Ultimately, yes. Celtic, Nordic, Germanic, Greek, Roman, and Slavic mythology all derive from the same Proto-Indo-European religion and mythology (though with various developments and outside influences that differ among them). This is why the names of the Celtic thunder god “Taranis,” the Norse thunder god “Thor,” the Anglo-Saxon “Thunar” and the Germanic “Donar” are vaguely similar, for example.
That said, Nordic and Celtic mythology separated off into separate branches from each other thousands of years ago. As a result, the specific stories that developed around what previously had been a common set of gods and goddesses are quite different. If you read a book of Norse mythology and a book of Celtic mythology, you would basically be reading two different sets of stories — but with many deep similarities in themes, characters, names, and structure hinting at their old relationship.
The history underlying this is that Germanic/Nordic tribes and Celtic tribes derived from the same group of Eastern invaders who spread throughout Europe from modern-day Russia and Georgia. It is thought that one group of tribes (which became the Germanic/Nordic) headed north around the Carpathian Mountains, while the other (which became the Celtic) went south. The Celtic tribes used to be dominant throughout much of Western Europe, but conflicts with the Romans to the south and the Germanic/Nordic tribes to the north eventually squeezed what was left of the Celtic tribes into the British Isles.
If you live in the 18th century, yes.
In this period, there was quite a surge of popularity in so-called “Celtic mysteries” and mythology, mostly kick-started by the publication of the Ossianic poems (Ossian).
This movement, pre-romanticism, in truth, was the first time the christian, western world started to become significantly interested in non-Classical (i.e. non-Roman/ Greek) history and culture.
At that time, research into this area of history was in its infancy so to speak, and there was no clear academic distinction between Celtic and Germanic peoples. As such, the history of the ancient Norsemen was at times also incorporated into studies of Celtic history, culture and mythology.
The chief architect of this trend was the Swiss historian Paul Henri Mallet who wrote a history of Denmark as well as a second volume called: Monuments de la mythologie et de la poésie des Celtes, et particulièrement des anciens Scandinaves. The book proved to be very popular, and it ushered a new wave of interest in the Scandinavian countries.
However, in the following century, somewhat more astute scholars pretty much disproved the idea that Norse and Celtic peoples were closely related. Norsemen were Germanic while the Celts were, well, not.
Yet, one must nevertheless point to the fact that southern Denmark was a rich breeding ground for Bronze-Age Paganism, a time which simply was neither Celtic nor Germanic but a possible ancestor of either, or both. As such, if one goes back in time long enough, it is possible that Norse and Celtic Pagan religions may have had a common, or at the very least inter-connected past.
That said, Nordic and Celtic mythology separated off into separate branches from each other thousands of years ago. As a result, the specific stories that developed around what previously had been a common set of gods and goddesses are quite different. If you read a book of Norse mythology and a book of Celtic mythology, you would basically be reading two different sets of stories — but with many deep similarities in themes, characters, names, and structure hinting at their old relationship.
The history underlying this is that Germanic/Nordic tribes and Celtic tribes derived from the same group of Eastern invaders who spread throughout Europe from modern-day Russia and Georgia. It is thought that one group of tribes (which became the Germanic/Nordic) headed north around the Carpathian Mountains, while the other (which became the Celtic) went south. The Celtic tribes used to be dominant throughout much of Western Europe, but conflicts with the Romans to the south and the Germanic/Nordic tribes to the north eventually squeezed what was left of the Celtic tribes into the British Isles.
If you live in the 18th century, yes.
In this period, there was quite a surge of popularity in so-called “Celtic mysteries” and mythology, mostly kick-started by the publication of the Ossianic poems (Ossian).
This movement, pre-romanticism, in truth, was the first time the christian, western world started to become significantly interested in non-Classical (i.e. non-Roman/ Greek) history and culture.
At that time, research into this area of history was in its infancy so to speak, and there was no clear academic distinction between Celtic and Germanic peoples. As such, the history of the ancient Norsemen was at times also incorporated into studies of Celtic history, culture and mythology.
The chief architect of this trend was the Swiss historian Paul Henri Mallet who wrote a history of Denmark as well as a second volume called: Monuments de la mythologie et de la poésie des Celtes, et particulièrement des anciens Scandinaves. The book proved to be very popular, and it ushered a new wave of interest in the Scandinavian countries.
However, in the following century, somewhat more astute scholars pretty much disproved the idea that Norse and Celtic peoples were closely related. Norsemen were Germanic while the Celts were, well, not.
Yet, one must nevertheless point to the fact that southern Denmark was a rich breeding ground for Bronze-Age Paganism, a time which simply was neither Celtic nor Germanic but a possible ancestor of either, or both. As such, if one goes back in time long enough, it is possible that Norse and Celtic Pagan religions may have had a common, or at the very least inter-connected past.
