Picture Books

Books with lots of pictures and maps have always been a help to me in my tree climbing experience.  Any book with the word "Atlas" included in the title would catch my attention.  An "Atlas" of Roman Britain is such a book.

Of course, one of the authors having the surname JONES would certainly require my examination.  Over 270 maps, figures, plans, and site photographs help make this book a fun place to spend some time.

First published by Blackwell Publishers in 1990, it was reprinted by Oxbow Books in 2002.  It gives a lot of attention to the physical characteristics of Roman Britain including such things a mining, metallurgy, pottery and the growth of trade.  My interest in Celtic tribal society and the like was detailed in maps of the iron age settlements in Wales.  Maps, maps, and more maps...my kind of book.

Historians

Genealogy offers all kinds of opportunities to learn about different things.  Ancestral roots being one.  For those of Celtic origins, the first writers to record their views of this world were the Roman historians.  They of course had their own views of the world, and how it was to be, but they did write about this Celtic world.  The following text gives a collection of these early historians, edited by Ronald Mellor, published 1998, Routledge, NY.

A fellow named Tacitus [ca. 55 - 117 AD] seems to be the most quoted.  In his writings titled, "The Life of Agricola" he states:

"The geography and inhabitants of Britain, already described by many writers, I will speak of, not that my research and ability may be compared with theirs, but because the country was then for the first time thoroughly subdued.  And so matters, which as being still not accurately known my predecessor embellished with their eloquence, shall now be related on the evidence of facts." [p.398]

Thus it would seem that old Tacitus felt he had the goods on those "inhabitants of Britain".  He even quotes a Celtic leader named Calgacus, who is recorded as stating:

        "Nature has willed that every man's children and kindred should be his dearest objects." [p.408]

In a nutshell this summarizes the basic social structure of this Celtic race as view by Tacitus.  Children and kindred, that's genealogy!  Likewise, genealogy is being a family historian.

For those interested, other text which have proved helpful for old Tacitus:

The Annals of Imperial Rome, Tacitus, Dorset Press, 1984.
Tacitus Annals I-VI, W.F. Allen, Ginn and Co., Boston, 1890.

Hadrian

Time travel offers the genealogist a chance to view the world as it existed.  One's ancestors help provide a window to the understanding of who we are, and from where did we [our family] begin this life process.  The Celtic gene pool begins the roots of my own family tree, and it is the Romans who were the first to write down what they saw.   Getting to know one of those "Romans" has been a special treat among my own JONES surname tree climbing.

Hadrian was his name.  He wrote an account of his life and travels in a series called "memoirs".  I had to chuckle many times because he seemed to express many of the same thoughts I share.  The text is:

                                      "Memoirs of Hadrian" by Marguerite Yourcenar.

This translation was first published in French 1951, and first translated into English 1954.  Hadrian begins his life story visiting his doctor. [Being a physician perked my attention.]  He states:

        "It is difficult to remain an emperor in presence of a physician, and difficult even to keep one's essential quality as man." (p.3)  What a thought it is.

He goes on to say:

      "This morning it occurred to me for the first time that my body, my faithful companion and friend, truer and better known to me than my own soul, may be after all only a sly beast who will end by devouring his master." (p.3)  Wow, lots of truth here I thought.

My favorite words are:

     "One part of our ills comes from the fact that too many men are shamefully rich and too many desperately poor." (p. 119)  [Not much has changed here!]

The following is a picture of two of my daughters standing on a section of what remains of Hadrian's Wall.

Built in or about 122 AD, a Roman biographer states: "{Hadrian} reformed many things, and, the first [to do so], erected a wall over a length of 80 miles, which was to force apart the Romans and barbarians".*  Well Hadrian....here are some of those "barbarians" standing upon your wall.  Getting to know you a little bit, I thought you might get a chuckle out of this picture.

* The notes are taken from "Hadrian's Wall History & Guide" by Guy de la Bedoyere, p. 13.

An Outpost

The end of the world was this island.  The Roman Empire made this their outpost.  H.H. Scullard in his book titled: "Roman Britain Outpost of The Empire" is a very readable text which gives this theme its due.  Of course, beginning with the Celts, he gives a general overview of the island from this time frame. 

With 125 illustrations and 5 maps, a number of topics are presented.  They are by chapter title:

Britain and the Celts
Caesar and the native kingdoms
Conquest, occupation and Romanization
Defence : The second and third centuries
Military and civil administration
Life in the towns
Villas and countryside
Economic life
Language, art and religion
The end of Roman Britain.

First published 1979 by Thames and Hudson Ltd, London, it was printed in Great Britain by Jarrold and Sons Ltd, Norwich.  It is a wonderful read for the time traveler. 

Roman Britain

The first folks who started to write things down about the island were the Romans.  They saw, they came, and they conquered as the saying sort of goes.  For some 400 years they gave it their best shot to take complete control of all those folks who were already here.  Peter Salway does a excellent job on organizing and discussing this period of Celtic history. "The Oxford Illustrated History of Roman Britain" it is called.

Illustrated it is with over 30 color plates, and 10 detailed maps.  Chronology, chronology, chronology is the greatest help for us chronology lovers.  From the iron age warrior to the last days of the Empire, a detailed account is provided.  Published 1993 by the Oxford University Press, it has proved a great resource and reference for my tree climbing. 

Celtic Britain

The arrival of the Celtic race to the "ends of the world" would of course lead to the British isles.  This is the foundation of the language, culture, society, and lore of the peoples that were to become Welsh.  Of course there were the Irish, Scots, Cornish, Isle of Man, and the Britons who shared these roots.  Celtic Britain written by Lloyd Laing is such a book. 

In broad terms, he discusses the arrival of the Celts to the British isles giving the locations of the most notable Celtic sites in Britain.  The chapter titles are:

1) Introduction - the Celts in Europe
2) Iron Age Britain
3)The Roman Interlude
4)The Dark Ages
5)Epilogue - Celtic Twilight

There are 109 plates (mostly pictures) contained within the pages. [I like pictures!]  It was published 1979, by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.  A fun kind of book.

The Celtic Realms

A second book that has provided useful information regarding the Celts is The Celtic Realms.  Written by Myles Dillion and Nora Chadwick, it is more like a survey of the Celts of the British Isles from their beginnings.  It is an introduction to literature, religion, and visual arts of this ethic group.  It was first published in 1967, but this cover is from the 2006 edition published by Castle Books.

The content is more focused on the Celts of the British Isles, and deals a lot with the Celtic kingdoms of Ireland and Wales.  My favorite part is the explanation of "Ogam", and the providing of the alphabet for this earliest of Celtic writings. [Chapter 9, The Celtic Language and The Beginnings of Literature ]  It provides documentation that this language was used to transmit "genealogies" [markers for names], thus giving the foundation to Celtic family trees.  The chapters are as follows:

1. Discovering The Celts
2. The History and Geography of The British Isles To The End of The Roman Period
3. The Celtic Revival
4. The Formation of The Historical Celtic Kingdoms
5. Secular Institutions: Early Irish Society
6. The Early History of The Modern Celtic Kingdoms
7. Celtic Religion and Mythology and The Literature of The Otherworld
8. Celtic Christianity and Its Literature
9. The Celtic Language and The Beginnings of Literature
10. Irish Literature
11. Welsh Literature
12. Celtic Art

A good read for those who like to go to the roots.