The Celts: First Masters of Europe


The Celts: First Masters of Europe is a 1992 illustrated monograph on the history of the Celts. Written by French Celticist Christiane Éluère, and published by Éditions Gallimard as the 158th volume in the "Découvertes" collection, in collaboration with the Réunion des Musées Nationaux. According to the German archaeologist, this "little book is aimed at the general public who have an increasingly 'visual interest' in ancient cultures and the alike".
WWW gallimard.fr/Catalogue/GA...

Contents and synopsis

Christiane Éluère traces more than half a millennium of the Celtic history with an archaeological approach, from roughly 9th century BC to the 1st century AD, and the survival of their culture to the island peoples, eventually reborn in the art of Celtic Christianity.
The book opens with a series of bronze masks and hoary faces carved in stone from 7th century BC to 1st century AD, which were discovered in France, Austria and Bohemia. The body text is divided into six chapters: 1, "Birth of a Warrior Aristocracy" ; 2, "The First Celtic Princes" ; 3, "The All-Conquering Celts" ; 4, "The Celts Against the Might of Rome" ; 5, "Realms of Religion" ; 6, "Celtic Memories".
The following "Documents" section is made up of an anthology divided into nine parts, which delves into more specialised texts and relevant authors on multiple aspects of the Celts, including an introduction of homosexuality among the ancient Celts.
  1. Celtic territory on the map of the ancient world ;
  2. Classic portraits of early 'European Man' ;
  3. Society and private life ;
  4. Languages and writing in Celtic culture ;
  5. Were the Celts bloodthirsty warriors? ;
  6. The druids ;
  7. Celtic gold ;
  8. Celtic art ;
  9. The first British heroine
  • Further reading
  • List of illustrations
  • Index
  • Acknowledgments/Photo credits

Reception

Sarah Anderson wrote in her book Anderson's Travel Companion: " is concise, well illustrated and packed with nuggets of information."
According to the opinion of a reviewer of the Encyclopédie de l'Arbre Celtique, this is a "great book, very well illustrated. However, it is regrettable that the almost abusive use of examples, at the expense of a generalization, and of a comprehensive idea of the Celts' lifestyle."
In its book review section, the archaeology magazine Minerva gave a positive review to the book: "The book treads a well worn path, leading us from the late Hallstatt Fürstensitze through the development and spread of the La Tène culture across Europe and the emergence of Roman power. The present version adheres closely to the original and in an excellent translation retains the flowing, elegant quality of the original French."