Celtic Galicia: The Celtic Origins of Galicia in Spain

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Galicia on the northwestern 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 northwest 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 HispanoCeltic, 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 AngloSaxons 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 IndoEuropean language of the Western IberoRomance branch, and it is spoken by more than 2 million people, mainly in Galicia.

Sources:

Galicia https://www.britannica.com/place/Gali...

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

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

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

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

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

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Landscapes Of Galicia In 4K | TimeLapse Jorge Piñeiro Instagram: supertimelapse_
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