Celtic Galicia: The Celtic Origins of Galicia in Spain
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2021-07-22

Celtic Galicia: The Celtic Origins of Galicia in Spain

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Galicia on the north-western corner of the Iberian Peninsula has a fascinating history which has many Celtic connections. Galicia and the Iberian Peninsula in general is often cited in origin stories as the region where Celtic tribes sailed from to settle in Ireland and the British Isles.
 
The name of the region comes from the Romans, who referred to the Celtic tribes of the Iberian north-west as the Callaeci. Over time, Callaeci became Gallaeci. Various tribes made up the Gallaeci, including the Coelerni and the Bracari. The people of Gallaeci spoke the Gallaecian language, also known as Northwestern Hispano-Celtic, a now extinct continental Celtic language.

A defining feature of this Celtic civilization was the fact that they lived in hillforts, resulting in them often being referred to as the “culture of hillforts” or the Castro culture. Today, Galicia is still home to more than two thousand hillforts. 

Gallaecians identified themselves by their hillfort, and the king of their area. In relation to their religion, we know that the Gallaeci worshipped numerous Celtic gods, including Coventina, the goddess of wells and springs, who was also known as the goddess of abundance and fertility; Nabia, the goddess of waters and rivers, with the river Navia in Galicia still bearing her name; and Lugus, the god of prosperity, trade, and craft occupations, who was often depicted as having three heads. 

During the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome from 218 to 210 BC, we know that some Gallaecian troops fought alongside the Carthaginian General, Hannibal. The various Celtic tribes of the Gallaeci ruled this corner of the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, until the Roman conquest of Iberia in the 3rd, 2nd, and 1st centuries BC. As well as being interested in commanding a large sphere of influence, Rome also was interested in the lucrative gold mines of Galicia, although I will address the Roman conquest of Iberia in more detail in a future video. 

In the 5th and 6th centuries, there was another Celtic infusion into Galicia. As the Anglo-Saxons settled Briton, many Celtic Britons fled to Galicia, as well as to what would become Brittany in France. This settlement in Galicia was known as Britonia. It is thought that these Britons practiced a strong Christian faith.

It is curious that the common Brittonic Celtic language of these Britons did not seem to take hold in Galicia, yet it did take hold in nearby Brittany in France, which is why the Celtic language of Breton is still spoken in Brittany today. Perhaps these migrants from Briton were better assimilated into the Galician culture of the time than their fellow migrants in Brittany, with Galicia controlled by the Germanic tribe of the Suebi. 

Celtic influence is still present in Galicia today however, particularly musically. A traditional instrument in Galicia is called the gaita, a type of bagpipe. 

The two main languages spoken in Galicia today are Galician (or Galego) and Spanish. Galician is an Indo-European language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, and it is spoken by more than 2 million people, mainly in Galicia. 

Sources:

Galicia https://www.britannica.com/place/Galicia-region-Spain 

Gallaeci https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallaeci 

Galicia (Spain) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia_(Spain)

The Galician gaita (bagpipe) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galician_gaita 

History of Galicia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Galicia 

Galician language https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galician_language

Creative Commons Imagery:

Dario Alvarez https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaiteiros_em_romaria_galega.jpg Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en 

QuartierLatin1968 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Autel_tricephale_MuseeStRemi_Reims_1131a.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en 

Landscapes Of Galicia In 4K | Time-Lapse Jorge Piñeiro Instagram: supertimelapse_ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLjBNLME-v0 
Szajci https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Iberia_218-217BC-hu.svg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en 

AnaisGoepner https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castro_de_Baro%C3%B1a_y_playa_de_Arealonga-Complexo_H%C3%BAmido_de_Corrubedo-Coru%C3%B1a-Spain.jpg Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en 

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