A
Celtic identity emerged in the
Celtic nations of Western Europe in the course of the 19th-century
Celtic Revival, taking the form of
ethnic nationalism particularly within the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, where the
Irish Home Rule Movement results in the secession of an
Irish Free State in 1922. After World War II, the focus of the
Celticity movement shifted to linguistic revival and protectionism, e.g. with the foundation of the
Celtic League in 1961, dedicated to preserving the surviving
Celtic languages.
Since the
Enlightenment, the term
Celtic has been applied to a wide variety of peoples and cultural traits present and past. Today,
Celtic (
Modern Celts to genealogy and family history researchers) is often used in order to describe the people, and their respective cultures and languages:i.e. the
Bretons, the
Cornish, the
Irish (especially the
Gaeltacht), the
Manx people, the
Scots and the
Welsh (Cymry), i.e. the members of the modern "
Celtic nations". Except for the Bretons (if discounting Norman & Channel Islander connections), all groups mentioned have been subject to strong
Anglicisation since the
Early Modern period, and are hence are also described as participating in an
Anglo-Celtic macro-culture. By the same token, the Bretons have been subject to strong
Frenchification since the
Early Modern period, and can similarly be described as...
Read More