Along with the grandeur that was Rome and the glory that was Greece, there was a third great ancient European culture, the Celts (also known as Gauls). Caesar's implacable enemy, the Celts dwelt from Turkey to Spain, from the Danube to the Shannon, and were great innovators in technology, law, and democracy. They were also a less bellicose and more feminist culture than Greece and Rome. They gave us such heroes as Vercingetorix, Boudicca, and King Arthur. Their rich legacy lives on in many ways in Britain and the US - in legends and folk tales, songs and holidays, religion, and politics. Who knows, they are very likely a part of your family tree! The Sister Fidelma novels of Peter Tremayne, pseudonym for medieval historian Peter Beresford Ellis, are a fun way to explore Celtic culture in 7th century Ireland.

Holley Ulbrich is a frequent OLLI teacher. A retired economics professor at Clemson University, she has a longtime interest in British history and particularly the life and culture of her Celtic and religious forebears.