The Celts 1986 BBC Series

[Dave]

Someone has uploaded the full 1986 BBC series on the Celts. Six episodes, nearly six hours long.

Enjoy!
<br>[video=youtube;i72wvqk0tbE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i72wvqk0tbE&amp;list=PL4gs 3jzEk8lCTLU9nNlWwB8prPcTb1QXO[/video]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i72wvqk0tbE&list=PL4gs3jzEk8lCTLU9nNlWwB8prPcTb1QXO

 

[Goatboy]

Cool, cheers for posting Dave.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Definitely will be taking a look at this. Thanks Dave.

 

[Dave]

Youre Welcome.

 

[Harvestman]

Great theme tune for that series too!

 

[Dreadhead]

nice one thanks!

 

[THOaken]

Oh, very interesting, indeed. I need to watch more documentaries on the Celts themselves. I wonder if it's a bit out of date, though, but in the first few minutes I've heard "Hallstatt" and "Keltoi" so I'm sure this is a well researched documentary.

 

[British Red]

Great stuff - that's a few nights viewing for me!

 

[treadlightly]

Yes, will tuck in too, thanks Dave.

 

[treadlightly]

Just watched number one. Excellent.

 

[Dave]

Well I enjoyed it!

The presenter mentions the Celts would have been one of the great civilisations, if not for the fact that they didnt have a form of centralised state, and therefore didnt band into one army to fight against the Romans. But they were headed in that direction. And we're still in an era, where different forces are all fighting for global domination.
Every country is really still following the example imperial Rome set.
But I wonder if we'll ever get back to a time, where individual tribes, each with their own identity, live side by side. When was the last time we saw that in this country? In the iron age? Where individual tribes just farmed and traded, and it was in each others best interests to get along.
Theres something very attractive about the idea of no centralised control. Very romantic.

 

[bushwacker bob]

Well I enjoyed it!

But I wonder if we'll ever get back to a time, where individual tribes, each with their own identity, live side by side. When was the last time we saw that in this country?.

It still happens. A walk in some parts of London can be educational.

 

[Dave]

It still happens. A walk in some parts of London can be educational.

Mmmm. Yes. not quite what I meant. Last time i was in London, I thought I'd missed my stop.
I was on the tube wearing a suit, and walked the entire length of the carriage, asking every single person, if that was the stop. There 6 or 7 people, and not one of them spoke english!
A posh eldelry woman, think she was norwegian? Woman wearing foxskin thing. Russian maybe? etc etc. The last lad I asked had a middle eastern look about him, and because I was wearing a suit, he must have though I was some sort of authority figure, as he had a paniced look in his eyes, and produced his papers!

Even John Cleese says its not like youre in england any more. I find it a bit brutal down in the smoke. Every big city is the same in that regard though.

 

[British Red]

Lack of central control? I wish!

This country is packed to the rafters who like to control how others live, how they spend their money or raise their children. They wont give up their right to stick their noses into other peoples business easily

 

[sandbender]

"...The presenter mentions the Celts would have been one of the great civilisations, if not for the fact that they didnt have a form of centralised state, and therefore didnt band into one army to fight against the Romans...Every country is really still following the example imperial Rome set..."

I would argue that the Celts were one of the great civilisations, however one that for various reasons was eclipsed by Rome. It would have been an interesting world had Rome fallen to the Celts, imagine all these doric columns around London replaced by marble tree trunks and forest groves rather than cathedrals?

Rome's eventual victory was less about having a centralised state and more about having had so many kickings in the past but never a knockout blow.

Having nearly fallen to the Celts and Carthaginians in the past focussed their minds on how not to lose and when they got their act together they realised that they really were pretty good at the conquest thing. Add to that an economy and system of government that encouraged expansion and there was no stopping them, for a while anyway.

In Livy's 'The Early History of Rome' he writes at length about Rome's first encounter with the Celts which were initially fairly diplomatic until elements within one of the Roman noble houses backstabbed a Celtic 'force' that had displaced another nation in Northern Italy.

The Celts were none to happy and demanded justice from Rome, that senior members of that family be handed over, the Romans promptly promoted those nobles to General/Home Secretary status thus angering the Celts and pushing them into a full on invasion.

The Celts kicked bottom and fought their way to the walls of Rome where rather than burning the place to the ground and salting the earth they accepted a very hefty tribute in gold which the city barely managed to scrape together.

When the gold was being weighed the Romans suggested that the Celts were cheating and using dodgy weights, at which the Celtish leader threw his sword onto the balance and declared "vae victis" or "woe to the Defeated", the Romans shut up, the Celts got their gold and the Romans started to rethink the whole strategy and tactics thing.

 

[rik_uk3]

Good heads up, shall watch in bed tonight (or start to watch).

 

[northumbrian]

Mmmm. Yes. not quite what I meant. Last time i was in London, I thought I'd missed my stop.
I was on the tube wearing a suit, and walked the entire length of the carriage, asking every single person, if that was the stop. There 6 or 7 people, and not one of them spoke english!
A posh eldelry woman, think she was norwegian? Woman wearing foxskin thing. Russian maybe? etc etc. The last lad I asked had a middle eastern look about him, and because I was wearing a suit, he must have though I was some sort of authority figure, as he had a paniced look in his eyes, and produced his papers!

Even John Cleese says its not like youre in england any more. I find it a bit brutal down in the smoke. Every big city is the same in that regard though.

Not newcastle we are still 100% geordie and proud !