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The Celts
Introduction
Even today, very little is known about the mysterious, elusive culture of
the Celtic peoples.
What we do know of the Celts today is largely thanks to the descriptions
of Roman writers, including Herodotus, who named them the "Keltoi." To the
orderly, developed world of the Roman empire, the Celts seemed barbarous
and primitive. But archaeology is beginning to reveal that the Celts
possessed a powerful, complex culture, which was to have a large impact on
human civilisations for centuries to come.
Our earliest archaeological evidence of the Celts originates from what is
now France and western Germany. It dates back to the Bronze age, around
1200 BC. They probably began to settle in the British Isles during the
Iron Age (8th century to 6th century BC), while between the 5th and 1st
centuries BC, their influence extended from what is now Spain and the
shores of the Black Sea. In the 4th century BC, the Celts invaded the
lands of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and were able to conquer northern
Italy, Macedonia and Thessalia. They ravaged the Roman city of Delphi in
279 and even plundered Rome in 390, going on to penetrate Asia Minor.
However, in the 2nd century BC, the Celts of northern Italy, known as the
Gauls, were conquered by the Romans, France and the Rhineland was subdued
in the 1st century BC by Julius Caesar and by the 1st century AD, most of
Britain was under the rule of the Roman empire. In the same period, the
Celts of central Europe were dominated by the Germanic peoples. In
medieval and modern times, the Celtic tradition survived in Bretagne of
western France, Wales, the highlands of Scotland, and Ireland.
The Celtic tribes themselves were united by common speech, customs and
practises, and religion. Their economy was governed by pastoral and
agricultural activities, for the Celts had no true urban life. They spent
their lives working on fields, tending crops or animals, and depended on
the fertility of the soil and the conditions of the weather throughout the
seasons. Each tribe was headed by a king and was divided by class into the
Druids, or priests, warrior nobles, and commoners. The nobles fought their
enemies on foot with swords, shields and spears and were fond of feasting
and drinking.
Religion and Rituals
In the same way as all other cultures, the lifestyle of the Celts
influenced the structure and beliefs of their religion, known as Druidism.
When Anglesey was settled by the Celts in about 100 BC, it became the
centre of this religion. It consisted of Pagan beliefs in deities of the
Earth, spirits of the woodland, sun gods, as well as elves and demons.
The supreme god of the Celts was Lug, who gave his name to this city of
Lyons ("Lugundum" in Latin). Taranis, or Dagada as he was known in
Ireland, was the god of the spiritual world. Ogomis, the god of warriors
and kingship, was said to have a face which smiled to the right but
glowered on the left. Fertility gods and goddesses were abound in Celtic
tradition, including Cernunos the Antlered, who was also the god of the
untamed forces of nature, and Bridget, the patroness of fire. He was often
depicted as being surrounded by deer, serpents and other woodland
creatures. A number of animals were seen as sacred by the Celts, including
the wild boar. In Gaul, the hunting and killing of the boar stood for the
mortal running the spiritual to ground.
A large number of festivals celebrated in
the Western world can be attributed to the ancient traditions of the
Celts. The festival of Halloween, on October 31st, is likely to have
stemmed from the Celtic holiday of Samhain, the last day of the Celtic
year in which the boundaries between the world of the living and the dead
were at their closest. Samhain traditionally began at the sundown of
October 31st and extended into the following day. According to the Druids,
the spirits of those who had died in the preceding year roamed the earth
on Samhain evening. The Celts would seek to ward off the spirits with
offerings of food and drink.
Samhain was one of four feasts of Druidism which marked the cycle of the
seasons. Lugnasad celebrated the light at its zenith on August 1st,
Beltana, the festival of fire, was held on May 1st and Imbolc was also
celebrated as a key festival in the Pagan calendar.
Celtic rituals were spectacular events. They often involved the building
of immense fires at sacred hilltops, where they could be close to the
gods. Standing stones and columns of wood were often erected at the ritual
ground in specific patterns. The rituals themselves consisted of wild,
sacred dance, songs and chants. Offerings were frequently made, sometimes
in the form of animal sacrifices. The early Celts even practised human
sacrifice to make the lands fertile, but as time passed this tradition was
replaced by the performances of magical spells and preaching of Druids and
poets.
The Celtic religion was strictly oral, and in order to preserve it the
Druids learned a large number of sacred texts and teachings by heart. They
travelled widely, in order to conserve the sense of unity between the many
tribes. As the priests, wise men and prophets, it was their duty to keep
alive learning and morality.
The Celts had great respect for the Earth, so many natural elements and
areas were considered sacred. The great oak tree was honoured, and the
mistletoe which grew on its branches was gathered during services. Lakes
and rivers too were revered, notably the river Avon in Bath, England,
which was attributed with mysterious healing powers, attributed to the
goddess Sulis. The river Seine in France was also a place of Celtic
pilgrimage, where Sequana, goddess of healing, was worshipped.
For the Celts, the soul was immortal and death simply a passing from one
world to the next and the places of the living and the dead were
continually exchanged. The warrior princes of early Celts were buried in
their chariots with all their weapons and household possessions, as well
as their rank insignia. The tomb was then covered with a funeral mound,
known as a tumulus, and often a statue was placed on top.
Art and Architecture
The art and architecture of the Celts was widespread and diverse, and
today is still considered one of the first great contributions to European
art as a whole. It was influenced by ancient Persian, Etruscan, Greek,
Roman and Scythian art, yet developed and retained a distinct style of its
own. In showing their respect for nature, the Celts most often depicted
entwining plant and animal designs, such as oak trees, vines, flowers,
deer, hounds, serpents, dolphins, boars birds, lions, griffins and
dragons. Few representations of humans exist in comparison. Much of their
artwork was more abstract, incorporating knotwork, elliptical curves,
spirals, chevrons and labyrinthine patterns. These designs were composed
in a highly sophisticated and geometric patterns, in which the dynamic
elements were harmoniously balanced.
The Celts used their artistic skills to
decorate all manner of objects, including their weapons, household items,
religious statues and jewellery. Items of jewellery included the torc,
which was a metal ring worn on the neck with two open ends decorated with
stylised animal heads. The wearing of the torc, usually by men, may have
carried both social and religious significance. They also made carved
objects of wood and stone depicting gods and monsters. But perhaps the
most stunning artistic achievement of all performed by the Celts, or
indeed any ancient culture, was the giant Uffington White Horse, measuring
a stunning 109m in length, carved into the chalk Downs in Berkshire,
England.
The Romans and the Celts
In the 1st century AD, the Celtic way of life was to face a huge turning
point, when the British Isles were conquered by the Romans. However, the
Romans did not, as a whole, try to prevent the Celts from practising
Druidism, or forcibly convert them to their religion. When they arrived at
the Celtic lands, they realised that their beliefs were very similar to
the old Roman religion; the belief in formless, vague spirits known as the
"numina." This aided the Romans in their understanding of the Celtic
culture.
When the Romans made an alliance with the ancient Greeks, they took a
considerable liking in the Greek religion, with its powerful gods
including Zeus, Aphrodite and Hermes. But instead of completely rejecting
the belief in numina, they combined the two beliefs, identifying the Greek
Gods with Roman spirits: Zeus was identified the Roman spirit Jupiter,
Aphrodite with Venus and Hermes with Mercury. This was one factor which
helped unify the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and the Romans knew that they
could use this strategy to help win favour of the Celtic tribes.
One of the most largest projects of this kind was the building of a Roman
bath at the river Avon - today known as Bath. The Romans identified the
Celtic goddess Sulis, worshipped by the Celts at this site, with their own
goddess Minerva. Thus, the shrine to the deity Sulis-Minerva was built
upon the Avon, in an effort to merge the two cultures, which lead to the
development of the city of Aquae Sulis. But the unification between Celtic
and Roman cultures was not the only motive behind the creation of the
great city. The Romans greatly publicised the reputed healing powers of
the river Avon, and it became a prominent place of pilgrimage. Romans from
all over the empire came to Aquae Sulis in order to be healed of sickness
or injury by bathing in the mystical waters of the Avon - now made into
the Roman equivalent of a spa with the building of heated baths. The sick
would also prey to the goddess Sulis-Minerva in desperate hope of a cure,
at the shrine of Aquae Sulis. This in turn lead to the growth of shops and
stalls around the shrine, where merchants would sell all manners of charms
and offerings to pilgrims. The once sacred area pilgrimage had become
something of a commercial site of tourism.
Not all Celtic tribes accepted Roman rule, and indeed many opposed them
vehemently for invading their land and culture by attacking them whenever
possible. However, there were tribes which formed partnership with the
Romans, in order to yield the benefits of their highly developed
civilisation and to keep the peace between Britons and Romans.
Christianity and Celtic Beliefs
The Romans did not destroy the Celtic culture, which was to last until the
Middle Ages. At this time, a new religion arrived in Europe from the east
- the religion of Christianity. It spread with great speed throughout
Britain, leading to the building of churches and cathedrals all over
England. Sadly, it was at the time perceived that Christianity could not
be compatible with the Pagan beliefs. Over time, the Christian priests
claimed that the old religion of the Celts was blasphemous, and embraced
the powers of evil. The Celtic woodland gods, with their animal features
of horns and tails, were said to be incarnations of the Devil, and the
faeries and elves believed to be Angels who fell from Heaven out of their
disloyalty to God. The Celtic rituals were wholly condemned as practises
of black magic, leading to the burning of those who were accused of
witchcraft. Gradually, Druidism became crushed under the power of the
Christian church and its relationship with the monarchy, which constantly
assured that anybody practising Pagan traditions would be condemned to
eternity to Hell.
It must be noted that despite its intolerance of the Celtic religion, the
Christian church was never able to rid Paganism without trace and in many
cases, Druidism had to be integrated into the practises of Christianity.
The images of the egg and new-born animals used by the Celts to convey
fertility, for example, were adopted as symbols of Easter, while the idea
of rebirth was carried across as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The
hare, one of the strongest of all Pagan icons for its sacred powers
connected to the Spring, was transformed into a character of ridicule in
later times - the Easter Bunny. The holiday of Samhain became All Soul's
Day.
At times, however, the leaders of both religions did try to lend a sense
of unity between the cultures. As a symbol of both Celtic and Christian
traditions, the Celtic Cross was formed, combining the Christian cross
with the circular and knotwork designs of the Celts. This symbol is still
seen widely today, particularly in Ireland where a strong Christian
tradition still pays homage to the Gaelic peoples in the art and
architecture of the church. Even in the ancient Christian texts, we read
of Joseph of Aramathia coming to the Pagan lands, and sharing greetings
and blessings with the Druids.
As told in one of the greatest Celtic legends of all time, the legend of
King Arthur, the Celtic way of life disappeared beyond medieval times.
However, today we are beginning to increase our understanding in the
unique and special culture which was the Celtic Pagan tradition, and the
wide gap between Paganism and Christianity is slowly closing. We are
starting to realise that the Celtic peoples were not the evil
devil-worshippers as portrayed for so long. They in fact shared far more
Christian values than Satanist, and like Christians of today, they
regarded the Earth as the property of far more divine forces than human
kind, and treated the land and all its creatures with respect and
reverence.
Written by Megan Balanck
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