Teachers notes
Unit 8: A tribesman from Brittany, fleeing from the Romans, writes a letter to his brother, describing the secret hiding place of a golden hoard – Ireland, 53 BC Indicators: Students read text and complete comprehension and cloze exercises based on the text. Students complete word study exercises in correcting spelling and choosing correct answers.
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Students learn about the Bretons in north-west France, archaeological techniques in the discovery and preservation of artefacts and Celtic metalwork, Celtic design and pre-Christian Celtic art in Europe.
Background information:
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This text is a letter, written by Gavrinis, a Celtic tribesman who is the owner of the treasure hoard and who has escaped from the Roman invaders in Gaul by sailing to Ireland. Gavrinis is writing to his brother, Arvor, and is describing in his letter where he has hidden the treasure that he has brought with him for safekeeping. Letters usually begin with a greeting, contain the information to be related and conclude with a farewell signed by the sender. Letters can be either formal or personal. Formal letters are usually brief and to the point while personal letters can be longer and more expansive. This is an informal letter, written from one family member to another in a time of crisis, and is therefore brief and to the point.
Five tribes lived in the remote western Breton peninsula, which became known as Armorica, and is now called Brittany. The Celts in Brittany resisted the influence of the Romans for as long as possible but were eventually overtaken by them. The Veneti tribe lived in the south-west of the peninsula. Julius Caesar commented on the seafaring abilities of the Veneti. Brittany’s Celtic roots were strong and Brittany became the last Celtic stronghold in mainland Europe when Celtic civilisation declined in the centuries after the Roman invasion of Gaul. Along with the other nations belonging to what is known as the ‘Celtic Fringe’, such as Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and the Isle of Man, Brittany became one of the inheritors of Celtic culture.
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Collections of treasure, or hoards as they are sometimes called, have been discovered in bogs, graves, underground passageways (known as souterrains) and on beaches. A hoard found in 1990 at Snettisham in England, where Queen Boudicca and the Iceni tribe lived, was one of the largest hoards of gold and silver treasure found in England, with about 11 kilograms of gold and 16 kilograms of silver jewellery discovered. As well as using gold and silver, the Celts also used electrum, which is an alloy (a combined metal) of three parts gold and two parts silver when creating their jewellery. Historians believe that the Celts may have buried hoards of treasure for different reasons at different times. The Celts in Britain may have hidden their valuables from invaders such as the Romans. There is evidence that British Romans may have, in turn, hidden their valuables from raids by Celtic tribes. Sometimes the treasure may have been stolen or looted from its rightful owners and the thief hid it for safekeeping until later. They may also have been placed as votive offerings to the gods, for melting purposes by foundrymen or by merchants burying them along their trading itineraries. Treasures may have been buried for use at a later time by the owners. Valuables were buried with their owners to assist them in the afterlife. There is evidence that the later Celts, who had become Christian, also hoarded valuables to hide them from Viking raiders in the 7th and 8rh centuries AD. Whatever the reasons, hoards of Celtic artefacts have proved to be extremely important resources in the study of Celtic civilisation. The Celts left very little direct evidence in writing for historians to evaluate and therefore the evidence from such hoards provides historians with a great deal of information. The Celts in Brittany spoke a Celtic language, which belonged to the group of Celtic languages known as P-Celtic or Brythonic. These languages were spoken in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. From the 5th to the 7th centuries AD, Brittany attracted a stream of Celtic settlers and the population grew. Trading links between the Britons, the Welsh and the Bretons ensured that they maintained constant contact with each other. The ‘Celtic Fringe’ is a term used to describe the surviving Celtic nations of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. Today, the Breton people celebrate their Celtic identify proudly in music, language and art and are part of the ‘Celtic Fringe’. Brittany has retained it’s Celtic character and today Breton is the only living Celtic language outside of Britain and Ireland.
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Worksheet information:
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Students may find it useful to look at an atlas in order to locate the area of Brittany in north-western France. Students may need to use dictionaries to complete Question 3 in Exercise E.
A glossary of keywords and terms relating to the ancient Celts in this particular unit is provided on pages viii – xi for teacher reference. Many of them appear on Question 1 in Exercise E. Students will find it beneficial to check the glossary as they work through the unit. Detailed footnotes for the text in Exercise A have also been provided to assist in comprehension of Celtic terms.
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Literacy and history – The Celts
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