What the Romans Found: The Celts

illumination of this fact: The Celts never became a united nation. In hundreds of individual tribes, they dug in their heels against Roman encroachment and held firm in their belief that they alone knew how to govern and instruct themselves. (They seemed to have forgotten their relativity recent defeats at the hands of the Romans. Indeed, some archaeologists argue that the British Celts came from settlements nowhere near Roman lands and, hence, had no first-hand knowledge of Roman victories over their brethren.)

Each of these individual tribes had its own particular culture, based on the common Celtic model. In essence, a tribe was several families having a common ancestor. (This idea is present in the development of the clans of Scotland as well.) The tribes had different classes, including an aristocracy, a commoner class, and a learned class. This last class comprised the lawyers, poets, and priests, otherwise known as Druids. These Druids wielded enormous power over the lives of their fellow Celts. They kept their secrets to themselves but were never shy in instructing their people in how to live and how to keep their culture alive. It was the Druids who urged the Celts to fight the Romans. Tragically, the Romans were victorious in driving the Celts out of England. The Celts retired northward and westward. Next focus: Druids.

Relevant links
The Celts in Britain
The Celts in Europe
How the Romans viewed the Celts

Go To Page: 1 2

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic