THE CELTIC REVIVAL IN GREAT BRITAIN (MID-XVIII - EARLY XX CENTURIES): IDENTITY AND MEMORY

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Celtic revival, a movement related to the cultural development of the British Isles and the construction of their regional identities on the basis of the ancient past. The author carries out a comparative analysis of this process on the example of the inhabitants of Scotland, Ireland and Wales, revealing the features of their self-identification in the middle of the XVIII - early XX centuries. The article attempts to identify the reasons for the beginning of the Celtic revival and establish its exact chronological framework. The author comes to the conclusion that the residents of Scotland and Wales sought to become full-fledged members of the "British Commonwealth" and take a worthy place in it. The revival of images of the Celtic past in the memory of the peoples of these regions was focused on the preservation of identity, while in Ireland - on the struggle for independence, and in England - on the glorification and protection of imperialism.