Celts

or Kelts, the earliest settlers of the white race in Europe. Before the dawn of history they appear to have been subdued, and incorporated or driven westward by succeeding waves of Germans and Slavonians. The Romans called them Gauls; they called themselves Celts. The French and Belgians are supposed to be largely of Celtic blood. At the present time, however, the term is restricted to the Scottish Highlanders, the Celtic Irish, the Manx of the Isle of Man, the Welsh, the Cornish, and the inhabitants of Brittany in northwestern France. The principal dialects are the Gaelic, the Erse, the Manx, and the Welsh. The Cornish dialect is now extinct. The inhabitants of Brittany speak a dialect very similar to that of the Welsh. The English language is indebted to the Celts for many words, as bard, basket, boisterous, brand, bugbear, pony, ribbon, tether, shamrock, flannel, mackintosh, ptarmigan, whiskey, Tory, spalpeen, brogue. The Celts are a highly imaginative people. Writers of Celtic blood have contributed largely to the bright imaginative portion of our literature. See Scotland; Ireland; Brittany; Wales; Arthur; Boadicea; Druids; Barrows; Broch; Cromlech