Tribal warfare Ĭeltic tribes and peoples fought amongst each other sometimes they allied themselves with the Romans, Greeks, Etruscans, Macedonians, Germanic peoples and various other peoples against each other and against other Celtic groups. Chariots also played an important role in the warfare and culture of various Celtic groups, with Chariot burials being an important and unifying aspect of Celtic cultures such as the Hallstatt culture, La Tène culture, Gallic and Brittonic cultures no remains of these vehicles from the period have yet been discovered in Ireland. This story describes combat centered on the use of the spear ( gae) and javelin ( gá-ín) with no mention of helmets or metal armor, which is consistent and in keeping with archaeological evidence. The Táin Bó Cúailnge, chiefly the story of the Ulster hero Cú Chulainn, who defeats an entire army from Connacht one by one in single combat. Champion warfare was an important aspect of Celtic mythology and culture. The Welsh Mabinogion dates from roughly the same era. The Celtic and Irish mythological heroic cycles were committed to writing in the medieval period, some time after the pre-Christian era they are supposed to depict. An artist's depiction of Celtic Iron Age Chariot warfare in Gaelic Ireland, although archaeological evidence of chariots have not yet been found in Ireland. Rolleston's Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race, 1911. Some of these had a strict hierarchical structure and a ruling monarchy, while others exhibited representational organizational structures typical of a republic.Īrchaeology provides much information regarding the material culture of the Celts, but the significance of these finds in determining how the ancient Celts actually fought is the subject of much speculation.Ĭú Chulainn in Battle, illustration by J. The organizational structure of Celtic tribes and societies varied greatly from group to group. Celtic tribes and peoples often fought amongst each other sometimes they allied themselves with the Romans, Greeks, Etruscans, Macedonians, Germanic peoples and various other peoples against each other and against other Celtic groups. Romanization).Įndemic warfare appears to have been a regular feature and an important aspect of life in the various Celtic societies. The expansion of the Roman Republic and Empire gradually brought most continental European Celts under Roman rule, leading to Roman citizenship and assimilation (i.e. These groups often produced cultural offshoots through descent, diffusion, migration and Celticisation.ĭue to the 3rd century BC Gallic invasion of Greece and proliferation of their mercenaries throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, elements of the Galatian style of warfare and equipment such as the thureos shield were adopted by Hellenistic powers. Historical Celtic groups included the Belgae, Boii, Britons, Caledonians, Celtiberians, Gaels, Gauls, Gallaeci, Galatians, Helvetii, Lepontii, Noricum, and the Picts. Organization was varied from group to group and was usually structured according to clan groupings and social class. No Celtic group employed a regular military as we would understand it today. In the museum Kelten-Keller Rodheim-Bieber, Germany.Ĭeltic Warfare was the type of warfare practiced by the various Celtic peoples and tribes, from Classical antiquity through the Migration period.
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