pretext you stir them up, you will have them ready to face danger, even if they have nothing on their own side but their own strength and courage" - Strabo, first century BC. Warlike, flamboyant, courageous - the ancient Celts had a fearsome reputation, even among the bellicose Romans. For 500 years they dominated the barbarian lands north of the Alps, before being largely absorbed into the Roman Empire. But Celtic culture survived and achieved a glorious flowering in the post-Roman, early Christian era. Today Celtic influence can be found everywhere, in arts and crafts, in legends, in placenames and even in the languages we speak. In this new introduction to the world of the Celts, Simon James looks at all aspects of their history. Individual sections chart their rise, their way of life from farming to feasting, their wars, their gods, and their superb craftsmanship. Also highlighted are the hitherto neglected subject of Celtic life under Roman rule and persistent traditions that led to the Celtic renaissance in Ireland after AD 400. Original features include the latest discoveries; extracts from classical authors; illustrated retellings of the most famous myths and legends; tables of comparative information; diagrams, maps and site plans. The Celts once held sway over much of Europe, from Caledonia to Asia Minor. Here is the whole story of this immensely inventive and influential people.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
16 people are currently reading
603 people want to read
About the author
Simon James
6 books3 followersBritish archaeologist teaching at the university of Leicester.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 24, 2013
Very interesting history that is not often talked about. We think of Celtic people in Ireland, Wales, Scotland and perhaps Cornwall. Their civilization was remarkable and extended all the way into Asia Minor.
April 6, 2012
The information is quick hit, so if you're looking for in depth history of the Celts, look elsewhere. If you're looking for a quick read hitting all the high points of Celtic history with great pictures and illustrations, then this is the book for you!
March 17, 2014
The writing is dry (typical of most research books), but the vast information The World of the Celts contains takes the pain from reading and taught me several things I didn't already know. Book comes complete with terrific illustrations and art.
July 29, 2018
This was interesting. I had a Danish translation which seemed a bit clumsily phrased here and there, but nothing that put me off the material. There are loads of illustrations, although I do wish more of them had been in colour rather than black and white, especially photos of artefacts. I think I've learned something from this.
December 4, 2017
Very informative for such a small page count.
February 13, 2021
I randomly felt like learning more about my ancestors, so I checked this out of the library. It's excellent! Exactly what I wanted - I learned a lot, and the pictures were plentiful and gorgeous.
August 13, 2024
Nice overview! Gives a little info about just about everything
November 16, 2014
This is a review I originally wrote for Epinions. However, Epinions no longer accepts reviews, so I am sharing this with the goodreads community.
Everyone knows about the Greeks and the Romans. However, one group from classical times that often gets lost, due to their lack of writing, were the Celts. Before the Roman Empire was an empire, the Celts occupied much of what is now France, England, Ireland, even Spain and Germany. They gave us rich mythology (faeries, elves, earth religions) and art, and were well practiced in agriculture and warfare. In Boston, we even have a basketball team named after them, The Boston Celtics.
However, before reading this book by Simon James I really didn't know much about
The World of the Celts
The book as its title suggests was a good primer on the Celts, who they were, what they did and how they lived.
The book is divided up into 11 Chapters, each giving some information about a particular aspect of the Celts and Celtic life.
Chapter 1 is Who Were the Celts, and gives an overview of what historians consider to be the Celts.
Chapter 2 follows up with The Earliest Celts tracing the origin of the Celts, Chapter 3 is the Celtic Lands showing when and how far the Celts spread with a good amount of maps to illustrate.
Chapter 4 is The Patterns of Life, and it gives an idea of how the Celts lived. They relied a lot on agriculture and farming and were also very accomplished in arts.
Chapter 5 is the Celts at War. It doesn't seem like you can read about any civilization without reading about war. I did not know that many Celtic warriors went into battle naked and often painted themselves blue.
Chapter 6 is about their Gods and the afterlife. Much of what we know about the Celts is through their burial grounds. Chapter 7 focuses on La Tene Art and technology which was a way of coating armor with a high gloss resin and decorating it.
Chapter 8 The Celts and the Classical World shows when the Celts lived in relation to the history that you may already know, such as Juleus Ceaser. Chapter 9 focuses on The Celts of Ireland, the Celts that most people know of. Chapter 10 follows the Celtic Renaissance and Chapter 11 follows up with To Modern Times.
Book Details
This book is a softcover book with 181 pages. Simon James wrote it in 1995. It is full of full color photographs, illustrations and maps. There are many call out boxes that detail interesting facts. The book also contains many quotations from Roman writers, without whom we would know little about the Celts. Sometimes the reading could get a bit too dry, but overall it was an interesting read. The book is 7 by 9 1/2 inches and features a blue cover with one photograph of a simple horned helmet. Unlike the Vikings, Celtic helmets were sometimes adorned with horns. It also has a detailed table of contents, glossary and index.
Purchase Information
I purchased this title from Amazon.com as a used book. The retail price for this softcover title was 24.99, but I bought it for only ninety cents plus $3.99 shipping. (I am a bargain hunter, and I love books!) Since the pages were thick and glossy and full of photographs and information, I found it to be quite a bargain. Although it was less than 200 pages, the book was chock full of information.
Summary
Quite a nice book, especially if you find a good used copy on Amazon! I put this on my bookcase alongside my Encycopedia of Celtic Mythology and Celtic Myths and Legends. It was an easy read and very informative. I gave it four stars.
Everyone knows about the Greeks and the Romans. However, one group from classical times that often gets lost, due to their lack of writing, were the Celts. Before the Roman Empire was an empire, the Celts occupied much of what is now France, England, Ireland, even Spain and Germany. They gave us rich mythology (faeries, elves, earth religions) and art, and were well practiced in agriculture and warfare. In Boston, we even have a basketball team named after them, The Boston Celtics.
However, before reading this book by Simon James I really didn't know much about
The World of the Celts
The book as its title suggests was a good primer on the Celts, who they were, what they did and how they lived.
The book is divided up into 11 Chapters, each giving some information about a particular aspect of the Celts and Celtic life.
Chapter 1 is Who Were the Celts, and gives an overview of what historians consider to be the Celts.
Chapter 2 follows up with The Earliest Celts tracing the origin of the Celts, Chapter 3 is the Celtic Lands showing when and how far the Celts spread with a good amount of maps to illustrate.
Chapter 4 is The Patterns of Life, and it gives an idea of how the Celts lived. They relied a lot on agriculture and farming and were also very accomplished in arts.
Chapter 5 is the Celts at War. It doesn't seem like you can read about any civilization without reading about war. I did not know that many Celtic warriors went into battle naked and often painted themselves blue.
Chapter 6 is about their Gods and the afterlife. Much of what we know about the Celts is through their burial grounds. Chapter 7 focuses on La Tene Art and technology which was a way of coating armor with a high gloss resin and decorating it.
Chapter 8 The Celts and the Classical World shows when the Celts lived in relation to the history that you may already know, such as Juleus Ceaser. Chapter 9 focuses on The Celts of Ireland, the Celts that most people know of. Chapter 10 follows the Celtic Renaissance and Chapter 11 follows up with To Modern Times.
Book Details
This book is a softcover book with 181 pages. Simon James wrote it in 1995. It is full of full color photographs, illustrations and maps. There are many call out boxes that detail interesting facts. The book also contains many quotations from Roman writers, without whom we would know little about the Celts. Sometimes the reading could get a bit too dry, but overall it was an interesting read. The book is 7 by 9 1/2 inches and features a blue cover with one photograph of a simple horned helmet. Unlike the Vikings, Celtic helmets were sometimes adorned with horns. It also has a detailed table of contents, glossary and index.
Purchase Information
I purchased this title from Amazon.com as a used book. The retail price for this softcover title was 24.99, but I bought it for only ninety cents plus $3.99 shipping. (I am a bargain hunter, and I love books!) Since the pages were thick and glossy and full of photographs and information, I found it to be quite a bargain. Although it was less than 200 pages, the book was chock full of information.
Summary
Quite a nice book, especially if you find a good used copy on Amazon! I put this on my bookcase alongside my Encycopedia of Celtic Mythology and Celtic Myths and Legends. It was an easy read and very informative. I gave it four stars.
August 11, 2014
I bought this book back in 2009, I believe, when I was on a holiday in Dublin. One of the visited places was Trinity College, and in its shop I saw this book. Since I was, at the time, very much interested in The Vikings, the purchase was logical. Still... 4 years to read a book?
Simon James managed to create a very interesting introduction (with drawings and pictures/photos to accompany/complement the written word, including quotes from Roman writers/philosophers/emperors) to the world of the Celts. Who they were, how they spread over Europe and a little into Asia, how they lived, fought... What their beliefs were, how they treated their dead. What art they made, and how that art had various styles, spread over Europe.
Of course, a lot is also written about the Roman conquest, the influence, how rich Celts mainly created the myth that all adopted the Roman style of building and art. How Celtic tribes fought the Romans or joined them in return for Roman citizenship and goodies.
A few words are written about the Picts, about the era after the Roman invasion, and how Ireland and the rest evolved. Finally, in more modern times Celts (and Irish) also migrated, be that to the USA, Canada, Australia, ...
Everything in this books is nicely divided into chapters, that make it clear what aspect of these people is being discussed. This also means you don't have to read the book from front to back, but can pick any chapter as you see fit.
At the back you'll find a glossary, explaining all the applied terms. There's also an extensive list of where to find museums that display Celtic art or archaeological discoveries. And last but not least, Simon James added a Reading list, according to the chapters in the book, of which other books you can consult on the respective themes, in case you wish to explore it a little deeper.
Simon James managed to create a very interesting introduction (with drawings and pictures/photos to accompany/complement the written word, including quotes from Roman writers/philosophers/emperors) to the world of the Celts. Who they were, how they spread over Europe and a little into Asia, how they lived, fought... What their beliefs were, how they treated their dead. What art they made, and how that art had various styles, spread over Europe.
Of course, a lot is also written about the Roman conquest, the influence, how rich Celts mainly created the myth that all adopted the Roman style of building and art. How Celtic tribes fought the Romans or joined them in return for Roman citizenship and goodies.
A few words are written about the Picts, about the era after the Roman invasion, and how Ireland and the rest evolved. Finally, in more modern times Celts (and Irish) also migrated, be that to the USA, Canada, Australia, ...
Everything in this books is nicely divided into chapters, that make it clear what aspect of these people is being discussed. This also means you don't have to read the book from front to back, but can pick any chapter as you see fit.
At the back you'll find a glossary, explaining all the applied terms. There's also an extensive list of where to find museums that display Celtic art or archaeological discoveries. And last but not least, Simon James added a Reading list, according to the chapters in the book, of which other books you can consult on the respective themes, in case you wish to explore it a little deeper.
April 3, 2015
Well, first of all, this is a textbook. You probably should have known that from the get-go, and a closer look would have probably made that clear to me, too, but, here we are. I read it cover to cover anyway, but had to take it much slower than a regular book of similar length. It's a good book! Pretty heavy on the facts and light on the conjecture. Very little information is presented without being preceded with the archaeological or linguistic evidence supporting it. I can respect this, but find it hard to absorb information presented to me this way. Don't get me wrong, my total knowledge of Celtic People has risen (from zero to non-zero!), but, again, this is a textbook. You should build a syllabus around this book, not read it in a single week, to get its full value.
April 9, 2012
As a person who writes history for a living, I am loving Simon James' book. He captures the right balance between detail and story telling. The photos and drawings are illustrative more so than the usual pictures that inhabit the tomes of history. For anyone who is looking for a readable, overview of Celtic culture and history, this is a great book.
January 5, 2010
This one will take a while to get through. Parked on the night stand.
July 1, 2010
Great illustrations & photos. Very well done.
January 3, 2013
Excellent & fascinating!
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September 24, 2015Provides a condensed overview of the Celtic world including everything from theoretical beginnings to the idea of modern Celts and from fighting Rome to farming practices.
February 15, 2016
A wonderful, short overview of a fascinating subject. Very nice images to support the material.
August 14, 2008
So informative!!! Lots of detail, enough to satisfy my love for the celts.
June 6, 2011
A good short history of the Celts.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews