Book Review: Rediscovering The Celts

Rediscovering The Celts: The True Witness from Western Shores

Author: Martin Robinson

Publisher: Fount an Imprint of HarperCollinsReligious part of HarperCollinsPublishers, paperback, 204 pages

The Author

At the time of publication, Dr. Martin Robinson was Director of Mission and Theology for the British and Foreign Bible Society. He also authored Sacred Places, Pilgrim Paths and numerous other books.

Contents

This volume consists of a Preface, twelve chapters, as well as a helpful Glossary, and Select Bibliography. 

Brief Observations

Dr. Robinson’s interest in the Celts began when he was 10 years-old, while visiting the Isle of Iona, and later when holidaying in Wales, encountering Celtic place names along with the spiritual history there. 

The author provides a history of the origins of the Celts from various European nations, and their migration to France, Britain, and Ireland. “We can say with some certainty that by approximately 1,000 BC the Celtic peoples migrated from east of the Danube into central and western Europe. 

Between 450 to 600 AD, the Celtic nations were converted, which laid the foundations of Celtic Christianity. Celtic missionaries influenced England. 

Martin of Tours established the first monastery in the West at Poitiers around 360, and at Tours in 372. The Celtic monasteries in Britain and Ireland were modelled after those established by Martin of Tours.

Celibacy was not compulsory for monks, nuns, priests, bishops and abbots. An abbot’s son or nephew sometimes succeeded their father or uncle. Monasteries emphasised caring for the poor and offering hospitality. Children of kings and the nobility became monks and nuns. They were respected by the nobility, and Christianized pagan traditions. 

Druids lost their influence in Celtic society because it was based on oral tradition, whereas the monasteries introduced written tradition. Columba was a Druid prior to becoming a Christian. 

The Romans never conquered northern Scotland and Ireland. There were differences in the ways the Celtic and Roman churches worshipped. The Celtic church baptized by immersion, the Roman church by pouring. At first, adults were baptized in the Celtic church, and later infants. The Celtic church celebrated the Lord’s Supper with both kinds, the Romans with bread only. Church year festivals were observed differently. Fasting was observed 3 times a year in the Celtic church, in the Roman church only once—during Lent. The tradition of saints and sacred places developed in the Celtic church. Blessings were important for every aspect of life. In the Celtic church, abbots at times had more authority than bishops, and bishops relied on abbots as their advisors. 

“From the earliest days of Celtic Christianity, holy men and women have been inextricably connected with the role of scholar.” (p. 88) Study, intellectual learning, and preaching were all an integral part of missionary work. The Celtic methods of biblical study and their regard of the Bible’s authority led to a biblical theology affirming: the unity of the canonical scriptures, interpreting the Hebrew Bible in light of the New Testament, understanding the scriptures in light of the Trinity, the practical application of the Bible, and more literalistic approach to the Bible, as opposed to an allegorical or symbolic one. 

Celtic Christianity encountered God in creation in similar ways as Eastern Christianity, and the Celts were inspired and influenced by the Psalms. Miraculous events in relation to creation also influenced and inspired Celtic Christianity. For example, Columba was believed to have calmed the sea. 

Women in Irish law were given rights (not in the twenty-first century sense) that do not seem to be prevalent in some Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. For example, they had inheritance rights. 

Dr. Robinson discusses ‘what if’ scenarios concerning the waning of Celtic Christianity, and ‘what if’ Celtic Christianity had been more successful than Roman Christianity. He emphasises the importance of Celtic missionaries and missions, especially in rural, pagan Europe. He also assesses the issue of romanticizing the Celts as well as such events as the victory of the Romans at Whitby. He concludes by reflecting on what can be learned from the Celts.

There have, of course, been many books written on the Celts over the last few decades. This one is, for the most part, an attempt to present a balanced view of Celtic Christianity.