Continental Celtic - Introduction
Introduction
Continental Celtic describes the Celtic languages, now extinct, spoken in Continental Europe before the arrival of the Romans and distinguished from the Insular Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland. Three main languages are attested among these: Gaulish, the Celtic language spoken in Gaul; Lepontic and a form of Gaulish, called Cisalpine Gaulish, spoken in northern Italy and Celtiberian, spoken in north-eastern parts of Spain.
The surviving remains consist of inscriptions on stone, lead and clay and display a variety of different scripts – Greek script, Roman capitals and Roman cursive. Some are dedications to gods and goddesses, others declarations of love, and others magical texts.
The texts given here are Gaulish and for each an image, a drawing, a transcription and a translation (where possible) is provided.
