Celt - who is this? History of the Celts. Origin and early history of the Celts; sources

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The Celts are called tribes of Indo-European origin in antiquity and at the turn of the eras who occupied vast areas in Western and Central Europe. It was a very warlike people, which in 390 BC. even captured and sacked Rome. But internecine wars weakened the warlike people. As a result, the Germans and Romans ousted the Celts from their lands. These tribes remained surrounded by numerous secrets, intrigues, and, therefore, myths. Let's try to understand who they really were.

The Celts lived in what is now Britain and Ireland.

It is difficult to say anything definite about the origin of the Celts. Some historians believe that they inhabited Britain as early as 3200 years ago, while others believe that they were long before that. But one thing is clear - the Celtic migration began around 400 BC. from Central Europe. The tribes began to spread in all directions, but to the south they had to face the strong Romans. It turned out that the warlike but scattered Celts were opposed by a single unified empire. The tribes were constantly at war with each other, not thinking about uniting against a common enemy. As a result, some of the tribes were completely destroyed, others submitted to the Romans, adopting their culture, and still others went to the remote corners of that world - to Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There are still communities of modern Celts who even strive to preserve their culture. And in their travels, the Celts even reached Greece and Egypt.

The Celts fought naked

When mentioning the Celts, there will always be someone who will mention their traditions of fighting naked with a golden band around his neck, a neck torc. This myth about the Celts is one of the most popular. But one has only to think about such a statement, as its absurdity immediately becomes clear. And this false statement appeared thanks to the Romans. Today, almost all the information that we have about these ancient tribes is obtained from the records of the historians of Rome. There is no doubt that they exaggerated their exploits, and the enemy was described as absolutely primitive savages. In this case, history was made by the victors, was it worth expecting honesty from it in relation to the defeated? But there is another side to this story. The Celts lived during a period of history called the Iron Age. Then, instead of bronze, they just began to use iron. It went to the manufacture of armor, weapons and tools. The Celts had the opportunity to arm themselves with swords, axes, hammers, create metal armor, chain mail, and rivet leather. Given the existence of armor, it would be foolish to assume that warriors abandoned them and fought naked.

Druids were ancient wizards

For that time, the Celtic druids were really powerful characters. They didn't just wear white clothes and do human sacrifice, but they did some really incredible things. Druids acted as advisers to tribal leaders and even kings. With their help, laws were born, just as today the English parliament “suggests” the queen to sign acts. The druids often acted as judges, enforcing the rules they had introduced. For the Celts, the druids were the personification of wisdom. No wonder it was supposed to study for 20 years to deserve such a title. The Druids possessed knowledge in the field of astronomy, they kept folk traditions and cultivated natural philosophy. Celtic wise men informed the villagers when they should start sowing. Druids even believed they could predict the future.

Celtic traditions died with them

Thanks to the Celtic Druids, one interesting tradition appeared and was preserved, which we know today. The fact is that in those days the oak was considered a sacred tree. The Druids believed that the gods lived in everything that surrounds us, including rocks, water, and plants. No less holy than the oak was the mistletoe that grew on it. Beliefs in the power of these plants have survived to this day. It is no coincidence that in the English-speaking world there is a tradition of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmas.

Celtic women were sullen

Based on the assumption that the Celts were savages (thanks to the Romans!), it is logical to consider them gloomy and downtrodden women. But this is a myth. In fact, Celtic women could be very powerful and influential, own their own land, and even divorce at will. For those times, such freedoms seem incredible. Roman women were essentially limited in their rights, but among the Celts, women could make a career, climbing the social ladder. High status could be both inherited and acquired through merit. Among the Celts, the landowners followed the leader into battle. If a woman turned out to be such, then she went into battle too. In fact, among the Celts, warrior women even trained boys and girls in the art of war. Women could even become druids, creating the laws of society. These norms protected everyone in the Celtic tribe, including the elderly, the sick and infirm, and children. It was believed that the latter were still innocent, and therefore they should be protected. But in Roman society, children were often abandoned, leaving to die starving in the garbage heaps. So the Celts were not savages at all, as the Romans convince us.

The Celts didn't build roads

It is difficult to argue with the fact that it was thanks to Roman engineers that a network of roads appeared that enveloped the whole of Europe. In fact, we cannot agree with this. After all, long before the Romans, the Celts built a whole network of wooden roads that connected neighboring tribes. These communication routes allowed the Celts to trade with each other. It’s just that wooden roads turned out to be short-lived, there was practically nothing left of this material - it rotted. But today in the swamps of France, England and Ireland there are still some wooden boards, parts of the road. Based on the fact that the Romans were never able to conquer Ireland, we can safely assume that the old boards were created by the Celts, as part of the roadbed. In the same Ireland, there is the Corlea Trail, on which there are many parts of the old road. In some places, it was even reconstructed so that you could see which way the Celtic tribes moved at one time.

The Celts had strange but uniform helmets

Based on the fact that the Celts had metal armor, it is logical to assume the existence of helmets corresponding to it. They were often unusual - the Celts were not shy about experimenting with designs. One such piece of equipment was found in the Romanian village of Chumeshti, where these tribes also climbed. Here, archaeologists have found an old cemetery dating back to the Iron Age. Among the 34 graves, there was also one that belonged to a Celtic leader. He was buried along with numerous items, among which were bronze axes and rich armor. It was believed that they were supposed to help the deceased in the afterlife. But an unusual helmet stood out among all the vestments. On it, an unknown master forged a large bird of prey, spreading its bronze wings. The design of this decoration looks unusual - the bird's wings turned out to be suspended on hinges, so when the helmet owner walked, the creature seemed to be flying. Historians believe that the fluttering helmet in battle was still rather impractical and the leader wore it only on special occasions. But the helmet has become one of the most famous and copied masterpieces of Celtic art. Even Asterisk and Obelix have something similar.

The Celts only thought about who to fight

This people became famous not only for their travels, but also for their love of battles. However, the Celts fought on anyone's side, but not for free. These warriors were taken as mercenaries even by King Ptolemy II, a representative of the glorious Egyptian dynasty. And the European tribes turned out to be such great soldiers that the king was afraid that they might take over his country. Ptolemy therefore ordered the landing of the Celts on an uninhabited island in the Nile. Met with the Celts and the Greeks. In those days, the tribes were just expanding their territories. Those events are known in history as the Gallic invasion of the Balkans. Its culmination was the Battle of Delphi, which ended in the defeat of the intruders. The fact is that again the scattered Celts were opposed by trained united armies. So in 270 BC. The Celts were expelled from Delphi.

The Celts cut off the heads of their enemies

This fact is perhaps the most famous about the Celts, it is still true. Indeed, the tribes conducted a real headhunt. It was this part of the body of the defeated enemy that was considered the most coveted trophy for the Celts. The reason for this is religion, which asserted the existence of spirits in everything that exists. So the human head was presented as a place where the souls of defeated enemies live. The warrior who had such a collection was surrounded by honor. And the heads of the enemies around gave the Celts self-confidence, a sense of significance. It was customary to decorate with the severed heads of enemies both saddles and doors of houses. It was something of owning a collection of luxury expensive cars in today's world. Today, people brag about a new stylish car, and then they boasted about the head of a powerful hostile leader that appeared in the collection.

The Celts were a poor people

To debunk this myth, it's worth a little bit of history. For the time being, the Celts and Romans coexisted peacefully side by side. But then Julius Caesar appeared on the scene. His political career did not develop, besides, burdensome debts hung on him. It seemed obvious that a small victorious war against the primitive barbarians, the Celts, could improve the situation. The Gallic Wars are often considered the most important military manifestation of the genius of Julius Caesar. Thanks to that campaign, the border of the empire began to expand rapidly. At the same time, Caesar defeated the Celtic tribes one by one and seized their territories. This victory changed the fate of the area known in the ancient world as Gaul, with the Celtic tribes living on it. Caesar himself gained fame and influence. But why exactly did he attack Gaul? The Roman himself wrote that he was trying to push back the barbarian tribes that threatened Rome. But historians see the reasons somewhat differently. One of these predatory tribes were the Helvetii, who lived near the Alps. Caesar promised them protection during their resettlement in Gaul. But then Rome changed its mind, and the barbarians decided to act on their own. Caesar declared that it was necessary to protect the Celts living in Gaul. As a result, the Romans exterminated more than a quarter of a million "invaders", in the process of protecting the territories, almost all the Celts were destroyed. Gaul itself became part of a powerful empire. And it has the most direct relation to wealth. Caesar needed money to pay off his debts and gain influence for his career. Not only did Gaul bring him the glory of a commander, this territory was very rich in gold deposits. The Celts were known to have gold coins and jewelry, but it was believed that they were obtained through trade. But Caesar did not believe it. It turned out that more than four hundred gold mines were located on the territory of Gaul. This testified to the incredible wealth of the Celts, which was the reason for Caesar's such interest in them. Interestingly, Rome began minting its gold coins just after the conquest of Gaul.

The Celts were uneducated

And again, it is worthwhile to understand that the Romans tried in every possible way to expose their rivals in the most bad light. In fact, these people were not at all as simple as they are presented. Moreover, the Celts owned something that even the Romans did not have - an accurate calendar. Yes, there was a Julian calendar, but the Celts had their own calendar from Coligny. It was found in this French city back in 1897, which gave its name to the discovery. Not only does it have an unusual appearance, but the calendar turned out to be made of mysterious metal plates with numerous marks: holes, numbers, lines, a set of Greek and Roman letters. For a hundred years, scientists could only understand that they were dealing with a calendar, but the principle of its operation remained a mystery. Only in 1989 the invention of the Celts was deciphered. It turned out that the find was a solar-lunar calendar, which, based on the cycles of the appearance of heavenly bodies, calculated the time of year. For that state of civilization, the calendar was highly accurate, a cutting edge invention. With it, the Celts could predict where the sun would be in the sky in the coming months. This find clearly proved that the Celts had developed scientific and mathematical thinking. It would be interesting to compare the invention of the "barbarians" with the calendar used by the Romans. It was also considered fairly accurate for its time, with an error of only 11.5 minutes per year with the real solar calendar. But over the centuries, this error accumulates rapidly. As a result, in our time, the Romans would celebrate the beginning of spring when August would be in our yard. But the Celtic calendar, even today, could correctly predict the time of year. So the Romans had a lot to learn from the "uneducated" barbarians.

The civilization of the ancient Celts - an early historical Indo-European people of Central and Western Europe - was formed in the area between the upper Rhine, Elbe and Danube. During the Second Iron Age, the Celts settled in Gaul, Bohemia, England, Ireland, Italy and other vast areas of Europe. The Celtic tribes were characterized by a high level of development of crafts, primarily related to the processing of iron, the economy of the ancient Celts was mainly based on agriculture and animal husbandry. Society was ruled by a military aristocracy.

Despite the progress made by the ancient Celts in the development of crafts and quite perfect (for the corresponding state of culture) knowledge in the field of astronomy, the ancient Celtic civilization remained unwritten. Existing evidence and archaeological material suggests that the ancient Celts in some, almost exceptional, situations could use the Greek, and later the Latin alphabet for short inscriptions, but could not write any long written text. Due to the lack of written language, religious ideas and rituals of the ancient Celts are restored by scientists from secondary sources - the evidence of ancient authors, not always objective, through the reconstruction of archaeological sites and on the basis of later epic folklore.

Despite the fact that archaeologists do not consider it possible to talk about a single culture of the Celts, the existence of an ancient Celtic community is obvious, which was ensured by the unity of the language, divided into dialects, and similar religious ideas. Celtic culture reaches relative stability in the II-I centuries. BC Names of peoples mentioned in ancient monuments "galls" And " galatians” designate precisely the ancient Celts.

Gods. By the time of the conquest of Gaul by Rome as a result of the war detailed by Julius Caesar, the ancient Celtic religion was an advanced polytheism. The gods of the ancient Celtic pantheon were immortal, but their immortality was not absolute - the myths included in the later epic describe cases of their death. The ancient Celtic gods, like the gods of other pagan religions, could enter into relationships with people. The heroes of the sagas are often born from the union of man and god, and thanks to this origin they are endowed with power beyond human capabilities.

Thanks to the Roman poet Lucan 1 (AD 39-67), we know the names of some ancient Celtic gods - these are Teutates, Ez and Taranis, in whose honor bloody sacrifices are made.

Describing the barbaric character of Druidism from the point of view of a Roman, Lucan draws the Celtic deities and the rituals dedicated to them in a very unattractive way:

Also those who are accustomed to drink human blood

Eza a terrible altar, or Teutates wild in anger

Il Taranis, whose face is not kinder than that of the Scythian Diana.

But you, Druids, again with the end of the war returned To evil worship and to your barbaric rites.

It is only given to you to know the gods and the heavenly will Or not to know it; you live in dense oak forests,

Where the rays do not shine: according to your teaching, the shadows Do not fly away from us to the shelter of the silent Erebus,

To Ditu in the underground chamber: but the same spirit controls the Body in the other world; and if you speak the truth,

Death lies in the middle of long life. The peoples of the Nordic countries, in such a mistake, must be blessed,

For the most unbearable fear - the fear of death does not bother them.

Some information about other gods of the ancient Celtic pantheon is restored on the basis of ancient inscriptions, bas-reliefs, sculptures, etc. The ancient Celts worshiped many local gods, whose names were associated with the name of individual Celtic tribes: allobroges, Aramikov, Vokontiev and others. The iconography of many ancient Celtic gods has been lost or is supposedly being restored - there are images of them that cannot be identified, including images of three-headed deities or a god whose attribute is a snake.

Some information about the pantheon of the ancient Celts of Ireland can be gleaned from the epic folklore tradition, primarily from the Irish sagas. It follows from them that the main gods of the Irish Celts were deities belonging to the tribes of the goddess Danu, who, having defeated the demons fomorians, established their rule over Ireland. Epic texts attribute many anthropomorphic features to the tribes of the goddess Danu. Some of these gods have parallels in the Welsh tradition. However, given that the Irish sagas began to be written only in the 8th-9th centuries, they cannot be considered a reliable source for the restoration of the ancient Celtic religion. In addition, the question of how the content of epic works is correlated with the object of faith of the ancient Celtic religion remains open, since the heroic epic did not pursue the goal of fixing religious ideas.

Julius Caesar in his "Notes on the Gallic War" uses the names of gods of the Roman pantheon similar in function to refer to the ancient Celtic gods. According to his testimony, Mercury was most revered by the Celts. The Gallic name of this god is unknown, but hundreds of his sculptural images have been found. In addition, the Celts, according to Caesar, revered Apollo, Mars, Jupiter and Minerva. From his own words, it is known that the Gauls dedicated military booty to Mars, arranging grandiose sacrifices:

Of the gods, they revere Mercury the most. He has more images than all other gods; he is considered the inventor of all arts; he is also recognized as a road sign and guide on travels; they also think that it greatly contributes to the making of money and commercial affairs. Following him, they revere Apollo, Mars, Jupiter and Minerva. About these deities, they have approximately the same ideas as other peoples: Apollo drives away diseases, Minerva teaches the rudiments of crafts and arts, Jupiter has supreme power over the celestials, Mars leads the war. Before a decisive battle, they usually dedicate future spoils of war to him, and after the victory they sacrifice everything captured alive, while the rest of the booty is demolished in one place.

Discovered by archaeologists in Gaul, Germany and Belgium, the so-called ritual mines suggest the existence of a cult of underground gods in the ancient Celtic religion. These shafts are wells 2-3 m deep, in which undamaged ceramic vessels, richly decorated cauldrons, wooden figurines, human and animal bones were found. Such maintenance of the mines speaks of their ritual rather than economic significance. Archaeological material testifies to the existence of a cult of human skulls among the ancient Celts, probably dating back to ancient Indo-European mythology. The discovered Celtic carved columns and simple pillars with niches containing human skulls have a pronounced ritual character. It is possible that these findings are associated with human sacrifice, which were inseparable from the Celtic religion.

Existed in the religion of the ancient Celts and developed cult of heroes. Outstanding historical characters, primarily representatives of the military elite, became the subject of religious veneration as mythical demigods.

Sacrifices. Credible ancient authors such as Strabo and Diodorus testify unequivocally that some Celtic rites were accompanied by ritual human sacrifice. From Caesar's story it follows logically that druids(priests of the Celtic religion) led the burning of people doomed to the role of a victim. Other forms of ritual killing of the victim are also known - stabbing, crucifixion, etc. Later commentators convey that the ritual of the sacrifice depended on the god to whom the sacrifice was made. So, the sacrifice to Taranis involved burning, Teutatus - strangulation, Ezu - hanging on a tree. However, it should be recognized that, according to the mentioned sources, the practice of human sacrifice was still not an ordinary and regular phenomenon. Such rituals were performed mainly in situations of serious public danger, and the role of victims was mainly assigned to criminals and prisoners of war. The druids led the sacrifices, so the attempts of modern esotericists to relieve them of the moral responsibility for performing human sacrifices are not serious.

Ideas about the afterlife. The doctrine of life and death occupied an important place in ancient Celtic mythology and differed significantly from the typical ideas of ancient religion. According to Caesar, the Celts believed that the soul of a person after death moves to other bodies. Similar evidence is available from other authors of Roman antiquity, but they most likely go back to Caesar.

According to Hippolytus (3rd century A.D.), Zamolxis, a slave of Pythagoras, after the death of his master, visited the Celts and introduced them to the basics of Pythagoreanism. The philosophical (probably Pythagorean) basis of the teachings of the Druids is also evidenced by Clement of Alexandria in the famous " Stroma- takh". Most modern scholars of the religion of the ancient Celts are critical of the suggestion of such an influence, because it contradicts the esoteric and elitist nature of the Pythagorean school, and in addition, Pythagoreanism did not exist as a religious sect for very long to gain adherents in the barbarian world. The reverse effect is just as unlikely. Most likely, the ancient Celtic idea of ​​the transmigration of souls is original. However, it never transformed into a developed philosophical and ethical teaching, remaining completely in the space of mythology.

Druidism. As already mentioned, in the religion of the ancient Celts there was a special community of priests - druids. Probably the formation of this

communities occurred in Gaul, and the institution of the Druids itself might not have been of a general Celtic character. Druidic priesthood arises as a result of the social development of the ancient Celtic tribes, which led to the separation of priestly functions from the power of the tribal leader. The hierarchy of the Druids is formed no earlier than the 4th-3rd centuries. BC - but not everywhere. However, this does not indicate that the druidic rites date from the same time. Most likely, before the separation of the priesthood, they were performed by traditional bearers of sacred power, i.e. priest kings.

The organization of the Druids among the various ancient Celtic peoples was not the same: for example, the Irish Druids - and this distinguishes them from the Gaulish ones - did not know a single head and were more disunited. However, all this does not prevent us from considering druidism as an indicative phenomenon of the ancient Celtic religion.

Problematic issues

Pliny, describing druidic rites in the Natural History, suggests a connection between the word "druid" and the ancient Greek drus, those. "oak". The oak and the oak grove are known to have a special place in druidic rites. Currently, this theory is shared by a number of researchers. According to other assumptions, the word "druid" goes back to the ancient Celtic languages, for which, on the basis of Indo-European material, dru-md-es-"very learned." The second assumption can be considered the most plausible.

tic skills, like the art of making a calendar. However, the astronomical knowledge of the ancient Celts should not be exaggerated, as modern occultists do - they were based on mythological cosmogony with elements of astrology and corresponded to the general level of their civilization. The famous calendar from Coligny, traditionally attributed to the Druids, is written in the Latin alphabet and contains evidence of Roman influence. It is known that the Druids composed epic narratives, thus acting as poets and storytellers.

The second function of the druids was administration of justice.

Finally, the druids took care of performing religious rites and rituals, observed the correctness of the performance of sacrifices, were engaged in predicting the future. The prognostic practices of the ancient Celts, which were also carried out by the Druids, were based on the deciphering of signs - such as the flight of birds, the movement of clouds, the insides of animals, etc. Obviously, knowledge of religious traditions and ancient Celtic laws, as well as the ability to foresee the future attributed to them, their priestly functions, determined the high status of the druids in society. Sources describe the druids as wise advisers to the leaders and teachers of the people.

Judging by the surviving sources, the Druid community did not have a caste-closed character. The main condition that the applicant had to meet was his knowledge of the traditions of druidism, teachings and rituals, which were transmitted through oral teaching. However, it is likely that the nobility of origin played a role. The training of future druids was very long and could reach twenty years, during which the young men had to memorize a huge number of verses. Special mnemonic techniques could have been used for the success of training: Caesar speaks of a special training system invented in Britain and transferred to Gaul, but this evidence is rather conjectural. Classes with students were not of a public nature - they were held in secret, in caves or remote forests.

Temples. The question of the existence of specially built temples in the religion of the ancient Celts, like many other issues related to their religion, cannot be resolved unambiguously. Ancient evidence suggests that in most cases the rites were performed in forests, mainly in oak groves. Sacrifices were made there, and future druids were trained there. The sacred attitude to forests was preserved in a number of epic works of the ancient Celts, it was also present in the people's memory. However, this does not exclude the possibility of building open sanctuaries already in the archaic period of the ancient Celtic civilization.

The emergence of stone temples among the ancient Celts falls on the period of Roman expansion, at a time when their religion was in decline. Most likely, these stone temples are a product of the influence of Roman religion, some of them may be associated with the cult of the emperor of Rome.

Separately, it should be said about the famous megalithic complex at Stonehenge, located in the center of the Salisbury Plain (Wiltshire), which in modern ideas is often associated with druidism. Archaeological data suggest that the megaliths of Stonehenge (Early Bronze Age) that have survived to our time were erected on the site of an ancient sanctuary that functioned already at the end of the Neolithic. The long existence of this sanctuary suggests that in different periods the sanctuary was used in the rituals of various religious traditions. Probably, Stonehenge was a sanctuary of an unknown form of solar cult, which could be used for astronomical observations. Despite the fact that the creation of the megalithic complex Stonehenge is not associated with the Druids, the latter could probably perform their rituals here. Otherwise, it is difficult to explain the presence of a cultural layer dating back to the heyday of druidism, and the good preservation of megaliths, which indirectly indicates that the complex was not abandoned and abandoned at that time.

The decline of religion. After the conquest of Gaul, the process of Romanization of the Celtic tribes begins, as a result of which local customs and religious traditions begin to be replaced by Roman ones. The opening of schools like the Roman ones leads to the fact that the Druids lose their influence in society. Emperor Augustus forbids Roman citizens from participating in Celtic rites. The policy of Augustus is continued by Tiberius, who clearly disliked the religion of the ancient Celts. Finally, under the emperor Claudius, persecution began against supporters of the ancient Celtic religion, with the goal of completely eradicating druidic rites. And although it is difficult to assess the sequence of implementation of official measures against the Druids, it is obvious that these events themselves contributed to the decline of the religion of the ancient Celts. One of the reasons for the persecution of the ancient Celtic religion by Imperial Rome is the aversion of the Romans of this period to the practice of human sacrifice and suspicion of the various forms of magic practiced by the Druids. The final decline and cessation of the existence of the Druid class occurs already under the influence of the Christianization of the ancient Celts.

Druidism XVIII-XX centuries. The Renaissance, with its appeal to the ancient heritage, contributed to the awakening of interest in both the ancient Celtic religion and the Druids, since the description of their rituals and organization is found on the pages of ancient authors. However, the true passion for druidism begins in the 18th century. A majestic priest-philosopher, initiated into sacred wisdom, a gray-bearded old man in a light cloak with a hood and a staff in his hands - this was how the druid seemed to romanticists. Of course, this image has nothing to do with genuine druids, moreover, we don’t even know what they looked like. Attempts to restore the druidic rites and the very organization of the druids, which were undertaken during the 19th-20th centuries, for example, on the basis of the traditions of bardic festivals dating back to the distant past, led to the creation of several small groups of the sectarian type. Their rites, according to the apt remark of the researcher of druidism S. E. Piggott 1 in the book “Druids. Poets, scientists, soothsayers" (1968), "cause not respectful horror, but a feeling of slight absurdity of what is happening."

"Notes on the Gallic War" op. according to the translation of M. M. Pokrovsky.

World history has left many mysteries to humanity in the form of unusual architectural structures that scientists find from time to time. Most of the questions about their existence were left to the descendants of the ancient Celts. Until now, information about this civilization reaches us in the form of fragmentary and not always reliable legends and myths.

Who are the Celts?

Europe has become a home for many tribes and nationalities. In the process of their development and spread across the European territory, they often mixed up and became a single whole. In this case, it was difficult to separate the traditions and culture of one people from another.

The history of the Celts looks quite different. They appeared in Europe unexpectedly and quickly filled almost all territories. The barbarian tribes were not afraid to attack the Greeks and Romans. Most often, their raids were successful and brought a large amount of booty to the tribes.

The name of the nationality was given by the Greeks, it was they who first introduced the word "Celts" into use. It is still unknown where this name came from. Historians come to the conclusion that only one of the many tribes could be called that way. But in the end, the name was assigned to the entire nation that settled on the territory of modern Britain and had a similar language. In the future, the tribes united, which affected the expansion of the vocabulary and the commonality of cultural traditions.

History of the Celts: several centuries of mystery

Traces of the Celts are found throughout Europe, archaeologists attribute this to the fact that they preferred a nomadic lifestyle and often moved long distances. It is still unknown how the Celtic tribes lived until the fifth century, there is no information about them.

Only from the period of their appearance in Europe they began to be spoken about and mentioned in written sources. It is surprising that somewhere for many centuries lived a people about whom no one knew. After all, neither the Greeks nor the Romans had any idea who the Celt was. This seems incredible and is the reason for the myths about the mystical origin of the people.

Scientists reliably know that the Celts had a clear hierarchy based not on military power, but on mythology and religious beliefs, which significantly distinguishes this people from other nomadic tribes.

To date, almost all data on the cultural heritage of the Celts are falsified. All the unusual finds of past centuries in Europe had one single explanation - the Celt. This has led to the fact that it is now incredibly difficult to separate fact from fiction.

Archaeologists and historians of our time are bit by bit collecting material that has a scientific justification. But the study of the history of the Celts is difficult because they did not have a written language. This is another mystery of the Celtic civilization, because it had a fairly high level of development. Why did the Celts not recognize written sources? This secret died with them.

The hierarchy of the Celts was represented by three estates:

• druids;
• warriors;
• peasants.

Each estate was extremely isolated and never intersected. Marriages between members of different classes were suppressed.

The decline of the Celtic civilization is associated with the conquests of the Roman Empire. She managed to capture all the territories where the Celts lived. They were forced to hide in forests and caves. In Ireland, they built entire underground cities, as the locals believed, using ancient magic and sorcery.

At that time, the Irish were still in awe of the mere word "Celt". This was due to the enormous power of the priests, who possessed extraordinary knowledge, transmitted only by word of mouth. With the spread of Christianity in Europe, the Celts began to disappear, and over time they moved into the category of civilizations lost to the world.

Druids - carriers of ancient sacred knowledge

The Celtic priest was a member of a special caste of druids. They lived separately, but willingly shared their knowledge. Education in the school of druids took twenty years, the boys were selected from childhood and passed on knowledge to them orally.

Until now, no one knows what was available to the priests. But throughout Europe, there are legends about the abilities of the druids, who could talk with trees and animals, move huge stones and build structures from them, as well as heal the most terrible wounds and move through the air.

Druids performed sacrifices in a sacred oak grove and, based on the results of communication with the gods, made decisions about important matters in the tribe. The priests kept a lunar calendar, according to which the whole tribe lived.

Religious beliefs and the gods of the Celts: a set of paradoxes

The religion of the Druids is difficult to understand for modern man. She combined high knowledge about the existent and spiritual with cruel rites. Analyzing this fact, it is difficult to imagine that such actions were done by the same Celt. It doesn't fit in my head. After all, it is impossible to stand up for balance and protect all living things from their interference, and to perform demonstrative murders of enemies that last several nights.

It is difficult to say how beliefs in a single god, represented in three forms (which surprisingly echoes Christianity), coexisted in the Celtic tribes with nightly orgies of priestesses, accompanied by torchlight processions.

Some scientists put forward the version that the druids and the Celts are completely different races. But so far this theory has not found either confirmation or refutation.

The influence of the Celts on the culture of Europe

Despite the fact that in the minds of many Europeans the words "barbarian" and "Celt" are synonymous, this is fundamentally wrong. The Germanic peoples, for example, borrowed Celtic technologies and motifs for the manufacture of jewelry and ceramics. The Roman conquerors used well-established trade relations, and the Irish adopted from the Celts the unity with nature and the ability to find inspiration in it.

It is not known how much the modern peoples of Europe learned from the Celts. Perhaps all our achievements and cultural values ​​are just a faint reflection of the once majestic and magical civilization of the Celts.

Celts- one of the most famous and mysterious ancient peoples. There was a time when the sphere of their military activity covered most of Europe, but by the beginning of a new era, only a tiny part of this people in the very north-west of the continent retained its independence. During the period of maximum power ancient celts their speech was from Spain and Brittany in the west to Asia Minor in the east, from Britain in the north to Italy in the south. Celtic culture refers to the basic foundations of a number of cultures of modern Western and Central Europe. Some of the Celtic peoples still exist today. The peculiar art of the Celts still amazes both professional art historians and a wide range of connoisseurs, and the religion that embodied their subtle and complex worldview remains a mystery. Even after the unified Celtic civilization left the historical stage, its heritage in various forms experienced a revival more than once.

These people were called Celts, the Romans called them galls(roosters), but how they called themselves, and whether they had a single name is unknown. The ancient Greek and Latin (Roman) authors probably wrote more about the Celts than about other peoples of Europe, which is consistent with the significance of these northern neighbors in the life of ancient civilization.

Map. Celts in Europe in the 1st millennium BC

The entry of the Celts into the historical arena

First news about the ancient Celts found in written sources around 500 BC. e. It says that these people had several cities and were warlike neighbors of the Ligures, a tribe that lived near the Greek colony of Massalia (now the French city of Marseille).

In the work of the "father of history" Herodotus, completed no later than 431 or 425 BC. e., it was reported that the Celts inhabited the upper reaches of the Danube (moreover, according to the Greeks, the source of this river is in the Pyrenees), their neighborhood with the Cynetes, the westernmost people of Europe, is mentioned.

Around 400 BC e. the tribes of this people invaded Northern Italy and occupied it, subjugating the Etruscans, Ligurians, and Umbrians who lived here. Around 396 BC. e. The Celts-Insubras founded the city of Mediolan (now Italian Milan). In 387 BC. e. the Celtic people, led by Brennus, defeated the Roman army at Alia, and then. True, the city Kremlin (Capitol) could not be captured. This campaign is associated with the origin of the Roman proverb " Geese saved Rome". According to legend, the Celts moved at night to storm the Capitol. The Roman guard was asleep. But the invaders were noticed by geese from the temple of the goddess Vesta. They made a noise and woke the guards. The attack was repulsed, and Rome was saved from capture.

In those years, the Celtic raids reached the south of Italy, until Rome put a limit to them, striving for hegemony in Italy and relying on a reformed army. Faced with such a rebuff, some groups in 358 BC. e. moved to Illyria (north-west of the Balkan Peninsula), where their movement ran into a counter onslaught of the Macedonians. And already in 335 BC. e. Celtic ambassadors entered into negotiations with Alexander the Great. Probably, the concluded agreement on the division of spheres of influence allowed the Macedonians and Greeks to go to 334 BC. e. to the conquest of Persia, without fear for their rear, and gave the Celts the opportunity to establish themselves on the Middle Danube.

From 299 BC e. the military activity of the Celts in Italy resumed, they managed to defeat the Romans at Clusium, to attach a number of tribes dissatisfied with Rome. However, four years later, in 295 BC. e., the Romans took revenge, uniting and subjugating a significant part of Italy. In 283 BC. e. they occupied the lands of the Senon Celts, cutting off their other tribesmen access to the Adriatic Sea. In 280 BC. e. inflicted a crushing defeat on the northern Italian Celts with the allies on Lake Vadimon.

Then it intensified military expansion of the Celts in southeastern Europe. Perhaps it was the outflow of forces in this direction that weakened their onslaught in Italy. By 298 BC. e. include information about their penetration into the territory of modern Bulgaria, though unsuccessful. In 281 BC. e. numerous Celtic detachments flooded a number of regions of the Balkan Peninsula, and the 20th thousandth army of the Galatian Celts was hired by Nicomedes I, king of Bithynia (on the territory of modern Turkey), for the war in Asia Minor. A huge army of Celts led by Brennus in 279 BC. e. , plundering, among other things, the sanctuary in Delphi, especially revered by the Greeks. And although the barbarians managed to be ousted from Greece and Macedonia, they remained the dominant force in the more northern regions of the Balkans, establishing several kingdoms there. In 278 BC. e. Nicomedes I again invited the Galatians to Asia Minor, where they strengthened themselves by establishing in 270 BC. e. in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Ankara, a federation under the control of 12 leaders. The federation did not last long: after the defeats of 240-230. BC e. she lost her independence. The same or some other Galatians in the second half of the 3rd or at the beginning of the 2nd c. BC e. appear among the tribes that threatened Olbia on the northern coast of the Black Sea.

In 232 BC. e. again conflict broke out and the Celts in Italy, and in 225 BC. e. the local Gauls and the relatives called by them from behind the Alps were brutally defeated. At the site of the battle, the Romans built a memorial temple, where many years later they thanked the gods for the victory. This defeat was the beginning of the decline of the military power of the Celts. The Carthaginian commander Hannibal, who moved in 218 BC. e. from Africa through Spain, southern France and the Alps to Rome, counted on an alliance with the Celts in Italy, but the latter, weakened by previous defeats, could not help him to the extent that he expected. In 212 BC. e. uprisings of the local population put an end to Celtic domination in the Balkans.

Having finished the wars with Carthage, the Celtic people. In 196 BC. e. defeated the Insubres, in 192 BC. e. - Boii, and their center Bononia (modern Bologna) was destroyed. The remnants of the Boii went north and settled on the territory of the present Czech Republic (the name of one of the regions of the Czech Republic - Bohemia - came from them). By 190 BC. e. all the lands south of the Alps were captured by the Romans, later (82 BC) establishing the province of Cisalpine Gaul here. In 181 BC. e. not far from modern Venice, Roman colonists founded Aquileia, which became a stronghold for the expansion of Roman influence in the Danube region. During another war, by 146 BC. e. the Romans took possession of Iberia (present-day Spain) from the Carthaginians, and by 133 BC. e. finally subjugated the Celtic-Iberian tribes living there, taking their last stronghold - Numatia. In 121 BC. e. under the pretext of protecting Massalia from the raids of its neighbors, Rome occupied the south of modern France, subduing the local Celts and Ligures, and in 118. BC e. the province of Gallia Narbonne was created there.

At the end of the II century. BC e. Roman historians wrote about the onslaught on the Celts from their northeastern neighbors - the Germans. Shortly before 113. BC e. the Boii repulsed the attack of the Germanic tribe of the Cimbri. But they moved south, united with the Teutons (who were probably Celts), defeated a number of Celtic tribes and Roman armies, but in 101 BC. e. The Cimbri were almost completely destroyed by the Roman general Marius. Later, other Germanic tribes nevertheless ousted the Boii from the Czech Republic to the Danube regions.

By 85 BC. e. The Romans broke the resistance of the Scordisci, who lived at the mouth of the Sava, the last stronghold of the Celts in the north of the Balkans. About 60 BC e. The Dacians under the leadership of Burebista almost destroyed the Tevrisci and Boii, which is probably part of the events associated with the expansion of the Thracian tribes, which crushed the Celtic domination in the territory to the east and north of the Middle Danube.

Shortly before 59 BC. e., taking advantage of civil strife in Gaul, the Suebi and some other Germanic tribes, led by Ariovistus, captured part of the territory of the Sequans, one of the strongest Celtic tribes. This was the reason for the intervention of the Romans. In 58 BC. e. Julius Caesar, then proconsul of Illyria, Cisalpine and Narbonne Gaul, defeated the union of Ariovista, and soon basically took control of the rest, "shaggy" Gaul. In response, the ancient Celts rebelled (54 BC), but in 52 BC. e. fell Alesia, the base of the most active leader of the rebels - Vercingetorix, and by 51 BC. e. Caesar crushed the resistance of the Celts completely.

During a series of campaigns from 35 to 9 BC. e. the Romans established themselves on the right bank of the Middle Danube, conquering the Celtic and other local tribes. Later, the province of Pannonia arose here. In 25 BC. e. Galatia in Asia Minor submitted to Rome, having lost the remnants of independence, but the descendants of the Celts continued to live in these lands, preserving their language for several more centuries. In 16 BC. e. part of the Roman state became the "kingdom of Norik", uniting their possessions in the Upper Danube, in 16 AD. e. Here the Roman provinces of Noricus and Raetia were formed.

Following waves of Celtic settlers, the Romans also came to Britain. Julius Caesar visited there in 55 and 54. BC e. By 43 AD e., under the emperor Caligula, the Romans, having crushed the stubborn resistance of the Celts, captured South Britain, and by 80, during the reign of Agricola, the border of Roman possessions on these islands took shape.

Thus, in the I century. the Celts remained free only in Ireland.

By the middle of the 1st millennium BC, Celtic tribes inhabited the basins of the Rhine, Seine, Loire and the upper Danube. This area was later named Gaul by the Romans. During the VI-III centuries, the Celts occupied the lands of modern Spain, Britain, Northern Italy, Southern Germany, the Czech Republic, partly Hungary and Transylvania.

Separate Celtic settlements were to the south and east of these territories in the Illyrian and Thracian regions. In the III century BC. e. the Celts undertook an unsuccessful campaign in Macedonia and Greece, as well as in Asia Minor, where part of the Celts settled and later became known as the Galatians.

In some countries, the Celts mixed with the local population and created a new, mixed culture, such as the culture of the Celtiberians in Spain. In other areas, the local population was quickly Celticized, such as the Ligurians who lived in the south of France, and only a few place names and remnants of religious beliefs have preserved insignificant traces of their language and culture.

There are almost no written sources about the early period of the history of the Celts. For the first time they are mentioned by Hecateus of Miletus, then by Herodotus, who reported on the settlements of the Celts in Spain and on the Danube. Titus Livy testifies to the campaign of the Celts in Italy during the reign of the Roman king Tarquinius Priscus in the 6th century BC. e.

Celtic warriors. Relief frieze from Civito Alba. 3rd century BC e. Terracotta.

In 390, one of the Celtic tribes raided Rome. At the beginning of the 4th century, the Celts offered the tyrant of Sicily Dionysius I an alliance against Locri and Croton, with whom he then fought. Later they appeared in his army as mercenaries. In 335, the Celtic tribes that lived along the shores of the Adriatic Sea sent their representatives to Alexander the Great.

These meager written data are supplemented by archeological materials. The spread of the so-called La Tène culture created by them is connected with the Celts. The name comes from the Gulf of La Tène on Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a fortification and a large number of Celtic weapons characteristic of this culture were discovered.

Monuments of La Tene culture, which in the middle of the VI century BC. e. is replaced by Hallstatt, allow us to trace the gradual development of the Celtic tribes and the history of their penetration into various regions of Europe.

At the first stage of its development, in the middle of the 6th - the end of the 5th century, the La Tène culture spread from France to the Czech Republic. A large number of swords, daggers, helmets, bronze and gold jewelry indicates that even then the Celtic craft reached a high level.

Art was also at a high level, which is proved, for example, by artistically decorated dishes. At the same time, Greek things appeared in the burials, which penetrated to the Celts through Massalia along the Rhone and Saone rivers. Greek art had a noticeable influence on Celtic art, although local craftsmen did not blindly follow Greek patterns, but reworked them, adapting them to their tastes and traditions.

In the 5th-3rd centuries, in connection with the settlement of the Celts, the La Tène culture gradually spread to other regions of Europe. The products of Celtic artisans are being improved more and more. The Greek influence is less and less felt. In the west, typical Celtic enameled items appear. Ceramics made on the potter's wheel are gaining popularity.

Celtic agriculture reaches a high level. It was the Celts who invented the heavy plow with a chisel. This plow could plow the earth to a much greater depth than the light plow that was used at that time by the Italics and Greeks. In agriculture, the Celts used a three-field system, which ensured good harvests. In Italy, they willingly bought flour from the Celtic regions.

Moving into new areas, the Celts handed out lands to pagas - tribes or clans. In Britain, little connected with the outside world, ancestral tribal ownership of land persisted for a long time.

On the continent, where the Celts entered into commercial relations with Greek and Italic merchants, private ownership of land gradually arose. The tribal community was replaced by a rural one, and from among the community members stood out the nobility, which managed to seize more land.

Weapons and household items from the burial grounds of the La Tène culture (Middle Moravia).

From this nobility formed the Celtic cavalry, which constituted the main force of the army. The cavalry supplanted the war chariots, which had been common among the Celts, which survived only in Britain.

The high skill of the Celts in fortification is evidenced by the remains of their fortifications - huge walls of stone blocks fastened with oak beams. These so-called Gallic walls were later borrowed by other peoples.

By the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd century, trade among the continental Celts reached such a level that they began to mint their own gold and silver coins, similar to the coins of Massalia, Rhodes and Rome, as well as the Macedonian ones. At first, the coin appears among the tribes that were closely connected with the policies of the Greek and Roman world, but by the 1st century, more distant tribes began to mint it, including the tribes of Britain.

The development of trade led to the disintegration of primitive communal relations, which proceeded especially rapidly among the tribes that were in direct contact with the ancient world. In the II century, the expansion of the Celts stops. One of the reasons is the meeting with such strong opponents as the Germans, advancing to the Rhine, and the Romans, who in 121 captured the southern, so-called Narbonne, Gaul and increasingly asserted their influence and dominance in the Danubian regions.

The last major movement of the Celtic tribes was the arrival of the Belgian tribe from the trans-Rhein regions, who established themselves in the north of Gaul and in some Rhine regions of Germany. By the end of the 2nd century BC. e. the Celts had already reached the last stage of the decomposition of the primitive communal system. The tribal nobility owned vast lands and slaves who were used as servants.

Many tribal community members became dependent on the nobility and were forced to cultivate its lands, paying a certain fee, as well as join squads and fight for their leaders. Separate pagi by this time had already united into more or less large tribal communities. The most significant of these were the communities of the Aedui and Erverni.

Communities subjugated less powerful tribes, which fell into dependence on them. Cities began to appear, which were centers of crafts and trade, and in some cases - political centers. Cities were usually well fortified.

Most of the Celtic tribes developed a kind of aristocratic republic, somewhat similar to the early Roman Republic. The former tribal leaders, whom the ancient authors called kings, were expelled. They were replaced by a council of the aristocracy and magistrates chosen from its midst - the so-called Vergobrets. The main task of the Vergobrets was the introduction of the court.

Often, individual representatives of the nobility tried to seize sole power. They were supported by the squad and the people, who hoped that they would limit the power of the landowners who oppressed him. But such attempts were usually quickly stopped.

Along with the nobility, which the Romans called horsemen, the priesthood, the druids, also played an important role. They were organized into a corporation headed by an archdruid, exempted from military service and paying taxes, and revered as the keepers of divine wisdom and some, however, rather meager knowledge. Representatives of the aristocracy who mastered their teachings were accepted among the druids.

Druids met annually and held court. The decisions of this court were strictly binding on all Gauls. The recalcitrant Druids were forbidden to participate in religious ceremonies, which separated them from society.

The teachings of the Druids were secret and were taught orally. It took up to 20 years to master it. Little is known about its contents. Apparently, the basis of the teachings of the Druids was the idea of ​​the immortality of the soul or the transmigration of souls and the idea of ​​the end of the world, which will be destroyed by fire and water. It is difficult to determine how much this teaching influenced the religion of the Celts, about which very little is also known. Along with the cult of the spirits of the forest, mountains, rivers, streams, etc., there was also a cult of the gods of the sun, the thunder of war, life and death, crafts, eloquence, etc. Human sacrifices were made to some of these gods.

Not all Celtic tribes stood at the same stage of development. The northern tribes more distant from Italy, in particular the Belgae, still lived in a primitive communal system, just like the British Celts. Attempts of Roman penetration were met with a sharp rebuff here. On the contrary, the tribes of Southern Gaul, especially the Aedui, were already on the verge of transition to a class society and state. The local nobility, in the struggle with their fellow tribesmen and other tribes, sought the help of Rome, which subsequently facilitated the conquest of Gaul and its transformation into a Roman province.