CELTIC WARRIORS: The Ancient Celts of Europe,

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: The Ancient Celts of Europe

Brief Background & the Hallstatt Culture

This history of the Ancient Celts, Warriors, weapons and their early society, including their battles, is intended as an overview, not a complete history. These mini-articles about the Ancient Celtic Warriors, their arms, armor and their historical development over time. The first example comes from the early Celtic Hallstatt culture. I thought it might be helpful to all to first very briefly summarize Celtic development and give a concise explanation of the various Celtic periods before giving examples of their equipment, battles and exploits. So what follows first is a short summary of early Celtic culture and terminology. Coming chapters will give details on Celtic warriors, battles and migration to all areas. In later chapters, we will learn of Celtic warriors in Greece, Egypt, Rome, Gaul, Britain, the Picts, Scots, Irish and Romano-Britons (Welsh realted) and some of their decisive moments in history and battle.This, I believe, will get even more interesting as we get deeper into the chapters. Please feel free to explore ahead.

Beginnings - general background

The Celts dominated mid and Western Europe for a thousand years. But it is only recently that the importance of Celtic influence on the cultural, linguistic and artistic development of Europe. The Celts as an identifiable race or ethnic group have long since disappeared, except in places such as Ireland and the Scottish Highlands, and to an extent in Wales and Brittany. The image at right shows an ancient engraving from the period of three Hallstatt era warriors and was found in Austria.

The Celts transmitted their culture orally, never writing down history or facts. This accounts for the extreme lack of knowledge about them prior to their contact with the classical civilizations of Greece and Rome. They were generally well educated in metalworking, husbandry and other life pursuits, even on topics such as religion, philosophy, geography and astronomy. The Romans often employed Celtic tutors for their sons according to one Roman historian. This must have bristled the Roman pride and as the Roman Empire grew in power and prestige, these tutors were replaced with other cultures, the Romans considering the Celts too barbaric to be educating their young.

The bravery of the Celts in battle is legendary. They often spurned body armour, going naked into battle. Celtic society was typically more equal in terms of gender roles. Women were on more or less equal footing as men, being accomplished warriors, merchants and rulers.

Early Europe

The first human settlers in Europe were Paleolithic hunter/gatherer tribes. At the end of the last ice age (some 10000 years ago) they began adopting an agrarian lifestyle. This occurred over 2500 years during the Mesolithic era. These agricultural societies began making clay pots around the year 5000 BC, the beginning of the Neolithic period. The Neolithic lasts until about 2500 BC (until this is revised). During this time we have no knowledge of the race or language of these early Europeans. It is not known if they spoke an Indo-European language or still the pre-Indo-European tongues. Little is known of the Bronze Age (2500 - 800 BC) either, the race character of the people is unknown, but since the first Greek migration occurred in 1800 BC at least some of the people now spoke an Indo-European language. It is not known if this was motivated by Indo-European migrations out of Russia, or if Europe as a whole underwent cultural evolution at the same time to become Indo-European. Many theories, and that is all they can be, account for the influx of people speaking what we classify as Indo-European tongues, the mother languages of most all, if not all, European languages. Whatever the make up of the Bronze Age population, they formed the basis of the early Iron Age cultures. The first of these was the Hallstatt Culture, now clearly viewed as one of the earliest Celtic cultures.

The Hallstatt Culture

Hallstatt in Austria

This was the first of the Iron Age cultures. The western regions of this culture, between France and West Germany, already spoke a Celtic language. Circa 600 BC the Greek geographer Herodotus writes of the Celts dwelling beyond "the pillars of Hercules" (i.e. Gibraltar, Spain) and the Upper Danube. The name "Celt" possibly comes from the dominant tribe of the Hallstatt, or the dominant word for their language, and became a unifying concept for the whole culture. "Celt" is what the people called themselves, or what has been suggested that they referred to themselves as when talking to the Greeks as the "Keltoi". There are some varying opinions on this; some experts taking the position that the name 'Celt' was given to them by the Greeks, and not visa-versa. However, at least one Greek historian himself claims this is what they called themselves. Perhaps we will never be certain. Regardless of who called whom 'Celt' initially, that is now the accepted generic name for the peoples that inhabited much of Europe before Rome was more than a tiny trading town.

Warriors & equipment of the Hallstatt Culture.

Hallstatt Domain


Hallstatt is a village near Salzburg in Austria, and the ancient Celtic burial places discovered there in the 19th century have given their name to this earliest period of Celtic domination in Europe, which lasted from the 7th to early 5th centuries BC. The name of the village, like many other European sites, such as Halle and Hallein, indicates the presence of a salt mine and underscores the importance this played in prehistoric trading. Salt was a great source of wealth to the prehistoric warlord and his community. It preserved food, made it taste better, and could be traded across Europe for other goods. The impressive preservative quality of the mineral was clearly demonstrated when the body of a dead salt miner, after being excavated from an old collapsed tunnel, showed little trace of decay.

Hallstatt settlement at Hochhugel
The Celtic warriors of central Europe grew rich through the salt trade, and their power and influence expanded from the Danube along the Rhine into France and southern Germany. Bronze, made of easily combined tin and copper, was the dominant metal in the early part of this period, being superseded by the locally available iron that added to Celtic wealth. Farming was fully developed, but raiding was regularly carried out. This behavior was reflected much later in Irish and Highland Scottish society with cattle raids and counter raids. The southern Scots, generally known as the Borderer's, developed 'reiving' to a fine and sometimes bloody art, although it is usually the Highlanders that get tagged with the dubious honor of cattle thieves. These early Celtic raids brought in additional livestock, as well as slaves, which could be traded (along with salt and iron) to the sophisticated city-cultures of Italy and Greece to the south, providing the Celts with wine and luxury goods. It was an era of expansion for the Celts, one in which their martial culture had little serious opposition, and they soon come to dominate much of western Europe, though their constant intertribal feuding prevented them from forming any kind of organised empire. Another factor that hampered the Celts from forming empires to compete with Greece and later Rome was the simplicity of Celtic life. They didn't build grand cities that would accommodate large populations and generate vast amounts of trade. Rather, they preferred a rural lifestyle and trade was sufficient enough to keep them supplied with exotic goods from the south. In plain terms, the Celts were not inclined to be grand city builders - not because they did not have the technology - because they didn't seem to want it. They lived a very free and ranging lifestyle and the wide-open spaces of Europe were keener to their preferences than a large metropolis.

Hallstatt Warrior chieftains


The affluent warriors of the Hallstatt period of this Celtic age, especially warlords and their followers, were opulent and extravagant. Bronze and iron are combined for both decoration and strengthening weapons. Examples of ornate helmets of such warriors wore crested, domed bronze helmets that is typical of the earliest Celtic helmets found in central Europe, such as near Possou in Bavaria, and which are associated with the Urnfield culture of about 1000 BC. This type of helmet changed little over subsequent centuries and influenced other cultures such as the Etruscans. Armour could be a bronze breastplate decorated with repousse studs, and a ranking warrior's bronze sword had the distinctive 'sloping shoulders' cross guard typical of all Celtic swords in this early period.

Early classical writers describe the woolen clothes of the Celts as 'checkered' or 'multi-colored' and this has been interpreted as almost an early form of tartan, although the word 'tartan' itself has a much more modern connotation. A much more accurate term might be the early plaid. A fur pouch, purse or 'sporran' further foreshadows Celtic cultures to come.

In one such grave-find from this period, a warlord wore a bronze band of armour around his waist, protecting his entire lower mid-section at the cost of some mobility. Wide battle belts are often featured in Celtic myth, as are battle aprons. Certainly it is a development similar to the belt hangings later worn by the Roman soldiers of the early Imperial period, but the Celtic variety was apparently a decorative object that served little protective purpose. His sword had an iron blade that swells out towards the tip. Hallstatt swords could be very big and long, suggesting they were mainly used as slashing weapons, largely from horseback or chariots. This is quite different from the traditional short stabbing swords of the Romans and even the Greeks. A bronze dagger found bears a hilt with two rounded horns, typical of 'spiral antennae'; common decorations of the period.

In another find the warrior carried a boar standard, a familiar emblem throughout the ancient Celtic period, and his iron helmet bore feather wings. Animal myths featured strongly in Celtic legend and clearly some association with the powers of animals is intended here. Leading warriors were believed to transform from their human form into that of a monster that possessed animalistic powers as a result of a battle rage. This belief was also found in later cultures such as that of the Vikings, with their infamous 'Berserkers', from which we get the modern word - berserk. There is also a long tradition of feathers being worn by hunter warriors in eastern Europe, culminating in the Polish Winged Hussars of the 17th and 18th centuries. He also wore a padded tunic (later called quilted tunic - simple armour) decorated with bronze studs, and a hexagonal shield was resting against his leg bones. Long body shields appear to have been inspired by early Italian examples, but no one is quite certain who inspired the Italian examples.

 

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: Ancient Celtic Warriors of the La Tene

The La Tene Culture

The classic Celtic culture, the La Tene, is named after Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland where a large amount of weaponry from this culture was found last century. This culture began around 450 BCE.

The Celtic Homelands

The original Celtic homeland was an area of Austria, near southern Germany. From here they expanded over much of continental Europe and Britain.

At their peak, the Celts ranged from Ireland and Spain to Turkey. A brief rundown on some of the regions is helpful here:

• England, Scotland and Ireland

Iron Age Celtic home

The name Britain derives from Celtic. The Greek author Pytheas called them the "Pretanic Isles" which derived from the inhabitants name for them, Pritani. This was mistranslated into Latin as "Britannia" or "Brittani". The Celts migrated to Ireland from Europe, conquering whoever where the original inhabitants. In clashes with the Romans around the River Clyde (Scotland) a tribe called the "Scotti" came to prominence. Later the Scotti moved from Northern Island to establish the Kingdom of Dalriada in Argyll, on the West coast of Scotland. From here the Scots expanded and supplanted the Picts, a Celtic people who arrived in Scotland earlier. Ireland was never invaded by the Romans and retains what some believe is probably the language closest to the original Q-Celtic, Irish Gaelic. There is much disagreement on any one language representing "Celtic" since the Celts were so widespread and varied in not only area but in some cases race. The Celts of Spain are said to have been darker skinned, suggesting a mixture of Celtic culture with a local one. Most, however, are described a fair-haired and large. The average Roman warrior was about 5' 7, the Celts tended to be closer to 6' tall.

•France

Modern France is a composite of many earlier peoples. The Celts settled there and the largest tribe, called the "Galli" by the Romans, gave their name to the region and people, the Gauls. The Gauls were heavily involved in the invasions of Northern Italy. When the Roman Empire expanded, many of the Gaulish (the preferred spelling is now 'Gallic', not to be confused with the language, Gaelic), tribes fled, but some stayed and became romanised, losing the Celtic language.

Later a Germanic tribe, the Franks, invaded the area and settled. The Franks gave their name to the region but adopted the language and customs of the people. Thus France was primarily a Celtic people, speaking a Romance language in a country with a Germanic name. The ethnic make-up of the French people is varied and certainly the Celtic strain is still present, but much overrun by other, later Germanic tribes.

•Belgium

Belgium is similar in situation to France. The dominant tribe, the Belgae, gave their name to the region. The Romans later conquered them.

•Galatia

There is much speculation about these distant Celts, and is summarized as follows: The Galatians of the New Testament (as mentioned in the Bible) may have been a Celtic tribe that migrated through the Balkans. They pillaged as they moved and attacked, but were defeated by the Greeks and eventually moved into what is now modern Turkey, founding Galatia. They were destroyed and assimilated by the Turks early in the first millennium AD or CE.

La Tene Origins and Warriors

La Tene means 'the shallows', and it was in the shallow part of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland that Celtic warriors made offerings to the gods in the shape of swords and other weapons. (Human skeletons have also been found, suggesting perhaps that the gods wanted human sacrifices as well). Between 1906 and 1917, many of these objects were uncovered, giving the name of La Tene to the period of Celtic activity from the 5th to the lst centuries BCE.

Map of Celtic migrations and tribes (Click to see larger)

[Click the Map to see in full, with details]

The main difference between the Celts of this period and those of the earlier Halstatt era is a change in their burial rites and a rise and the development of mail. Warlords were now buried in light two-wheeled chariots rather than heavy four-wheeled wagons. The use of chariots is somewhat of a puzzle in Celtic warfare. The terrain of central Europe is not suited for chariot warfare as practiced in the ancient Middle East, when lines of chariots would be used to break masses of foot soldiers, with archers and light infantry using them as mobile platforms. Caesar describes them taking part in battle, but more as demonstrations of military prowess in the prelude to contact, with chariot teams dismounting to fight. It also seems likely that chariots were used by leading warriors and warlords in a similar manner to that of the heroic warriors of Homeric Greece, who would use them for a grand arrival on the battlefield but would dismount to fight, or in the case of the Celts, mount their horses to fight. These chariots were then used at the end of the conflict for either a speedy pursuit of a defeated enemy or a rapid flight. Cuchulainn, ancient Irish hero of "The Tain", used chariot covered with spikes and barbs to burst upon his enemies 'like a thunderstorm'. But they are mentioned by some Roman historians as having run up and down the front lines of the Celtic warriors (such as at Mons Grapius - see battle history), the driver intent on showing off Celtic bravado while another warrior would run up and down the axel hurling insults and javelins at the enemy.

Celtic Warlords of the La Tene
by Angus McBride


The Celtic warriors of the La Tene period, as visualized by Angus McBride, are armed with weapons similar to those found in Lake Neuchatel, including broad-bladed spears and long, iron slashing swords. Bronze body Armour and helmets were worn alongside large oval shields made of oak planks reinforced with a central wooden spine and bronze or iron bosses. The remains of such shields have been found in the shallows of the lakes. While the bronze armour worn by early Celts is thought to have been influenced by southern cultures such as the Mycenaean Greeks, the Romans credited the Celts with the invention of mail armour (in reality a form of mail known as ring armour). Iron rings were fixed together to form an interlocking tunic, with extra layers of mail secured across the shoulders to reinforce it and protect it from the downward blows of swords. Examples of Celtic mail are very rare, and it is only through the Romans, who copied its use widely, that the Celtic origin for this breakthrough in armor can be sustained.

From a decorative, artistic rendering of Celtic warriors of this period by artist, Angus McBride, the Celts wore very distinctive helmets. One can only be described as looking Persian in that it comes from a conical shape to a sharp point, similar to an upside down "V". Another has a less severe point on top and has even covered his metal helm with a fringed leather covering. The "Leaf-bladed" swords are long, about 3 feet, the shields longer. The artist includes and hunting (war dog) tagging the small party and two sport large bronze cuirass's, a bronze covering of crude plate armour which fits entirely around the torso giving maximum protection at the expense of mobility. The social elite of the tribes, including the local chiefs, would only have used this. Ring armour as described above is also shown and all wear leather or animal skin leggings to about knee height, wrapped and tied the length of the calf. One even wears a leather "purse" around his waist, an early type of sporran.

Often armed with strong iron swords and spears, La Tene Celts swept across Europe, supplanting their own earlier cultures and taking by storm almost every corner of the ancient Mediterranean world. They rode into Spain, Italy, and Greece and even passed into Asia, where they established the Celtic state of Galatia in Asia Minor, present-day Turkey. Celts continued westward and also took control of France, Britain, and Ireland, devastating the aboriginal inhabitants with their superior military technology and use of horses. The stage was now set for their conflict with the only other military culture that matched them for ferocity and efficiency --the armies of Rome.

 

La Tene Hillforts

Celtic helmet of the period
Hillforts were the centers of power of the great Celtic tribes and their warriors. Existing in Western Europe before the arrival of the Celts, they nevertheless made these awesome defensive positions very much their own. The building of hillforts accelerated and the fortifications became more complex. To simple ramparts of earth and wood were added facing walls of sheer stone, the rubble infilling being braced with cross-timbers. On top of this were placed timber palisades with walkways and platforms from which they could fight. Also, towers were located at regular intervals. Sometimes, whether by accident or intentionally, the wood and rubble interior of the ramparts would be set on fire. This resulted in a kind of vitrification of the stone by which it fused into one solid mass.

The biggest hillforts had several ramparts and palisades ringing the community inside with a complex entrance of gateways cut through the earth mounds. These were sometimes protected by additional flanking guard chambers, wooden bridges overhead, or outworks to prevent a direct attack on the gate.

In Britain, the most impressive surviving Iron Age hill fort, which is now called Maiden Castle, is located near Dorchester.

A 47-acre site defended by three massive oval ramparts, its history began 5,000 years ago as a Neolithic camp. As the centuries passed, more and more earth was dug up and piled into ramparts. The hillfort reached its present giant state in the first century B.C.E. when the Celtic tribe of the Durotriges occupied it. A hundred years later, the Romans invaded Britain and the Second Augustan Legion under Vespasian assaulted it. A tremendous battle followed, and the remains of weapons and burnt timbers have been uncovered there. Many skeletons, which have also been unearthed, reveal bones cut with swords and, in one case, a backbone with an arrowhead inserted in it.

Celts, with fort in background

The most famous Celtic hill fort, however, must be that of Alesia near Dijon in central France. It was here in 52 B.C.E. that Caesar confronted Vercingetorix, the great Gallic warlord. Alesia was an impregnable hill fort on a plateau above the countryside, surrounded on three sides by deep ravines with rivers running through them. Wooden palisades on top of earth mounds completed the defense. Caesar could see it would be impossible to take this awesome fortress by assault. Instead, he decided on a siege, but Vercingetorix could call upon other Celtic tribes to support him and lead counterattacks, crushing the Romans between two forces. Therefore, Caesar embarked on a massive building project of his own, erecting one ring of fortifications eleven miles long aimed at Vercingetorix and another bigger ring of fortifications to protect himself against any relief force. With this in place, Caesar settled into a siege. Though Celtic forces came to Vercingetorix's aide, Caesar defeated them piece by piece until eventually the Gallic warlord was forced to concede defeat. With this end, Caesar had effectively conquered Celtic France. Thus, Celtic hill forts symbolized the power of the Celts but also proved their eventual downfall. For more detail on Vercingetorix, please see:

Vercingetorix: Gallic Warrior

The senior warriors of this time wore typical arms and armour of the La Tene period. The chieftain might wear a bronze cone helmet similar to that found in Berru in Marne in France. It features an opening for a plume at the top and a slight neckguard at the rear. His scabbard was attached by an iron chain like those found in Champagne in France. In another find, one chieftain wore decorative brooches to secure his cloak. Typical of La Tene metalwork, they could be either cut-out metal, inlaid with enamel, or gilded. Aside from native-made decoration, the Celts also had access to Greek or Latin objects, or some from even further afield like those made by the steppe peoples, through their extensive trade networks. The Celts favoured plumes and crests for their metal helmets, but they also wore helmets made of softer materials, such as leather, which have not survived.

The Celts & the Etruscans collide

The Celts were at the peak of their power in central Europe in the 4th century BC, and their warriors were hungry for conquests. One potential area that attracted their interest was the rich agricultural land beyond the Alps in northern Italy that was watered by the Po river, but this region was held by the Etruscons. The Etruscans themselves were a martial race who had expanded over much of Italy, attacking the Greek settlements in the south and adopting many aspects of Greek warfare. Celtic penetration of northern Italy had begun peaceably as trade grew between the two cultures, but by the early 4th century their interest had turned into raiding, and then full-scale invasion. The picture above right (by Angus McBride) shows Celtic warriors attacking an Etruscan soldier.

The lnsubres grabbed territory in Lombardy where the town of Melpum, near Milan, fell to them around 396 BC. The Boli drove further into Italy, giving their name to Bononia, now known as Bologna. The Etruscan settlement of Marzabotto was sacked, and in its cemetery have been found iron swords typical of the La Tene period. Felsina held out until 350 BC when it too fell after a struggle between its Etruscan defenders and the Celtic raiders. Commemorated on a tombstone, this battle is depicted as combat between Etruscons on horseback dressed in Greek fashion against naked Celts on foot, who are armed with swords and large oval shields. By the end of the century, Etruscan power had been shattered in northern Italy, and the region became known in Latin as Cisalpine Gaul. But the Celts had not finished. Their warriors rode even further south to confront the Romans, who were not yet a major military power. At Allia, a Roman army was overwhelmed by the wild charge of a band of Celts. With their formations broken up, the Romans found themselves outclassed by the bigger, stronger Celts, whose long swords outreached their short stabbing blades. Following the collapse of the Roman force, the Celts advanced on Rome and sacked the city. The Celt leader, Brennus, demanded his weight in gold. It was an outrage the Romans would never forget or forgive.

The Romans learned much from the Celts and transformed their warfare as a result. They adopted Celtic mail armor, oval shields and Celtic helmet types, such as the peaked coolus. They learned to weaken the Celtic charge with a volley of javelins and then use their shields to take the full weight of the Celtic slashing swords, while they stabbed at their enemies guts. Eventually, a hundred years later, the Romans turned the tables on the Celts and invaded northern Italy. In one confrontation, a Roman general was challenged to single combat by the leader of the lnsubres, a traditional Celtic form of heroic warfare. The Roman general rode forward into the killing zone between the two assembled armies. Virdomarus, the north Italian Celtic leader, bellowed that he had been born from the waters of the Rhine and would make quick work of the Roman invader. He kicked his horse into action and hurled his spear at the Roman who threw his javelin as the Celt charged towards him. Both spears missed their targets, and the two warlords clashed with sword and shield, each side cheering their leader on, but the duel came to a sudden end. The Roman's sword slashed the Celt's throat, and his bent, golden torc fell to the ground. By 225 BC, at the battle of Telamon, the last independent Celtic tribe in northern Italy had been defeated, and the region became part of the emerging Roman Empire.

Brennos the Celt vs the Greeks

In 279 BCE, the Celts were living an ambitious lifestyle, one that would eventually lead them to war. Just north of the Danube, they'd traveled south, pillaged Thrace and Macedonia and even killed the Macedonian king, heir to the legacy of Alexander the Great. The Macedonian empire had just undergone a break up, one that left them vulnerable to attack. Brennos, the leader of the Celtic tribes, had a plan. Whether or not the tales or war an atrocity by Celts on Greeks was deserved, it served the purpose it was probably designed for: the Greeks forgot about their squabbles and joined forces.

Celtic Warriors and Warlords

The clash of forces would come at a place already made famous for battles: Thermopylae. 200 years earlier, a Greek army, badly outnumbered, had fought the Persian invaders in a bitter last stand in the Pass of Thermopylae. In order to stall, the Greeks sent detachments of horse warriors to destroy all the bridges to the River Spercheius, thus slowing or stopping the Celtic advance. Brennos, not to be denied his plunder of rich Greek cities, sent some of his Celtic warriors to cross the river in slower waters. Swimming in the inky black water at night, using their shields as rafts where needed, the Celts made their way to shore. Somehow, the Greeks were forewarned, and they made their escape, going back to Thermopylae to mount a defense. Brennos forced the local population to rebuild the bridge. The Celts plundered Heracleia whilst they waited for the bridge to be completed. A little over a week later, at sunrise, the Greeks made the first move. The geographic location of the battle site mandated it would be a clash of the foot soldier, as the ground was rocky and full of streams. Horse warriors would have to dismount to fight.

The Greeks began the attack but where surprised by the ferocity of the Celtic army. Celts, fighting naked and unarmored, except for shields, would sometimes draw out the spears from their wounded bellies, and throw it back at the Greeks. This was going to be a brutal fight. Sling-stones and large bolts from Greek ballista (a large early crossbow the size of a horse), shot from triremes patrolling the river, assaulted the Celts every movement. The Greek defenses held the first day and the numbers of dead and wounded among the Celtic warriors was high. Brennos called in a clever diversion. He sent horsemen off to the neighboring region, Aetolia, with instructions to plunder. As they did, and as Brennos anticipated, word soon got back to the Greek camp of Celtic raiders in Aetolia. Soon, the portion of the Greek army that was from that area, were breaking out of the Greek camp to defend their homeland. The local Greeks were infuriated by this desertion but could do little to prevent it, short of killing their allies. Locals, angry at what they saw as freebooters, soon showed Brennos's men the nooks and crannies of the paths used by the Persians 200 years earlier, to outflank the Greeks. Early the next morning the Celts came flooding through the Pass, taking the Greeks completely by surprise. Fighting a rear-guard action, and withdrawing, the Greeks managed to get most of their warriors on Athenian ships, or it would have been a total rout. Thermopylae belonged to the Celts.

Brennos sacking Delphi

Almost from the moment the Celts, under Brennus, advanced upon Greece, it was if the gods of Olympus revealed their wrath to the invaders. One main goal was to take Delphi, the site of the ancient oracle of the Greeks. Suddenly earthquakes cracked and splintered the land out from under the Celts. Great rocks tumbled down from Mt. Parnassus and bottomless crags opened up. Thunder crashed all around the Celtic forces, as if Zeus himself was slinging down his rage. It is said Celtic warriors were caught by bolts from the sky, engulfing them in heavenly fire. Amidst the chaos, strange and weird shapes of ghosts in amour -- the dead of Greek battles -- arose and harried the Celtic invaders. As Delphi came into view, these supernatural forces were joined by the very real force of the Greek army. The local Phocians, using guerilla tactic, hid, but threw javelins and shot arrows down upon the Celtic ranks, sending them into disorder. Despite the onslaught, the Celts fought remarkably well. But that night, battered and exhausted, a panic spread through their camp. The Celts envisioned enemies on all sides and in the darkness and confusion, Celt killed Celt. Many were killed before order could be restored. The next day the Greek army chased the bedraggled Celts back to Heracleia, almost where they started. Brennos, already wounded and disheartened, took his own life and the Celts were harried all the way back to their own lands - that is, those that made it back.

This is the semi-legendary account of what happened to the first Celtic invasion of the great city-state of Greece. Of course, we aren't certain what happened and this account comes from a heroic tale written by the Greeks many years later.

Archaeology and science suggests something very different. According to more recent examinations of the history, as noted by authors Tim Newark and Gerhard Helm; The Celtic raid on Delphi did not fall short or end in dismal rout. The Roman historian, Livy, writes a very different account of the pillage of Delphi while Strabo even suggests that treasure found in a Celtic lake at Toulouse originated from Delphi. This would indicate that the Celts may have indeed taken the city and extracted some of its treasures before leaving. This does not sound like a disorderly and panicked withdrawal. Moreover, after satisfying themselves in Delphi they made their way to Byzantium (now Constantinople) and fought as mercenaries for the king of Bithynia. Then they advanced further into Asia Minor, now Turkey, and established themselves in a territory formerly belonging to the Phrygians near modern-day Ankara. The lands became known as Galatia and the descendants of those Celts continued to terrorize Asia Minor for over a hundred years, extracting tributes from lands as distant as Syria.

The author of the version of Greek-god intervention was Pausanias. In addition, he is guilty of the standard cultural cliché of the Celts: badly armed, poorly trained, near-naked savages barely out of the Stone Age; but somehow noble savages. Sound familiar? This is almost word-for-word the same description we get of the Highlanders in the 14th-18th centuries.

So how did the stereotype of the Celts get so accepted by historians right up to the previous century? We shall look at that and more Celtic Warriors soon. But first, the Celts take on the mighty Greek empire.

CELTIC WARRIORS: Ancient Celts in service of Egypt

Celtic Warrior Chieftains preparing for battle

After the Sack of Delphi under Brennos, the Celts retreated to Macedonia where many of them remained, living off the land. Some of them grew greedy and decided to attack the camp of the wealthy Greek warlord Antigonus. It was a night attack, but the Celts found the Greek camp empty. They had been tricked. Antigonus decisively defeated them at the battle of Lysimacheia in the winter of 278 BCE. Realizing they were now no longer masters of Greece, the Celts let another adventure beckon them. A war band marched eastward towards Byzantium and crossed over the sea into Asia. Here, as mentioned before, they fought as mercenaries for the king of Bithynia before they moved further east to establish near modern Ankara, Turkey. This kingdom was known as Galatia and was the furthest east the Celts ever ventured from Europe. However, the Celts weren’t confined to just Europe, even excluding Galatia. They seemed to have been prized warriors as mercenaries in countries as far away as Egypt.

Celtic Mercenaries in Egypt - 3rd century BCE

A century before the Celts invaded Greece, they had served in the Greek armies as mercenaries, where their skill as horsemen had been particularly valued. Xenophon, a Greek chronicler and cavalry officer of the 4th century BC, describes their performance in the wars between the Greek city-states, in this instance against the Thebans:

"Few though they were, they were scattered here and there. They charged towards the Thebans, threw their javelins, and then dashed away as the enemy moved towards them, often turning and throwing more javelins. While pursuing these tactics, they sometimes dismounted for a rest. But if anyone charged upon them while they were resting, they would easily leap onto their horses and retreat. If enemy warriors pursued them from the Theban army, these horsemen would then turn around and wrack them with their javelins. Thus they manipulated the entire Theban army, compelling to advance or fall back at their will."

This is fascinating description of the Celts in battle, untainted of mythic visions of them as naked barbarians. Here, they seem to have the capability of performing as dragoons would in later centuries, acting as mounted light infantry, able to fight on horseback and on foot.

The reputation of the Celtic mercenaries extended as far as the Greek world and, following the collapse of Alexander the Great's empire, there were several Greek warlords ruling over kingdoms around the Mediterranean. In Egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty reigned, but it brought with it a dependency on Greek mercenaries. Sometimes this reliance could be exploited, and around 259 BC, Ptolemy II, who was on the verge of war with a rival, found his own Celtic troops had mutinied. They wanted to set up their own Celtic kingdom along the Nile. Ptolemy defeated them and took severe retribution. Those that were not killed were left on an island in the Nile to starve to death. This experience, however, did not prevent Ptolemy II from recruiting new Celtic mercenaries years later. In a drawing by Angus McBride (above right, used with permission), the Celtic mercenaries take in the sights of Egypt.

Ptolemy II and Ptolemy IV continued to recruit the Celts into their army, collecting them from Hellespont, the thin arm of sea between Asia and Europe, suggesting that many Celts remained in Macedonia after their defeat by the Greeks. One time, a groups of Celts had to be shipped back because they had become demoralized by an eclipse of the moon, believing this signified their defeat, and they refused to fight. On another occasion, the Celts proved decisive. At the battle of Raphia, a force of 4,000 Celtic horsemen fought with the Egyptian army against the Syrians, who also had some Celtic mercenaries in their ranks. As the battle raged, some of the Egyptians fled from the combat and the Syrians pursued them. But when the Syrian infantry became disorganized, Ptolemy saw his opportunity and sent his Celtic cavalry, who were never happier than with dealing with broken formations of foot soldiers. Xenophon recalls a similar opportunity when Celtic horsemen rode after fleeing Greeks, using their long swords to cut down the running foot soldiers.

The Celts, described as blonde and red-haired, tall and muscular, were again used by Ptolemy V to suppress a rebellion. Some Celtic graffiti has been found on the tomb of Seti I from the time of Ptolemy V. It reads,

"Of the Galatians, we Thoas, Callistratos, Acannon and Apollonios, came, and a fox we caught here."

The graffiti was written in perfect Greek, indicating that as part of their service they had mastered the language of the Greek-led Egyptian army. It is interesting to note that one of the Celts, or Galatians in this case, had a name derived from the Greek god Apollo, whose shrine they vandalized one hundred years earlier.

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: Caesar Invades Gaul

Celts from Gaul face-off against Julius Caesar, 1st century BC

Julius Caesar was the nemesis of the Celts in Europe. The most successful of the Roman warlords, he turned the tide of Celtic military dominance in the ancient world. Until his arrival, The Celts enjoyed unrivaled power in western and central Europe. After him, things would never be quite the same, and supporters of Celtic independence would retreat to the outskirts of Britain and Ireland, the region known today as the Celtic fringe. The bad news for the Celts arrived between 65 and 60 BCE when a German warlord named Ariovistas invaded the land of the Gauls (now France). At first the 'French' Celts tried to use the Germans to defeat their own Celtic rivals. Celtic inter-tribal warfare and blood feuds have always been the bane of Celtic peoples, and this would be used against them masterfully by Caesar (who coined " divide and conquer”) and later in history, the English would do the same.

The attempt to use the Germans to enact revenge on a rival Celtic tribe just gave them more power and encouragement. When things were bad, the Gauls made a very unwise and hasty decision: they turned to Rome to help with their "German problem". Julius Caesar leapt at the opportunity. He'd been searching for a good conquest to increase his power in Rome, and this intervention provided him with a golden opportunity. Never has the phrase " divide and conquer" been more appropriate. On invitation of the Celts, Caesar marched a Roman army into Gaul, thus beginning the conquest of the whole country. To understand Caesar's motives one needs to examine how Roman generals used the army to gain political power in this period of Roman history.

Around this time, the Roman army had become so powerful that the senate was almost a slave to the whims of the army. In order for an ambitious man (like Caesar) to gain absolute political dominance over his rivals (such as Pompey), a successful military campaign was the surest way to force your political rivals to bow to your power. Romans loved power, and although Pompey was also a strong general and political rival, Caesar was cunning and saw a victory in Europe - such as Gaul - as the perfect means of gaining absolute control. Gaul just happened to be the country he used to gain this power.

Caesar played Celtic tribe against Celtic tribe, even employing Celtic horsemen as mercenaries and winning weaker chieftains over to his side. It was only after he'd marched into the heart of the country that the Celts began to rally themselves. In the north of Gaul, a particularly fierce confederation of tribes known as the Belgae (from whence Belgium derives its name) stood in his way. Hardened by years of border warfare with the Germans, and possibly part German themselves, they were ferocious warriors, and Caesar took his time. He used Celtic horsemen allies to plunder the lands of the Belgae, thus weakening their resolve to confront him as they heard reports of their farms being ravaged by the Romans. Caesar dug in his main army behind entrenchments and waited for the skirmishing to take its toll, a strategy used by the Celts themselves centuries earlier in Greece. (See Brennos). It could be that Caesar had read of this in the classical texts he is known to have carried with him. But the world had never seem the kind of earthworks, walls, trenches and fortifications such as Caesar's Legions built now, leading to one historian to call the Roman war machine 'the bulldozing Legions'. The strategy worked. The supplies of the main Belgic army began to run out and their forces broke apart under the strain of attrition and constant raiding. Caesar now mobilized his main army, until now unused except for construction, and the Belgae were defeated piece by piece. Of course this strategy would not have worked if Caesar had not been able to maintain a steady supply line for his forces, and one can only wonder why other Celtic tribes did not come to the aid of the Belgae by raiding and destroying these supply lines. Had the Celts done so with their superior horsemen, Caesar would have been forced into a defensive mode. But alas, it did not happen.

Only one man saw what was going on: Vercingetorix of the Arverni (modern Auvergne) tried desperately to unite the Gauls against the common enemy. His defeat was inevitable, for the Gauls could not make common cause, after centuries of tribal independence. But Vercingetorix, a Celtic prince, was determined to resist at all costs. Initially, and with brilliant leadership, he routed a completely surprised Roman army when his horsemen charged down on an active Roman encampment. He had planned well using spies to determine when the guards changed and when the Romans were least organized. However, it was not a total victory for the Celts because the Romans had one of their toughest Legions nearby under the command of Caesar himself.

(For a full account of Vercingetorix, please visit
Vercingetorix history )

Vercingetorix kept busy despite the victory. His spies were convinced that Caesar intended to withdraw into Gallia Narbonensis to clear passes in Northern Italy that were blocked by a Celtic tribe (Allobroges). Caesar's forces, now receiving military support from some paid Germanic horsemen, were supposed to be on the march. To most Celts, it seemed like a perfect opportunity for ambush and victory. To Vercingetorix, it was a risk he would rather not take. But drunk with victory, his Celtic warriors would not be denied the chance, so they imagined, wiping out the Romans. The best Vercingetorix could do was to persuade them to instead attack key Roman positions, forcing them to abandon their baggage trains -- contending it would be a much more effective tactic. What he was hoping to do is obvious -- trying to prevent his hotheaded Celts from charging headlong into Roman spears.

All of Vercingetorix's cautions were thrown to the wind, however, as the Celts forgot all of his instruction, charged at whatever was in front of them. All that they had gained by slow methods in the long guerilla war and from cautious ambush was in jeopardy. Caesar did not miss this opportunity.

Allowing the Celts, in their battle furor, to engage the Romans in a pitched hand-to-hand battle, Caesar slowly began to encircle them in a pincer movement. Celtic confidence began to erode as their swords were shattered on Roman defenses; Celtic temperament broke on Roman discipline. It was obvious that any hope for a quick victory was over. Suddenly, Celtic lack of discipline and frustration seized Vercingetorix's army. It began to disperse in disarray and retreat. Discouraged horsemen went in all directions as the Romans moved forward.

Statue of Vercingetorix


Vercingetorix's warning had proved correct, but he was not able to capitalize on this for fear of alienating his already fragile alliance. Without much other choice, he began a hasty withdrawal -- and this was to be his fatal mistake - towards Alesia, where he and his army planned to hide behind its walls. The formidable Celtic fortress at Alesia would have deterred most generals from attempting a siege: not so Caesar, and his bulldozing Legions. First Caesar began to construct an outer wall around the entire city. Then, to the amazement of the Celts watching from their ramparts, Caesar began building a second set of walls closer in.

With single-minded determination and precision, he constructed the walls, displaying a zeal for perfectionism. The second wall, a double one, was filled with water from a nearby source. Then came a series of "man-traps" -- "iron caltrops, wholly buried" -- and carefully concealed holes in the ground, several feet deep and containing pointed stakes in the center that would easily impale. They were called "cippus" which is a combination of 'gravestone' and 'pointed pillar'. A third wall, far behind the others, was nine feet high and capped with tin and other breastworks. In addition, parallel to it was another similar wall, but facing towards the exterior of the city, not inwards. It was 15 miles long. The total effect was not only of the enclosure of Alesia, but also of Caesars own army, which surrounded it. It was constructed something like a layered cake: several layers (walls) and several areas of open space - a dead mans land - in between them, with the Celtic stronghold -- Alesia -- at the center.

It didn't take too long for the construction to have an effect: the Celts were running out of food. A war council was held to discuss options. Three ideas were obvious. One was surrender, but no one actually felt Vercingetorix should, or even would be allowed by his Celtic comrades, accept this option at this point. Another option was to make an attack - a sortie -- on Roman positions, but this seemed like suicide. Third, to wait until the end, was finally agreed. But this decision was not made until a fanatic anti-Roman Celt, Critognatus, suggested an alternative option: to eat the old people and "lengthen their lives with the bodies of those too old to fight" -- not surrender. Vercingetorix did not consider that option. Seemingly a rather cold but, probably a desperate move, they ordered the women and children, who were by now starving, out of the city into the no man's land. One hopes that the Celts expected the Romans to take the women and children hostage - or as slaves - and that they would at the very least be fed -- something the Celts could no longer do for them. Nevertheless, Caesar ordered his Legions to ignore the pleas of the women for shelter and food, and let them slowly starve to death in that no man's land in between the walls. It was a cruel act on both sides. But we should not judge the actions of a desperate army facing certain annihilation. Clearly, this is a black mark on Vercingetorix's reputation in history, but cruel treatment of civilians was not unusual in the ancient world.

What the Celts under Vercingetorix had been counting on to save them was a strike by other Celtic horsemen coming to their rescue. But Caesar's Legions, using the walls as both a shield and a weapon, repulsed the attempted relief of the siege. Placing his men, those on the outer walls -- on the inside now -- he was able to face the relieving forces and still keep Alesia surrounded. Not only that, but the walls served as tremendous protection from both Celtic fronts. It might be the only time in history that an army involved in a siege became a siege-target themselves and still maintain an advantage. It seems like Caesar must have foreseen this and it makes his intentions -- genius or insanity -- seem all the more plausible. The Celts could still evoke fear and dread in their opponents, but it was not sufficient to deter the Romans. After five long days of continued fighting, the Celtic leaders met to decide a course of action.

Finally, the time came when Vercingetorix had no more tricks up his sleeve and he surrendered himself to the Romans. We get two descriptions of this event. Caesar describes that Vercingetorix was "handed over" to him as well as some tribal chieftains.

Vercingetorix surrenders

The Greek historian Plutarch, born a century later, has it differently. He says that Vercingetorix put on his most colorful amour, had his horse carefully groomed and rode from his camp to Caesar. Once there, he rode a circle around Caesar, came down from his horse, removed his amour and surrendered himself at Caesar's feet. Dramatic? Probably. Also very Celtic in its romantic nature. Whatever the exact truth, Vercingetorix did surrender to Caesar, and the revolt in Gaul was over. Caesar was victorious despite the stiff resistance of the Celts and in a bizarre homage to Vercingetorix's courage, Caesar parades him around Rome in chains for the amusement of the Roman audience, then executes him by ritual strangulation for the adoring Roman fans.

With the death of Vercingetorix and the defeat of the Gauls at Alesia, Celts began to flee Gaul in large numbers. Many fled to the British Isles and settled in England, reforming their tribes there. They did not seem to learn that unity would be their only salvation against the might of the Roman Empire and continued their feuding and peripheral warfare in Britain. Some Gauls chose to align with the Germanic tribes instead of fleeing to Britain and thus many Celts were absorbed into German culture.

Legacy of the European Celts

Celtic Charioteers


The chariot, so often associated with the Greeks and Romans, are thought by some historians to really be a Celtic invention copied by the classical civilizations. In addition, many historians now believe that it was the Celts, not the Romans, who first created many of the great roads of Western Europe. These historians, and I can see their point, feel that the Celts built these long straight roads with planks of wood for their chariots to run along and for easier travel from one Celtic center to another. The Romans may have simply come along afterwards and covered them in stone. This is further backed up by recent excavations showing chariot burials (some leaders were buried with their own chariots, amongst other things) alongside many of the "Roman" roads. Why would the Romans have built so many roads near Celtic graves? Additionally, many of the roads credited to the Romans do not go places the Legions would have gone and one cannot readily explain why so many various roads, supposedly initially built by the Romans, would go to areas that were once Celtic strongholds or held no strategic interest for the Romans. Celtic coins found in France have also been unearthed near many of these roads. The Romans never used Celtic currency as a nation, so they would have had no use to carry them. (photo below, right).

It took historians centuries to give proper credit of the invention of the iron long sword to the Celts when it was generally thought to be either a Persian or a Greek invention for years. In the middle of the 20th century, historians, largely due to the discoveries of archaeologists, began to recognize Celtic identity and as separate people from either the Greeks or Germans tribes, as gathered from the evidence. It was once thought they were simply a barbarian people found in various places, no different from anonymous Germanic tribes. But the Celtic language, culture, which was finally studied, and the artifacts uncovered, proved beyond a doubt that the Celts were an Indo-European people with a unique culture and heritage with surprising sophistication. Sadly, even so, you can still pick up a standard college text on Western Civilization and find almost no mention of the Celts anywhere in state approved texts. I share a frustration with other Celtic historians who clearly see the separate and advanced identity of the Celts as one of the more important races in ancient Europe.

Portents of the Future

Next: In the next entry of Celtic Warriors the Romans decide that the Island of Britain, the last bastion of Celtic lands, as something they covet once again. How do the British Celts fare against the Romans in relation to the Gauls? In the next article, we will look at the early British Celts and a mysterious leader who history doubted existed for centuries. But, he was real.

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: Caesar Invades Britain

On a clear day in the middle of the 1st century BC, British Celts could stand on the Chalk Cliffs of Dover and see the flickering lights of the Roman Empire that had conquered their Gallic brothers. Refugees spoke of the sparkling iron and bronze armor of the legionaries and the great digging and excavation of fortifications. Some Britons advised helping their continental comrades and shipped supplies and warriors across the Channel. The Druids were apparently the driving force behind this assistance, and Caesar would never forgive them. In order to end this alliance, Caesar gathered a fleet together and in 54 BC, he crossed the Channel and landed in southeast England.

Caesar's landing was unopposed, but the Celts watched the hundreds of ships and thousands of men with caution. Riding inland, Caesar encountered a group of Celts in chariots and on horseback. A skirmish followed in which Caesar's troops stormed a hill fort using their shields in the classic 'tortoise shell' manner to force their way over the ramparts. All the time, word was passing through the tribes of southeast England that the invader must be opposed. The warlord they chose to unite under was CASSIVELLAUNUS, the first Briton to be named in written history. Cassivellaunus was a chieftain of the Catuvellauni who were, ironically, themselves recent invaders of Britain, having been originally part of the Belgic peoples in northern France before moving across the Channel to settle north of London. This reality must be fully appreciated as the Celts themselves made great play, and still do, of being the original inhabitants of Britain. But they had in fact replaced the true aboriginal inhabitants of Britain in invasions probably just as ruthless as those of the Romans and later peoples.

Cassivellaunus, Briton Warlord

Cassivellaunus fought a guerilla war against the Romans, harassing with his cavalry and charioteers and forcing them to hide behind their entrenched camps. With overconfidence possessed of the Britons, the Romans savaged them in a pitched battle, and Caesar advanced to the Thames. The Romans were now entering the territory of Cassivellaunus. Wooden stakes had been sunk into the riverbed and Celtic warriors waited on the other side, but Caesar sent his men into the river, and even though only their heads just showed above the water, they managed to struggle across and drive the retreating Celts back into their homeland. It was now that Cassivellaunus's alliance began to weaken. The nearby tribe of the Trinovantes made a treaty with Caesar in return for Roman's help against the Catuvellauni. They even told Caesar the layout of the great chieftain’s hill fort.

Pulling the majority of his troops together, Caesar launched a massive attack that overwhelmed the hill fort and its defenders, but Cassivellaunus was nowhere to be found. Instead, the Celtic warlord had ordered an attack by the tribes of Kent, nearest to the Roman landing, to cut off Caesar's line of communication and supplies. Caesar was forced back to his base camp on the coast. No great damage was inflicted, but it seems to have brought both sides to their senses and, according to Caesar, Cassivellaunus offered terms for peace, submitted hostages and tribute money, and allowed Caesar to return to Gaul. Caesar certainly puts the best face on these events, but then the only account of the events is his. It seems likely, therefore, that Cassivellaunus had clearly put pressure on Caesar's advance, compelling him to return to his base camp and abandon Britain. In this light, the Celtic warlord had won a great victory, forcing the Romans out of Britain - for now.

Early British Celts are described in similar terms as those on mainland Europe. But they had one distinctive feature: they painted their bodies with a blue dye. The purpose of the design remains a mystery but is probably religious or mystical in nature. Some suggest that certain symbols painted on the body were thought to be a form of magical armor. Others simply ascribe it to decoration. One of the earliest names for the British Celts was the 'Pretani', a word perhaps relating to the practice of painting themselves. No one is certain. However, the obvious similarity of the word to 'Brittani' seems apparent. Later the word would come to represent the whole of the landmass that makes up modern Scotland, England and Wales.

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: Celtic mercenaries and headhunters

One of the many ways the Celts managed to co-exist comfortably with the Romans within their empire was by contributing warriors to the Roman army. Indeed for many young Celtic men it was not merely a sign of tribute or subservience, but a great opportunity to join a truly international force, thereby enabling them to travel all around the Mediterranean world and perhaps make a fortune for themselves. Some like to compare this to the service given by Scots highlanders during the 18-19th centuries, but for me that comparison is not a welcome change, but a negative reminder of the loss of Highland independence. Nevertheless, there is a similarity here. For the ancient Celts, it was also a wonderful way to settle old scores.

The Marcomanni (Latin name) were a Germanic barbarian tribe living along the northern side of the Danube. Around 181 AD, the Marcomanni joined forces with the Quadi to raid the Roman provinces to their south, the other side of the Danube. The land they ravaged was the old heartland of the central European Celts and the people they attacked and slaughtered were Romanized Celts. There was never any love loss between the Celts and the Germans. One could see examples of that in Spartacus's slave/gladiator rebellion in which the Germanic faction refused to march with the "common folk", such as the Celts and Slavs, and went off on their own, refusing the advice of Spartacus. It wasn't long before the haughty Germanic tribes were hunted down by the Roman army and destroyed. Spartacus lived to fight another day.

For centuries, Celt and German had fought with each other, raiding each other's lands. It was a German invasion of a Gallic (Gaul) tribe that forced the Gallic Celts to call upon Roman support, which resulted in the conquest of their lands by their would-be saviors. The Celts of the Danube provinces were now more than happy to fight with the Romans against these barbarian invaders, and in short, order the Germans were defeated and swept back to their own lands.

Celtic Head Hunters

Celtic warrior with heads attached to his horse
by Angus McBride w/permission.

The Celts believed the soul, or what they defined as the soul, lived in a person’s head. Therefore, heads of enemies were often taken, not only to show battlefield victory, but also to steal the life essence from their enemies. These were brutal times. I'm sure that most of you who have researched something on the ancient Celts have come across one or more images of them carrying severed heads attached to themselves or their horses. This is not a myth. To add to this belief of stealing the enemy’s soul or essence, the Romans found this Celtic practice was a very useful way to reward their Celtic allies and to get an idea how many kills were made. A Celtic warrior working for the Romans would often bring back the heads of the enemy for which he'd be paid by a Roman commander, just as soldiers in the French and Indian War in the middle of the 18th century were paid for the scalps of the dead enemies. Headhunting was a regular occurrence on the barbarian frontier among the barbarian tribes, and many Celtic warriors outside of the army may have acted as freelance bounty hunters, working in gangs to root out barbarian bandits and bringing their heads back to display in a marketplace before collecting their money.

Roman chronicles recall the name of one of these bounty hunters as Charietto, who operated on the Rhine frontier near Trier. Beginning as a bandit himself, he tired of this way of life and rode into the nearest town to enlist. Unable to join the regular army (reason unknown), he offered himself as a freelance soldier - a mercenary for hire. Operating at night, this tough Celt would creep up on his barbarian enemies at night and cut off their heads as they slept, using sacks of grain to stuff in their mouths to muffle the screams. Soon, he was so successful he led a gang of professional headhunters based on his fearful reputation. The local Roman commander heard of his success and recognized his value. As the Romans pursued invading Franks and other Germanic tribes by day, Charietto and his gang were harassing them at night, instilling fear and terror into the Germans. The combined pressure served to defeat the Franks. Charietto rose swiftly within the ranks of the Roman army until one day when his luck ran out during a confrontation with the Alamanni and he, unable to make flight, was speared to death.

 

CELTIC WARRIORS: Queen Boudicca, Romans and Celtiberians

Boudicca's Revolt

Boudicca or Boadicea?

First we should address the two dominant spellings of her name and decide which is best to use. After much debate and careful consideration, it has to be noted that we have not the vaguest idea which is "better" than the other. Some insist that Boudicca is more "Celtic" than Boadicea, and therefore should be used. That's nonsence, since "Celtic" of the period had no written version of itself (it was an oral language of the Indo-European variety and with hundreds of variations, and dialects -- even different classes of language). There was no "correct" spelling since the Queen herself never spelled her own name. What we are left with is two different translations of her name, when the Romans, and later linguists, began to write down what they thought her name would look like. Clearly, they were making it up based upon the pronounciation they'd heard, and apparently, they heard very different words. It is true that Boadicea looks more "Latin" than Boudicca, but bear in mind that if we go simply by what looks Latin, then Vercingetorix, Calgacus, and even Caratacus are also Roman names. Does that make the people Latin? No. Therefore it is really a moot point which name is the correct spelling since there was no written Language of the Iceni in her day. For the purposes of this article, I've chosen the most common form: Boudicca. Either spelling is satisfactory. I'm certain this debate will continue for some time to come.

Although the Celts and Romans could get along very well within the Empire, both appreciating the increased prosperity of their material lives and both opposing the destructive raids of the Germanic barbarians, when this status quo broke down there would be terrible conflict. Such is the case of a revolt that happened in Roman Britain. In the first century AD, circa 61 AD, Prasutagus, King of the Iceni left half of his fortune to the Roman Empire to ensure good relations. He did this with the best intent for he foresaw a Britain, united under the Romans, and deduced that since the Empire was going to be there for a very long time, his people could be ensured of prosperity by his donation of wealth. But the local Romans were greedy. After Prasutagus died, a Roman garrison came in, demanded more money and when none was forthcoming, they beat the king’s widow and raped their two daughters. They even went so far as to hang the king’s widow, Boudicca, by her wrists in front of her people, and proceeded to flog her until she was unconscious. They had underestimated the Celtic queen and her wrath was to be felt all the way to Rome. She wrought her vengeance with utter devastation.

Boudicca, Queen of the Iceni

Boudicca’s Celtic army encouraged by a few other tribes angry with the Empire and by the Druids, who saw the Roman way of life as the end of their own, assaulted Colchester, the nearest Roman settlement. The Roman garrison there was too small to defend the town and withdrew to the temple complex. There they held out for two days until the furious Celts stormed it and slaughtered everyone within – men, women, and children, and the settlement was burned to the ground. Of course, the reason Boudicca’s tribe acted with such fury was that the people they killed were strong supporters of the Romans. She was joined by other tribes, as well as the Trinovantes to the south, who had their own reasons to hate the occupation. Roman veterans, who settled at Camulodunum (Colchester), had expelled the native people and appropriated their homes and land, treating them like prisoners and slaves.
The Temple of Claudius was especially offensive, "a blatant stronghold of alien rule" that had to be supported by the very people whom Rome oppressed. Amid a series of portents and confusion, the Roman colonists appealed to the procurator for help. The few troops that were sent from Londinium were not sufficient, and the town soon was overrun and sacked. The Roman soldiers took refuge in the temple, but after two days, it also fell. Legio IX, under strength and marching south from its camp at Longthorpe some eighty miles away under the impetuous command of Petillius Cerialis, was ambushed and defeated. The procurator fled to Gaul, and Boudicca marched on Londinium. As Tacitus records,

"Neither before nor since has Britain ever been in a more uneasy or dangerous state. Veterans were butchered, colonies burned to the ground, armies isolated. We had to fight for our lives before we could think of victory."

Far to the west, Suetonius Paulinus, the governor of Britannia, was in Mona (Anglesey) just off the coast of northern Wales. The island was a sanctuary for refugees, as well as an important religious center for the Druids, and Paulinus, despite Roman tolerance for native religions, was determined to subdue it, for he blamed the druids for encouraging the rebellion.

Victorian artists concept of a druid
What is left of that settlement was discovered by archaeologists much later. Only a thin layer of ash and soot was found where the old settlement once stood. A legion, the IX Hispania, arrived too late to defend and was itself surrounded by angry Celts, and butchered. Londinium (London) and St. Albans were also overrun, and Tacitus claims some 70,000 Roman citizens perished. It eventually took a force of 10,000 Legionnaires under the command of Seutonius Paulinus, to stop Boudicca and her bloodlust troops. There was a series of battle and conflicts, which I intend to describe in great detail at a later date, with all the relevant information about Boudicca, the Druids and the battles. But for this set of articles, it is sufficient to say that some 80,000 Celtic Britons died in the subsequent battles. Boudicca herself, knowing the outcome of the surrender of Vercingetorix, decided to take her own life with poison rather than let the Romans get their hands on her and parade her around Rome. Seutonius Paulinus, a determined general, pursued the Druids (whom the Romans suspected of fueling Boudicca’s anger) all the way to Anglesey where he surrounded them and destroyed every remnant of druidic influence he could find. The druids were effectively wiped out in Britain after that only remaining in Ireland and isolated parts of the British Isles. Such was the ferocity of battle when Celt and Roman had a falling out.

The Celtiberians struggle against the Romans

At around this same time another savage conflict between Celt and Roman was fought in Spain. “This war between the Celtiberians and Romans is called the fiery war,” recalled the Roman chronicler Polybius, “for while wars in Greece or Asia are settled with one or two pitched battles, the battles there dragged on, only brought to a temporary end by the darkness of night. Both sides refused to let their courage flag or their bodies tire.” It was a war fought partly as a guerilla conflict with both sides seeking to outdo each other with atrocities. One Roman commander invited a group of Spanish Celts, under a flag of truce, to discuss terms regarding ending hostility and starting mercenary employment with them. Once the Celts were disarmed and inside the walls of the Roman stockade, the Roman commander secured the gates from the outside and sent in his soldiers to massacre the Celtic warriors and their families. The Roman was honored with a triumph for his brutal act. “They are no better than bandits,” grumbled the Roman general Scipio Africanus, unable to pin down the Spanish Celts. “They may be brave when devastating neighbors fields, burning villages, and rustling cattle, but are worth nothing in a regular army.” But for two thousand years, this had been the most effective means of Celtic warfare, and it was still employed almost to today by various fringe and terrorist organizations associated with Celtic causes. In Spain, the Romans finally had triumphed. Frequently it appears that Celtic warriors only dragged out the inevitable outcome, essentially defending unwinnable situations, prolonging misery, and in the end suffering far longer than was necessary. But such was the way of the Celt. He never admitted defeat. Some may regard this dogged reluctance to accept certain defeat as a virtue, but to society at large, which prefers peace to war, it is perhaps the greatest Celtic vice. It is admirable to see a warrior society that does not accept defeat – to an extent – but the Celts never seemed to learn when to retire, regroup and fight another day. In the end, this would be the downfall of the Celtic fringe groups at such battles as Culloden, The Boyne and many others.

 

Ancient Celtic Warriors: Britons Battle Anglo-Saxons

The Saxons Invade Celtic Britain

The Saxon conquest of Romano-Celtic Britain began with an error in judgment. For hundreds of year, Roman armies had employed Germanic barbarians as auxiliaries. At the beginning of the 5th century, Vortigern, the Romano-British overlord, was assailed on many fronts. Aside from Irish and Pict invaders on his northern and western frontiers, there were Germanic raiders on his eastern coasts, and from within he faced a challenge of Ambrosius, who had powerful allies in Gaul. In order to secure his position, he invited a large group of Saxon to settle with their families on the island of Thanet on the river Thames. The Saxon commander, Hengist and his brother Horsa, understood Vortigern’s weakness and recommended he bring in more of his countrymen to help. Vortigern agreed, and nineteen more ships landed. In order to pay these warriors, Hengist suggested they be granted land in Kent. By the time Vortigern realized his control was slipping away, it was too late.

Historic Vortigern seems to have been a minor king who makes a military movement for power amongst the chaos of invasion. According to history, he is responsible for bringing in the Saxons (including the powerful Saxon brothers Hengist and Horsa) both to fight the Picts and Scots, as well as fight Vortigern's own British enemies to increase his power and rule. Bede said Vortigern married Rowena, daughter of the Saxon brother Hengist, and it would eventually lead to his downfall.

British Romano-Celts Corner a Saxon Invader
by Angus McBride
The legend goes on to state that Vortigern was popular for a short time, but as more Saxon invaders arrived and began settling large areas of land, he begins to lose that popularity. Eventually, sons of a former High King of Britain return from exile at the head of an army and Vortigern is forced to flee to Wales, where he plans to build a fortress. The legend brings into the story a mysterious character originally identified as 'Myrddin'. Merlin appears, historically at least, to have been created by Geoffery of Monmouth who wrote one of the first set of "histories" of Arthur and Britain, even if highly unreliable historically. Although probably invented by Monmouth, Merlin is not without a historical connection, even if remote. There was a northern British (some claim he was Pictish) bard named Myrddin, whose name Monmouth used, changing it to Merlin. Other accounts tell of a historic Merlin as a Pictish tribal leader whose pagan tribe was wiped out by a newly Christianised rival Pictish tribe. Only Merlin, it is said, survived -- he went insane and wandered the forests casting spells and talking to spirits and animals.

So, as you can see it is obviously a very murky area historically. According to Monmouth again, Merlin (Myrddin) lived around the year 573, and was somehow involved in a battle near Carlisle. (It could be that Pictish battle mentioned in the legends). But if he actually ever met a 'true' Arthur, he would have been a boy and Arthur in advanced age. Even apart from magic, his legendary role is historically impossible. However, he figures prominently in the Vortigern story and therefore shall be included here.

Again, according the legend, When Vortigern fled to Wales to build his stronghold, he chose a site quite unfortunate. Every night, all the progress made by his workmen was undone by rumblings and shaking under the ground, thus collapsing the days work. Vortigern somehow learns from his advisors, possibly Druids, that he needs the blood of a fatherless child, spilled on the stones of the stronghold. This, they tell him, will ensure the completion of the fortress. A search begins for this child. Vortigerns's men find young Merlin at Carmarthen (according to Monmouth this is 'Caer Myrddin', Merlin's town or fortress). Again, according to the legend, Merlin is the son of a Welsh princess but an unknown father. They are brought before Vortigern. The princess tells a wild story about being visited by a golden being, and that she is devout and pure. She further explains that this golden being fathered the child Merlin. Vortigern doesn't buy this story, but Merlin speaks out in defence of his mother, and challenges Vortigern's wise men and Druids to explain the real reason the tower will not stand.

Vortigern's men cannot explain so Merlin tells them. He tells Vortigern there is a pool beneath the hilltop and that inside it is a stone coffer containing two dragons: one red and the other white, who battle every night, thus causing the workmen's building to collapse. Vortigern has his workers dig into the hill and discovers Merlin to be correct (for the legend). Then Merlin explains that the red dragon symbolises Britain and the white one the Saxons. He also predicts, that in time, the white will overcome the red dragon.

To this day, the red dragon is the national symbol of Wales.

Merlin, again according to the legend, goes into a trance and prophesies the future; foretelling the coming of Arthur, "the Boar of Cornwall", which will bring relief from the Saxon invaders, and warns Vortigern of his forthcoming death. Thus the legend of Merlin is born through the legend of Vortigern.

History? Not likely. In fact, as we have already determined, if there was indeed a Merlin, he was based on Myrddin, and he lived long after Arthur, not before. But the legend shows the power of the Arthur Tradition. Wales got the Red Dragon as their symbol; the two 'dragons' did collide in the form of native British Celts aganist invading pagan Anglo-Saxons, and indeed the Anglo-Saxons did win the long struggle for dominance. A legend is born.

The Saxons spread over southeast England, but Vortigern’s son, Vortimer, led a counterattack, and many bloody battles were fought. The story goes that Hengist recommended a summit with all the leading Celtic warlords, including Vortigern, to discuss peace terms. This was the second great lapse of judgment. As agreed, Vortigern and the Romano-Celts arrived unarmed, but Hengist had instructed his warriors to keep knives in their boots, and the trap was sprung. Some 300 leading Romano-Celts were slaughtered, and the Celtic command of England never fully recovered from this blow. The war between the Saxons and the Romano-Britons carried on for centuries, with the Celts gradually being pushed back to the lands of the west, such as Wales and Cornwall.

One of the few-recorded actions between the Romano-British and the German invaders is mentioned in a poem by Aneirin from around 600 AD. He describes how the Gododdin of Lothian (near Edinburgh, now part of Scotland), a Romano-British tribe controlling the eastern end of the Antonine Wall, spent a year preparing for a raid against the Angles of Northumbria. The warlord Mynydogg lavishly feasts his followers, giving them mead and wine, an indication of the feudal loyalties binding a warlord and his retinue of leading warriors, or, as Aneirin simply puts it, “they paid for their mead-feast with their lives.” With three hundred leading horse warriors and their followers, Mynydogg rode south to attack the Angles at the Battle of Cattraeth in Yorkshire. They wore coats of mail, leaf-bladed swords and had gold torcs around their necks. As brave and well equipped as they were, they nevertheless came to grief and the hands of the Angles. All three hundred were slain, and the realm of the Celts was pushed further back. Lothian wouldn’t be recovered by the Scots for centuries.

The Celts of Britain were not alone in their struggle against the Germans. In France, Romano-Gauls depended on warlords such as Ecdicius, who led a spirited defense of central France the incursions of Goths. Supported by the great landowners, Ecdicius led a war band of horsemen to pursue the gangs of barbarian bandits. So hard did he press them, it is said the Goths were forced to leave the bodies of their comrades behind, but chopped off their heads so Ecidicius could not tell from their hairstyles the number of Goths he had slain. After a successful campaign against the Goths, he arrived in the town of Clermont and received a rapturous welcome from the relieved citizens. “What tears and rejoicing greeted you!” recalled his brother-in-law Sidonius. “Some townspeople kissed away the dust that covered you. Others caught hold of your bridle, thick with blood and foam. When you wished to take off your helmet, the clamoring citizens unclasped the bands of iron. Some entangled themselves in the straps of your greaves (leg armor). Some counted the dents along the edges of your sword blunted by slaughter. While others fingered the holes made by blade and point amid your shirt of mail. You bore all these stupidities of your welcome with good grace!” Not only an expression of Celtic desperation, but also an unwittingly good description of the equipment worn by a Romano-Celtic warlord at this time.

Ancient Celtic Warriors: Scots and Picts at War

The Picts battle the Scots for possession of Caledonia

Dunadd was a formidable Celtic hillfort set upon a rocky outcrop surrounded by bogland. It was the main power base of Dalriada, the region of northwest Scotland ruled by the Scots from the 5th century. Confusingly to many who are first studying Scottish history, the Scots were not natives of Scotland, but were in fact Irish Celts who sailed across the Irish Sea to raid the western coasts of Scotland and the rest of Britain. The were called ‘Scotti’, a name perhaps derived from the Irish verb ‘to plunder’. They had fought against the Romans, and now that the empire was in decline, they decided to settle in Britain, choosing the land of the Picts in Scotland for their main settlement.

Lower Terraces at Dunadd
The hill-fort of Dunadd, in mid-Argyll, is but one of many power bases for the old kingdom of Dalraida, and perhaps the most important. The site consists of a series of defended terraces, surmounted by a summit fort. It has been excavated three times in the 20th century. Finds, dated from the sixth to the ninth century, include fine metalworking, with many brooches and tools. Recent archaeological excavations have shown that Dunadd was irregularly occupied from 500 to as late as 1,000 AD. Evidence of skilled craftsmanship, including jewelry, bronze, silver and gold work was found. Dunadd was also a major trade center with Ireland and the west coast of Britain and even to the Mediterranean.

Below the summit fort, on one of the lower terraces, are a rock carving of a boar (pictured above right), an enigmatic description in ogam writing, a rock basin, and the outline of a footprint, all giving rise to speculation that this was the site where rulers of Dalriada were inaugurated. These ceremonies probably would have had elements of both Christian and pagan ideologies. In the initial years the pagan aspects would been predominant but as time passed, and the Scots were more Christianized, the pagan elements would become more and more negligible as the powerful influence of Christianity increased.

Some experts have gone as far as to suggest that the importance of the footprint (which is now covered by a replica) is to signify the king’s relationship to the land. According to this belief, the would-be king placed one foot in the designated footprint, the other on the land, symbolizing his unity with the land and the deity. Dunadd would remain a spiritual stronghold and center until the capital was moved to Scone in the ninth century.

 

[Map of Scotland showing DalRiada, Pictland & Areas of Britons and Angles]

The Irish Scots continued the great tradition of Celtic seamanship. There most typical seagoing boat was the curragh, or curach, a simple oval structure made of animal hides stretched across a wicker framework. This crude but effective boat continued to be in use in Ireland and the Scottish western Isles all the way to the 17th century. They were surprising resilient in rough seas, enabling the Scots to raid as far south as Wales and southern England. In 891, the Anglo-Saxon chronicle records that “three Irishmen came to King Alfred in a boat without a rudder, from Ireland whence they had made their way secretly because they wished for the love of God to be a foreign land. It was made of two and a half hides and they carried with them food for seven days. After seven days they came to land in Cornwall and went immediately to King Alfred.” One gets the impression they might have been escaping some, as yet, unpaid Celtic justice and sought lands elsewhere. In the late 1980’s, a Celtic curach was reconstructed using hazel rods woven together to which three cowhides were stitched. The whole process to only one week to complete and was ready to rowed on the sea.

The Picts were a mysterious people about whom very little is known. Mainly Celtic, probably also mixed with older indigenous cultures, they appear to have spoken a language that included an older tongue of the aboriginal people they displaced or, more probably, with whom they assimilated. According the Dr. Anna Ritchie of Historic Scotland, "The Picts were Celts. Their ultimate ancestors were the people who built the great stone circles like Calanais on the Isle of Lewis in the third millennium BC in Neolithic times, and the brochs in the early Iron Age from about 600 BC to 200 AD." Pict seems to be a Roman name meaning “Painted People”, indicating that they followed the Celtic custom of either painting or tattooing with blue patterns. This was not unique to the Picts for most Celtic tribes of Britain and some from other places, such as Gaul, had done this. The Picts were a fiercely independent people who appear to have succeeded in the battles against the Romans, being descendants of the Caledonian tribes that the Romans first encountered. Having lived without Roman domination, they then had to contend with the Gaelic speakers of Dunadd.

One of the Aberlemno stones


The Pictish style of warfare has been recorded on a few engraved stone slabs. Keen horsemen, like all Celts, they used both javelins and longer lances. Their foot soldiers fought with longer spears or pikes and may have even had formations, the likes of which were not seen again until William Wallace and Robert the Bruce reintroduced these speared units against the English.

They also carried the characteristically square shield decorated with swirling Celtic patterns. They also seem to have acquired some Germanic spangenhelm-style helmets, which were likely derived or taken from the Angles they fought on the Scottish border. Such helmets are depicted on the Aberlemno stone, but they may be depicted there to represent the Angle enemies. One surprising weapon depicted on these stones is a crossbow, not generally thought to be in use until much later in Europe. But, it can be clearly seen on the Drosten stone, and perhaps learned from fighting the Romans; it should be included in the Pictish arsenal.

The Picts, seen above watching the Scots at Dunadd, and the Scots fought for centuries for the control of northwest Scotland. In 740, the Irish Annals of Ulster recorded a major campaign by the Picts against Scottish Dalriada. Led by Angus mac Fergus, they captured several strongholds, and an unnamed Scots warlord was savagely drowned, forcing the other to flee back to Ireland for a time. The Angles took advantage of this incessant conflict and invaded the eastern highlands, but the Picts, who seem to have had an informant, met them at the battle of Dunnichen (sometimes called Nechtansmere) in 685 and soundly defeated them, ensuring Celtic independence in Scotland. The victory may be commemorated on the Aberlemno stone. In the end, however, the Scots triumphed over the Picts in the mid-9th century, and a Scots king (MacAlpin) succeeded to the Pictish throne around 843 AD, in what some call “The Treachery of Scone”. As a result, the highlands now bear the name of the Scots rather than being known as Pictland.

 

Ancient Celtic Warriors: Brian Boru Irish Warlord fights the Vikings

The Irish under Brian Boru at Clontarf

Brian Boru had the temper of a Celtic Warlord. Born to violence, he never gave it up. His power base was the tribe of Dal Cais at the mouth of the river Shannon and his prey were the Viking settlers of Limerick. "However small the injury he might be able to do to the foreigners (Vikings)," recalled the chronicler of the Gaedhil, "Brian preferred it to peace. From the forests and the wastelands, he emerged to plunder and to kill the foreigners. If he did not destroy them during the day then he was sure to do it at night." Using guerilla tactics and living off the land, Boru proved a relentless enemy for the Vikings. Finally, the Vikings managed to force him into a "manly battle on the open part of the plain," hoping to overawe his followers with their arms and armor. Both sides rode horses, wore mail, and wielded swords, axes and spears. The battle lasted all day and eventually the Vikings broke. The Irish chased the fleeing Scandinavians and "beheaded from that time until the evening." At the age of 26, Boru stormed into the Viking city of Limerick. His legend had begun.

The sacking of Limerick not only disturbed the Vikings, it impressed other Irish tribesman, and they joined Boru's forces. Until now, the Vikings had successfully played one Irish tribe against another and there was seldom any Celtic unity. However, the more sophisticated Irish warlords were not so pleased. They had come to depend on the trading wealth of the Viking settlements. The lords of Leinster allied themselves with the Vikings of Dublin, and the two Hiberno-Norse armies met around 1000 AD. After a long and hard-fought battle, Brian was victorius and Dublin was ransacked. Immediately, the Vikings made peace with him. Boru was now the lord of southern Ireland, and now he turned his attention to the north. Boru challenged the high king of all Ireland to battle, but politics was stronger than swordsmanship and the chieftains of the north saw little point in slaughtering each other. They made their submissions to him, and Boru became ruler of Ireland, even sending raiding parties to Britain to levy tributes.

King Boru (sitting) is presented a Viking head
by Angus McBride
As Boru grew older his grip on power slipped. The Lords of Leinster and the Vikings of Dublin (reestablished) refused to pay him tribute. He set out to seige Dublin, but for lack of supplies he was forced to retreat. The Vikings, who sent out requests for reinforcements from over the sea, confronted Boru to the north of Dublin in an area called Clontarf. The scene was set for an epic battle. Boru's son, Murchad, was now the active leader and headed the men of Dal Cais and Munster, his most loyal followers, along with many Viking mercenaries and Irish tribes on his flanks. Although history has written this as a battle of Irish against northmen, it was truly an alliance of both sides that met at Clontarf. The Vikings of Dublin and the Leinstermen were joined by Vikings from the Isle of Man and Orkney, and further afield, including Danes and Norwegians. "The two sides made a furious, smashing onset at each other," recalled the Chronicler of the Gaedhil, "and there arose a frightful screaming and fluttering above their heads as birds and demons awaited their prey." This imaginative setting probably refers to the Viking standard, the Raven, the eyes of Odin, who were the symbol of most Norse fleets.

The Irish and the Vikings hacked and slashed at each other. Murchad, son of Brian, held two swords, one in each hand, and felled the Vikings around him. His followers surged behind the gaps he made in the Vikings ranks. Sigurd of Orkney, a Norse jarl, refused to move, and both he and Murchad fought a heroic duel. Legend says that with his right hand sword, Murchad severed the straps securing the Viking's helmet and, with his left hand, brought him down with a blow to his exposed flesh. Murchad moved on to another Viking warlord, but this time his blades broke from use. The Irish warrior was forced to grab to mail of the Viking and pull the shirt of armor off his body with his bare hands. Falling to the ground, both men wrestled with each other. Murchad stabbed the Viking with his own sword, but the Viking pulled a knife and slashed the Celt's stomach open. With a final effort, Murchad cut the head off the Viking, but the next day he would die form his own mortal wounds.

There are two versions of what happened to Brian himself, I will relate the one that is told most often, taken from the writing of the Gaedhil, with the understanding that this may be a slanted view. Because of age, Brian Boru did not take part on the battle, but he waited behind a wall of shields (a practice first introduced by the Vikings). Eventually, he received the news that he wanted. The Vikings had had enough and Clontarf was his. But even though the main body of the army was fleeing, there were still isolated bands of Viking horsemen, and one of these made a dash for the Irish shield wall. Boru was forced to defend himself. Legend says that he hacked at one of the Vikings and cut off his leg, but the Viking struck back and cut Boru's head in half. At the moment of his greatest success, Boru was dead. In the aftermath, the unity of the Irish tribes collapsed and the Vikings returned to their old settlements, but never again would they seek to dominate the Irish people. In fact, as elsewhere, the Vikings and Irish mixed and some of the northmen eventually became 'Irish' themsleves. Brian's greatest achievement was that he was the first of the High Kings of Ireland to have united nearly all of Ireland. Although his death would allow the Vikings to return, they did so with more caution, and the Irish even joined in the raiding of others.

The cause of the Celts as an independent nation was not helped by the transformation of some Vikngs into the mighty Normans. By the 11th century, those Vikings who had settled in northern France in the region of Normandy (land of the Normani, or 'north men') had become known as the Normans, a mixture of French and Scandinavian cultures. In those early days they were almost completely Scandinavian, but they adopted French as their language, and took French cavalry tactics to a new level. In 1066, they invaded England and destoyed the ruling Saxon dynasty after a fierce battle at Hastings. An aggressive warrior nation, they proceeded to assault the Celtic fringes of Britain that had so far withstood the advance of the Saxons. They settled southern Wales, the coasts and seaports of Ireland and occupied much of Lowland Scotland through a combination of marriage and land grants. Their domain in Ireland would last for almost 800 years.

One of the last Celtic regions to not be absorbed by the onslaught of the Norman-English was the Kingdom of the Isles. This included the northern and western Isles of Scotland, the Hebrides and the Isle of Man and the Irish Sea. One of the reasons was that many Islanders married into the Viking culture before the Normans ever arrived. It was a culture blending of the remains of the ancient Celtic kingdom of Dalriada with a more recent layer of Norse setlement. In defiance of the mainland Scots, who were becoming increasingly a Lowland culture dominated by Norman landowners, they continued to speak Gaelic (English became the language of the Lowlands) and ruled in the Celtic traditions - the Norse inheritance willingly bending to those of the Gael. This division of Scottish culture led to much power play, and could fill a book, with ambitious warlords calling on the warriors of the Isles to help them in their own pursuit of domination of the mainland.

The most famous Scottish warlord of the 11th century was MacBeth, later immortalized (incorrectly) by Shakespeare as an archetype of naked ambition. In reality, he was no worse than the warlords he fought. Indeed evidence suggests he was better than some. MacBeth was a Gaelic speaking warlord from Moray in the north of Scotland and he employed the northmen of the Northern Isles to assist him. Indeed he may have had an alliance with the mighty Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, who held most of the lands of the old Vikings. Later historians have even described his success on seizing the Scots throne in 1040 as a Gaelic reaction to the excessive English influence supported by Duncan, his opponent. He ruled for 17 years, until Malcolm, the son of Duncan, led a revived English-backed army that cornered MacBethin his homeland of Moray and slaughtered him, thus paving the way for a reumption of Norman-English influence and the retreat of Gaelic culture to the Kingdom of the Isles. The Lord of the Isles could afford to survice in isolation from the mainland as they were great sailors and traders. They thrived on a network of trade based on the Irish Sea linking Ireland with Britain and Scandinavia. Political independence survived until 1263, when Alexander III of Scotland defeated Hakon of Norway in a long extended sea battle called "Largs", and the kingdom of the isles became part of Scotland - at least offically. Its culture remained proudly Gaelic (or Gael) for centuries afterwards, however, and the Lord of the Isles still held considerable sway in his own realm. Many historians curiously blame the Lords of the Isles for the fall of Gaelic Scotland to the Scottish crown. To their thinking, the Lords of the Isles vainly resisted the will of the king and in the end brought about their demise. I think this view is short-sighted. The Lords of the Isles were trying, in their own way, to remain the remnant of the inheritance of the Dalriada Scots. They may have been short-sighted in their ultimate goal -- to be independent of Scottish kings -- but their reasons seem obvious. Lowland Scotland, from where the Scots kings ruled, were strongly influenced by the English, and even Gaelic became extinct there. The Islemen wanted to remain a Celtic nation, as so they resisted.

One thing that has been a hot-button issue over the centuries is the Campbell versus MacDonald aspect of this. Modern Scots all too often side with the Campbell's because in the end they won out. The Campbell's decided, somewhere in the 15th century, to be the eyes and ears for the Scots kings in the Highlands. The Campbells were canny. They weren't part of the Lords of the Isles 'power elite' of the MacDonalds, so instead of playing second fiddle to them, they allied themselves with the Lowland kings, who were largely Anglicized. It depends on your point of view whether or not this was a good thing for Scotland in general. An argument can be made either way. Certainly, at least, this decision by the Campbell's to 'police' the Highlands for the Lowland government, made them one of the most unpopular clans in the Highlands of Scotland for many centuries. The Campbell's were almost entirely on the side of the government versus the highlanders in coming wars, with exceptions during the English Civil War, which, of course, spread to Scotland in the mid 17th century.

This support of the King over the Celtic-Norse Highlander's autonomous rule, was the origin of the Campbell/MacDonald divide - a divide that would end in trajedy at Culloden.

But at this time, the Lords of the Isles were too much of a power for anyone. The distinctive stone tombstones and grave slabs of the Western Isles reveal a particular Norse Celtic influence, which was reflected by the weapons used by the Islesmen. The pattern welded swords of the Vikings were widely admired and imitated. A multi-lobed pommel is most typical of these weapons. In one form, this sword developed into the great two-handed sword unique to the Highlands and Isles and known as the Claymore, or great sword. Armor was similar in what has been found common in Viking Ireland and a cross-mixture of Scots, Irish and Vikings produced a hearty race of warriors known as the Gallowglass who took part in many Scottish battles and would later play an important part in the later history of Northern Ireland.

The Lords of the Isles continued to cause trouble for Scots kings (even sailing to the capital and sacking it) right up until the 16th century. It is from an Englismen chronicle that we have some description of these warriors. "From the mid-leg to the foot, they go uncovered. Their dress, for an over-garment, is a loose plaid and shirt dyed with saffron. They are armed with bows and arrows, a broadsword, and a small halberd [possibly the Lochaber Axe]. They always carry in their belt a stout dagger [evovled into the dirk], single-edged, but of the sharpest. In time of war they cover the entire body with a coat of mail [like the Vikings], made of iron rings, and in it they fight. The common folk among the wild Scots go out to battle with the whole body clad in a linen garment sewed together in patchwork [the early tartan?], well daubed with wax or pitch and with an overcoat of deerskin."