Gaels

The Gaels (/ɡeɪlz/ GAYLZ; Irish: Na Gaeil [n̪ˠə ˈɡeːlʲ]; Scottish Gaelic: Na Gàidheil [nə ˈkɛː.al]; Manx: Ny Gaeil [nə ˈɡeːl]) are an Insular Celtic ethnic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man, and historically, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic.

Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland. In antiquity, the Gaels traded with the Roman Empire and also raided Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland and the Isle of Man. There was also some Gaelic settlement in Wales, as well as cultural influence through Celtic Christianity. In the Viking Age, small numbers of Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels. In the 9th century, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). Meanwhile, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King often claiming lordship over them.

In the 12th century, Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland, while parts of Scotland also became Normanized. However, Gaelic culture remained strong throughout Ireland, and in Scotland in the Highlands, Hebrides, and Galloway. In the early 17th century, the last Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland fell under English control. James VI and I sought to subdue the Gaels and wipe out their culture; first in the Scottish Highlands via repressive laws such as the Statutes of Iona, and then in Ireland by colonizing Gaelic land with English and Scots-speaking Protestant settlers. In the following centuries Gaelic language was suppressed and mostly supplanted by English. However, it continues to be the main language in Ireland's Gaeltacht and Scotland's Gàidhealtachd (Outer Hebrides and pockets of the north-west Highlands). The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, the Americas and Australasia.

Traditional Gaelic society was organised into clans, each with its own territory and king (or chief), elected through tanistry. The Irish were previously pagans who had many gods, venerated their ancestors and believed in an Otherworld. Their four yearly festivals – Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa – continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels have a strong oral tradition, traditionally maintained by shanachies. Inscription in the ogham alphabet began in the 4th century. The Gaels' conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of writing in the Roman alphabet. Irish mythology and Brehon law were preserved and recorded by medieval Irish monasteries. Gaelic monasteries were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing Insular art; Gaelic missionaries and scholars were highly influential in western Europe. In the Middle Ages, most Gaels lived in roundhouses and ringforts. The Gaels long have had their own styles of dress; that in Ireland was typified for centuries by the léine croich ('saffron shirt'), and in Gaelic Scotland by the belted plaid (precursor of the modern kilt). Gaelic peoples have produced distinctive music, dances, festivals, and sports (including the Gaelic games in Ireland and Highland games in Scotland) into the modern era. Gaelic culture continues to be a major component of Irish, Scottish, and Manx society.

Throughout the centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names. The most consistent of these have been Gael, Irish, and Scots. In Latin, the Gaels were called Scoti, but this later came to mean only the Gaels of Scotland. Other terms, such as Milesian, are not as often used. An Old Norse name for the Gaels was Vestmenn (meaning "Westmen", due to inhabiting the Western fringes of Europe). Informally, archetypal forenames such as Tadhg or Dòmhnall are sometimes used for Gaels. In the 17th–19th centuries, antiquarians sometimes referred to them as Gadelians.

The word 'Gaelic' is first recorded in print in the English language in the 1770s, replacing the earlier 'Gathelik' which is attested as far back as 1596. 'Gael', defined as a 'member of the Gaelic race', is first attested in print in 1810. 'Goidelic' has also been used in English since the 19th century, but usually refers to the language group.

These names all come from the Old Irish word Goídel/Gaídel. In Early Modern Irish, it was spelled Gaoidheal (singular) and Gaoidheil/Gaoidhil (plural). In modern Irish, it is spelled Gael (singular) and Gaeil (plural). According to scholar John T. Koch, the Old Irish form of the name was borrowed from an Archaic Welsh form Guoidel, meaning 'forest people', 'wild men' or, later, 'warriors'. Guoidel is recorded as a personal name in the Book of Llandaff. The root of the name is cognate at the Proto-Celtic level with Old Irish fíad 'wild', and Féni, derived ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weidh-n-jo-. This latter word is the origin of Fianna and Fenian.

In medieval Ireland, the bardic poets who were the cultural intelligentsia of the nation, limited the use of Gaoidheal specifically to those who claimed genealogical descent from the mythical Goídel Glas. Even the Gaelicised Normans who were born in Ireland, spoke Irish and sponsored Gaelic bardic poetry, such as Gearóid Iarla, were referred to as Gall ('foreigner') by Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh, a 14th-century Chief Ollam of Ireland.