Celts Essay Research Paper Who are the

Celts Essay, Research Paper

Who are the Celts?

Celts is the name given to a culture rather than a race. Celts varied from curly hair brown hair through red hair. They occupied central and Northern Europe including the British Isles in the Pre-roman period, gradually being pushed further north and westwards by the Roman peoples and the Nordic and Saxon peoples. They were a non-urban people. They lived on small holdings, and kept animals, grew crops and hunted. A typical Celtic house probably looked like a thatched log cabin surrounded by a stockade. They didn’t trade much, but metals – especially bronze and iron – were rare and precious, and were probably traded. Women seemed to often be of high status in burial sites. There are a lot of women buried with full honors. There are also some examples of bodies well over six foot tall, which suggests that either height was highly regarded, or that it was not uncommon.1 Druids were the means by which the culture probably gained its unity. They would have been the remains of the shamanic hunting religions, adapted to the rural lifestyle. They would have been the repository of tribal knowledge, and probably wandered from settlement to settlement spreading and receiving information. There was not much written down at that time at all ,so most information comes adulterated. Caesar and the Romans mention the Celts, as do one or two other sources. Mediaeval writers wrote down some of the remaining legends of Taliesin, and the Irish Kings but much of what was written was probably corrupted by politics . Women were on more or less equal footing as men, being accomplished warriors, merchants and rulers. Celtic society was typically more equal in terms of gender roles. The bravery of the Celts in battle is legendary. They often spurned body armor, going naked into battle. The Celtic remnants live on in our culture today from the Irish, and the Scots (who are Irish who discovered boats and ran away to Scotland and the Welsh, plus a few areas in Brittany. All the ‘tribes of Britain’ would be classed as Celts. You may know some Celtic legends such as Conan the barbarian, King Arthur.

History of Celts

The Celts evolved from the Urn Culture (given that name because of the burial system of cremation and placement of ashes in urns which in turn were buried in fields.2 much earlier than the Romanized Celtic world of the late 500-400 BC. Around 1500-lOOOBC, the Celts lived in an area which today is mostly in Eastern France. The area stretched from roughly where Luxembourg is today to a bit further south than Geneva and took in parts of West Germany and Switzerland. It was an area a little bigger than the island of Ireland. The original Celtic homeland was an area of Austria, near southern Germany. From here they expanded over much of continental Europe and Britain. The Celts then expanded to cover an area covering most of Western Europe and Central Europe. Around 400BC, the Celts lived in Britain, Ireland, France , Luxemburg, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech and Slovak Republics. Celts also lived in parts of Spain , northern Italy, The Netherlands, the southern half of Germany, and parts of Poland and Russia3.After the height of their power, the Celts were pushed north and west by successive waves of Indo-European peoples, mostly Germanic and Latin based. The main migration was by the Gauls into France, northern Italy and the north of Europe.

In this time the Celtic people here were an iron using people who traded salt to the south as far as Italy and as far north as Bohemia. “The goods made of iron indicated a sophisticated and hierarchical society. These people, superb iron-workers, owned and buried beautifully-decorated vessels, ornamented weaponry and horse trappings, all of a standard much advanced upon that recorded from earlier Europe, reflecting a decisive and recognizable social structure.”4

The Hallstatt Culture was the Celts between the beginning of the ninth century B.C. and the middle of the seventh century B.C. – an iron-using, farming, trading people. So, Hallstatt has more to do with the state of development of the whole society than the time at which this development was achieved. For example, artifacts found in Ireland dated four-hundred years later than those found at Hallstatt may still be described as Hallstatt because of the way in which they were made . This was the first of the iron age cultures. The western regions of this culture, between France and west Germany, already spoke a Celtic language. Around the year 600 BC the Greek geographer Herodotus writes of the Celts dwelling beyond Spain and the Upper Danube.5

From the Halstat period they moved into La Tene period around 450 B.C. .La Tene meant more decorative burials, better decoration on swords, helmets, brooches, more people lived in the cities. “La Tene time is when the Celts changed from a bunch of tribes to more of a civilization.. They had mobility, style, trade, power. In this time they were recognized by most of Europe as a civilization. They had earned respect for there elegance and heroism. Whatever the make up of the bronze age population, they formed the basis of the early iron age cultures. At their peak, the Celts ranged from Ireland and Spain to Turkey. A brief rundown on some of the regions is given now:

England, Scotland and Ireland

The name Britain derives from Celtic. The Greek author Pytheas called them the “Pretanic Isles” which derived from the inhabitants name for themselves, Pritani. This was mistranslated into Latin as “Brittania” or “Brittani”. The Celts migrated to Ireland from Europe, conquering the original inhabitants. In clashes with the Romans around the River Clyde a tribe called the “Scott” came to prominence. Later the Scotti moved from Northern Island to establish the Kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll on the West coast of Scotland.6 From here the Scots expanded and took over the Picts, a Celtic people who arrived in Scotland earlier. Ireland was never invaded by the Romans and retains what is probably the language closest to the original Celtic, Irish Gaelic.

France

Modern France is a composite of many earlier peoples. The Celts settled there and the largest tribe, called the Gall by the Romans, gave their name to the region and people, the Gauls. The Gauls were heavily involved in the invasions of Northern Italy. When the Roman Empire expanded many of the Gaullish tribes fled, but some stayed and became Romanised, losing the Celtic language. Later a Germanic tribe, the Franks, invaded the area and settled. The Franks gave their name to the region but adopted the language and customs of the people. France is a Celtic people, speaking a Romance language in a country with a Germanic name.

The Golden Age of the Celts

The Celts were at their height during the 4th and 5th centuries BC. During this time they waged three great wars, which had great influence on the history of southern Europe.

About 500 BC the Celts conquered Spain, wresting it from Carthage. Around 400 BC they took Northern Italy from the Etruscans. Here they settled in great numbers. At the end of the 4th century the overran Pannonia, conquering the Illyrians. All these wars were fought in alliance with the Greeks. At this time the Celts and Greeks were on very friendly terms. The defeat of Carthage broke the monopoly on British tin and Spanish silver and freed the land trade routes to Britain.

The Fall of the Celtic Empire

By the year 300 BC the Celts had lost their political unity and the Empire began breaking apart. Tribes began wandering in search of new lands. Some went to Greece, where they outraged their former allies at the sack of Delphi (973 BC). Others renewed the war with Rome, in alliance with the Etruscans, and were defeated at Sentinum (295 BC) and Lake Vadimo (283 BC). One group went into Asia Minor, and founded Galatia where a Celtic dialect was still spoken until 400 BC.7 These were eventually assimilated into Turkey. Others enlisted as mercenaries with Carthage. Wars between Celts and Germans or Celts who had settled earlier were fought all over Mid-Europe, Gaul and Britain. By the end of this the only Celtic strongholds were Britain and Gaul.

Modern Celts

Most people of European descent today can count on some Celtic ancestry. A typical impression of a Celt today is the short, dark haired Irishman. But by all ancient accounts the Celts were tall and fair of skin and hair. “True” Celts today do not really exist, the closest examples are the Highlanders of Perthshire and Northwest Scotland the families of the old ruling race in Ireland and Wales. Over the centuries the racial characteristics of the pre-Celt inhabitants of Europe has surfaced, the Celts typically settled in areas as a ruling class and held themselves apart from those there before them. The Celts, being a strong warrior class, were at the forefront of battles and perished more than the subject people. The main contribution to the Celts has been largely a cultural one.

Druids

The immense power of the Druids was the weakness of the Celtic society. No nation that is ruled by priests drawing their authority from supernatural sanctions is capable of true progress. The Celts fanatic attitude towards their religion inevitably helped bring down their empire. The Celts were extremely superstitious, and regarded it as the worst punishment to be banished from a community. The Druids are generally free from military service, nor do they pay taxes. Encouraged by such rewards, many on their own accord come to their schools, and are sent by their friends and relations. They are said to get by heart a great number of verses, some continue twenty years in their education: neither is it held lawful to commit these things Druidic doctrines;

It is likely that Druids were originally the priests of the megalithic pre-Celtic peoples of Western Europe. During the Celtic expansion the Druids were adopted by the highly religious Celts and the numerous Celtic deities and beliefs were adopted by the Druids. Druidism, in general, is by the original druids, who were the priest class of pre-Christian Celtic cultures. How far they go to recreate the rituals and practices of the druids can vary, but is generally hampered by the fact that the original druids didn’t write things down. What survives of their lore was what was written down by monks in the early Christian era, and what information comes to us from folklore and artifacts. Druids pursued such things as scholarship, leadership, healing, art, solar holidays, and the old Celtic agricultural festivals. They hold public rituals, that all are invited to attend and participate. They seem to have been responsible for all public religious rituals (private ones were run by the heads of each household). Public ceremonies were most often held in fenced groves of sacred trees. These were usually of birch, yew, and oak , depending upon the subset of deities or ancestors being addressed, as well as the specific occasion. Various members of the priestly caste would be responsible for music, recitation of prayers, sacrificing of animals and occasionally a human . Senior members of the caste would be responsible for making sure that the rites were done exactly according to tradition. Without such supervision, public rituals were generally impossible, thus all public Gaulish sacrifices required a Druid to be present. There was a belief in reincarnation with time spent between lives in an Other World very similar to the Earthly one, in the sacredness of particular trees, in the continuing relationship between mortals, ancestors and deities, and naturally in the standard laws of magic.

Only the western Celtic clergy (the Druids) seem to have had any sort of organized intertribal communications network. Most of the rest of the clergy seem to have kept to their own local tribes. Among the Germanic peoples, the priestly class had weakened by the early centuries to the point where the majority of ritual work was done by the heads of households. We don’t know whether or not any but the highest ranking clergy were full-time priests and priestesses

Celtic Gods & Goddesses

Nuada: The gaelic Zeus;called “he of silver hand”;killed by the, Balor early in history of the gods.

Camulus: Of the invincible sword; the name signifies “heaven”;god of war and sky; akin to mars, only more savage.

The war Goddess: Fea, the hateful; Nemon, the venomous; Badb. the fury; Macha, the battle goddess who collects the heads of her victims for her “acorn crop.”

Morrigan (Morrigu): The great goddess in her Virago aspect; as chief deity of battle, she likes to take the form of the hoodie or carrion crow; her name derives from Mor Righ Anu, meaning “the great queen.”

Dagda: God of earth; “good god”; he posses a living harp and the “undry,” a cauldron, where everyone find sustenance in proportion to his/her merits; a formidable fighter, but a god of simple tastes who dresses in a brown tunic, hooded cape and leather boots.

Boann: The Dadga’s wife; an Eve figure; The Boyne River is named for her; she and the Dagda have many famous children including Bridgit, Angus, Mider, Ogma, and Bodb the Red.

Brigit: Goddess of the hearth, fire and poetry; best loved of all deities; candlemas is held in her honor; she is the only goddess to survive into the Christian pantheon of saints.

Angus (Angus Mac Oc): His name means “son of the young”; A Gaelic Eros known for his physical beauty and golden hair; his kisses become birds.

Mider: God of the underworld; his abode is Falga, the Isle of Man; Etain (Ogma’s daughter) became his wife, but she was taken away by Angus.

Ogma (Cermait): The “honey-mouthed” king of the bards and god of eloquence and literature; Ogham script is named for him; he married Etain, daughter of Diancecht.

Bodb the Red: He succeeds his father as king of the gods.

Ler: The gaelic Poseidon; married to Aebh, Bodb’s daughter, with whom he has four children! after she dies he marries Aeife, who out of jealousy turns the children into swans.

Manannan: Ler’s son; “God of the headlands”; patron of sailors and merchants; his famed possessions include the yellow shaft, the red javelin, the boat, the wave-sweeper, a horse called Splendid Mane, and three swords named retaliator, great fury, and little fury; he has the gift of in exhaustable life.

Goibniu: The forger of weapons; the Gaelic Hephaestus; he posesses a potion that enables those who drink it to become invisable; he also is called the “devine architect.”

Diancecht: God of medicine; he once saved Ireland; married to Morrigan; among their children are Etan, who marries Ogma, and Cian, who marries Ethniu, daughter of Balor, the Fomor.

Lugh: Son of Cian and Ethniu called the “long-handed” or “far-shooter”; Sun god par excellence; he possesses a magic spear and magic hound; The Milky Way is called “Lugh’s Chain”; he is the master of all art, an accomplished carpenter, smith, warrior, harpist, poet, physician, cup- bear

er, and bronze-worker.

The opponents of Tuatha de Dannan are the children of Domnu, which signifies “under-sea. ” Offsptring of “Chaos and Old Night” they are, for the most part grotesque creatures, often with physical deformities. These gods of death and darkness are listed below.

Balor: Although he was born with two good eyes, one was ruined in an accident; the eye is so hideous that he only opens it in battle so that its venom will slay whoever is unlucky enough to catch glimpse of it; his daughter marries Clan.

Elathan: The beautiful Miltonic prince of darkness with golden hair.

Bress: His name means “beautiful”; Elthan’s son; married to Brigit of the Tuatha de Dannan and for a time her rules over that kingdom.

Idech: King of Dommu.7

Herbs and Plants in Celtic Folklore

Until fairly recently, in Irish and Scottish rural society it was believed that sickness and disease were caused by the fairies. A remedy could only be given by a ‘fairy doctor’, a person gifted with some natural skill in combatting fairy magic. The most common herbs used in Gaelic fairy medicine were VERVAIN, EYE BRIGHT & YARROW , secret words would be said and a ritual performed. A potion made of herbs by a fairy doctor must be paid for in silver. However, charms are to be paid for with a gift. Herbs had to be gathered in a special manner, at the correct phase of the moon, while chanting magic words. Herbs found by the side of sacred streams were particularly effective, and used to cure wounds, bruises and so on.

YARROW: A sacred herb and a very potent healer, it intensifies the medicinal action of other herbs taken with it. Helps eliminate toxins (good for colds).It was most useful in its ability to staunch blood flow. Also associated with weather divination.

VERVAIN: ‘crubh-an-leoghain’(dragon’s claw) A sacred herb in many different cultures; associated with visions and prophecy; flowers used on Druidic altars. Good for eye compresses and hair tonics. Sedative, anticoagulant.

EYEBRIGHT: ‘lus-nan-leac’ for all manner of eye ailments; also hay fever, colds, coughs, sore throats.

PLANTAIN: (”slanlus” – herb of health) a very common remedy, used for many ills. Antiseptic; expectorant. If hung around the neck of a child, would prevent abduction by the sidhe.

TANSY: boiled, good for the heart. As a compress for bruises and strains.

CHAMOMILE: (”athair talamh” – father of the ground) One of the finest healing herbs, has been used for centuries. Good for stomach disorders, anti-inflammatory for wounds, sedative for nervous disorders.

LOOSESTRIFE: (”camel buidhe”) keeps all bad things away

WATER BUTTERCUP: (”fearaban”) good for bones and joints

LICHEN: (”dubh cosac”) good for the heart

DANDELION: (”garbh lus” – rough herb) used for many ills, especially good for the heart, for hypertension, also a good diuretic.

RIBGRASS: (”slanugad”) will purge the body of all lumps.

all lumps.

MULLEIN: (”lus mor” – great herb) used alot in folk magic/medicine; can bring ‘back’ children abducted. If a small piece taken regularly, will ensure long life.

WOOD ANEMONE: (”bainne ho bliatain”) put leaves in a poultice on the head for headaches.

TRAILING PEARLWORT (”mothan”) very effective as a protective herb when carried on the person. When placed below the right knee of a woman in labour, it brought relief. Given to a cow to eat, it protected both the milk and the calf. When placed above the door lintel, prevented the fairy host from ’spiriting away’ any member of the household. Also used by women as a love charm – pluck nine roots, knot into a ring, and place in the mouth. Then seek a kiss from the man you desire.

ST. JOHN’S WORT: to ward off fever; sedative, pain reducing, also used on St. John’s Eve (midsummer) m d v nahon.

PURPLE ORCHIS: A magical plant (”lus an Talaidh” – herb of enticement). Used in love charms. It has two roots, one larger than the other, representing a man and a woman. The plant is to be pulled by the roots before sunrise, facing South. Whichever root is used is to be immediately placed in spring water; if it sinks the person in question will be the future husband or wife. The root can also be ground up and placed under the pillow to bring dreams of your future partner.

ROWAN: Tree of high magic, from which potent charms are procured. Normally planted at the door of the house for protection. Also twigs placed over the byre door. Necklaces of rowan berries with red thread worn for protection by Highland women.

ELDER: Another highly protective tree, beloved of the Sidhe. It is extremely unlucky to cut down or harm an elder (bourtree). The green sap of the bark applied to the eyelids gives the “Second Sight”. Elder is also often planted outside the house for protection. Elder is the medicine chest of the country folk. Elder flower water used for eye and skin complaints, burns, bruises and sprains; as an infusion both flowers and berries are used in cold remedies.

HAZEL: Used in the sacred need fires at Beltaine. Also used in water divination. Hazel nuts associated with wisdom of the Otherworld. Children were given ‘the milk of the nut’ to make them strong.

APPLES: The fruit of life of the Sidhe, and passport to the Otherworld. Apples and hazelnuts used in divination rites at Samhain.

JUNIPER: Berries have protective properties. Burnt by Highlanders in the house and byre at New Year for purification.

IVY: Used for the protection of flocks, of milk and milk products. Ivy, woodbine and rowan woven together in a wreath and placed under the milk vessels. Other “magic hoops” consisted of milkwort, butterwort, dandelion, marigold; or trefoil, vervain, St. John’s wort, dill.9

Certain trees in particular places are said to be under the care and protection of the Sidhe. A lone thorn bush growing in an uncultivated field is often such a tree, especially if it is growing on a sharp hill slope.

Hawthorn is the favorite, but other important fairy trees are: hazel, blackthorn, elder, rowan, willow, also alder and ash. The site of each tree is important to the Sidhe. It must be growing within the banks of a fort, inside a fairy ring, or in a rocky field of rough grass, especially if growing near to a large boulder or a spring.

The sidhe will protect their special trees. If someone harms or disturbs the tree, they will suffer, often by becoming ill. If three thorn trees grow close together, it is dangerous to get involved with them. It is considered unlucky to bring hawthorn into the house.