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man. The word is variously derived from the Welsh cellt, a flintstone (that being the material of which the weapons are chiefly made, though celts of See also:

BASALT

basalt felstone and See also:

jade are found); from being supposed to be the See also:

IMPLEMENT (Lat. implementum, a filling up, from implere, to fill)

implement See also:

PECULIAR

peculiar to the See also:

CELTIC

Celtic peoples; or from a See also:

Low Latin word celtis, a See also:

CHISEL (from the O. Fr. cisel, modern ciseau, Late Lat. cisellum, a cutting tool, from caedere, to cut)

chisel. The last derivation is more probably correct. The word has come to be somewhat loosely applied to See also:

metal as well as stone See also:

AXE (0. Eng. aex; a word common, in different forms, in the Teutonic languages, and akin to the Greek 41v17; the New English Dictionary prefers the spelling " ax ")

axe-heads. The See also:

general See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form of stone celts is that of See also:

BLADES, WILLIAM (1824-1890)

blades approaching an See also:

OVAL (Lat. ovum, egg)

oval in See also:

section, with sides more or less straight and one end broader and sharper than the other. In length they vary from about 2 to as much as 16 in. The largest and finest specimens are found in See also:

Denmark: one in an See also:

ENGLISH

English collection being of beautiful See also:

white See also:

flint 13 in. See also:

long, 12 in. thick and 32 in. broad. Those found in Denmark are sometimes polished, but usually are See also:

LEFT

left rough. Those found in See also:

north-western See also:

EUROPE

Europe are ground to a more or less smooth See also:

SURFACE

surface. That some were held in the See also:

hand and others fixed in wooden handles is clear from the presence of peculiar polished spaces produced by the See also:

FRICTION (from Lat. fricare, to rub)

friction of the See also:

wood. In the later stone adzes holes are sometimes found pierced to receive the handles. The See also:

BRONZE

bronze celts vary in See also:

SIZE

size from an See also:

INCH (O. Eng. ynce from Lat. uncia, a twelfthpart; cf. " ounce," and see As)

inch to a See also:

FOOT

foot in length.

The earlier specimens are much like the stone ones in shape and See also:

DESIGN (Fr. desiin, drawing; Lat. designare, to mark out)

design, but the later manufactures show a marked improvement, the metal being usually pierced to receive the handles. It is noteworthy that the celtmakers never See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast their axes with a transverse hole through which the handle might pass. Bronze celts are usually See also:

PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, but some are ornamented with ridges, dots or lines. That they were made in the countries where they are found is proved by the presence of moulds. A point worthy of mention is the position which stone celts hold in the folk-See also:

lore and superstitious beliefs of many lands. In the See also:

West of See also:

England the See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country folks believe the weapons See also:

fell originally from the See also:

SKY (M. Eng. skie, cloud; O. Eng. skua, shade; connected with an Indo-European root sku, cover, whence " scum," Lat. obscurus, dark, &c.)

sky as " thunderbolts," and that the See also:

WATER

water in which they are boiled is a specific for See also:

RHEUMATISM (from Gr. /56µa, flux)

rheumatism. In the North and See also:

Scotland they are preservatives against See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle diseases. In See also:

BRITTANY

Brittany a stone celt is thrown into a well to purify the water. In See also:

Sweden they are regarded as a See also:

PROTECTION

protection against See also:

LIGHTNING

lightning. In See also:

Norway the belief is that, if they are genuine thunderbolts, a See also:

THREAD (0. Eng. praed, literally, that which is twisted, prawan, to twist, to throw, cf. " throwster," a silk-winder, Ger. drehen, to twist, turn, Du. draad, Ger. Draht, thread, wire)

thread tied See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round them when placed on hot coals will not See also:

BURN, RICHARD (1709-1785)

burn but will become moist. In See also:

Germany, See also:

Spain, See also:

Italy, the same beliefs prevail. In See also:

JAPAN

Japan the stones are accounted of medicinal value, while in See also:

BURMA

Burma and See also:

ASSAM

Assam they are infallible specifics for ophthalmia.

In See also:

Africa they are the weapons of the See also:

THUNDER

Thunder-See also:

God. In See also:

India and among the Greeks the See also:

HATCHET (adapted from the Fr. hachette, diminutive of hache, axe, hacker, to cut, hack)

hatchet appears to have had a sacred importance, derived, doubtless, from the universal superstitious See also:

AWE, LOCH

awe with which these weapons of pre-historic man were regarded. See See also:

Sir J. See also:

Evans's See also:

Ancient Stone Implements of See also:

GREAT

Great See also:

BRITAIN (Gr. Hperavuml vi7vot, Bperravia; Lat. Britannia, rarely Britannia)

Britain; See also:

Lord See also:

Avebury's Prehistoric Times (1865-'goo) and Origin of See also:

CIVILIZATION

Civilization (187o) ; E. B. See also:

TYLOR, EDWARD BURNETT (1832- )

Tylor's See also:

ANTHROPOLOGY (Gr. avOpw1ror man, and Xoyos, theory or science)

Anthropology, and Primitive Culture, &c. For the See also:

HISTORY

history of polished stone axes up to the 17th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century see Dr See also:

MARCEL, ETIENNE (d: 1358)

Marcel Bandouin and Lionel Bonnemere in the Bulletin de la Societe d'Anthropologie de See also:

Paris, See also:

APRIL

April-May 1905.

End of Article: CELT

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