The Celts (Welsh: Y Celtiaid[2]) is a 2000 television documentary series produced by Opus Television for the Welsh channel S4C.[3] A book adaptation of the same name by John Davies was published in the same year by Cassell & Co.[4] Also in that year, the programme was sold to the American cable network Celtic Vision.[5]
| The Celts | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Documentary series |
| Narrated by | John Morgan |
| Opening theme | "The Eternal Knot"[1] |
| Ending theme | "The Eternal Knot" |
| Composer | Karl Jenkins |
| Country of origin | Wales, United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Cenwyn Edwards John Alick Macpherson |
| Producers | Caryl Ebenezer J. Mervyn Williams |
| Editor | Glyn Shakeshaft |
| Camera setup | Haydn Denman |
| Running time | 50 minutes (per episode) |
| Production companies | Opus Television S4C Rhyngwladol International |
| Original release | |
| Network | S4C |
| Release | 2000 |
Synopsis
editThe series examines who the Celts were, where they came from and what made their culture distinctive from other European peoples; with dramatizations of major historical events and visits to modern Celtic lands. A number of archaeologists and scholars of Celtic studies are featured in the documentary, such as Jörg Biel, Peter Connolly, Barry Cunliffe, Markus Egg, Michel Egloff, John T. Koch, Barry Raftery, Colin Renfrew, Peter Reynolds, Thomas Stöllner, Bryan Sykes, among others.
Episodes
edit- "In the Beginning": Tracing the origin of the Celts.
- "Heroes in Defeat": Examining La Tène era, heyday of the Celtic culture.
- "The Sacred Groves": Looking at ancient Celtic religion, especially Druidism.
- "From Camelot to Christ": This episode claims that, after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Vortigern, King of the Britons, invited the Anglo-Saxons into Britain to help fight the Picts. Christianity was established during the Anglo-Saxon era.
- "Legend and Reality": From the 8th century onwards Celtic lands were invaded by the Vikings and then the Normans. Following the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, Celtic communities in Wales, Ireland and Brittany were marginalized in the push for political and religious unity.
- "A Dead Song?": Examining the meaning and threats to the Celtic identity. The struggle to define an identity still continues today.
DVD
editThe series has been released on DVD by Kultur International Films in 2010.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Elliot, Russell W (16 October 2000). "Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot". musicaldiscoveries.com. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "The S4C Authority Bulletin" (PDF). s4c.cymru. October 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ MacKillop, James (1 June 2006). Myths and Legends of the Celts. London: Penguin Books. ISBN 9780141941394.
- ^ Davies, John (2000). The Celts: Based Upon the S4C Television Series. London: Cassell & Co. ISBN 9780304355907.
- ^ "S4C exports Opus series The Celts to the US". broadcastnow.co.uk. 12 May 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ The Celts (DVD Video). 2010. OCLC 642361754. Retrieved 11 December 2022 – via worldcat.org.