Atlas of the Celtic World

From Library Journal

Haywood, a research fellow in history at the University of Lancaster and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Great Britain, has authored a number of historical reference resources, most recently the Encyclopedia of the Viking Age. His new book is a historical, cultural, and linguistic survey of the Celtic peoples from prehistoric times to the modern era, presented in a series of 54 full-color maps with accompanying text and 160 illustrations. This approach is welcome, as recent historical atlases (e.g., Atlas of World History, Oxford Univ., 2001) have treated the Celts as peripheral to the classical civilizations and the evolution of the modern nation-states. The Times Atlas of European History (1994) provided some focus on the development of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland but is out of print. The atlas is divided into three parts: "The Continental Celts" (including the Urnfield, Hallstatt, and La T?ne cultures and the Gauls of Brittainy), "The Atlantic Celts" (covering the Britons and the evolution of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales), and "The Modern Celts" (covering the 18th to 20th centuries and the Celtic diaspora and revival). The maps range from a world view of the Celtic diaspora to Europe in general to European regions appropriate to the topic. An extensive chronology lists significant events in Celtic history from ca. 1200 B.C.E. to the 2001 opening of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly. Interestingly, although the chronology includes the only direct reference to the 1296-1328 Scottish Wars of Independence from England, there is no mention of William Wallace. The select bibliography features recent English-language publications intended for the general reader. This handsome and informative resource is recommended for public libraries. Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

These maps tell the millennia-long story of a people whose most obvious living descendants are the speakers of Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, and Welsh. Language, Haywood explains, defines Celticness because, despite the many artifacts depicted beside the maps, the material record of the Celts is relatively scanty and the historical record not much more substantial. After discussing Celtic identity, which has burgeoned so that it has influenced the current devolution of Great Britain, Haywood presents the maps in two large sections and one small section. The big parts trace the "Continental Celts," who ranged through central and southern Europe, and the linguistically distinguishable "Atlantic Celts," who occupied Britain and Ireland. The continentals' section ends with Brittany's incorporation into France in 1532; the Atlantics', with the Highland clearances, 1763-1886. The short section illustrates the Celtic cultural renaissance in western Europe and the Celtic diaspora to the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. Well written, edited, and produced, this is just the book for a Celtophile to wile away the hours and the pints with. Ray OlsonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved