Just Finished Reading: A Brief History of The Celts by Peter Berresford Ellis

It was clearly the intention of the author to rehabilitate the image of the Celt away from that of the violence drunk warrior people who sacked Rome more than once and made a major contributor to the downfall of that civilisation offering nothing in its place. Such an image has remained in place because of the views (largely) of the very Romans they helped to destroy. Julius Caesar himself, in his classic and oft quoted Conquest of Gaul, puts them firmly in their place as stereotypical barbarians good for little else but slaughter on the battlefield.

But, as this book clearly points out time and again there was far more to the Celts than their warrior persona. But first Ellis put to bed the sometimes argued idea that the Celts themselves did not exist and where in fact yet another Victorian invention. With both documentary and archaeological evidence Ellis nails this erroneous idea as yet another attempt to redefine history contrary to literally mounds of evidence. After outlining their political and social structure – equally as complex as the societies around them – Ellis delves deeply into their religious Elite, the Druids who were at the time universally admired by all who interacted with them with the notable exception of Rome who went to great lengths to destroy them as a force in the Celtic world. This fact alone shows how important they were.

There is no getting around that the Celts were a warrior people – though such was hardly unusual at the time. Indeed the Celts proved to be one of the Roman Empires deadliest opponents who were responsible for numerous defeats of Roman ambitions throughout the European continent. Without their influence it is arguable that some of what we regard as Roman weapons and tactics may never have been applied to such good effect against Rome’s enemies. In the centuries of bruising conflict between the two sides Rome learnt a great deal from its many defeats and set-backs.

One of the things that shocked Romans when they came into regular contact with Celtic society was their women. Roman observers were scandalised by the fact that women often decided who their lovers and husbands would be and could divorce them if they proved to be inadequate. Such a thing – along with owning property, inheriting land as well as leading warriors into battle – was practically unheard of in the Ancient world. One thing that really struck me was a Celtic law that allowed a woman to take any action against her adulterous husband for 48 hours after learning of his adultery: - It being considered that she would be far too angry and emotional to be held accountable for her actions. Such a law did not, however, apply to men who were considered to be rational enough to be in control of what they did and therefore to be held accountable for their actions!

Ellis shows time and again that not only were the Celts great warriors (and enlightened law makers) but that they were also renowned weapon smiths, artists, engineers and, rather oddly given their reputation, road builders. They were far from, it would seem, the mindless barbarian hordes we have long assumed them to be. But this is not simply revisionist history or a romantic overlaying of the noble savage onto the bare bones of a real one. Ellis clearly bases his ideas on hard evidence some of which has only come to light in the last few decades. It’s nice to know that my ancestors were not only the beer swilling destroyers of civilisations but could also craft a good knife, farm the land, speculate on existence and treat their women like individuals long before so-called civilised peoples did the same. If you have any hint of Celtic heritage or just want to put the record straight this is definitely the book for you. I am very much looking forward to reading his book on the Druids. Watch this space.