History as Song

History is often associated with the textual and physical past, focusing on the evidence of artefacts and documents to reconstruct times gone by. This is, in fact, what I understood it to be as well, starting as I did from Anthropology and moving into English and then History. What I discovered along the way was a love for legends and mythologies, and the oral traditions that created them. What this interest convinced me of was that there is another way to look at history: through stories.

Before the Greek city-states were at their zenith of cultural achievement, the Celtic tribes dominated Western Europe. Little evidence remains of their tribal life — their social structures and belief systems are fragmentary and mysterious — but their rich culture has echoed through the centuries and is still influential today. To recreate the Celtic world of the misty past, we must turn to their legends and mythologies to unveil their mysteries. Unlike the Roman Empire, which was a strongly visual culture and used awe-inspiring art and architecture to communicate to the diverse cultures and languages they controlled, I believe that the ancient Celts used their songs and legends as forms of communication and education. The Celtic tribes once stretched from the Balkans to Ireland, and they had a lasting impact on the develpoment of Europe that is often overlooked by the seemingly higher culture of Greece and Rome. Celtic tribes were eventually defeated by these emerging strengths; however, the survival of the Celtic culture indicates an enduring method of recording their history. Mythological figures, gods, and legendary exploits surviving in the Celtic realms of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales can demonstrate a common past that through the retelling has become the stuff of fiction.

As historians, public historians, and seekers of heritage, I believe that knowing about the past includes knowing about how the people in the past viewed their own history. How a culture communicates its collective memory is an integral part of their social identity. Listening to the song of the past can give vital clues as to how we should interpret it. Some archives and historians are now recognizing that "history" is not just the written past, but the oral past as well. The University of Dundee in Scotland has a course (as part of regular archives program or as professional development) that teaches how to preserve oral culture in an archival setting.

Legends and mythologies are stories of the past - ones that must be heard in order for us to know how various cultures saw their place in the history of their people.