Christiane Éluère

Christiane Éluère is chief curator of the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France.[2] At the National Archaeological Museum in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, she shares responsibility for the protohistoric collections. In 1987, she helped to organise the exhibition Trésors des princes celtes ('Treasures of the Celtic Princes').[3]

She is the author of several books on European protohistory and the Celts.[4][5] Her publications include Les Ors préhistoriques (1982), L'Or des Celtes (1987), Les secrets de l'or antique (1989) and L'Europe des Celtes (1992), a richly illustrated pocket book for Gallimard's "Découvertes" collection, which has been translated into eight languages, including English, and is often reprinted.

Detail from the Gundestrup cauldron kept in the National Museum of Denmark. Cover image for FR, UK and US editions.

In the 4th century BC, the Celtic "koine" spread over the whole of Europe, from the Balkans to the British Isles. There was no political unity, but a community of culture, which was expressed both by the exuberance of the art of metalworking and the same funeral rites. Christiane Éluère traces a history of more than half a millennium of these "barbarians" of the West—who were the lovers of gold, wine and war, whom the Roman Empire tried to subjugate, reducing their frontiers to Gaul, and the survival of their culture to the island peoples, reborn in the art of Celtic Christianity—in this small but richly illustrated volume—L'Europe des Celtes (lit. 'Europe of the Celts'; UK edition – The Celts: First Masters of Europe; US edition – The Celts: Conquerors of Ancient Europe)—published by Éditions Gallimard as the 158th volume in their Histoire series for the "Découvertes" collection.

The book contains a huge number of colour illustrations—drawings, engravings, paintings, maps, but mostly the photographs of Celtic artefacts—it opens with a series of bronze masks and hoary faces carved in stone from 7th century BC to 1st century AD,[6] which were discovered in France, Austria and Bohemia. The body text is divided into six chapters: I, "Birth of a Warrior Aristocracy" (Naissance d'une aristocratie guerrière); II, "The First Celtic Princes" (La splendeur des premiers princes celtes); III, "The All-Conquering Celts" (Les Celtes à la conquête du monde); IV, "The Celts Against the Might of Rome" (Les Celtes face au géant romain); V, "Realms of Religion" (L'Univers des dieux); VI, "Celtic Memories" (Mémoires celtiques). The following "Documents" section contains a compilation of excerpts which is divided into nine parts: 1, Celtic territory on the map of the ancient world (Le pays des Celtes); 2, Classic portraits of early 'European Man' (Portrait de l'«homo europeanus»); 3, Society and private life (Société et vie privée); 4, Languages and writing in Celtic culture (Langue et écriture); 5, Were the Celts bloodthirsty warriors? (Des guerriers sanguinaires); 6, The druids (Les druides); 7, Celtic gold (L'or des Celtes); 8, Celtic art (English edition exclusive); 9, The first British heroine (English edition exclusive). At the end of the book are further reading, list of illustrations and index. The book presents a comprehensive idea of the Celts' lifestyle.[7] It has been translated into American and British English, German, Italian, Japanese, South Korean, Slovenian, Spanish and simplified Chinese, and reprinted several times.

• L'Or des Celtes, Office du livre, 1987
• Les secrets de l'or antique, La Bibliothèque des Arts, 1989
  • Secrets of Ancient Gold, Düdingen: Trio, 1990
• L'Europe des Celtes, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 158), série Histoire. Éditions Gallimard, 1992
  • UK edition – The Celts: First Masters of Europe, 'New Horizons' series, Thames & Hudson, 1993, reprinted 1995, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2010
  • US edition – The Celts: Conquerors of Ancient Europe, "Abrams Discoveries" series. Harry N. Abrams, 1993
• L'art des Celtes, Citadelles et Mazenod, 2004

In collaboration

• With Jean-Pierre Mohen, L'Europe à l'âge du bronze : Le temps des héros, collection « Découvertes Gallimard » (nº 378), série Histoire. Éditions Gallimard, 1999
  • US edition – The Bronze Age in Europe, "Abrams Discoveries" series. Harry N. Abrams, 2000
  • UK edition – The Bronze Age in Europe: Gods, Heros and Treasures, 'New Horizons' series, Thames & Hudson, 2000
• AA.VV., Gods and Heroes of the European Bronze Age, Thames & Hudson, 1999

• The Celts: First Masters of Europe at Welsh Wikipedia (in Welsh)