HIST 310-The Celts
This post comes www.celticart.com and Celtic Realms by Nora Chadwick about The Book of Kells. I have cited each souce. If every I get the chance I would love to see this "Book" I would have been great to see it when it was in its original condition.
The Book of Kells is a group of manuscripts (handwritten documents) that were created in the 9th century A.D. It has its origins in Ireland and the north British Isles. (celticart) It contains Latin text of the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Also enclosed are summaries of the gospels, cannon tables, a list of Hebrew names, a strange collection of lore and legend about evangelist, and the genealogy in the Gospel of St. Matthew. (celticart)
The book is bound by sewn by hand by the Irish monks. It is large in size and probably was used as an altar book. (celticart) The codex is made of this polished vellum. The handwriting is in round half-uncial, which is characteristic of other Irish manuscripts. (Realms 310)
It is not only a written document, but also an excellent display of Celtic art. It has complex decoration. The designs consist animals, spirals, mazes, and swirls contained on all of the pages, but two. (celticart) It also uses the angular human figures that resemble the human forms of early Greek black figure vases. (Realms 291) It has polycromed manuscript in blue. “It is an art of suggestion rather than of delineation, and the suggestion is the creation of the Celtic imaginations passing beyond the prescribed border of science.” (Realms 311)
) This chief treasure of all the Irish works was stolen and the raiders never appreciated its artistic value. (Realms 310) In the year 1006, the Gospel of Columbille was taken from it and stripped of its gold cover. (Realms 310) It is also missing several pages. In 1661 the Book of Kells was transferred to Trinity College in Dublin.
I have found a site calleed www.stonepages.com It has descriptions and pictures of Celtic hill forts. There is not much left of these, so it is hard to get a sense of what they orginally looked like, but you can get an idea of how large they were.
This post comes from the sources "The Celtic Causeway" a special on the discovery channel and www.24hourmuseum.org. If anyone gets a chance to watch the special, do. It was so very interesting. I just happened on to it one day and I really learned a lot.
In Fiskerton, England a young farmer was usuing a metal detector in one of his fields near the River Witham. His detector went off and he dug around to see why. He found a rusted old sword. He packed it back to the house and called his local historian, little did he know he had stumbled on to a great discovery.
The area the young farmer was searching had once been coverd by the River Witham. In a more recent time, the river had been drained to provide more area for farm land. Due to this draining we have stumbled on to a great Celtic discovery. In the Naomi Fields in the years 1981 and 2001, a dig found two rows of posts, evenly spaced apart, driven into the ground. As the dig proceded they found wooden planks laid crossways between the post, almost to form a walkway. Dendrologists have dated the causeway between 457 BC and 300 BC. (24hour) It was regualry kept up with improvements happening around every eighteen years.
The real discovery was not only witnessing the engineering feat, but the artifacts of weapons, a true form of Celtic art. The finds were in great condition, mainly because the river is so full of marshy peat. The peat seals the object away from oxygen. (24hour) The odd thing was why all the artifacts were found over the sides of the causeway. One theory was people had lost them over the sides, but this was discredited due to the great amounts that were found. It was decided that they were purposely placed over the side. They were made an offering to the gods and they were the Celts most prized possessions.
One of the greatest discoveries was of a log boat. It was in great condition. This boat baffled the archeologists. It was found in brand new condition, still had fresh cutting marks and no visible smoothness from traveling on the river. It also was found with its back end wedged into place. (24hour) The boat signifies that the site in which it was place was very important to its owners. (24hour)
More from www.celticcorner.com
The Halstatt culture was discovered at 1824 dig in an Iron Age cemetary. It was located in Hallstatt, Austria hence the name. This site became the chief souce of knowledge about the Celts in Europe. The dig lasted until 1963 which during this time (the website author tells us her/his sources conflict) anywhere from 1000-2000 graves were excavated.
The cemetary dates to the seventh and sixth centuries BCE and holds many graves of different classes of people. The graves of women contained clanking jewerly and bulky fibulae. The graves of the rich contained bronze buckets, bowls, cups. This cemetary is still one of the richest with respect to its finds of weapons, jewerly, and pottery.
The people buried at Hallstatt lives depended on the mining of rock salt. It was an important ingredient for preserving food. It also aided in preserving the bodies and biodegradable items in the graves. Evidence shows that around 600 BCE another salt mine opened near Hallstatt and there became fewer burials at the site.
The Hallstatt culture is broken down into four phases. Hallstatt A &B are in the late Bronze Age c.1200-800 BCE. Evidence shows that there was not a large scale political originazation. They were cheifdoms. Hallstatt C is in the very early Iron Age, c800-600 BCE. During this time is when fortified settlements on hill tops are beginning. They were built by noblemen. a Hallstatt D ranges from 600-500BCE it is during this time we see the richest graves.
I have been exploring the internet for great Celt websites these past two weeks and haven't logged on to post.
The first website is www.celticcorner.com . I don't know how I verntured on to this site, but I hit a link and it just popped up. It starts by giving a brief description of Celtic origin and then moves on to describe the Hallstatt and La Tene cultures.
The Celts are derived from two groups of people that came from Central Europe in the New Stone Age period. They are distingushed by their burial artifacts. The first group is the BEAKER FOLK. They are named after a Bell Beaker (a drink vessel) found in one of their grave sites. "They emerged as an independent culture around 3000 BCE" (www.celticcorner.com/origins.html)
The second group in called the Battle-Axe folk. Again they are named after a battle axe of stone found in a burial site. They came from the steppe lands of southern Russia. "The Battle Axe group may be attributed with the initial spread of the Indo-European group of languages" (www.celticcorner.com/origins.html)
In Central Europe these two groups came together to become one group. This happened just before the Bronze Age. From this grouping together the Celts can be traced back to by archeolgical evidence. (www.celticcorner.com) The cultures Unetice, Tumulus and Urnfield stemmed from the combination of these people.
The Unetice culture orginated directly from the mix of Battle Axe and Beaker folk. The Unetice people prospered because of the rich mineral deposits and their control of the trade routes between the South and East early mediterranean cultures and distant Europe. (www.celticcorner.com)
The Tumulus cuture, which came after the Unetice culture, dominated Central Europe during the second part of the second millenium BCE. This culture is distinguished by the their practice of burying their dead beaneath mounds. During their "rule" trade contact were probably expanded. (www.celticcorner.com)
The 'Proto-Celtic' Urnfield culture may have spoken an early form of Celtic. These people cremated their dead, put the remains in an urn, and buried them cemetaries. The period of the Urnfield culture was one of expansion. During this time the Bronze Age was at its height. From this culture the Celts emerged as an agricultural people. (www.celticcorner.com)
This information came from www.celticgrounds.com
The Celts had 8 main festivals. Four occured during the changing of the seasons and the other four were religous. They did though have smaller festivals that happened throughout the "earth rotation", but they were mainly to commerorate battle victories or to honor the local heroes.
Samhain occured on November 1st (roman calendar). It was to mark the end of Summer. It is the equivalent to our New Years Day. It was a fire festival and was one of two festivals where all the hearth fires were put out. They were then re-lit from the communal bonfires. Cattle were rounded up from their summer, mountain pasture and were brought down between two bonfires to cleanse them. At this time they culled the herds to make sure they all could be fed over the winter. The culled cattle would then be sacrificed.
This festival was also a time for people to get back together. Over the summer, they all had been working and grew apart. Storytelling around the hearth fires was a tradition of Samhain.
There was a festival to celebrate Alban Arthuan (Winter Solstice) December 21, but this website does not give any detail on it.
On Febraury 1st, the Celts celebrated the festival of Imbolc. It was to celebrate the fertility goddess Bridit and to make sure the cattle would be fertile. This was a fire festival only of the house. The goddess Bride, is "the flame in the heart of all women" This symbolizes the complete authority of women over the house.
The next festival was Alban Eiler (Vernal Equinox) It was celebrated on March 21st. Again the website does not give any description of this festival.
The next festival was Beltane (May Day) celebrated on May 1st. The website suggests that it was named after the god Belenus, god of light. During this festival all household fires were put out and the bonfires were lit on the hills. Then from these fires all of the hearth fires were relit. People and cattle jusmped across the bonfires as a symbol of purification and protection from evil. The website suggest it must have been difficult to get the cattle to jump across the fires. I agree. I have raised cattle and you can never get them to go through the gate, but they can always find the tiny hole in the fence!!
The next festival is the Alban Heruin (Summer Solstice) IT was celebrated on June 21st. The website does not describe this festival.
The last festival was Lughnasadh (Festival of Light). It was named after the sun god, Lugh. Celtic religion was solar based, as we can see from their calander. This feast had to do with harvest.Warriors returned from battle fields to harvest their crops. Fairs were held during this time. Marriages were also contracted during this time. There were marriages call handsfastings, which were trial marriages that lasted one year and one day. During Lughnasadh, couples had to return to make their marriage contract permanent. If it was not going to work out, then the couples could just walk away from each other. (if only it was that easy to get divorced, I don't know how commited they would have been to each other if they knew they only had to be together for a year)
The Nervii tribe is one of the Belgic tribes in norther Gaul. They lived in central Belgium. They resisted Caesar, but were wiped out by him
The Venetii were a maritime tibe located in the southwest Armorican peninsula. (that is in France) Their main occupation was traders and middlemen for goods between Britian and south. In 56 BC, in a rebellion against Caesar, they were defeated in a sea battle at Quiveron. Ceasar then executed all tribe leaders and sold the others as slaves.
The Averni was a powerful tribe located in Southern France/Western Germany. They were opposed to Roman rule
The Scordisci was part of the group that tried to migrate to Greece, but failed. They were led by Bathanotos, and settle between the two rivers, Drava and Sava (modern day Belgrade).
The Durotriges were powerful, but extremely backwards politically. They lived in the Dorset region of southern Britian. The legionary commander, Vespasian, destroed twenty of ther hillforts, including Maiden Castle. The tribe then surrendered to Roman rule.
The Iceni occupied the Norfold and Suffolk areas of Britian. They were an ally of Rome and were ruled by the client king, Prasutagus. Upon his death, Queen Boudicca led and uprising against the Romans, due to poor planning, it failed.
The Trinovantes lived in what is now eastern England, just north of the Thames River. During Caesar's time they were in dispute with their neighbors the Catuvellauni. Because of their union with Rome; the cheiftains grew rich on trade and aquired many luxury items.
Yet more from www.celticgrounds.com!!
Celtic Tribes:
There were 14 Celtic Tribes listed on this website.
The Aedui were located in central Gaul today known as France. The had a strategic position on the Rhone trade route and were exposed to classic culture. They did a lot of fighting with other tribes and it downgraded them in power. They aligned themselves with Ceasar and this gave them much power.
The Helvetti lived in Sitzerland. During the first century AD, due to population expansion and tribes neighboring to the north, they started migrating towards Gaul.
The Boii lived in two groups one traveled from the Northern Alps to the Po Valley and the second group lived in Bohemian territories. They were a very mobile tribe nad the Bohemia group later moved into France because the Cimbi and Teutons kicked them out. The Po Valley group was in conflict with the Romans.
The Eravisci tribe lived in modern day Hungary with its cheif settlement on the Danube around modern day Budapest. Even during Roman occupation they maintained their culture. In their graves, jewerly and traditional Celtic clothing was found.
The Volcae used to neighbor the Boii. There was an offshoot group called the Volcae Tectosages. One of these branches moved into southern Gaul and the other moved into Anatolia. The Gaulish group had a lot of gold and silver, which was taken by the Romans in 106 BC.
The Brigantes were a large tribe who's territory was in Nothern England from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. Queen Cartimandua reigned this tribe. She was allied with Rome.
The Parissi lived in modern day Paris. The main city was Lutetia.
I just cannot say enough about the website www.celticgrounds.com. It has so much information on it and it is in multimedia form. It states that there where seven related Celtic Nations and tribes.
Alva=Scotland, Cymru=Wales, Kernow=Cornwall, Mannin=Isle of Man, Galicia=Spain, Briezh=Brittany, Eire=Ireland.
It also tells us about the 14 Celtic tribes that have been identifies mainly by Roman.
Aedui, Helvetii, Boii, Nervii, Venetii, Averni, Scordisci, Durotriges, Iceni, Trinovantes, Eravisci, Volcae, Brigantes, Parisii.
It also talked about Celtic Art. The Celts art is "considered the first great contribution to European art made by non-Mediterranean peoples" After the period of the Romans, the Continental Celts art lost its destinctive style. The Celts imitated what they saw in nature. One form of Celtic art is tattooing.
The Celtic calendar has three theories in how if functioned. One is that the year was divided into thirteen months and an extra was added at the end of a year to adjust the calendar. For each of the thirteen months there was a tree designated.
A second theory, excepted by historians and archaeologist, is the Coligny Calendar. It was a bronze plate discovered in Eastern France, engraved in Gaulish language and measured 5' by 3 1/2'. It kept time by lunar months and it showed 62 consecutive month with 2 extra months to match the solar timetable. It had an error of only half a day.
The third theory was a combination of both theories above.
The new year started on November 1st (the Celts first day of winter) and Summer began on May 1st. Their year was sectioned by the seasons. The names of the four seasons were Earrach=Spring, Samhradh=Summer, Fogharg (harvest)=Autumn, Geamhradh=Winter
As always I am interested in the role that women played in a society. In THE CELTIC REALMS, I am reading about the women rulers of the Celtic world. Cartimandua, Boudicca, Medb were all Queens of Celtic tribes. Cartimandua realied heavly on the Romans for her protection.
I have just found the website www.celticgrounds.com. It is a cool website as there is lots of pictures and information plus it play Celtic music while you read. It gives information from Art to Warfare.
Upon my internet exploration I found the website www.reconstructinghistory.com/celtic/intro.html. It disussed the clothing of the ancient celts. Celtic women of continental Europe wore Greek/Roman style clothing. It was a chiton over a sleeved under tunic. This sounds similar to what the Viking women wore.
The men wore tunics that were brightly colored, but did not necessarly wear them with pants!! The tunics had decorations around the neck and sleeve openings. Both men and women wore their hair in braids.
At www.conjure.com/whocelts.html, Mr Fairgrove has written an excellent and informative essay called "What we don't know about the ancient Celts" He says that three things Archaeology, Classical, and vernacular traditions cannot give us a "clear vision of the religious beliefs or practices of the ancient celts." He defines the celts as "the communities of peoople sharing linguistic and cultural ties who inhabited most of Northern Europe between 800 BCE and 400BCE."
Mr. Fairgrove tells that the hearth was the "sanctuary" of the house. Hearths were usually highly decorated and the tools they used had the forms of horses or rams on them. Feast would be eaten around the hearth. This was an important tradition as they believed that you feasted in the Otherworld.
These are my observations from "The Celtic Realms", Dillon & Chadwick, Phoenix Press, 2000.
This book has been hard for me to get into. There is so much information packed into each sentence, plus the names of tribes and places are new to me. I am starting to get a sense of who the Celtc were. The accounts of Strabo on the Celts of Gaul were very entertaining. His description "..madly fond of war, high-spirited and quick to battle, but otherwise straightforward and not of evil character." He goes on to explain that they will go to battle at a split second, but are very intelicutal people. I have learned from reading A Celtic Miscellany that this is very true. They may have been "War hungry", but they also understood the importance of educational arts.
Strabo explains the three classes of men that held the highest honor. The Bards (Bardic Poetry?) singers & poets, Vates interpreters of sacrifice and natural philosophers ( a type of priest, perhaps) and Druids who knew the natural science and moral philosophy. Of these there classes the Druids seemed to have been the highest class. They were almost like the sherriff and judges. They arbitrated war and had the final decision in murder cases.
Diodorus gives us an insight into their physical apperance. His description is of Celts eating at a feast and after reading it; I am pretty sure the person he is talking about sat next to me on a airplane a few years back!!! He states that they do not have beards, but moustaches and they do not keep them trimmed back. The moustaches gets food into it when they are eating and helps "strain" their drink. Diodorus musted have been throughly disgusted when he witnessed this. I think a frightning sight would have been seeing a Gaul come charging at me in a chariot naked except for his girdle and gold jewerly.
