Notes on Celtic bros

Celtic Religion & Beliefs

• Caesar once said; “the whole people is much given to religion”
• The Celts didn’t write about their beliefs
• Deities were also described in stories told in Ireland and were written down in Christian times, but these were written long after their worship had ceased.
• The Celts were never unified as one people, thus there wasn’t complete consistency with regards to religious belief.
• Gods & Goddesses inhabited the Otherworld
• The Otherworld was similar to the real world
• The Celts believed that they would join the gods and goddesses in the Otherworld after death
• For the Celts, death was the centre of a long life, not the end

Gods & Goddesses

• The names of some Celtic gods are known because alters were dedicated to them and to the roman god they were thought to be most alike.
• They created statues of their gods & goddesses
• They worshipped many gods & goddesses
• Their gods were not regarded as a single divine family (like the Greek and Roman gods).
• Each tribe worshipped it’s own gods
• There were many basic types of gods
• Many tribes worshipped a young warrior god
• Some gods were famous for their healing powers
• Deities were shown with a human shape
• They were beautiful, well dressed, and kind to humans
• Sometimes, the gods would fall in love with humans, and it’s said that great warriors were fathered by gods
• Also, horned gods were popular and often shown with either stag antlers, or those of a ram or bull.
• Morrigan; a war goddess who appeared in a hideous form to haunt doomed warriors
• Three cranes of the god Midir were believed to take away a warriors courage and discourage guests
• Animals were also worshipped
• The boar was revered for its fierceness & courage
• There were also sacred hounds and bulls
• Birds were considered either good or evil
• Ravens made the Celts think of battlefields & death
• Birds of the goddess Rhiannon sang so beautifully to feasting heroes that they forgot time, and so years would pass away as they listened
• Celtic god of martial arts is female

Celtic Rites & Rituals

          Burials;

• The Celts had many interesting burial rites
• They believed in life after death, and the dead were buried with their possessions to prepare them for their journey into the afterlife
• Celtic graves served as a rich store for archeologists, they contained things like food, wine, weapons, clothing, rich jewelry etc.
• Royal graves were signified by a large mound of dirt (called a barrow or tumulus). In Northern France & Yorkshire, dead Celtic chiefs have been found buried with their chariots and harness of their chariot ponies.
• Warriors were buried with their weapons, other men were given pots of food & drink and were buried in their normal clothes.
• Sometimes men would be buried with ornaments
• Buried women were dressed with bead necklaces & other jewelry, also accompanied by pots of food and drink
• Criminals and servants were disposed of casually or with no grave at all, they were simply thrown into old rubbish pits and covered with earth

Feasts;

·        Celtic feasts were an important part of a noble’s life

·        They were a way to celebrate victory in battle

·        At feasts, warriors would boast about their exploits, and competitions would be had as to what warrior has the most daring feats

·        The attendants would discuss the greatest warrior present

·        Competition arose as more extravagant claims came forth

·        The winner was awarded a large piece of meat, called the champion’s portion

·        At feasts involving multiple tribes, it was a matter of tribal pride for their warrior to win the competition

·        Sometimes fights would occur before the eating had commenced

Presentation Material:

d) Ritual Activities; One of the most important rituals in Celtic society was feasting. Often held to celebrate victory in battle, the Celts would boast about their exploits in battle at these events, and the most respected warrior would be awarded a ‘champion’s portion’ of meat. Claims of glory would often grow so extravagant that disagreements would arise. Occasionally, the ritual boasting that occurred during these feasts, especially when other tribes were present, would result in conflict if a census couldn’t be met as to who the most glorious warrior was. Thus, having a warrior from your tribe selected as the winner would award your tribe a substantial amount of pride.

Burial; Celtic burial rites offer us an immense amount of insight as to how they perceived death. They believed that life after death would take place in the Otherworld; a place where Celtic gods & goddesses resided. In addition, they believed that death was the centre of a long life, not the end. Therefore, the dead would be placed into graves with many material possessions to prepare them for their journey into the Otherworld. The bodies would be surrounded by food, drinks, clothing, weapons, and other various items of importance. Warriors were often buried with their armaments, and Celtic women were often dressed in ornate jewelry before placed into a grave. The graves of highly important Celts were signified by mounds of dirt, called a barrow or tumulus, and some Celtic chiefs were found buried with their chariots. Criminals and servants, however, were disposed of in a very casual way, and were often dumped into old rubbish pits and covered with earth.

e) Religion; The Celts believed in literally hundreds of gods and goddesses, which varied between different families and tribes. Generally, the Celts worshipped gods that were associated with having many skills, and goddesses that were related to natural elements. However, there were also malicious deities, such as Morrigan, who would haunt warriors and discourage guests. Druids were seen as Celtic priests, and they conducted many religious ceremonies as observed by the Romans. The druids fulfilled many roles in Celtic society, such as judging, teaching, lore-keeping.

In my opinion, the Celtic family would have treated their religion as more of a mythology than a faith. Different deities had different attributes and abilities, and they believed that it was even possible for gods to love them. Additionally, they also though of being able to live with the gods in the Otherworld upon death, so there was more of a personal connection on that level.

Source: The Celts, Robin Place, 1977 – Macdonald Education