Learning About Celts Through Roman Authors
The Celts left very little written documentation behind them. What is
known about the Celts has been discovered through archaeology and
through the writings of Roman authors such as Caesar, Strabo and
Tacitus. Caesar wrote about the Celts in his Gallic Wars as he
documented his arrivals in Britain in 55 and 55 BC. Strabo was a Roman
geographer, and included his knowledge of the geography of Britain in
his texts, and Tacitus in his "Agricola", his histories and his annals
also wrote of his knowledge of the Celts. These three authors, amongst
others, gave us written evidence of the agricultural lifestyle of the
Celts, their trading, commerce and economy, their tribal system, their
politics and their religion.
However, all the Roman authors' works are subject to bias, either
pro-Roman (as in Caesar and Strabo) or of flattery (as in Tacitus, who
was writing a eulogy). Caesar's first paragraph in his account of the
first invasion of Britain, for example, states that the Celts had been
sending reinforcements to the Gauls on the continent during Caesar's
Gallic campaigns. The full truth of this statement is unknown, however
it is unlikely that the Celts would have been interested in sending
men out to Gaul, as it would have been harvest time during that
period, and the Celts were primarily a farming people.
Roman authors tended to share the same opinions concerning the
geography of Britain as each other. Caesar, Strabo and Tacitus all
wrote of Britain as being triangular in shape. Caesar stated that the
southern side faced Gaul and measured roughly 475 miles, the western
side faced Spain, me...
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...litical situations, perhaps the only true
form of politics that all the Celts shared.
The druids were an immense power base in Britain, due to the fact that
the country was highly religious, and the gods could only be contacted
through the druids. The druids also acted as judges in many legal
matters. They were seen as a threat by Caesar and Agricola, who both
launched campaigns on their headquarters in Anglesey.
To conclude, the literary evidence that exists of the Celts that was
written by Roman authors gives a fairly detailed image of the Celtic
lifestyle, although it is, naturally, subject to an amount of bias.
Archaeology has supported a large amount of the evidence given to us
by the Romans, and therefore it is at least possible that to a large
extent, the assertions of the Roman authors were fairly truthful.
The hostile and boisterous nature of Celtic warriors is depicted in tales of the Ulster Cycle, and hence explains common practices between characters and Celtic warriors. The Celt’s temper is illustrated in the tales of the Ulster Cycle: “the love of feasting and drinking, the boastful and quarrelsome nature of Celtic warriors and their love of spectacle and feats are daring and amply illustrated in these hero tales . . . these customs closely mirror the tales of the Ulster Cycle . . . in which the champion’s portion are central themes” (403-404). Cu Chulainn exemplifies the Celtic warrios’ loud and rambunctious behavior. The Tain is the most notorious mythology in the Ulster Cycle and illustrates through Cu Chulainn the ideal warrior and the champion’s portion that is so valued in the ancient Celtic warrior society. Simon Young in “Celtic Myths: Celtic History” argues that “recent research on early Celtic culture suggests that legends might be able to offer us a privi...
His motive was to bring justice to the peoples of Gaul who he claimed had been of threat to Italy. Caesar even claimed that “Rome was a victim of unprovoked aggression” as a result of the Helvetii’s actions. Where he said that Rome was obliged to punish them for their crimes. Caesar’s rhetoric continues to view the Germans as hostiles for crossing the Rhine River into Gaul. Regardless that the area crossing is further north of Italy he viewed them as a threat. As Caesar continued his campaign into Belgae, the people sought to respond to what they had seen as aggression due to Caesar’s occupation of their territories. Caesar justified this as a threat to Rome. Likewise Caesar made similar accusations of hostilities from Britain that they had supported the enemy, yet stated that only traders had travelled between Gaul and Britain. Caesar’s motive to conquer Gaul can be further seen through the responses and reactions of the Gallic people to his advance through the
In this paper it will tell and describe almost everything about Celtic warriors. This paper will have the different weapons and armor that the Celtics used in combat. Also, there will be information about the different fighting tactics that they used on the battle field. And you cannot know these things without knowing the origin of the Celtic cross and how it came about. In conclusion this is what this essay will be teaching.
Despite being an immediate bestseller, shortly after publishing, Edward Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire became unpopular with large groups of the British reading public. The abridged edition consecutively presents the stories behind the Empire’s leadership and course of action. Gibbon revivifies the complex and compelling period of the Romans by detailing the prosperous conditions of the empire, the decline, and the aftermath of the fall. At the same time, Gibbon efficiently scrutinizes the declining virtue of the Roman people. Gibbon made an argument that the intellectual inflexibility of the Roman Empire had declined into “barbarism” and “Christianity,” which ultimately attributed to the fall of the Empire. Many ideas in international politics may have the best foundations for evidence but quickly go out of style. The ideas behind Gibbon’s Decline did just that. Many authors attribute the decline of the Roman Empire to military and economic characteristics rather than virtuous leadership and characteristics. Because Gibbon takes a humanist approach in describing decline, he undermines legitimate factors that modern political scientists would evaluate. Gibbon wrote in a paradigm that has little value for modern political science and as such, is a really bad idea. His idea- the decline of the Roman virtue having consequences beyond structural factors- is, in effect, an idea that should not be used for anything except teaching the definition of virtue and reviewing history. Because of the paradigm going out of style, The Decline would not have survived with merit had it not been for the intriguing anecdotes and tales of the many characters.
"The Anglo Saxons appear as a race of fierce, cruel, and barbaric pagans, delighting in the seas, in slaughter, and in drink "(Allen, 17). The character of the ancient Saxons displayed the qualities of fearless, active, and successful. The Anglo-Saxons are mostly a barbaric race, not savage and rude but mostly military and...
Legends relate that settlers from Greek Asia Minor sailed the seas, and arrived in Ireland at Cruachan Feli, the ‘mountain of Ireland.’ After some time, the tribe of the Scotii crossed the Irish Sea to invade Caledonia, north of Roman Britain, and settled in Iona. Supposedly, the tribe had been named after Scota, the Egyptian wife of a Spartan commander Nél. This just one of several legends behind the Gaelic invasion of the land of the Picts. Sometimes Scota is described as being the sister of the Egy...
One of the most interesting things about fairytales is how the author has borrowed ideas from ancient myths and legends and kept them alive in their writings. The Princess and the Goblin is one of these fairytales. In writing this novel, George MacDonald has incorporated much of the folk tradition in his characters and plot. Specifically, his concept of goblins seem to be drawn from the tradition of dwarfs, gnomes, and kobolds of Germanic myth and the fairies, or elves, of Celtic myth.
What is known of Rome’s early history today is relatively restricted. This is because a majority of documents from that era of time have been destroyed or lost. The only reliable source of information on Rome’s early history was Titus Livius Patavium, otherwise known as Livy, with his piece, The Early History of Rome. He writes on the history of Rome in order to preserve her older glory, and provide a warning to be aware of the repetition of past mistakes.
Markale, Jean. The Celts, Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture. Rochester, VT. Inner Traditions. 1993.
Because the most reliable resources of evidence on Druidism, their own written scripts, cannot be found we can only make assumptions and Julius Caesar also spoke of this when stating “the Druids think it is not right to entrust their teachings to written script, though they use the Greek alphabet in almost all other matters, including public and private accounts.” (1) The real reasons for this are also unknown, but according to Julius Caesar, two assumptions can be made, “It seems to me that this (not writing their teachings down) is for two reasons. They do not want their teachings to be available to the general public and they also do not want those who are studying to rely more on writing than on their memories.”(1) However, despite the lack of reliable information, we can assume that Druids were ancient priests, who led Celtic Britain and other European regions into nature-based rituals. Among the ancient Celts, Druids were members of the highly respected ‘professional’ class, where the spiritual life of the Druids and their society’s religious life was incorporated. Among the Druids were doctors, judges, philosophers, priests, seers and other intellectuals of their culture who possessed the knowledge, both religious and philosophical. The meaning and the origins of the word “Druid” is not clearly known. In Old Irish, ‘drui’ was the singular form of ‘Druid’, and through the scholar Rudol Turneysen, a Druid was understood as a person with great knowledge. This was because, Turneysen derived the prefix ‘dru’ and ‘vid’ from old Irish, which meant ‘through’ and ‘know’. Other early classical writers had different ideas, such as Pliny, who related to ‘drus’ from the Greek word for ‘oak’ and through the word “Druid” became to mean a ...
Questions- What were the three areas in which the Romans made lasting contributions to Western Civilization?
The Roman conquest of England in 43 AD, coinciding with the introduction of Christian values, the alphabet and writing utensils was the start of a new Era. Missionaries sent by the Roman Pope to England influenced the pagan values of the native Britanie, as exemplified in their literature. Anglo-Saxons, whom contributed the features of a literary Epic, were torn between pagan beliefs and Christian values as their predecessors had been. The first literary Epic, Beowulf, illustrates the struggle between these two ideologies, as well as contributes the sought after values of heroism. The Eaters of the Dead also demonstrates this struggle between cultures, playing off Beowulf in theme. Excalibur, the Arthurian Legend, depicts the final battle between Christian and pagan belief, Christianity winning out in the end. Epics such as these express their values through heroic acts and support William Shakespeare's quote; "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them."
Roman mythology applies to the religious system, and origins of ancient Rome. These attributes are found through the art and literature that the Romans provide. Although, the Romans have supernatural elements they still proceeded to treat their traditional stories historically. The Romans focused on how a person contributes to the Roman community, and merely concentrate on politics and morality. Catholicism is one of the most common known religions. Catholicism focuses on the traditions, and values of the Christian churches. The two main things that differentiate Roman mythology, and modern day catholicism is their: beliefs and religion.
The ancient Romans are known for placing value in a virtue called gravitas. To possess this virtue, a Roman must be disciplined and obedient, be physically strong, and be loyal to Rome. The Romans also valued empirical reasoning and logic over decisions based on emotions. In addition to these moral and physical standards for men, the Romans also stressed the importance of social standing. Money and power, especially political power, were coveted by all Romans. In the eyes of the Romans, a model man would possess great wealth, hold a significant position in the government or military, and have a strong mind and body. The great Roman poet Catullus defied these expectations for a Roman man in almost every sense, challenging the values and mindset
With the decline and fall of the western empire, the classical age of Rome came to a close as disease, warfare and corruption conspired to bring about the downfall of an ailing empire that had once conquered the known world. Where once enlightened despots had ruled a debauched and unwieldy polity, now barbarians stood over the ruins of a once thriving metropolis. In its absence a new world would arise with new values and ideals. Turning their back on a pagan past the Christian children of these wild men from the north would spawn the greatest houses of future European nobility, and when they looked back for a legacy, they would not see their ancestors as pillagers picking at the bones of a defiled Rome, but instead as its trusted guardians, partnering with the Church to carry her legacy through the “Dark Ages”.