wein.plus
Attention
You are using an old browser that may not function as expected.
For a better, safer browsing experience, please upgrade your browser.

Log in Become a Member

Celts

Celts (GB)
Celta (ES)
Celtes (F)
Celtas (PO)
Kelten (N)
Celti (I)

Collective name for a people who once inhabited large parts of western, central and south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. The name means "the brave", "the exalted" or "the high", in Greek they were called "Keltoi", in Latin "Celtae" or "Galli". They came as far as Palestine and were the enemies of the Israelites mentioned in the Bible as "Galatians". However, the Celts were never a unified people with a supreme leadership, but consisted of many tribes that often rivalled each other. These were, for example, Allobroges, Arvernians, Bituriges, Boians, Helvetians, Haedians and Sequans. The Celtic tribes living in present-day France were collectively called "Gauls". The supreme power among the tribes lay with the Equites (knighthood) and the Druids. The earliest mention of the Celts was in the 5th century BC by Herodotus (482-425 BC). At this time they began to migrate to the Italian Po Valley and the Balkans.

Kelten - Schnabelkanne und Schale

the Celts in Italy

In Italy there were warlike conflicts with the Etruscans. The Celts occupied what is now Lombardy and founded Milan. The cities of Paris, London and Budapest also date back to Celtic foundations. In 387 BC they also defeated the Romans at the Battle of the Allia and sacked Rome. From the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Romans extended their domain to the Celtic-populated areas of northern Italy. Julius Caesar's (100-44 BC) battles in Gaul led to the complete subjugation of the Celts and incorporation of their territory into the Roman Empire as "Gallia cisalpina". In 16 BC, the Romans began conquering the later provinces of Noricum (Lower Austria), Pannonia (Hungarian lowlands) and Raetia (Alps and southwest Germany). With this, the remaining Celtic tribes also gradually lost their independence. Many Celts then joined the Roman army as legionaries.

Viticulture among the Celts

The Celts had great craftsmanship in wood and metalworking and possessed a highly developed culture in terms of art, music and literature. However, a Celtic script was never developed, and it is unclear whether there was a common language. At their rulers' courts, the enjoyment of wine with rituals played an important role at lavish feasts, as attested by many archaeological artefacts from Celtic graves of the 6th century BC. Cauldrons, jugs and craters (for mixing wine with water) have been found at many sites in Germany and France that closely resemble those vessels used by the Greeks at symposia. The most famous find is the famous crater of Vix.

Unlike the Romans, however, the Celts drank unmixed wine, which Roman authors found uncivilised. The historian Livius (59 BC-17 AD) claims that the Celts' passion for wine was the reason for their invasion of the Mediterranean in the 4th century BC. Among some tribes, drinking wine was forbidden because they feared for their virility. And the druids were critical of the drink on principle. The Celts living in Gaul probably learned how to grow wine from the Greeks (and later Romans) who settled in Provence in southern France around 600 BC near Massalia (Latin Massilia = Marseille). In the rest of Gaul there was probably only sporadic viticulture at that time.

At least as early as 600 BC, the Celts used wooden barrels for transport. These later replaced the amphorae that had been common until then, which were produced in large quantities by the Greeks around Massalia. The Celts in the present-day area of Cahors (south-west France) in particular were excellent coopers. The Greeks and later also the Romans adopted this art from the Celts. From the 5th century BC, the Gaulish Celts began to import wine in large quantities from Greece and later Italy. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (90-21 BC) wrote full of astonishment and admiration about the efficiency of the Italic merchants: "For an amphora of wine they trade a slave and thus exchange the drink for the cupbearer". This was thus certainly not the true exchange value.

archaeological finds

Whether the Celts actually practised viticulture before the Greeks is disputed among historians, but judging from their many other skills, it is very likely. The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (23-79) wrote in his work "Naturalis Historia" that the Gauls had mastered the art of grafting (grafting) the vine. Celtic wine culture is also attested by numerous archaeological artefacts in many European countries, especially in France. Very old finds were also found, for example, in the Austrian communities of Stillfried (Lower Austria) and Zagersdorf (Burgenland). For more information on this topic, see also Ancient Wines and Ancient Vine Varieties and Drinking Culture.

Beak jug: by Marco Ciaramella - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
Bowl: scanned by NobbiP, Public domain, Link

Voices of our members

Dr. Christa Hanten

For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.

Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien

The world's largest Lexicon of wine terms.

26,367 Keywords · 46,924 Synonyms · 5,323 Translations · 31,701 Pronunciations · 201,867 Cross-references
made with by our author Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer. About the Lexicon

EVENTS NEAR YOU