Analysis Of Lebor Gabála Érenn And The Ancient Celts

Chapter 1: Lebor Gabála Érenn and the ancient Celts

1.1. About Lebor Gabála Érenn

Lebor Gabála Érenn, also known as The Book of Taking of Ireland, is a pseudohistorical collection of manuscripts about various peoples invading and settling in Ireland. Written probably in the 11th century, these manuscripts tell the history of the Gaels since the creation of their language at the Tower of Babel until their settlement in Ireland, as well as history of other tribes that inhabited Ireland in the ancient times, such as Fir Bolg or Tuatha Dé Danann. There are fifteen manuscripts in total, although their number is usually reduced to eleven; the four other manuscripts are either poor copies or derivate from the mentioned above eleven manuscripts and

Eventually, the area spawned a new culture that also might be related to the Celts.

The new culture that emerged in the central Europe is called the Hallstatt culture. The name comes from a town Hallstatt in Austria, where a large burial site from the period was found. Hallstatt culture also exhibited distinctive graves. Bodies of the deceased were no longer burned, but placed in a grave along with their possessions. The presence of bronze swords or horse carriages in the graves, as well as the abundance of fortified settlements might indicate the presence of a warrior-like culture (Ó hÓgáin 2009: 11).

The Hallstatt period roughly begins in the 8th century BC and lasts until 5th century BC, when it is replaced by the La Tène culture. The Hallstatt period introduced several innovations in the central Europe, such as horse-riding equipment and wagons. Perhaps the most prominent example of the Hallstatt culture is the humongous burial mounds probably build for the aristocrats (Cunliffe 1999: 53). Figure 3 presents an example of a burial mound from 6th century BC, located in

The source of Danube is located in the Black Forest, in south-western Germany. Moreover, the fact that La Tène culture, the one mostly associated with the Celts, originated in this area strongly supports the theory of the central Europe homeland of the Celts. Even the most developed Celtic country – Gaul – was located relatively close to the source of the river. Herodotus’ account, however, might be interpreted in another way. As mentioned previously in this chapter, it is possible that Herodotus might have made a mistake and placed the source of Danube in the Pyrenees. However, even though he might have been wrong regarding the location of the source of the river, the location of the Celtic homeland – by the Straits of Gibraltar – seems more accurate. The presence, or at least the proximity, of the Celts in Iberia is supported by the fact that most of classical authors believed that the Iberian Peninsula was located on the same latitude as Gaul; this would mean that accounts such as Herodotus’ might refer to either Gaul or Iberia (Collis 2010: 126). Both are equally probable and it is possible that the Celts had their settlements on both sides of the Pyrenees. In that case, the ancient Celts might have