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Revision as of 08:09, 24 October 2005 by An Siarach (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Gael redirects here. For the village in France, see Gaël.The Gaels are an ethnic group in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man, whose language is one that is Gaelic (Goidelic), an Insular Celtic language. The word in English was adopted in 1810 from Scottish Gaelic Gaidheal (compare Irish Gaoidheal) to designate a Highlander (OED). Gael or Gaoidheal was first used as a collective term to describe people from Ireland; it is thought to have come from a Welsh word, Gwyddel meaning raiders.
Mythological origin
The Gaels during the beginning of the Christian era (at which time Gaelic people were mostly restricted to Ireland) believed themselves to be descendants of Míl Espáine. This belief persists in the Gaelic cultures of Ireland and Scotland up to the present day, with many if not most clan leaders in either country claiming descent from their predeccesor, back to famous historical kings going back into pre-history.
Historical expansion
Starting sometime around the 5th century Gaelic language and culture spread from Ireland to the southwest coast of Scotland where it may have already existed since Roman times. Uncertainty over this comes as a result of the fact that there is no archeological evidence to support the generally accepted tale of migration while there is some to suggest that there was none - the evidence also points to the population of the area (modern day Argyll) being constant during the time of the alleged scottish invasion. This area was known as Dal Riada. The Gaels soon spread out to most of the rest of the country. Culturo-linguistic dominance in the area eventually led to the Latin name for gaelic speaking peoples , "Scotti", being applied to the state founded by the Gaels , Scotland (Alba in gaelic). Since that time Gaelic culture rose and, in the past three centuries, greatly diminished, in most of Ireland and Scotland. The most culturally Gaelic regions are in the north west of Scotland, the west of Ireland and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where the descendants of the Highland Clearances were transplanted.
The Isle of Man (Manx Gaelic Ellan Vannin, "Mannin's Isle", from the pre-Christian deity known as Manannan Mac Lír) also came under Gaelic influence in its history. The last native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s, but there is now a resurgent language movement and Manx is once again taught in some schools. A large part of the island's cultural heritage is Gaelic.