EXT6-OLD ENGLAND,OLD SCOTLAND AND OLD IRELAND

BY Pragyansharma  Polavarapu

EXT6-OLD ENGLAND,OLD SCOTLAND AND OLD IRELAND

December 23, 2025

BY Pragyansharma  Polavarapu

 (1) Centuries before  arrival of Anglo-Saxons in Britain   , there lived  all over the British isles  the Celtic people . The Celtic people  ,though entirely different in culture and customs from Anglo-Saxons   ,were   thousands of years ago of same European  ethnic  origin as the  Anglo-Saxons.  But the geographic conditions were such that for thousands of years they lived separately in widely separate geographic regions. History tells that the  Celts lived in   central Europe around  1300 BC  and later spread to other parts of Europe . The people of European  regional culture called “La Tène culture” --( of times when metal iron was not known)--were said to be celtic. The Celtic people  spread into the  British isles from about  500 BC.

 (2) In course of time the majority of the Celtic people of  Britain  accepted Lord Jesus Christ’s message of love. It was the time  when Romans ruled over southern England and were not interested in conquering Scotland and Ireland which were peopled by the  rebellious and warlike Celtic tribes. The Anglo-Saxons started settling in Britain only around 510 AD i.e. about a century after  Roman rule ended in south England and perhaps a thousand years after Celts were widely spread all over the British isles . The Romans  ruled till  410AD  and left Britain  permanently  . Historians say that due to changing weather conditions and frequent flooding etc  Germanic  communities  called  Angles, Saxons, Jutes  (jointly called the Anglo-Saxons),started to settle in the eastern coastal regions of England and Scotland . First there  were only probing attacks for years ,then the invaders  came in large numbers . The war bands lead and  whole families  started to settle permanently.

(3) The most significant thing is that it was the Anglo-Saxons  who brought English language to Britain ---the language now spoken by all people of British Isles as mother tongue and the language which is now treated as one of the two or three languages suitable for  global communication. In a few centuries Anglo-Saxons became the majority people of south England and  established large number of Anglo-Saxon towns and villages. (4) The Celts in course of time  moved  to Scotland . Ireland was since centuries before was already  Celtic except in some coastal areas invaded  and settled by Nordic people. The area known as Wales in western side of the main island also had  Celtic people.  Christianity was established in Celtic Britain by the 3rd and 4th centuries AD-- long before the Anglo-Saxons arrived and when the Celts were living all over the British Isles . Evidence from the early 4th century AD indicates that organized churches and monasteries existed in  Celtic Britain . The Celtic Christian monks travelled widely in the British Isles to preach Lord Jesus Christ’s message.  The Celtic Church had existed for  a long period seperately. But after the Anglo-Saxons settled in large numbers in south England ,the entire church in British isles came under the Roman Catholic church organization. (5) The  Anglo-Saxons started  settling in southern and eastern Britain from  5th–7th centuries AD in large numbers . Only   isolated  groups of celtic people  perhaps continued to live in Anglo-Saxon lands . (6) Celtic populations were in majority in Ireland and  northern Scotland. The lands were mountainous and full of forests and geographically isolated . While in Scotland it is high mountainous land ,in Ireland there is  a ring of high mountains and forests and  low flat land inside. In ancient times before Roman soldiers came and before Christianity came  Celtic priests called Druids dominated the Celtic society and  helped both in religious duties and also worked as  judges .

It is said that the lands in Scotland were not only mountainous and forested but also on many days  cloudy, foggy and rainy. It is said that the weather remained  very cold for  many  days at a stretch. However the  Atlantic ocean  spread for 3000 miles  east of British Isles and modifies the weather throughout the year. It may be said  that in spite of the weather, surely ancient  Christianity brought great happiness to the mostly rural populations of both Celts and Anglo-Saxons.