Before the arrival of the Romans the area was the home of the Carvetii tribe, which was later assimilated to the larger Brigantes tribe. These people would have spoken Brythonic, which developed into Old Welsh, but around the 5th century AD, when Cumbria was the centre of the kingdom of Rheged, the language spoken in northern England and southern Scotland from Yorkshire to Strathclyde had developed into a separate language known as Cumbric.
Old Irish can be traced in the Rhinns of Galloway from at least the fifth century. Having been settled from ancient times, the area has a long history, forming part of the western kingdoms that collectively ruled most of western Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Wales. The Novantae Celtic tribe in Galloway was based in the Rhins area and were known to the Romans as trading partners. In later times the area became part of numerous kingdoms that ruled in the wider region, including Gododdin, Rheged, Strathclyde and Bernicia. A far stronger influence on the modern dialect was Old Norse, spoken by Norwegian settlers who probably arrived in Cumbria in the 10th century via Ireland and the Isle of Man. Appleby, fully Appleby-in-Westmorland, is a town in Northwest England. It is situated within a loop of the River Eden and has a population of 2,500. It is the traditional county town of Westmorland.
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After initial forays by Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, the Romans invaded Britain a century later in AD 43. By AD 78, in spite of resistance from leaders such as Caractacus and Boudicca, they had subdued England and Wales and were free to turn their attention to Scotland. Rheged was a Brythonic nation of Sub-Roman Britain, where the natives spoke Cumbric. It was situated in what is now north-western England, possibly extending into south-western Scotland. Following Bernicia's union with Deira to become the kingdom of Northumbria, Rheged itself was annexed by Northumbria, at some time before AD 730. Rheged extended into Dumfries and Galloway. After the incorporation of Rheged into Northumbria the old Cumbric language was gradually replaced by Old English with the former tongue surviving only amongst remote upland communities. The name of the Cymry has, however, survived in the name of Cumberland and now Cumbria. Parts of Hadrian's Wall can be found in the northernmost reaches of the county, in and around Carlisle. The Celts of Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall became separated from the Celts of Wales after the Battle of Deorham in about 577. |
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In other regions, people with a heritage from one of the 'CELTIC NATIONS ' also associate with the Celtic identity. In these areas, Celtic traditions and languages are significant components of local culture. These include the Chubut valley of Patagonia with Welsh speaking Argentinians (known as "Y Wladfa"), Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, with Gaelic-speaking Canadians and southeast Newfoundland with Irish-speaking Canadians.
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