Editing Celts (section)

==Religion and mythology==
[[File:Gundestrupkedlen- 00054 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The Celtic god [[Cernunnos]] on the [[Gundestrup cauldron]].]]

===Ancient Celtic religion===
{{Main|Ancient Celtic religion|Celtic mythology|Proto-Celtic religion}}
[[File:Keltenfuerst Glauberg.jpg|thumb|The Celtic "Prince of [[Glauberg]]", Germany, with a [[leaf crown]], perhaps indicating a priest, {{Circa|500 BC}}.]]
Like other European Iron Age societies, the Celts practised a [[Ancient Celtic religion|polytheistic religion]] and believed in an [[afterlife]].<ref name="Cunliffe religion">{{cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Cunliffe |title=The Ancient Celts |date=2018 |orig-date=1997 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |pages=275–277, 286, 291–296 |edition=2nd |chapter=Chapter 11: Religious systems}}</ref><ref>{{Cite thesis |type=undergraduate paper |last=Bell |first=Kristin |title=Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Celtic Culture |publisher=[[University of Georgia]] |via=Academia.edu |url= https://www.academia.edu/4956394 |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{unreliable source|certain=y|date=October 2024|reason=Undergrad papers are categorically unreliable.}} Celtic religion varied by region and over time, but had "broad structural similarities",<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> and there was "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples.<ref>Ross, Anne (1986). ''The Pagan Celts''. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 103.</ref> Because the ancient Celts did not have writing, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts, and literature from the early Christian period.<ref name="Green, The Celtic World">[[Miranda Aldhouse-Green|Green, Miranda]] (2012). "Chapter 25: The Gods and the supernatural", ''The Celtic World''. Routledge. pp.465–485</ref>

The names of over two hundred [[Celtic deities]] have survived (see [[list of Celtic deities]]), although it is likely that many of these were alternative names, regional names or titles for the same deity.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> Some deities were venerated only in one region, but others were more widely known.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> According to [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green]], the Celts were also [[Celtic Animism|animists]], believing that every part of the natural world had a spirit.<ref name="Green, The Celtic World" />

The Celts seem to have had a father god, who was often a god of the tribe and of the dead ([[Toutatis]] probably being one name for him); and a mother goddess who was associated with the land, earth and fertility<ref name="Koch religion">{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2006 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |pages=1488–1491}}</ref> ([[Dea Matrona]] probably being one name for her). The mother goddess could also take the form of a war goddess as [[Tutelary deity|protectress]] of her tribe and its land.<ref name="Koch religion" /> There also seems to have been a male celestial god—identified with [[Taranis]]—associated with thunder, the wheel, and the bull.<ref name="Koch religion" /> There were gods of skill and craft, such as the pan-regional god [[Lugus]], and the smith god [[Gobannos]].<ref name="Koch religion" /> Celtic healing deities were often associated with [[sacred spring]]s,<ref name="Koch religion" /> such as [[Sirona (goddess)|Sirona]] and [[Borvo]]. Other pan-regional deities include the horned god [[Cernunnos]], the horse and fertility goddess [[Epona]], the divine son [[Maponos]], as well as [[Belenos]], [[Ogmios]], and [[Sucellos]].<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /><ref name="Green, The Celtic World" /> Caesar says the Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> [[Triplicity]] is a common theme in Celtic cosmology, and a number of [[Triple deity|deities were seen as threefold]],<ref name="Sjoestedt">[[Marie-Louise Sjoestedt|Sjoestedt, Marie-Louise]] (originally published in French, 1940, reissued 1982). ''Gods and Heroes of the Celts''. Translated by Myles Dillon, Turtle Island Foundation {{ISBN|0-913666-52-1}}, pp. 16, 24–46.</ref> for example [[Matres and Matronae|the Three Mothers]].<ref name="Inse Jones 1995">Inse Jones, Prudence, and Nigel Pennick. ''History of pagan Europe''. London: Routledge, 1995. Print.</ref>

Celtic religious ceremonies were overseen by priests known as [[druid]]s, who also served as judges, teachers, and lore-keepers. Other classes of druids performed sacrifices for the perceived benefit of the community.<ref name="Sjoestedt5">Sjoestedt (1982) pp. xxvi–xix.</ref> There is evidence that ancient Celtic peoples [[Animal sacrifice|sacrificed animals]], almost always [[livestock]] or [[working animals]]. It appears some were offered wholly to the gods (by burying or burning), while some were shared between gods and humans (part eaten and part offered).<ref name="Green94-96">{{Cite book |last=Green |first=Miranda |author-link=Miranda Aldhouse-Green |title=Animals in Celtic Life and Myth |date=2002 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |pages=94–96}}</ref> There is also some evidence that ancient Celts [[Human sacrifice|sacrificed humans]], and some Greco-Roman sources claim the Gauls sacrificed criminals by [[Death by burning|burning them]] in a [[wicker man]].<ref name="koch687-690">{{Cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=The Celts: History, Life, and Culture |date=2012 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1598849646 |pages=687–690}}</ref>

The Romans said the Celts held ceremonies in [[sacred grove]]s and other [[Sacred natural site|natural]] [[shrine]]s, called [[nemeton]]s.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> Some Celtic peoples built temples or ritual enclosures of varying shapes (such as the [[Romano-Celtic temple]] and [[viereckschanze]]), though they also maintained shrines at natural sites.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> Celtic peoples often made [[votive offerings]]: treasured items deposited in water and wetlands, or in ritual shafts and wells, often in the same place over generations.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> Modern [[clootie well]]s might be a continuation of this.<ref>{{cite web |title='It's upset a lot of people': outrage after tidy-up of Scottish sacred well |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/30/upset-a-lot-of-people-outrage-tidy-up-of-scottish-sacred-well-clootie-offerings |date=30 January 2022 |website=The Guardian |access-date=20 May 2022 |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220303160246/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/30/upset-a-lot-of-people-outrage-tidy-up-of-scottish-sacred-well-clootie-offerings |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Insular Celtic mythology===
Most surviving [[Celtic mythology]] belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples: [[Irish mythology]] has the largest written body of myths, followed by [[Welsh mythology]]. These were written down in the early Middle Ages, mainly by Christian scribes.

The supernatural race called the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] are believed to represent the main Celtic gods of Ireland. Their traditional rivals are the [[Fomorians|Fomóire]], whom they defeat in the ''[[Cath Maige Tuired|Battle of Mag Tuired]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2006 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |page=1326}}</ref> [[Barry Cunliffe]] says the underlying structure in Irish myth was a dualism between the male tribal god and the female goddess of the land.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> [[The Dagda]] seems to have been the chief god and [[the Morrígan]] his consort, each of whom had other names.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" /> One common motif is the [[sovereignty goddess]], who represents the land and bestows sovereignty on a king by marrying him. The goddess [[Brigid]] was linked with nature as well as poetry, healing and smithing.<ref name="Sjoestedt" />

Some figures in medieval Insular Celtic myth have ancient continental parallels: Irish [[Lugh]] and Welsh [[Lleu]] are cognate with Lugus, [[Goibniu]] and [[Gofannon]] with Gobannos, [[Aengus|Macán]] and [[Mabon ap Modron|Mabon]] with Maponos, while [[Macha (Irish mythology)|Macha]] and [[Rhiannon]] may be counterparts of Epona.<ref name="Sjoestedt3">Sjoestedt (1940) pp. xiv–xvi.</ref>

In Insular Celtic myth, the [[Celtic Otherworld|Otherworld]] is a parallel realm where the gods dwell. Some mythical heroes visit it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, by going under water or across the western sea, or after being offered a [[Silver Branch|silver apple branch]] by an Otherworld resident.<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |date=2006 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |page=1671}}</ref> Irish myth says that the spirits of the dead travel to the house of [[Donn]] (''Tech Duinn''), a legendary ancestor; this echoes Caesar's comment that the Gauls believed they all descended from a god of the dead and underworld.<ref name="Cunliffe religion" />

Insular Celtic peoples celebrated four seasonal festivals, known to the Gaels as [[Beltaine]] (1 May), [[Lughnasa]] (1 August), [[Samhain]] (1 November) and [[Imbolc]] (1 February).<ref name="Cunliffe religion" />

===Roman influence===
{{Further|Gallo-Roman culture}}

The Roman invasion of Gaul brought a great deal of Celtic peoples into the Roman Empire. Roman culture had a profound effect on the Celtic tribes which came under the empire's control. Roman influence led to many changes in Celtic religion, the most noticeable of which was the weakening of the druid class, especially religiously; the druids were to eventually disappear altogether. Romano-Celtic deities also began to appear: these deities often had both Roman and Celtic attributes, combined the names of Roman and Celtic deities, or included couples with one Roman and one Celtic deity. Other changes included the adaptation of the [[Jupiter Column]], a sacred column set up in many Celtic regions of the empire, primarily in northern and eastern Gaul. Another major change in religious practice was the use of stone monuments to represent gods and goddesses. The Celts had probably only created wooden [[cult image]]s (including monuments carved into trees, which were known as sacred poles) before the Roman conquest.<ref name="Inse Jones 1995" />

===Celtic Christianity===
{{Main|Celtic Christianity}}

While the regions under Roman rule adopted Christianity along with the rest of the Roman empire, unconquered areas of Ireland and Scotland began to move from [[Celtic polytheism]] to Christianity in the 5th century. Ireland was converted by missionaries from Britain, such as [[Saint Patrick]]. Later missionaries from Ireland were a major source of [[missionary|missionary work]] in Scotland, Anglo-Saxon parts of Britain, and central Europe (see [[Hiberno-Scottish mission]]). [[Celtic Christianity]], the forms of Christianity that took hold in Britain and Ireland at this time, had for some centuries only limited and intermittent contact with Rome and continental Christianity, as well as some contacts with [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Christianity]]. Some elements of Celtic Christianity developed, or retained, features that made them distinct from the rest of Western Christianity, most famously their conservative method of calculating the [[Easter controversy|date of Easter]]. In 664, the [[Synod of Whitby]] began to resolve these differences, mostly by adopting the current Roman practices, which the [[Gregorian Mission]] from Rome had introduced to [[Anglo-Saxon England]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2022}}