Click here to visit our new site --> CafeDVD 2.0 Celts, The: Rich Traditions And Ancient Myths (1987) Rating: Starring: Frank Delaney, Dave Allen, Enya, Miranda Green, Tania Grier Director: David Richardson Category: Documentary Studio: BBC Home Video Subtitles: Length: 325 mins     Features the breathtaking music of world-renowned Enya For 800 years, a proud, vibrant, richly imaginative warrior people swept ruthlessly across Europe. The ancient Greeks called them "Keltoi" and honored them as one of the great barbarian races. Follow their fascinating story from the earliest roots 2500 years ago through the flowering of their unique culture and their enduring heritage today, enhanced with stunning reconstructions of iron-age villages, dramatizations of major historical events and visits to modern Celtic lands. The fascinating look back at the legends and legacy of the Celtic heritage is underscored by the hauntingly beautiful music of Enya. Episode One - The Man with the Golden Shoes Writer and narrator Frank Delaney takes us from the earliest remains of Celtic saltminers in Austria, 2500 years ago, through the spread of their empire from Ireland to Hungary. Although the Celts were courageous, ruthless warriors armed with iron and mounted on horseback, their proud independence kept them from uniting against the disciplined military might of Rome. Episode Two - The Birth of Nations The eventual fall of the Roman Empire left a vacuum in what is now the British Isles that was gradually filled as nations emerged and fought for power. England, in the south, absorbed successive waves of invasions by Anglo-Saxons, Picts, Vikings, and Normans. Thus began a long and bloody struggle for the survival of the remaining Celtic strongholds - Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany. Episode Three - A Pagan Trinity The Celtic world was one of legend and mystery, a mythology based on the magical powers of nature - the sacred groves of oak, ash and yew, speaking stones, healing waters and holy animals, the mystical significance of the severed head of an enemy. With the passage of time, Druid priests gave way to Christian missionaries, whose teachings could not escape the influence of the rich cultural heritage of the Celts. Episode Four - The Open-Ended Curve In their art, literature and music, from the Gunderstrup Cauldron to The Book of Kells to the ancient bardic traditions, the Celts wove together the beautiful and the practical with their own bold, colorful and innovative style. Episode Five - The Final Conflict The heroic Celts of old are a memory, part legend, part myth. But who are they today? The most precise definition of a Celt is one who speaks a Celtic language - Irish, Welsh, Scots, Gaelic, Breton or the almost extinct Manx and Cornish. Since Roman times, these unique languages have been eroded by other dialects, the most influential being the general Anglicization of the western isles. Episode Six - The Legacy Recently, various campaigns to revive Celtic languages have met with great success. The ancient civilization of the Celts may have diminished, but their legacy to Western culture has been profound in terms of their bold, proud approach to life, their wit and merriment - and their richly evocative music, poetry, art, mythology and literature.