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It is through the examination of the Celtic culture as a whole, from their origins, tool usage and inventions, social systems, judicial systems, to their intricate spiritual beliefs that one is able to draw a strong sense of unity and connection to these mysterious people from whom most every Indo-European descendant draws their ancestry. The Celts were a people unsurpassed in their skill and endurance as a culture, and even now, at the dawning of the new millennia, their influence and inspiration continues to be felt. The Celts are thought to have originated in the area of what is now Central Europe, primarily east of the Rhine River, such as southern Germany, Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, or even so far as the Volga Steppes in western Russia at about 2000 BC (Pennick, 1997). These inhabitants were called the Beaker People, named for their tradition of burying pottery and various artifacts with their dead (Blundell, 1996). By the twelve century BC, they had expanded across the continent until they dominated most of central, western There their culture flourished as they began to settle into an increasing agricultural lifestyle, gradually becoming less nomadic, and dependent of hunting and gathering as a primary means of survival. This is what is widely regarded as the Urnfield culture. The Urnfielders, with their name derived from their practice of cremating their dead, are now thought to be the immediate ancestors of the Celts as they had similar social and societal structures. It has even been suggested that the Urnfielders spoke an early form of Celtic language. The Celts emerged from this lineage at some point between 1200 to 700 BC. The traditional Celts were a result of a mixture of many bloodlines from cultures during that period, ultimately arising from the interbreeding and mingling of of a variety of existing cultures and spiritual practices, eventually developing into the Celtic culture as it is known The era from the seventh century BC onwards is known as the Halstatt period, named after a village in Austria where Celtic salt and iron mines were found during the early part of the twentieth century. It is the Halstatt era which is credited with the formation of a separate and distinct Celtic culture (Lavin, 1999). It was the Beaker People who initially developed and carried with them their distinct tool traditions that would come to characterize the Celtic Culture. They were very skilled in working bronze, a malleable yet strong metal made by the combination of copper and tin. This led to the development of a variety of tools, such as the ox-drawn plough, which allowed for more sophisticated and efficient methods of cultivation, which in turn led to the dramatic increase of populations throughout Europe. Within Europe, there was an elaborate trading system in metals, and bronze was traded to countries, such as Scandinavia, or even as far away as the Orient, in exchange for gold, amber, and beads. The bronze tool tradition continued until about the last century before Christ, especially in northern Europe, people had begun to discover the wonders of a new, stronger and more durable metal; iron. Iron is thought to have been implemented in Celtic cultures through a series of invasions by a people whose identity still remains ambiguous, but are to have thought to have originated as far away as Austria and Switzerland (Blundell, 1999). Celtic technicians were extremely innovative in their developments, and greatly increased the quality of life for the Celtic peoples. With the introduction of the potter’s wheel, horse shoes, and wheels added on to the ancient plow, as well as advanced techniques for making buildings and various means of transport, the Celts experienced a huge increase of technological sophistication rivaling even that of the more recent Industrial Revolution. It was the Celts who first invented chainmail, and through the use of iron armor, they gave their warriors a great advantage over the bronze wearing enemy. The Celtic steel sword and its formidable strength and sharpness was a direct ancestor of the medieval knightly sword in Europe. Metal was such a precious asset to the Celts that the ancient Britons implemented the use of iron bars as an early form of currency. Throughout the flourishment of the iron and steel industry amongst the Celts, the bronze-worker still played a very important role in society (Pennick, 1997). The exquisite jewelry, tools, and even armor the bronze-worker caste have proved the Celts to be a very talented and ingenious culture, embodied with a extraordinary artistic skill and expertise in art of metal working. Although the Celts did not posses a definite caste system of social structure, they did have did have class structured society. Celtic societies were divided into distinct tribal kingdoms based primarily on family kinship and ties. The nobility held the highest status within Celtic tribes, and often a king held the highest power, which was seen as divine and ordained by the gods, and it was his responsibility to protect the tribe, lead an army in the time of war, and acting as the representative of the tribe in a time of peace. Unlike the later monarch system which took root in Europe, the title of king was not necessarily inherited. Kings had the authority and ability to nominate their successor. There are however instances where tribes have been headed by a magistrate, or Vergobret instead of a well pronounced king. It was from these noble lineages that came military generals and spiritual leaders, Within Celtic societies, aside from the king himself, there were three groups which held exceptional power and influence. These groups were the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards were extraordinarily talented musicians, poets and story tellers of the tribe. They recounted orally the multitude of Celtic myths and legends upon which their complex belief system was based. The Vates and Druids, who included diviners, soothsayers, and natural philosophers, held a very important place within the tribe. The Celts were very spiritual and turned to these groups for relief in times of strife, prosperity for the future, to keep law and order, and to grant justice to the whole of the tribe. Bards, Vates, and Druids each had very strong ties to the natural world, and they possessed within them the entire history of the tribe and culture, and knowledge about the intricate workings of nature and spirituality, which they handed down to subsequent generations in the forms of traditional lore. Thus they were vital to the process of understanding all that is essential to the Celtic way of life (Pennick, 1997). Portions of lands called tuaths were occupied by a specific group of families, or a deirbhfine, who had equal ownership of the land. Generally the deirbhfines consisted of five generations of a male lineage and all of its relations, including the male offspring of a father, his brothers, his uncles, and so on, all equally sharing every aspect of life, including belongings, work, food, and housing. Sometimes several tuaths would align themselves, forming a local kingdom, and they in turn would be ruled by an over-king. When several local kingdoms formed an alliance, they would be ruled by a provincial king (Lavin, 1999). Despite the well-defined class system adopted by the Celts, high status was not always reserved to those of noble lineage. Landless members of society could advance higher in the social rank if they were to aquire wealth through trade or commerce. Often there were times when those who were less fortunate would seek to serve a member of nobility as a servant, but unlike traditional slavery, they did not have to yield their rights within society, but rather he was protected by his master and always remained a free citizen. Slaves captured in a time of war, however, did give up certain civil rights, but they too could be granted status as a free citizen if their noble master Life for the Celts was undeniably difficult, and people within the tribes worked hard to preserve their way of life. For the most part, Celtic people resided in hut villages among fields, along side rivers, or in uplands. Tribes depended on the grain that their crops would yield as a staple to their diet, and this grain was stored in underground cellars to preserve it as long as possible. Celts meticulously managed their livestock, which allowed them to produce new and viable breeds of cattle, oxen, sheep and pigs. Houses were constructed primarily out of wood and continuously coated in mud to protect it from the harsh effects of the climate, such as wind, rain, sun, Despite all the advances made towards becoming civilized, life in Celtic Europe was often very violent and barbaric. By nature, the Celts were ferocious warriors, and there were frequently wars waged between the tribes, resulting in entire settlements being destroyed. Noblemen were praised for their conquests during battle, and the Celts were deemed “headhunters” by those who witnessed the infamous display of human heads, once belonging to enemy tribes, being displayed prized as a powerful declaration of victory after a tribal war (Blundell, Law and justice for the ancient Celts was an extremely important aspect of tribal life, and every member of a Celtic tribe lived in strict accordance with the law. The overall purpose set out by Celtic law was the protection of the welfare of the society as a whole. Equality was stressed among the members of the tribe as a means of attaining and maintaining harmony. Upon a marriage, a husband was expected to add half of his own property and belongings to his bride’s dowry to be kept as a joint account, and saved as a sort of early pension fund, to be released upon the death of either to the survivor. The sick, weak, elderly and orphans were cared for by the tribe free of charge. Murder and theft were considered to be of the highest insult, as it effect the entire tribe, and by law it was required that the offender repay what he or she had taken, including their social status or life. Assault directed at another member of the tribe , either physically or verbally, was also strictly against Celtic law, and also required the compensation of the offender to compensate in victim in exact sums, such as through public humiliation or dishonor, or the loss of a limb (Pennick, 1997). Adultery was taken very seriously within the tribe, and a woman who committed adultery was immediately burned at the stake. Every offense was directed towards the individual rather than , as there was no unified form of authority over all the Celtic tribes, and offended against the state were not, for the most part, recognized. Druids, along with being spiritual leaders and counselors, were greatly respected within Celtic societies for their abilities to act as judge, dispenser of justice at both a local and intertribal level. They judged all criminal cases, and were the ones to pass sentence upon the accused. If one were to refuse the judgment of the Druid, they would be immediately forbidden to attend public sacrifices, lose their civic rights, and face a lifetime of being An example of how powerful these laws were is within Ireland, where Ollamh Fodhla, founded the Brehon Law which is regarded as the oldest and longest practiced legal system in Europe, as it was only replaced by English administrative law towards the beginning of the seventeenth century (Lavin, 1999). The Celts had a very strong spiritual beliefs, which penetrated right to the very core of every aspect of their lives. They held great reverence and extraordinary respect for all elements of nature, and understood the intricate balance between nature and human existence. They constantly dwelt admits the natural world, and their dependence on nature as a means of survival directly explains and reflects the reasons for their complex belief The land, according to the Celts, embodied the Great Mother in all her forms. Though there were countless and varying deities worshipped in different tribes, they were ultimately just small components of one, unified force (Eddy, 1999). All existence worked in a cyclic nature, and there is a direct correlation and continuation between the material world and the spiritual world. The Celts believed that the unseen world effects everything in the visible world, and the universe subsists on many coexisting levels. Celtic religion taught that the soul of deceased individual souls will be reincarnated, and that the divine always intercepts in daily matters of life It was the druids who held the most spiritual power and influence within the tribes. In addition to acting as the tribal judge, they were accomplished priests who were the direct link between the material and spiritual world for the Celts. They were the ones who communicated with the gods, and who performed the rituals and sacrifices to maintain the balance between nature, the divine, and humanity. The druids were organized in a hierarchical system that was headed by an arch druid who, upon his death, would be succeeded by the next highest ranking priest. Druids were exempt from military service, and received some benefits that other members of society were excluded from, including reduced taxation. The process of becoming a druid was a long and tedious. Working under an experienced druid, young apprentices had the responsibility of learning and memorizing countless myths, verses, and lore which recounted the history of the tribe, and even the universe itself. They studied the effects of various herbs and medicines within nature, and applied them accordingly. It took about twenty years, a Celtic lifetime, to become a full fledged druid (Piggot, 1996). The cycle of seasons had a very symbolic significance to the Celts, as it represented life itself; birth, maturity, aging, and eventual death, and also the intricate relationship the Celts held with the land. Likewise, the seasons were personified in the form of single deity, and her components. Spring, the maiden, is characterized by rebirth, reawakening and renewal. The Celtic festival of Imbolc celebrates this quickening of life in nature, and a welcoming of the maiden to the world after the long period of rest. Imbolc was celebrated by the lighting of candles and torches at midnight in honor of the goddess, Brigid, and her element of fire. The light of the fire symbolized the longer periods of daylight with which spring is characterized with. This festival became known as Candlemas, the Christian festival of the purification of the Virgin Mary as Celtic Europe became more Summer was symbolic of growth and fertility. It was the time of reverence for Belanos, the “the shining one” who presided over this season. Summer was when marriages where held, and conception of the Earth Mother occurred in preparation for growth and harvest in that coming autumn. Beltane, the Celtic fertility festival was held during this time to promote prosperity and abundance within the tribe. During this time great fires were lit, through which people would drive their cattle and livestock in the hopes of a fruitful growing season. May Day is still celebrated in many countries of Europe, especially Britain and Ireland, and even in parts of North America, which preserves and incorporates many of the early traditions of Beltane. Autumn represented the harvest, wisdom, and a time for introspection, but also it was a time for deliberate misrule and mischief. The festival of Samhain is celebrated on October 31, and it was thought to be the time when the veil between the spirit and material world was the thinnest, and the souls of the dead were able to re-enter the world, or the living could enter into the otherworld. Effigies representing sorrows and misfortunes of the past year were burnt, and elaborate feasts were held to honor the deceased and the wisdom of the ancestors. The Celts would often don disguises of animal skins to scare away the evil spirits which may have entered the realm of the living. This festival is still celebrated as Halloween, or All Hallow’s Eve in many countries around the world. Winter was characterized by death, and ultimate rebirth and a turning of the earth force tides. The festival of Alban Arthuan was celebrated on Winter Solstice, welcoming the old woman of winter, or the Crone, into the world once more. In recognition of the shortest day of the year, a log of ash or oak was ritually burned, and its ashes spread upon the fields to promote fertility (Eddy, 1999). This tradition of burning the Yule log has also come be preserved in modern traditions, especially during the holiday of Christmas. Celtic people of Europe lived in relative peace for thousands of years, until they were faced with a new threat the likes of which they had never before experienced. In about fifty years leading up to the birth of Christ, Roman militaries were making sweeping advances on the Celtic tribes of Europe, especially those in Britain. Enticed by the green and fertile lands and resources that the Celts had long held sacred to them, the Roman forces, headed by Gaius Julius Caesar, invaded and conquered with ferocious intent. The Celts and the Romans met and engaged in many years of disputes and warfare. Eventually the Romans were victorious, and Britain fell under the rule of the Roman Empire, a rule which would last about four hundred years, until the year 410 (Blundell, 1999). In year 313 Christian missionaries had reached the British Isles. Paganism still dominated the lifestyles of the Celts in these lands despite the sway of the Christian church, but eventually the funds of the Celtic temples were confiscated by the church, and Christianity grew in power and influence among the Celts. The infamous St. Patrick is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland, and ultimately salvaging Ireland from the political and economic unrest Britain suffered with constant civil wars, and invasions by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. It was in Ireland that a new Celtic Church took root, a unique mixture of traditional Druidic and Christian beliefs, which would eventually spread to Britain and remain there for generations to come. In accordance with ancient Celtic beliefs, the church enforced the idea that a bond must be maintained with the natural world in order to achieve spiritual harmony, as well as placing great importance on having mutual respect, charity, and kindness within The Celtic Church eventually came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church in England in the middle of the seventh century, when King Oswiu of Northumbria insisted that the Celtic Church should immediately be replaced by Roman Catholicism. Many Celtic Priests were banned from Anglo-Saxon territories, and in the year 670 Celtic rule was abolished from France. Celtic monasteries soon began to disappear, and the power of the church began to fade and wane under the influence of the Roman Catholic Church in most parts of Europe, except in Ireland, Scotland, and parts of Wales, where the Celtic Church continued to flourish into the Middle Ages, and still remains for the most part even today (Pennick, 1997). The Celts were indeed a remarkable people, whose culture and influence upon the world has left an indisputable mark. With their exceptional wisdom in the inner workings of the world, and their outward expressions of their beautiful beliefs and spiritual system in the form of art, literature, myth, folklore, innovations, and unique social systems, their legacy was one of extreme adaptation and endurance, even amidst the most trying conditions. Until the time of the Roman and Christian invasions in Europe, the Celts remained united as a people and culture. Today the traditions and pride of the Celts still live on in countries of the British Isles, and the enticing and mystical nature of the Celtic culture has drawn attention from all over the globe in recognition of An Analysis of Problems Encountered With Examining the Celtic Culture Due to the extreme complexity of the history and finer details of the ancient Celtic culture, studying it in its entirety is by no means a simple task. Much of what we know of the Celtic people is fragmentary, coming mostly from the written accounts of the Roman generals and officials who encountered and attempted to understand these mysterious people. Thus, our depiction of the Celts is fairly biased, riddled with great misconceptions that we are only now beginning to re-evaluate. For example, Roman widely regarded the Celts as savage barbarians with little sense of organized society and social structure. The social traditions of the Celts, as explained earlier, are of obvious complexity, and is rich in structure. But because the Celts did not have a written language to record their traditions, first hand accounts from the Romans seem to contain most of the clues archeologists seek when studying the Celts, and therefore must rely on them with whatever other little archeological evidence there remains to piece together the history of these peoples (Blundell, 1999). Another factor that may impede the understanding of the Celtic culture lays within the very nature of the Celts themselves. The Celts dwelt in relatively small tribes, and these groups were fairly isolated from other tribes. Thus, each tribe developed their own varying specialized beliefs and social organizations, that while did have apparent similarities, did possess a number of differences, and this in turn adds to the difficulty in trying to accurately classify each group, and trying to get a general idea of their traditions and lifestyle. Also, as stated before, the Celts were by no means a pure blooded race, but rather the product of generations of interbreeding of various cultures and implementations of several belief systems. Being continually surrounded by other similar cultures, such as the Picts, Huns, and Jutes, along with often being engaged in territorial disputes, it is very likely that aspects of each culture, as well as the people themselves intermingled, adding complexity and depth to the The Celt’s adaptive nature earned them the privilege of endurance as a people, and indeed, their influence still remains with us today. By traveling the pristine countryside of England and Wales, and listening to the folk tales of the local people, and observing their daily and annual traditions, the spirit of the Celts still reins supreme. The people of Wales still litter ancient wells with flower pedals and gifts of offering for the local deity, or saint, or to ward off the mischievous “faery folk” or the little people. There still remains an order of Druids, a select group of neo-pagan priests who are dedicated to the preservation of the ancient belief system of their ancestors, the Celts. With more pagan traditions emerging today from former Celtic traditions, such as that of Wicca and Druidry, the world, or so it seems, has never been more fascinated with the Celts. But, like anything else that has the power of endurance, the Celts as a people have changed in every aspect of their lives to adapt with the pressures facing them, and thus, despite the resurgence of Celtic spiritualists, the original beliefs as the Celts once held them are now essentially lost, and will for the most part, remain forever unknown. Bibliography: Blundell, Nigel 1999 Ancient England. Prospero Books, London. Eddy, Steve 1999 Timeless Wisdom of the Celts. Hodder and Stoughton Publishing, London. Lavin, Patrick 1999 The Celtic World. Hippocrene Books Inc., New York. Pennick, Nigel 1997 The Sacred World of the Celts. Inner Traditions International, Rochester. Piggot, Stuart 1996 The Druids. Thames and Hudson, London. Word Count: 3871
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