The Celts, Vikings

And Moors
By Brendon Carrington

Who are they?

The Celts, also known as Galli and Keltoi (Barbadrians), by the Romans and
Greeks respectively, were a cultural group occupying Europe from the 7 th or 8th century
BC. From the 3rd to 5th century BC, they managed to populate a large area of Europe
north of the Alps. They arrived in Britain first (around the 5 th century BC); a couple
centuries later they then settled in Ireland, where they drove out a group of people who
were there before them. There were many types of Celtic people, such as the the Gaels,
Gauls, Britons, Irish, and Gallations
The Vikings, better yet Viking, is the commonly known title the Scandinavian
sea-borne raiders from medieval times have. They were fierce, brutal warriors. The
Anglo-Saxons used to refer to them, and many other invaders of their lands, as wicing,
which meant pirate/ piracy. The Vikings werent initially full-time soldiers, as a matter of
fact, for the most part of the year they were fishermen and farmers. Around the summer
time they would respond to the call of the village leader, who would take them on
voyages to new lands to plunder, settle or trade in.
The Moors, referred to as such by white Europeans all over Europe, were
indigenous Africans, were medieval Muslim inhabitants of Maghreb, Iberia, Sicily and
Malta. They were made up of the Berbers and Arabs. The Arabs had conquered all of
Northern Africa and brought Islamic culture to it as well. The Berbers saw this as a

chance to ally with the Arabs, instead of fight them , and with them they travelled to the
south of Europe. They settled in Iberia in 711 and named their territory Al-Andalus, an
area that is today referred to as Gibraltar, most of Spain and Portugal, southern France
and southern Italy.

The Celts
Their legacy survived very long, even up to today, in Scotland, Ireland and Wales,
as they were defeated and cast out of most of Eastern Europe by the ever growing
Roman Empire. The Romans then failed at driving them out of Britain, but tried again
almost a century later, and succeeded, driving the Britons to Wales, Cornwall and
Scotland. Neither the Romans nor the Anglo-Saxons ever occupied Ireland, therefore
the Celtic influence is very strong there.
Christianity was introduced to the Celts and much of the two cultures blended.
Because of this, the druidic practices of Celtic religion were being stopped, by the
methodical suppression and murder of the druids. However a lot of their cultural novelty
remained, such as oral stories recorded by Irish monks in both Irish and Latin.
Most of the proof of Celtic existence can be found all over Europe, via the
rediscovery of artifacts and historical accounts and stories recorded in Ireland and
Britain.

The Vikings
At the end of the 8th century AD, Vikings began plundering many undefended
monastic villages in Britain, starting from the eastern shore. Their main source being the
temples (churches) in these villages, that housed many religious trinkets made of
precious metals and jewels. They were a savage people, as they cared not if you could
defend yourself, they killed mostly everyone they came across during these raids.
However some of them decided to settle and trade with the locals, as they were
searching for new lands to cultivate as well.
At the end of the 9th century they had developed large-scale settlements, with political
dominance over a wide area. Their main goal it seemed was conquering the lands they
pillaged.
The Vikings were widely referred to by the Anglo-Saxons as pagans and
savages; however, after being exposed to the Anglo-Saxons god, they adopted him
alongside their own.

The Moors
The Moors populated Spain for ~700 years after running the visigoths out, and in
that time, became famous for the highly advanced civilization with rich culture they

created, which involved beautiful art, architecture and educational institutions. It was
their culture that guided Europe out of the dark ages, and into the renaissance, and that
phenomenon has left a mark on Europe up to this day.
Before the Moors took over, the medieval Europeans were a filthy lot with poor
sewage treatment and hygiene, high illiteracy and savagery. But the Moors removed
them from such poor conditions and built constructs to make their cities and towns more
commercial, educational and pleasing to the eye. They made the harsh European lands
beautiful by importing irrigation systems and other types of produce, which boosted the
agricultural prosperity. By the 9th century, Al-Andalus was the prodigal nation of Europe.
The capital of the province of Cordoba, Cordova (in English), in its golden age,
was way ahead of London. When London was a tiny, mud house, thatched roof village,
Cordova had ~500,000 inhabitants living in 113,000 houses. There were 700 mosques
and 300 public baths throughout the city and its 21 suburbs. The streets were paved
and lit. (realhistoryww.com) the houses and buildings were made of marble and had
hot air ducts for heating. The districts were decorated with orchards and fountains and
ornate designs in the edifices. Paper and books were also around, in about 70 libraries,
where in the west such things were unknown.

As well as being more advanced than the rest of Europe at that time, the moors
were also a very tolerant people. They had Jewish and Christian followers in their cities,
living in peace with them. However, these non-believers had to pay extra tax, which isnt
half as bad as having a foreign religion forced upon you.

Sources
watson.org/~leigh/celts.html
transceltic.com/pan-celtic/celts-and-vikings-scandinavian-influences-celtic-nations
shoreline.edu/faculty/rody/archives/celts/outline2.htm
jorvik-viking-centre.co.uk/who-were-the-vikings/
bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/
realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/True_Negros/The_True_Negro_2a.htm
http://www.taneter.org/moors.html