Posted by:	John Roberts on September 1, 2002
In Reply to:	Re: Early Celtic Christianity Posted by Bob Burns on August 27, 2002
Subject:	Re: Early Celtic Christianity
> > > Hello, tho I am no longer with Britannia.com (go to Celticinfo.com) I did write that Caesar encountered the Druids in Britain. But I did not write that it was the first time. I thought it was understaood that the Druids had been active on the Continent long before that. The Fleeing of Celts West has been debated for years. It may or may not be correct, pwy a wir? Peter > > As correct as Bantus fleeing from the cape? > > Germanic peoples did not start arriving en bloc until 450me - under pressure from the Huns. A Britannia 'pacified' under 'Pax Romana' would have seemed easy pickings. But Duces Britannorum were there, at least two called Arthur, and put up enough of a fight for the successors of the Druids to have 'spun'(?) myths sufficient for their incorporatoin in Germanic & Frankish legends. > > The Brythoniaid of Cymru were not isolated geographically from those of 'West Wales' i.e. Cernyw, Devon etc until the battle of Deorham in 577me or from the Brythoniaid of the north until the battle of Chester in 616me. > > At this rate a flight would have been on knees, on days with an 'R' in the week, in months with an 'r' and years with a '0'!! > > A swift ethnic cleansing, and a collapse of technology following Roman withdrawal would be the belief of a spin doctor (Bede) writing centuries later, seeking to deny a re-introduction of paganism as a replacement for Celtic Christianity and the need for the glorification of Augustine. > You mention "West Wales", otherwise known as the Kingdom of Dumnonia, being isolated from Cymru by the Battle of Deorham (577). Speaking as a Devonian, I can confirm that Christianity was brought to Dumnonia at about this time (or even before). To this day, many of the parish churches in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset are dedicated to the Celtic Saints who came to Dumnonia from Wales, Ireland and Brittany. > Concerning the theory of ethnic cleansing by the Saxons of the Celtic inhabitants of Dumnonia, the recent DNA surveys (such as those carried out by UCL for the BBC's "Blood of the Vikngs" series), certainly seem to kick that idea into touch. The conclusion was that the current population of the South West is predominantly Celtic. I totally agree.

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