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Celts Vs Romans
These migrations brought the Celts face to face with the Roman army the strongest fighting force in Europe. For the next 200 years, Romans and Celts were at war. By around 60AD, Celtic power was completely destroyed. Only in remote areas such as Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Galicia and Brittany did Celtic traditions survive. Surviving Celtic parts of the world are shown on the map opposite.
Celtic Scotland
Have you ever wondered why Scotland is called Scotland? Well the story which follows may surprise you. Scotland was anything but a united nation, nor was it even called Scotland. The Romans referred to the area north of Hadrians wall as Caledonia and it was made up of many warring Celtic tribes.
Hadrians wall was built by the Romans possibly to keep the Celts at bay.
Caledonia or Scotland
Even after the Romans leave we still have fighting between these kingdoms.Its not until AD843 that things start to take shape. Two kingdoms unite. The Scots of Dalriada and the Picts unite to form what became known as Alba under King Kenneth McAlpin. Marriage between tribes probably had a lot to with this:
A Nation is Born
So Scotland starts to form. It usually comes as a surprise to hear that Scotland gets its name from a tribe from Ireland. Yes, the Scots were from Ireland! Marriage between men & women in different kingdoms may have been one reason why unification took place. However, there was an even bigger reasonthe arrival of Christianity played a major part in the shaping of our nation. We will see later how the spread of Christianity helped make Scotland a nation
Celtic religion
When Christians first arrive in Scotland they are faced with different Celtic tribes practicing pagan religions. The Celts worshipped gods who protected the tribe and gave strength in war, and goddesses who protected homes and brought fertility. The gods were associated with the sky and the goddesses with the earth. Gods and spirits controlled the elements and natural forces, such as water and thunder, and they were given different names in different parts of the Celtic world. Both gods and goddesses were worshipped close to water and in groves of trees. Rich offerings were left for them. The Celts believed that terrible things would happen if they did not make sacrifices of their most valuable possessions, including living things, to the gods. Their priests were called the druids.
There is no direct record of druids in Scotland, but it is assumed that some kind of learned men or women did exist to mediate between people and gods by conducting ceremonies. There is little surviving evidence of how the dead were treated since burials are seldom found in Scotland in this period. Sacred places included mountains, woodlands and rocks. Water was always important and pools and wells were special sites. Sacrifices of animals, objects or even people were made to the gods in these special places.