Culture

"I remember once sitting in a pub, playing in the background was a traditional English Folk tune. A transatlantic voice was heard from across the bar describing how nice it was to hear Irish music ..."

Folk Culture

There are of course clear differences between the various traditional music forms found in Britain and Eire. Different instruments are used, different languages and different dances. The same can be said for other aspects of Folk culture and Folk Traditions. However we have to ask are the Folk Traditions of England significantly different from those of its neighbors, more than they are from each other?

With instruments we find the pipes in Ireland, Scotland and in English Northumbria. In religion the Celtic God Cernunnos becomes Herne the Hunter in English Folk Lore. Morris Dancing possibly has links with pre-Christian Celtic fertility rites, and Maypole dancing certainly seems to date back before the Roman occupation of Britain. Many 'English' Folk tales are Celtic in root, even if the names have been changed, as Jack Merry says:

"there's far too much cross-fertilization between the traditions to make a clean break between them" Greenmanreview.com

What can perhaps be said is that on a small collection of islands, Folk stories and culture will move and interact. Indeed even across Europe this is the case. However if the Folk Traditions of England were to be put in a family tree it seems natural to put them closer to the Celtic Traditions than even those of Scandinavia. It is not surprising that in the world of Traditional Music the term Anglo-Celtic is increasingly prevalent.

Some regions of England have clear Celtic place names, myths and culture, such as Kernow and Dewnans.

Cultural Genocide?

The Anglo-Saxons certainly seem to have made a strong effort to displace celtic culture in what was to become England, this certainly seems to have succeeded with the elite. However strong elements of Celtic culture survived in England amongst the common people, even though the language was gradually changed, and the ruling classes were eventually not Celtic. One suggestion is that the Britons simply re-identified themselves with their new leaders, and endeavored to imitate them. The real change has perhaps been more recent, the English sense of Anglo-Saxon identity seems to have been born in the heat of the Norman occupation after 1066. In a few hundred years Anglo-Saxon rulers had become heroes compared to the latest round of invaders. As the invaders lost influence in France they needed to identify more with an 'English Culture'.

There has been a shift in material, linguistic culture and self identity in England, but the resulting culture is Anglo-Celtic. More recently still however the Victorians emphasized the Teutonic as superior to other cultures.

Cultural Imperialism?

There is a far darker side to Anglo-Saxon identity. In the last few hundred years Anglo-Saxon identity has been something that has been held up against Celtic identity, and Celtic identity has been held up in resistance to Anglo-Saxon identity. The Regions of England have also had their unique folk cultures and their regional dialects suppressed in much the same way as their neighboring countries in The Isles. However similar resistance has been felt in the Regions of England as in the Celtic nations.

A very particular type of cultural imperialism, now thankfully almost dead in Europe (although perhaps alive and well in other parts of the world) became associated with England. It is a form that the other nations of The Isles have had to have been strong to resist. It seems ironic that such an expansion centered on London, a place name going back to the Celtic Britons.

Anglo-Celtic Culture

As England leaves behind its Anglo-Centric world view it is time for it to re-engage with its Folk Culture and see it in relation to the Celtic culture that birthed it. It is a Celtic culture touched by early invaders and immigrants, hence it is Anglo-Celtic, but it roots lay alongside those of the great neighboring Celtic cultures. It is also fair to say that it is a culture that has been re-enriched by other Celtic cultures, and that enrichment ought to be celebrated.