The Celts were never an empire or a nation, just groups of tribes. They came out of
central Europe in about 1000 B.C. By 300 B.C., they had spread over all of Europe, from
Turkey to Spain to the British Isles. Later they were conquered by the Romans and by
various Germanic tribes, but many Celtic legends stayed alive and are still familiar to
us today. The best known of these is the story of King Arthur and the Round Table.
There is some evidence that Arthur may really have been a Celtic leader in the early
sixth century. Even if he never lived, his story almost certainly has Celtic origins, since
it includes