The ancient Celts lived in parts of western and central Europe in the Late Bronze Age and passed through the Iron Age (about 7 BC to C. 4 CE）。 According to the names of ancient writers, Celts, these tribes and their cultures migrated, so they established their existence in the territory from Portugal to Turkey.
Although the tribes are diverse and there has never been a unified country, the ancient Celts are linked by Celtic language, and there are significant similarities in art, war methods, religion and funeral customs. Although Celtic culture was absorbed by the Roman Empire from the 1st century BC, Celts continued to thrive in more remote areas of Europe, such as Ireland and northern Britain, where Celtic is still spoken today.
"Celts"-definition and questions
The word "Celts" is usually used to refer to the peoples who lived in Iron Age Europe north of the Mediterranean before the Roman conquest, because ancient writers gave them this name. However, this is a problematic label. This is because these ethnic groups are not part of a unified country, but belong to many tribes, many of which are not directly related to each other. The term is still useful because of its convenience, but it does cover up the complex relationship between different tribes in Western Europe and Central Europe, the overlap of some cultural characteristics in time and space, and the isolation and uniqueness of other such characteristics. The Iron Age in Europe is undoubtedly a dynamic cultural interaction, trade relations, war and migration.
instead of bronze, iron has become the first choice for making more durable tools and weapons.
Origin: Urnfield, Hallstatt and La Tène
Most scholars agree that the origin of Celtic culture can be traced back to three earlier, closely related and overlapping cultural groups. The first one is the urn field culture in the late bronze age, which has existed in the upper reaches of the Danube since 1 BC. In 13 BC. The name of this culture comes from the common practice of burying the cremated remains of the deceased in urns and burying them. Due to the lack of archaeological evidence, these peoples are still unknown. From 1 BC to the next two or three centuries, iron processing technology spread in Europe. Therefore, iron has replaced bronze as the first choice for making more durable tools and weapons.
The second primitive Celtic group is Hallstatt culture, named after the site in Upper Austria, which originated in BC. 12 to C. 45 BC, but reached its peak in the 8th and 6th centuries BC. Hallstatt culture spread to one side covering today's western Austria, southern Germany, Switzerland and eastern France, while the other side covered eastern Austria, Bohemia and some Balkan regions. It was the western part of this region that eventually developed into what we call the ancient Celts today. Hallstatt culture may spread through various ways, such as trade, tribal alliance, intermarriage, imitation and immigration. The prosperity of these ethnic groups benefited from the local salt, iron and copper deposits; Commodities that can be traded along waterways. Reaching the south to the Mediterranean culture (the Etruscan trade in Italy and Greece in the southern French colonies) consists of imported goods in Hallstatt ancient tombs and valuables, such as gold and amber jewelry. Hallstatt culture began to decline in the 5th century BC, which may be due to the exhaustion of local resources, the intensification of tribal competition and the transfer of trade routes in other places.
LA T? The NE center is particularly successful near major river points such as Loire River, Marne River, Moselle River and Elbe River.
the third group that is of great significance to the formation of Celtic culture itself is La Tène culture (45 BC-5 BC), which was named after the site of the same name on the northern shore of Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland. Perhaps it is best to regard it as a different tribe unified by the same characteristics of art and religion. La Tène culture finally appeared in a vast arc covering Western and Central Europe, from Ireland to Romania. Cultural features include ironmaking, offering sacrifices in water sources, storing weapons in graves, and stylized art with whirlpool, geometry and plant design. Once again, there is a lot of evidence that there is trade with Mediterranean countries. La Tène Center is particularly successful near major river points such as Loire River, Marne River, Moselle River and Elbe River. La Tène culture does not completely correspond to Celtic, because it exists in non-Celtic areas, such as Germany-speaking Denmark. Nevertheless, the term La Tène, originally created by archaeologists to classify artifacts, was still widely (if inaccurately) used as a synonym for Celtic culture in Europe in the second half of the first millennium BC.
Celtic
One of the striking points of contact among many European peoples in the Iron Age was their * * * same language: Celtic. Celtic is a branch of Indo-European language family. Scholars divide Celtic languages into two groups: island Celtic and mainland Celtic. The latter group was no longer widely used after the Roman Empire. Unfortunately, the only surviving examples are mentioned in the works of Greek and Roman writers, as well as some short inscriptions, such as pottery graffiti and sacrificial and buried stone tablets. The most clearly recorded language in this group is Gaul.
There are two Celtic groups on the island: British or Brittany (Brittany, Cornwall and Welsh) and Goi German (Irish and its medieval derivatives, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). In Roman times, Brittany was spoken all over England. Cambria (extinct since the Middle Ages), Cornish (no longer used after the 18th century, but recently restored), Brittany (probably introduced by British settlers in the 5th century, not directly related to Gaul) and Welsh, the latter is still spoken today. The earliest evidence of Goidelic-Irish can be traced back to the 5th century A.D., then it evolved into Middle Irish (about 95-12 A.D.), and then it evolved into modern Irish, which is still used today.
Celtic religion
The second common feature of those people we call ancient Celts is their religious belief. This is a polytheism with many gods, although due to the lack of Celtic's own written works, our understanding of them is limited to classical writers. There are differences across regions and centuries, but the common features of ancient Celtic religion include:
reverence for sacred forests and other natural attractions, such as rivers and springs.
offering sacrifices to the gods, such as food, weapons, animals and (more rarely) human sacrifices.
put valuables and daily necessities in the grave with the dead, indicating the belief in the afterlife.
Believe in the protective power of totems, especially animals like stags and wild boars.
reverence for the head is considered as the location of the soul.
use taboos to ensure compliance with religious and community rules.
a ceremony led by a druid.
Because druids are unwilling to use their knowledge in writing, there are no surviving sacred texts, hymns or prayers of Celtic religion. Key gods are endowed with all-encompassing powers or characteristics, including Cernunnos, which may represent the "horned gods" of nature and fertility. Another main figure is Lugus (later called Lugus), perhaps the only god universally worshipped in the Celtic world. He represents the sun and is considered to be omniscient and omnipotent. There are hot spring treatments and rivers such as Sequana, the incarnation of the Seine, and many related goddess EPONA, who are associated with horses.
an unusual feature of Celtic gods is that some gods are regarded as trio, which may represent three different aspects of the same divinity. An example of the Trinity is the three mother goddesses. Matronae represents similar concepts of strength, power and fertility respectively. Among many local and regional gods, many are related to the most important things in daily life, such as war, tribal identity, treatment, hunting and the protection of specific groups such as mothers and children. From the 2nd century BC, Greece and Rome had an influence on Celtic religion. At that time, the Celtic Holy Land, which used to be just an empty space surrounded by earthwork, began to use larger stone temples. Therefore, some Greek and Roman gods were also incorporated into the Celtic Pantheon.
Celtic Association
Once again, it is difficult to reconstruct the intricacies of ancient Celtic society without first-hand written records. Nevertheless, we do know that many Celtic tribes have a hierarchical society. At the highest level are rulers and elite fighters, followed by religious leaders and the druids, the treasure trove of knowledge collected by the community. They are exempt from taxation and military service. Then there are professional craftsmen, businessmen, slaves and farmers-this is by far the largest group in rural and agricultural society.
Celtic society is led by the monarch first, and then by elected chiefs or a small council of elders. As time goes on, many tribes unite to help each other or rely on another more powerful tribe to make some kind of tribute. By the end of this period, a large tribal alliance appeared, which joined to deal with the same threat from the Romans. We know that some women are chiefs of Celtic Britain, such as Cartimandua and Boudicca (AD 61), rulers of Brigantes tribe in northern England in the middle of the 1st century, and the queen of Aisini tribe, who led several tribes to revolt against Roman occupation in AD 6. There is also evidence that some women are treated equally with men in burying valuables, for example, in the Vix tomb near Chastillon-sur-Seine in the northeast of France in the 6th to 5th century BC.
There is a strong kinship system, and rulers and their extended families control society through their land ownership and trade income. The rulers kept their followers loyal by giving gifts, organizing Celtic banquets and social exhibitions. By raising children with other aristocratic families to strengthen family ties, this method is also used to connect different tribes to form alliances. There is also a system in which elites provide welfare and protection for those who provide certain services, much like the feudal system in the Middle Ages.
Except slaves, there is no evidence that the children of one social group have any obstacles to finally enter another social group, provided that they have acquired the necessary wealth (for example, through courage in war) or received the necessary education or apprenticeship. This druid lasted for about 2 years. Caesar (about 1-44 BCE) pointed out in his Gaul War that a Celtic woman brought her husband's dowry in Gaul, which could be inherited by a woman if her partner died in front of her. Caesar also pointed out that husbands have the life and strength to die more than their wives and children. Whether these assessments are accurate or not and whether they are applicable to Celts in other places is a controversial issue for scholars.
Celtic Art
Apart from language and religious customs, another common feature of Celts in Europe is their artistic creation. Celtic art was influenced by the above-mentioned early indigenous iron age culture, as well as neighboring cultures or trading partners (such as Thracians, Scythians, Greeks, Etruscans and Romans), and gained ideas from the Near East through these peoples. Materials used include pottery, stone, iron, bronze and gold, and imported exotic materials such as glass, coral and amber are used for extra decoration. Metal is cast, carved, stamped, traced, inlaid, and repoussé is used (the material is grooved from the back to create a relief on the other side). Typical artworks include gorgeous cauldrons, sandstone or wooden figures, Celtic bronze shields, golden torches, semicircular brooches (consisting of pins and rings) and animal statues used as offerings.
The outstanding features of Celtic art include:
Love for flowing forms.
the depiction of gods and soldiers, especially the heads of these people.
Describe animals (real or imaginary), especially stags, wild boar, horses and hounds.
I love complex plant design, abstract patterns and rotating interlocking lines.
daily necessities that are eager to beautify and even be practical.
eager to convey the message of power and religious thought.
trade in the Celtic world
as mentioned above, the primitive Celtic culture in western and central Europe has established trade ties with the Mediterranean culture, and this relationship has continued to the Celts. Tin from Britain, amber from the Baltic Sea and horses from Eastern Europe and the Balkans are also imported and used or passed south. Celtic resources traded include salt, slaves, iron, gold, wool cloth and fur. These goods are exchanged for wine (in large quantities), silver, luxury goods (such as bronze hip flask, fine Greek pottery and Etruscan bronze clutter), silk and precious materials for art and jewelry mentioned in the previous section.
Besides obtaining scarce resources, trade has secondary consequences. Ideas in art, religion and technology have been spread. Celts used flat graves to bury and cast their own coins, for example. Competition among Celtic tribes for resources needed for trade has also increased. The Celtic world is expanding its horizons. As the Celtics begin to look jealously at the heartland of their rich trading partners, the creation of the growing rich elite will have an impact on the wider continent, and vice versa.
Celtic War
War is an important part of Celtic culture, which can be seen from the number of gods in the ancient Celtic Pantheon related to war and a large number of weapons stored in graves. Courage and heroism on the battlefield are also important in determining social status. Celtic soldiers in Gaul were described as bleaching their long hair with lime water, while in Britain, they painted their bodies with patterns. Several classical writers also commented on a strange fact, that is, Celtic soldiers could fight naked, and they collected the heads of the victims. Many Celtic soldiers wear a Torck necklace, which is probably a symbol of status and rank in the community. There is evidence that Celtic women participated in the war.
Celtic warriors use spears, long swords and unique large rectangular or oval shields. The Celtic army used catapults, chariots and cavalry, while the organization on the battlefield was realized by using standards and war horns. Since the 4th century BC, as tribes moved westward, southward and eastward in search of new wealth opportunities in the migration sometimes called Celtic, the Celtic army did bring many problems to their neighbors. In 39 BC, Brennus, the famous leader of Gaul's Senones tribe, looted Rome, while the Celts once again caused serious damage when they plundered Delphi in 279 BC, because they were on their way to Asia through Greece, where they were called Galatians. The Celtic tribe attacked the Romans again in 225 BC, and became a frequent mercenary alliance of Carthage during the Punic War (264-146 BC).