LLEI D'ART 14

Caldero/ Cauldron Gundestrup. Plata/ Silver . Gundestrup (NortedeDinamarca/ Northern Denmark , 100 a. deC./1d. C./ 100BC–AD 1 . ©TheNational Museumof Denmark. Roman control gradually expanded to create an empire that extended fromSpain toSyria and acrossNorthAfrica. The Emperor Claudius invadedBritain inAD 43, andways of life soon changed formany people. TheRoman army led the constructionof forts, towns and citieswithnew facilities like amphitheatres andbathhouses. TheRoman conquest ofmuchof Europe andBritain is oftenportrayed as a clash of cultures, withCelts likeBoudica (and even the fictional Asterix) onone side andRomans on the other. However, in Britainparticularly, theRoman invasionof AD 43 created a cosmopolitanworldwhereRoman and indigenousways of life combined to create a uniqueRomano-British culture. Life remained very different in Ireland andnorthernScotland. These areaswere never conquered, but were still affectedby the impact of Rome. Roman control of southernBritainbroke down aroundAD 410. New leaders establishedAnglo-Sax- on kingdoms inEngland, andRoman towns and citieswere largely abandoned. Neighbouring communities inScotland, Ireland andWales continued todevelop their ownunique identities. Communities here spoke languages that we now call Celtic, andpracticed adistinctive formof Christianity. Monasteries in these areas stoodout as European centres of art, learning and literacy, perpetuating and reinventing local traditions. TheVikings raided and settled inBritain and Ireland fromAD 793, bringing further upheaval, but also new cultural influences. The nameCelts had not beenused since theRomanperiod, andhad never been specifically applied toBritain and Ire- land, but it was rediscoveredduring theRenaissance. People began todevelop a sense of their own national histories andbecame intriguedbyGreek andRomanwritings on the Celts. Theword acquired a newmeaning around1700, when it began tobe used todescribe thedistinctive languages, cultures and traditions of Brittany, Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle ofMan, Scotland andWales. As thepeoples of theseAtlantic regions sought to understand their past and looked towards the future, theword ‘Celtic’ came to stand for a sense of belonging, of shared ancestry and heritage that drewon the deephistories of these regions, setting them apart from their French andEnglishneighbours. 2,500 years ago, thepeoples that the ancient Greeks knew as theCelts expressed their sharedbeliefs through similar abstract art styleswhichwere used across northernEurope, from theAtlantic to theBlackSea. Objects decoratedwith sinuous organic forms and fantastic animalswere used for feasting, religious ceremonies, adornment andwarfare. These designswere richwithhiddenmeanings,many of which re- mainmysterious to us now. Theywereboth stunningworks of art andpowerful ways to convey a shared identity. Thede- velopment of thisCeltic art style contrasted stronglywith the increasing realismbeing usedby the ancient Greeks around the same time. Celtic art continued inRomanBritain, transforming and tak- ingon new influences. In the exhibition you’ll see objects made using typicallyRoman forms and technologies, such asmulti-coloured enamelling, but decorated in characteristic Celticmotifs. Local people, invaders and settlers coming toBritain from around theRomanEmpire used these older abstract designs onnew types of objects to expressRoma- no-British identities. Beyond the frontier, communities in northernScotlandwere affectedby the conquest in a very different way. The exhibi- tion alsopresents the new types of objects they createdonce they found themselves the neighbours of apowerful empire, such as distinctive jewellerywhich emphasised their differ- ence from theRomans. TheCeltic art stylewas further reinvented in earlymedieval Christianmonasteries in Ireland, Scotland andWales. The distinctive languages, art andobjects usedby these commu- nities set them apart from theAnglo-Saxons to the southeast, and also from the rest of Europe. The raremanuscripts and striking stone crosses in the exhibition show how the older Celtic curveswere combinedwithAnglo-Saxondesigns such as knotwork and interlace, creating a fusion that was altogether new anddifferent. Creating these elaborate and time-consumingworks of art was itself an act of religious devotion. As the Industrial Revolution changed life throughout Britain, peoplebecame increasingly fascinatedwith theCelticpast and traditional crafts. ByQueenVictoria’s death in 1901, a creativeCeltic revival was underway. Ancient Celtic art styles were rediscoveredonce again, andwhat itmeant tobeCeltic was reimagined. CelticRevival art becameparticularly impor- tant inScotland,Wales and Ireland. The idea of adistinctive Celtic identity has infused intomany elements ofmodern cul- ture, from celebrations such as theWelshNational Eisteddfod to sports,music, spirituality, andpopular culture. Theword Celtic continues to strike a chordboth nationally andglobally, particularly formany people around theworldwho trace their ancestry back to Ireland, Scotland,Wales andother Celtic nations. The recent revelation that ‘theCelts’ are not a single genetic groupdoes not diminish the sense of a shared cultur- al heritage –one that will nodoubt play apart in the future of Celtic identity in theBritish and Irish isles andbeyond. 25