My roots are in Wales. I am a first generation American, with my father coming here at the age of 10 straight from Wales. My grandparents on my mother's side are from Ireland and Germany. All Celtic. Growing up, I felt a need to learn calligraphy and earned a nice living at it for a time. I have found recently that the Celts were great calligraphers. Maybe it was inborn My children's father is a Dougherty of the O'Dochartaigh Clan of Donegal.

Of all the Celtic peoples of the British Isles, the Welsh remain the least known among North Americans, for it was the Scots and the Irish who settled in the Americas in far greater numbers. And so, the common Gaelic traditions of the Scots and the Irish are far better known than the Brythonic traditions of the Welsh and their kinfolk in France, the Bretons of Brittany.

The Gaels did not come under Roman conquest two thousand years ago, and so their culture remains closer to the ancient Celts. But the ancestors of the modern Welsh were conquered by the Roman Legions, or forced into submissive alliances with them.

Roman colonists moved into these lands and eventually intermarried with the Celts. Latin words entered the Celtic speech, and eventually a new language, Welsh, was created. And a new people were born.

When the Roman legions withdrew from Britain, these people took defense of their land into their own hands. When the Anglo-Saxons invaded their island, chieftains such as the historical King Arthur led the defense. But, eventually, the Welsh were forced to withdraw to the mountains and valleys of the island's fringes. There, they maintained their independence until the final English conquests almost 600 years ago.

Today the Welsh language and Welsh culture survives in part because of the love of storytelling among the Welsh people. Their stories, their music, and their traditions maintain the identity of a people who came into being long, long ago -- when Roman Legions still guarded the boundaries of an ancient empire.

Celtic Links

The World of Celtic Art
Celtic Art and Illumination
Celtic Culture (Welsh, Irish, Scottish, Europe)
Celtic Grounds
Celtic Cross-Stitch
Traditional Welsh Music
Dougherty Clan

©Sharon Hemmerly
2003

Music: The Blackbird