The Celts survived Romans, Saxons, and 2 waves of Vikings. But then came a final invasion, which included all of ancient Britain and Ireland.

Harold II successfully beat off the invasion by Harald Hardrada of Norway, defeating him at Stamford Bridge near York in September 1066. Even when he and his troops arrived, exhausted, at Hastings three weeks later to face William’s Norman invaders, he nearly prevailed. But William won, and the last English royal dynasty perished.

The early years of William’s English rule were a little insecure. He built castles across England to convince everyone who was the boss, meeting force with even greater force as rebellious regions like Yorkshire were laid waste (the harrowing of the North).

By around 1072, the Norman hold on the kingdom was firmly established. Normans controlled most major functions within the Church and the State. The Domesday Book exists today as a record, compiled some 20 years after the Battle of Hastings, showing all landholder’s estates throughout England. It demonstrates the Norman genius for order and good government as well as showing the vast tracts of land acquired by the new Norman owners.

Norman genius was also expressed in architecture. Saxon buildings had mostly been wooden structures; the French ‘brickies’ at once made a more permanent mark on the landscape. Massive stone castles, churches, cathedrals, and monasteries were erected, these imposing structures again clearly demonstrating just who was now in charge.

For the last 1000 years Britain remains unconquered. After so many conquests and invasions is there any part of the Celts remaining? Surprisingly, yes there are. In fact, the Celts were never wiped out but lived alongside invaders and settlers. It isn’t just the fringes either (what we call the six Celtic nations).

A research team at Oxford University has found the majority of Britons are Celts descended from Spanish tribes who began arriving about 7,000 years ago. Even in England, about 64 per cent of people are descended from these Celts, outnumbering the descendants of Anglo- Saxons by about three to one. The proportion of Celts is only slightly higher in Scotland, at 73 per cent. Wales is the most Celtic part of mainland Britain, with 83 per cent.

The majority of people in England were the descendants of the same people who sailed across the Bay of Biscay. Prof Sykes said the Celts had remained predominant in Britain despite waves of further migration.

“The overlay of Vikings, Saxons and so on is 20 per cent at most. That’s even in those parts of England that are nearest to the Continent,” he said. “The only exception is Orkney and Shetland, where roughly 40 per cent are of Viking ancestry.”

In Scotland, the majority of people are not actually Scots, but Picts, who according to history disappeared.

Even in Argyll, the stronghold of the Irish Scots, two-thirds are Pictish Celts. However, according to the study, the Picts, like the Scots, originally came from Spain.

“If one thinks that the English are genetically different from the Scots, Irish and Welsh, that’s entirely wrong,” he said. “In the 19th century, the idea of Anglo-Saxon superiority was very widespread. At the moment, there is a resurgence of Celtic identity, which had been trampled on. It’s very vibrant and obvious at the moment.”

We’re Nearly All Celts Under The Skin

“Basically, the cornerstone of Celtic identity is that they are not English. However, to try to base that, as some do, on an idea that is not far beneath the surface that Celtic countries are somehow descended from a race of Celts, which the English are not, is not right. We are all descended from the same people. It should dispel any idea of trying to base what is a cultural identity on a genetic difference because there really isn’t one.”