A question of identity : who were the Galatians?

This dissertation attempts to answer the research question: who were the Galatians? It focuses on their identity over the period when they are known to history, from about 279 BCE to the sixth or eighth century CE. Chapter 1 presents the research question and the four subsidiary questions, which mirror the order and structure of the following four chapters. This is followed by a brief historiography of the Galatians, and justification for the dissertation. The concept of identity is then discussed, and a model that recognises identity as containing both sameness and difference or otherness is adopted for the study. The varying uses of the word ‘Celt’ are discussed. The Celtic invasions of Greece are then described as a prelude to their entry to Asia Minor as mercenaries. Chapter 2 concerns the arrival of the Galatians in Asia Minor, their settlements, socio-political organisation, religion, and relations with the Romans. Contemporary sources are plentiful, supplemented by modern archaeological investigations, so a distinct Galatian identity is discernible. Chapter 3 discusses St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians in 48/49 CE, and the North and South Galatian theories. Evidence of Galatian identity, on the basis of the Letter and the unresolved state of the theories, is weak. Chapter 4 analyses the main features of the remnants of the Galatian language and concludes that because they are mostly variants of Gaulish, they are a weak marker of Galatian identity. A theory that some Galatian words may survive in modern Turkish is examined and dismissed. Chapter 5 summarises the argument of the dissertation and concludes that evidence of Galatian identity is strong as far as our knowledge of their settlements and socio-political organisation are concerned. Evidence for their identity is, however, weak in the case of the Pauline Galatians and the remnants of the Galatian language.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

ma

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

Year dc:date.issued

2013

Author dc:creator

• Norton, Tom

• D051 Hanes yr Henfyd
• DS Asia

Dc Identifier Grantnumber

UWTSD

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.uwtsd.ac.uk:402