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Did Holland Have a Strong Celtic Influence in History?
Question by April J: Did Holland have a strong Celtic influence in history?
Excuse me, “…….. in it’s history?”
Best answer:
Answer by kent_shakespear
the Celts originated from the Rhine valley, so the north/west-bound Celts may have passed through Holland at some point en route to France (Gaul), Belgium and the British Isles.
I don’t know of any archeological or other evidence that suggests they made any long-lasting connections there, though.
Add your own answer in the comments!
<BR%20/>Tags: Strong, Have, History, Celtic, Holland, influence <BR%20/>
I don’t think so. Most Celts lived in central Europe (or possibly Western Asia) originally, and they possibly lived in Greece, but then they kept moving north. Most of the best Celtic artifacts from ancient times are in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, and France.
From there, they wound up getting pushed into the British Isles, eventually winding up in Ireland and a few in Scotland. They tended to like mountains, which Holland doesn’t have a lot of.
I wouldn’t rule it out, but based on the history and artifacts, they had a stronger influence in other areas. So I’d say, no, not particularly.
Lecture “The Celts in the Netherlands”
By Mrs. Diepenveen (Univ. Amsterdam, April, 3rd 1998)
http://home.zonnet.nl/postbus/celt.html#3498-
“A) Historical (texts from Greek and Romans, inscriptions)
According to the Greek writers Herodotus and Hecatus “Keltoi” lived from the Danube until the Pyrenees.
By that name, “Keltoi”, they meant “barbarians”, that is, “non-Greeks”.
The Celts conquered Rome (390 B.C.E.) and threatened Delphi (Greece, 279 B.C.E.)
And both Alexander the Great (335 B.C.E.) and Dionysius from Syracuse (Southern Italy) hired Celtic warriors for their armies. When Alexander the Great asked what they were frightened for their leader answered “…that the heaven will fall upon our heads!”
Later a Celtic tribe conquered Central Turkey where they continued to live as “Galatae”.
The first written source to cover the area of the modern Netherlands and Belgium is the book De bello gallico ["On the Gallic Wars"] by Julius Caesar. Caesar and the Romans invaded Gaul in 57 BC and then went on to conquer the provinces of the Netherlands. For 500 years this region was an outpost of the Roman Empire; Caesar met mostly Celtic tribes here.
I hope it helps.