|
|
|
|
Gaels
|
| |
|
| |
The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic (or Gaelic) languages – Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx. The Gaelic languages are a branch of the Insular Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland. The other branch of Insular Celtic is Brythonic.
There are many people with Gaelic ancestry amongst the populations of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England and many US, Canadian, Australian, and UK leaders have been from families of Gaelic origin, as are many members of the parliaments of those respective countries today.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Gaels' Start a new discussion about 'Gaels' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic (or Gaelic) languages – Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx. The Gaelic languages are a branch of the Insular Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland. The other branch of Insular Celtic is Brythonic.
There are many people with Gaelic ancestry amongst the populations of the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and England and many US, Canadian, Australian, and UK leaders have been from families of Gaelic origin, as are many members of the parliaments of those respective countries today. Notable examples include Irish Taoiseach Éamon de Valera, British Prime ministers Ramsay MacDonald and Harold MacMillan and Canadian Prime ministers John A. Macdonald and Alexander Mackenzie.
Terminology
The word in English was adopted in 1810 from Scottish Gaelic Gaidheal (compare Irish Gael/Gaedheal and Old Irish Goídel) to designate a Scottish Highlander (OED). Gael or Goídel was first used as a collective term to describe people from Ireland; it is thought to have come from Old Welsh Guoidel 'raider' (modern Welsh Gwyddel 'Irish person'). According to modern definitions:
- Gaels – the ethno-linguistic group.
- Gaelic – of or relating to the Gaels.
- Goidels – an alternative term sometimes used to describe the Gaels.
- Goidelic – of or relating to the Goidels or Gaels, particularly their language
Mythological origins
The Gaels, during the beginning of the Christian era (at which time Gaelic people were mostly restricted to Ireland), believed themselves to be descendants of the Milesians - the sons of Míl Espáine - of the Iberian peninsula. This belief persists in the Gaelic cultures of Ireland and Scotland up to the present day, with many if not most clan leaders in either country claiming descent from their predecessor, back to famous historical kings going back into pre-history such as Cormac Cas. Much of this is covered in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, which catalogues the path of the Gaels' ancestors in a way that, while mostly mythic, may be an embellished account of actual historical events. Recent genetic studies by Prof. Brian Sykes, Oxford University, may suggest that these myths are based on historical facts since the people of Northwestern Spain, especially those from Galicia and Asturias are genetically closely related to Irish, Scotish and other so called "Celts". In fact, the latest scientific facts prove that the ancestors of the Gaels actually came from Spain.
Ireland
It is not known with any certainty when the Goidelic (or Q-Celtic) language developed in prehistoric Ireland, or how the Gaels came to be the dominant culture. Some believe Goidelic replaced some pre-existing Brythonic (or P-Celtic) language(s), but it is not known whether this represents one population displacing others, an invader becoming a new ruling caste, or simply the spread of a new lingua franca. Before and during the age of the Roman Empire there was a great deal of movement, interaction and competition among the peoples who, though of neither ethnicity, fell within the Celtic and Germanic cultural ferment.
Estimates of the arrival of proto-Gaelic in Ireland vary widely from the introduction of agriculture circa 7000-6000 BC to around the first few centuries BC. Little can be said with certainty, as the language now known as Old Irish, ancestral to modern Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx, first began to be properly recorded with the Christianisation of Ireland in the 4th Century AD, with the introduction of the Roman script. Old Irish does appear in a specialized written form, using a unique script known as Ogham. This has survived only in the form of memorial inscriptions or short epitaphs on pillar-like stone monuments (see Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth. Ogham stones are found both throughout Ireland and where Gaelic invaders settled across post-Roman Britain. It is thought to have been in use as early as 1000 BC. They frequently encode a name or description of the owner and surrounding region. It is also thought that they may have represented territorial claims.
Historical expansion
Starting sometime around the 5th century Gaelic language and culture spread from Ireland to the southwest coast of modern Scotland, where it may have already existed since Roman times. Uncertainty over this comes as a result of the fact that there is disputed archaeological evidence to support the generally accepted tale of migration while there is some to suggest that there was none — the evidence also points to the population of the area (modern day Argyll) being constant during the time of the alleged invasion of Scotland . This area was known as Dál Riata. The Gaels soon spread out to most of the rest of the country. Culturo-linguistic dominance in the area eventually led to the Latin name for Gaelic speaking peoples, "Scoti", being applied to the state founded by the Gaels: "Scotland". Since that time Gaelic language rose and, in the past three centuries, greatly diminished, in most of Ireland and Scotland. The most culturally and linguistically Gaelic regions are in the north west of Scotland, the west of Ireland and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where the descendants of the Highland Clearances were transplanted.
The Isle of Man ('Mannin's Isle', from the pre-Christian deity known as Manannán mac Lír) also came under massive Gaelic influence in its history. The last native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s, though use of the Manx language never fully ceased. There is now a resurgent language movement and Manx is once again taught in all schools as a second language and in some as a first language. A large part of the island's cultural heritage is Gaelic.
Current distribution
The two comparatively 'major' Gaelic nations in the modern era are Scotland (58,552 "Gaelic speakers" and 92,400 with "some Gaelic language ability" in the 2001 census) and Ireland (which in the 2002 census had 185,838 people who spoke Irish "daily" and 1,570,894 who were "able" to speak it). Communities where the language is still spoken natively are restricted largely to the west coast of each country and especially the Hebrides in Scotland. However, large proportions of Gaelic speakers also live in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, as well as Galway, Cork and Dublin in Ireland. There are somewhere around 2,000 Canadian Gaelic speakers although they are generally of a very advanced age and concentrated in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. According to the , there are over 25,000 Irish-speakers in the United States with the majority found in urban areas with large Irish-American communities such as Boston, New York City and Chicago.
See also
External links
- Information and courses on all aspects of Celts, Gaels and related peoples, languages and cultures
- An institute with the aim of promoting links between Irish and Scottish Gaelic speakers.
-
-
|
| |
|
|
