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Question: Can historical linguistics and/or modern genetics help us determine whether the west of Britain and Ireland were ‘Celtic’ in the Early Middle Ages

13 Oct 2022,3:20 AM

 

Can historical linguistics and/or modern genetics help us determine whether the west of Britain and Ireland were ‘Celtic’ in the Early Middle Ages?

Bibliography:
1 Collis, J. (2017). Celts ancient and modern: recent controversies in Celtic Studies. Studia Celtica Fenica 14: 58-74.
2 Leslie, S., Winney, B., Hellenthal, G., Davison, D., Boumertit, A., Day, T., Hutnik, K., Royrvik, E.C., Cunliffe.B., Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, International Multiple Sclerosis Genetics Consortium, Lawson, D.J., Falush, D., Freeman, C., Pirinen, M., Myers, S., Robinson, M., Donnelly, P., & Bodmer, W. (2015). The fine-scale genetic structure of the British population. Nature 519: 309-14.
3 Stewart, I. (2019) The Mother Tongue: historical study of the Celts and their language(s) in 18th century Britain and Ireland. Past and Present 243: 71-107.

Expert answer

 

There is no one answer to this question, as the evidence is complex and open to interpretation. However, both historical linguistics and modern genetics can provide some insights.

 

Historical linguistics can trace the evolution of languages over time, and this can be used to infer the origins of a particular language or group of languages. For example, the Celtic languages (such as Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton) share common features that suggest they are descended from a common ancestor. This common ancestor was probably spoken in parts of Britain and Ireland during the Iron Age or earlier.

 

Similarly, modern genetics can be used to trace the ancestry of populations. Studies of genetic markers have shown that there is a clear genetic distinction between the people of Britain and Ireland and the people of mainland Europe. This suggests that the British and Irish populations have been relatively isolated from other European populations for many thousands of years.

 

Studies of both historical linguistics and modern genetics suggest that the people of Britain and Ireland have a long history in these islands, and that they are distinct from other European populations. However, it is important to remember that these are just two pieces of evidence, and there is much more research needed to confirm or refute the idea that the British Isles were Celtic in the Early Middle Ages.

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