SOCIETY
The structure and nature of Celtic society had more in
common with that of the ancient Hindus of India than it did
with the society of the Greeks or Romans. The Celts were a
tribal warrior class society in which women played as
important a role as any man, a trait that was spread to the
east and west by the Aryan culture. The culture enjoyed
the spacious life afforded by rural living and, depending
on the sub-culture, ranged from single farmsteads to small
villages, both using a seat of power as the trading and
feasting center.
Celtic society was divided into three major groups.
The nobles were the ruling class at the top and served as
warriors, aes dána (intelligentsia) and chieftains. The
nobles were also the land owners and the patrons of the
arts. The second level of the society consisted of free
people who served under the nobles in various roles such as
farm hands, minor craft workers, servants, laborers, foot
soldiers during wars, etc. The lowest level of society
were the slaves, victims of fate or of their own doing and
responsible for taking care of all the drudgery work. It
was possible for a slave to regain his or her freedom and
there was always a chance that a noble could become
someone's slave. In Celtic society, a person was not fixed
in his or her place.
In the noble class everyone seems to have trained as a
warrior to some extent; even the pampered court beauties
were known to throw spears once in a while. There seems to
have been a distinction between female warriors and
breeders. The fosterage system allowed a female warrior to
bear a child and to continue on as a warrior after the
child was born. Research has shown that the physicians of
the time had an expertise that would allow women to prevent
and and also terminate pregnancies.
During the expansion of the early Bronze Age Celts,
society revolved around the herding of cattle by lowland
and highland people. The Celtic herders followed a very
nomadic way of life, slowly moving with their herds of
semi-wild animals in search of land to settle. The
constant fighting of combats and the importance of
education among the nobles produced a healthy breeding
stock who were mentally and physically enriched, unafraid
of death and full of travel-lust.
During the Late Iron Age, farming became a more
sought-after way of life for the lowland Celts. With the
superior iron axes and heavy iron plows, they were able to
clear and sow large tracts of the heavy lowland soil for
grain-growing. The farming society needed a massive
population for its way of life which led to frequent
overpopulation of an area. This was handled by winter
warfare and swarming: sending large bodies of the younger
male and female warriors in search of new lands, taking
their workers and slaves with them.
Lineage in Celtic society followed the matriarchal
system, in which lineage was chosen through the female side
of the family, and patriarchal, where the lineage was
chosen through the male side. In a matriarchal family such
as in the Pictish culture, a woman would sometimes be
married to a number of males in her family. They would
most likely be the brothers of her first husband and any of
their sons born by another woman. All the children would
be credited to the first husband as long as he remained
head of the family. This type of family structure is
thought to have been prevalent with the cattle people who
did not need huge populations.
The children were usually raised by the parents until
the age of seven, when they were sent to be fostered by
other members of the family, a chieftain, a druid or other
noted persons. Many people had a number of foster-parents
and therefore many foster brothers and sisters. In many
cases, the fosterage ties were stronger than blood. In a
mixed marriage between a couple from matriarchal and
patriarchal tribes, the female children were fostered to
the patriarchal family and the males were fostered to the
matriarchal family. The obligations of the foster-parents
included teaching the children the code of ethics of the
people, long tracts of history to be memorized, the arts of
combat and hunting, and the skill for playing board games
such as fidchell and team sports such as hurley.
The Celts were an exceptionally clean people and were
constantly bathing and washing with soap, an invention of
theirs. Guests and visitors were invited to a tub of hot
water, sauna (sweat hut) or a dip in a holy hot spring if
one was in the vicinity. The presence of a spring was an
important factor in the selection of a hillfort site. Celts
frequently had their clothing washed and took considerable
care in how they looked, especially for combats, festivals
and sacrifices. Bath, laundry facilities and drainage
systems were built into the forts and excavations in
Cornwall, Spain and Portugal have uncovered some elaborate
systems. The Celts must have found the Romans a dirty
people, as they simply oiled their bodies then scraped the
dirt off with a spatula, then cleaned their clothing with
clay and human urine to rid it of the oil from their skin.
Diodorius, a Greek born in Sicily around BC 1st
century, described the Celts that he encountered as tall,
light-skinned and very muscular. The Celts used a mixture
of clay and lime in their hair which they then combed back
like a horse's main. The men were usually clean-shaven but
sometimes had a moustache or mutton chops, seldom a beard
though they were not unknown.
Both sexes dressed similarly, wearing rings, armlets
and bracelets, ornamental buckles on their belts, and often
pins and brooches. Their cloth was woven into stripes or
checks, and the warriors wore brightly-colored kilts,
trousers and embroide red shirts. Over this they wore heavy
cloaks in winter and light cloaks in summer which were
fastened at the shoulder with a fibula (ornamented safety-
pin brooch).
The number of colors a person could wear was connected
to the individual's station in life. A slave could only
wear a single-colored garment. Peasants could wear
clothing with two colors and hirelings or battle-line
soldiers could wear 3 colors. The noble had a choice of 4
colors and a chieftain could wear 5. A person of the
druidic order had the privilege of wearing 6 colors and the
high chieftain of Ireland was entitled to wear 7 colors in
his or her garment.
The warriors of the Celtic nobility were known for
their elegant speech as well as for their acts of bravery.
The history, laws, genaeology and stories were of the oral
tradition and the tellers had to memorize them word for
word so that they could pass on for hundreds of years or
more without any change or variation. The people of
cultures that practiced oral traditions were continuously
and constantly in touch with the rites of the tribes and
its traditions by the participation in their festivals and
events. On the other hand, cultures like the Greeks and
Romans wrote significant information down but the vast
majority of their citizens could not read or write.
The Celtic language had two divisions: the older
Goidel Q-Celtic, and the Brythonic or P-Celtic. Hubert has
suggested that the labialization of the hard Q sound to the
soft P sound happened at the same time and place as the
identical phenomenon separated Italic languages from Greek,
in late 2nd millenium in central Europe. The catalyst for
this change may have been the return of Celtic warriors
from the Near East after their raids on the Hittite and
Egyptian empires. The Q-Celtic language is preserved in
the Gaelic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Isle of Man,
while the P-Celt is preserved in the languages of Wales,
Cornwall and Brittany.
The Celts took care of their old, infirm and sick, and
had numerous laws associated with wounding, injury and the
associated responsibilities. In some places hospitals were
built but at most the tribal center would be the main
medical center. Medicine, law and codes of conduct were
under the jurisdiction of the druidic order.
The Celts were great inventors and artisans. They
improved the spoke wheel, invented copper enamelling,
improved material dies and weaving proccesses. All their
weapons, chariots, clothing, cauldrons, pouring flasks,
wooden posts in their homes and even their bodies were
covered in designs, both geometric and natural. Many of
the carvings for votive offerings were very minimal and
were most likely done by the individual making the
offering.
The Celts have been described as intuitive, mystic and
impulsive. They had a love of entertainment and
entertaining, were easily induced to laugh and weep and
were drunk with words. Celts by nature loved to
exaggerate, boast, argue and show off. They were
considered a people of high principle who enjoyed a good
fight.
DEITIES
Celtic society venerated a diversity of deities. The
two most important were the eyes of heaven, the Moon
(silver/female) and the Sun (gold/male). They were
sometimes represented by the red and white dragons. The
planet Venus (copper/female) was the goddess of love. Along
with these solar deities were the nature deities of the
earth who were mostly female as was the calm ocean, while
the rough ocean and the sky gods were usually masculine.
One of the most important deities was the fire goddess who
was the link between heaven and earth.
Nature deities of rivers, lakes, springs, forests,
etc. were usually female with a sun god consort. The
original deities were the spirits of chosen sacrifices who
inhabited the site. The domination of the Celts by the
Romans, with their male-oriented society, placed many male
deities in traditionally female roles.
Other deities personified natural phenomena such as
earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions as well as
snow, rain, growth and decay, etc. Another kind of deity
protected against disease, bad luck, infertility, etc. and
there were also gods and goddesses of professions such as
artificer, artisan and brewer.
There were other types of deities who could guide a
person, whether through a storm, a migration or a dilemma.
Some of the most important deities were those of health,
war and success as well as those who protected the tribe,
crops and animals. Some deities were the idealization of
heroes whose actions were so admired that they provided
excellent models for emulation. The concept of ancestor
worship formed a connection with their past and the future.
The Celts related to their deities in numerous ways.
This depended on the deity being invoked, the status of the
Celt, and the particular situation. The druids had
privileged communication channels, while the chieftains had
extra responsibilities to maintain proper relationships as
the tribal welfare depended on the benevolence of the gods.
Any wrong action on the part of any member of society could
result in retaliation from any particular deity. This
emphasized the need for proper codes of conduct for all
tribal members.
Behavior during festivals was especially crucial as
the deities were invited to walk among the mortals in the
body of a chosen representative. The knowledge of
reincarnation helped enforce the will to behave in a heroic
fashion, as such behavior would ensure a return for more
glorious deeds in the next life.
The Celts knew that they had to give in order to
receive. This was exemplified by the rite of sacrifice.
Sacrificing took place on the top of mountains or hills, in
groves, by springs, lakes, caves, over fires, etc. The
first products of harvest, the first fruit of the orchards,
firstborn of the herd, firstborn of the tribe, etc. were
considered prime offerings to the gods. The triple
sacrifice was reserved for special occasions in honor of
specific gods and in times of particular needs.
The characteristics of natural phenomena and life
forms and the characteristics of humans were
interchangeable to the Celts. The Danann warrior Manannan,
for example, was later considered to be a god of the sea by
the Goidel Celts of Ireland. A thunderstorm was considered
to be the result of an angry sky god who could be calmed
and appeased with sacrifice. The concept of a tribal totem
evolved from the association of the tribe with a particular
species and its characteristics. The Celts subscribed to
the concept of metempyschosis which gave the possibility of
being reborn in non-human form, such as an animal or as the
essence of a volcano or the sea. Deities were involved
with all aspects of life, whether physical, mental or
spiritual.
WARRIORS
The Celtic warrior was of noble blood and preferred
single combat, to achieve honor for his or her name and
family, and to give the bards new material to sing their
praise and thus achieve the immortal recognition of a god.
Fair play in combat was the Celtic warrior's code of honor.
A youth had to be blooded in an honorable way to become a
warrior.
Warriors fought for fun, honor, vengeance, territorial
gain, glory of the tribal god, etc. In a combat, the
warriors would praise themselves, their ancestors or gods
and denounce their opponent and his or her ancestors. Like
wolves, they would feed fuel to their flame by using the
rebel yell, jumping into the air, banging their shields
with their swords, blowing horns and many other tricks of
the trade to pump the adrenalin throughout their bodies and
drive themselves into a frenzy. All the while they would
be aware that their performance was being watched by others
who would judge the outcome, and a win with dishonor would
not receive praise.
The truth of the Celtic warriors was the strength in
their arms, the sharpness of their tongues, the fire in
their souls and the honor achieved from fair play. Warriors
who excelled in these traits were on their way to becoming
heroes.
Heroes exelled in all the characteristics of the
warrior, dedicating their lives to practicing and
developing their arts. Heroes abducted or eloped with
their mates and more than often died young leaving no
heirs. Cu Chulainn represented the hero within the tribe
and Fionn was a good representative of a hero outside the
tribe.
Warriors took the heads from those they had killed in
combat. They would hang them from their horse, along the
poles of their chariots, place them around the entrance to
their homes and in rare instances, in the case of a famous
foe they had defeated, they would embalm the head in oil.
Although warriors were allowed to keep the head of an
opponent, the weapons, jewelry, chariot and horses were
sacrificed to the gods of the conquering warrior's choice.
Among the nobles there were two modes of
transportation: the horse and the chariot. Chariot
warriors were driven to battle by their charioteer (a
fighting chauffeur). During a battle, the warrior was then
free to throw javelins but when an opportunity came to
fight a combat with another warrior, they would dismount
and fight with spears or swords on foot while their
charioteers waited for them, yelling encouragement.
Horse warriors would ofter fight with spears or swords
from horseback but would dismount for a major combat
between two people. The horse warriors often had one or
two helpers who ran alongside the horse. The battle-line
warriors were mostly from the class of free people but not
of noble blood. They fought on foot and were rarely
involved in combats, a privilege of the noble class.
Hunting was a pastime of the nobles and considered
sacred. The warriors hunted wild boar, deer and wild cows
with spears and on foot, sometimes using dogs. Constant
hunting kept the warriors in shape for warefare.
In combat, the professional warriors wore helmets,
chain mail or oxhide armor, especially in winter. There
were instances where combats were fought without armor or
clothing and an observer reported a group of battle-line
soldiers who were fighting the Romans with spears, carrying
shields and wearing only smiles. The term naked warrior
meant without armor, a situation more common among the
battle-line soldiers. The professional Celtic warrior may
have fought for glory and honor but it took many combats to
achieve the status of hero.
History, mythology and archaeology have shown that
female warriors played as important part in Celtic society
as their male counterparts. The Ulster cycle which
revolves around the Goidel warriors of Ireland BC 1st
century is sadly lacking in its mention of the female
warriors. The most likely explanation is that the
Christian monks who wrote down the accounts in manuscripts
either eliminated their roles, changed the sex of the
character or wrote in such a way that later generations
assume that they were all males. The Roman religion was a
male dominated religion that conquered the Celts from the
top down. Fierce-fighting females who were wholly
independent did not fit into the dogma of this monotheistic
religion nor its new societies. It is an unforgiveable act
of vandalism and one can only hope that the fighting female
will someday return.
The elaborate descriptions of the way the males
dressed for combat in the stories of Da Derga's Hostel and
the Cualgne Cattle Raid were exceptionally well done and
one can only assume that the females must have dressed in a
similar fashion. It would have been interesting to know
how many female champions Cu Chulainn fought and defeated
during the cattle-raid or to have listened to the bragging
of female warriors during the feast of Mac Da Tho's Boar.
All the evidence indicates that the Celtic female of the
noble class would be unlikely to miss either of these
adventures.
CHIEFTAINS
Tacitus said that the Celts of Britain made no sexual
distinction when choosing their leaders and the selection
was a very serious matter. The chieftain was the
representative of his or her people to the deities of
nature and if he or she failed, then the tribe might fail.
A chieftain was responsible for having a succesful union
with nature so the tribe would be blessed with abundance.
The people would be fertile, the crops would have high
yield, the trees would be heavy with fruit and nuts, the
herd would bear healthy calves and everyone would be free
of disease.
The chieftain's mating with the bull / stallion (sun)
or the cow / mare (moon) was thought to give the tribe its
virility and vitality. As the chieftain grew old, the
goddess became a hag and the tribe lost strength. On some
occasions the chieftain was ritually sacrificed in a
prescribed triple death by suffocation, drowning and
burning which purified the victim by air, water and fire.
The sacrifice was then bled to fertilize the earth and
replaced with a younger chieftain.
The chieftain had to be unblemished; physical and
mental perfection was the guarantee of his or her virtues.
The Danann replaced their chieftain Nuadha when he lost his
hand in battle. When Cormac macAirt lost his eye he had to
step down as high chieftain of Ireland. On the other hand,
when Fergus mac Leti's face became disfigured, his people
hoped it was temporary and hid all the mirrors. The people
had to make a decision on their survival.
Most chieftains were elected by the clan or the tribe.
The druids performed rituals of divination and their
opinions held enormous weight. Some chieftains took their
position by force and sometimes it worked for the better
but usually it failed. Without the people and the gods
behind him or her, the chieftain was nothing and if he or
she failed, a ritual death was certain. Most did as
Boudicca and committed suicide, an honorable payment toward
personal failure.
On the other hand, if the chieftain proved to be good
he or she had the privilege of mating with all the newly-
weds of the opposite sex (Ring Tax). When a chieftain
visited, he or she was offered the best of the household
with whom to mate. The chieftain always had to have a
mortal wife or husband as well as the heavenly ones. The
chieftain was not permitted to work at any slavish labor or
to raise pigs. The chieftain also had to act as the father
or mother for those who had none.
Aes Dana (intelligentsia)
NAME Druid
EPITHET Far-Seeing / Master of all Talents / Oak Knower
/ Oak Seer / Person of Great Knowledge
ALTERNATIVE druad [si] / drauidth / derwydd / druid
{droo'-idz} [pl] / druids / druidh / druii [si]
/ druith [pl] / druwides / dryw
CATEGORY scholar-teacher (paranormal/philosophy/knowledge)
/ engineers (builders of boats/forts/roads) /
astronomer (heavens/calendars/navigation) /
physician (surgeons/plants/leechcraft) /
scientist (physics/chemistry/metallurgy) /
mathematician (pure math/geometry) / negotiators
(interpreters/advisers/ambassadors/councillors)
REMARKS Like most things Celtic, the druidic order was
divided into 3 sections. The sects were the druids
(science/research/philosophy), the filidh (law/history/
shamanism), and the ollamh (music/poetry). The druids,
like the brahmins of India, were allowed to marry and hold
land. Applicants to the 3 divisions were accepted from
males and females of the noble class and the initiates were
judged on their individual abilities.
It is believed that the name druid (Oak Knower) or
druii [si] was derived from Drus (Greek for "oak"), and Wid
(Indo-European "to know"). The Welsh names Derwydd,
Druwides or Dryw [si] mean "Far Seeing". The Manx name
Drauidth means "Oak Seer". An old Irish term for druidism
is Maithis which was used by the Egyptians and relates to
knowledge of previous times.
The druids had counterparts in the magi of Persians,
the brahmins of the Hindus, and the Chaldeans of Babylon.
They all derived from the Vedic teachings of the wandering
tribes of the Kurgan culture (Aryans) from southern Russia.
As late as AD 1700, parallels to the sacred texts of the
Indian brahmins could be found in Ireland. A triad
followed by both the ancient Celts and the Hindus was to
honor their gods, do no evil and exercise bravery.
The druids as a whole venerated nature, practiced
ancestor worship and taught animism and metempsychosis. The
Celts thought that death was the center of continuous life,
and that the essence of life (Nwywre) was an invisible
force that was attached to the body by the umbilical cord.
The concept was represented by the snake.
The order of the druids concerned themselves mostly
with the study of natural science and scholarly pursuits.
An initiate of the druids could specialize in the study of
the science, humanities, religion, law or the arts. It
could take 20 years before an initiate earned the right to
wear the druidic striped cloak (breacans) of six colors
including the white cowl of a druid.
Some descriptions of druids indicate that their hair
was shaven from the front of their head to a line that went
from ear to ear, while the back was allowed to grow long.
They wore traditional Celtic costumes and males would have
followed the Celtic custom of shaving their faces except
maybe for a moustache, but it is doubtful that a druid
would have a full beard because this was not a custom of
the Celtic people.
In Gaul, there was a head druid who had the supreme
authority over the organization. The head druid was
elected and in case of a tie vote, the matter might be
resolved with fists or swords. The major druidic center of
Gaul was Chartres in the territory of the Carnutes where
they met once a year to settle disputes. There were also
major druidic sites at Tlachtga in Ireland and Mona in
Britain.
Initiates from Gaul travelled to Britain to finish
their training. The island of Mona (Anglesey) may have
been the head European center for the training of druids.
This idea was reinforced by Caesar, who thought that the
birthplace of the druids was not in Gaul but in Hyperborea.
The theory is also supported by archeological evidence of
the British sacrificial shafts which predate those on the
continent. Ireland, Britain and Gaul were under the
guidance of the order of druids but their influence waned
east of the Rhine and the Alps and south of the Pryennes.
The druids as a whole were a sacred people and could
travel anwhere without fear of harm from another human.
They were free from taxes, civil obligations and military
service, although they were trained in the art of combat
and were not above settling their differences with swords
or fists.
NAME Filidh
EPITHET To See the Invisible
ALTERNATIVE brithem / faidh / faithi / faith / fili [si] /
filid [pl] / gutuatri / gwawd / ovate / vate
CATEGORY teacher / lecturer / philosopher / historical
poet / lawmaker / judge / witness to contracts /
negotiator / advisor / ambassador / councillor
/ interpreter of tongues / sage / prophet /
soothsayer / wiseperson / satirist / lampooner
/ jester / fool / interpreter of sacrifice /
diviner / seer / magician / wizard / sorcerer /
conjurer / shape changer / enchanter /
clairvoyant / levitator
REMARKS The filidh were divided into two main areas of
concern. The ecstatic filidh were the shamans and shamanka
concerned with divining, interpreting dreams and using
their paranormal talents. The other area was more
concerned with techniques, mythology and function of the
different spirits and the methods of intercourse with them.
They studied the genealogy of the clans, secret languages
and law.
Any initiate who was studying to become a Brithem
(judge) first had to study as a historical poet and
memorize the lore of Prominent Places (Dinnshenchas), thus
contributing to the accumulation of the mythological
history of the land. The initiate had to memorize the
legal system as well as a secret language called Berla na
Filed. It could take 12 years of study before reaching the
level of a judge. The Brithem would arbitrate a case,
whether it was a murder, boundary or inheritance dispute,
determine the appropriate compensation or punishment, and
if necessary seize property or goods.
If the settlement was not accepted by one or both
parties they suffered "The Rod of Excommunication," which
barred them from sacrifice, a privilege that was necessary
for life itself. A person excommunicated from a sacrifice
was in a situation similar to death in that he or she
became a non-entity in the community. Anyone failing to
treat them as such faced the punishment themselves. A
person caught stealing objects from a sacred site or
keeping objects that should be sacrificed to the gods was
executed with extreme torture. Murderers were also put to
death to appease the gods who would be angry at the taking
of a life in a dishonorable way.
A branch of the filidh were the interpreters of the
sacrifice. The death throes of the sacrifice and their
entails were studied in an attempt to divine the future.
Sometimes a human (usually a volunteer) was consecrated to
a sacred death and a dagger was driven into the belly above
the abdomen. Conclusions were then drawn about future
events by the spurting of the blood. An outgoing chieftain
who had failed to communicate with the nature deities, was
stabbed in the back and the filidh studied the squirming
and twitching to help them make a decision on the
appointment of a new chieftain.
Other forms of divination or augury performed by the
filidh involved the use of throwing the bones, scrying,
studying the flights of birds, studying liver spots, etc.
The filidh made use of wands (Slatnan Druidheacht) made
from specific trees depending on the purpose of the ritual.
They also used rods, arrows, stocks of wheat, specific
stones, etc.
Divining rods (twigs from fruit-bearing trees) were
made with a personal mark on each one. They were tossed
into the air 3 times to land on a white garment or cloth.
The diviner would draw his/her conclusions from the pattern
in which the individual twigs landed and their position in
relation to each other. A person of the order had to
perform the divination for the public, but the head of a
household could divine for the family.
Curses were hurled by the use of specific stones,
Coelbreni, omen sticks or talking sticks. These had carved
symbols or ogham inscriptions and were usually covered with
the blood of the diviner. Curses were recited while the
diviner walked the magic 3 circles backwards around the
divining sticks in a counter-sunwise direction.
Filidh also divined by interpreting dreams. Sometimes
for a special event the filidh would have a Bull Feast
(Tarbfeis). A filidh would stuff him or herself on the
flesh of the bull, soak in its juices or become sewed up in
its flesh and then dream the answer to the future event
such as the picking of a new high chieftain. The
interpretation of the dreams experienced while sleeping in
sacred places such as beehive huts, tumuli or other grave
sites had very high value. Sometimes, divination was
accomplished by sleeping beside the ashes of the sacrifice.
This was called oracular incubation.
Hypnosis was also a tool of the filidh and was used to
reach the sacred space between awake and asleep.
Clairvoyants used this state to send and receive messages
from each other and to and from the spirit world.
The Druid's Foot was another sacred space used by the
filidh. A pentangle was drawn on the ground where the
filidh remained while he or she fasted (a little bread and
water once a day was important) for 9 days before starting
the ceremony.
Most filidh developed the ability to influence
people's emotions so they could calm them down or work them
up into a fighting frenzy. This faction also had conjurers
who used mass hallucinations to cause the enemy to see
other that what was before them. Some had the ability of
astral projection, and used thought intervention. An
initiate had to conquer the sacred fire and become a master
of the magical heat.
This sect of druids also had its own poets who
developed the ability to call up blemishes or cause death
by the use of satire alone. The Gutuatri (Master of The
Voice of Inspiration) were filidh who were connected to a
particular sanctuary or site. These devotees were
responsible for the cleaning of the statues and seeing to
their garments.
A faction of filidh called Dryades were priests of the
oak and during the sacrifice of the waxing sun god they
were the ones who cut the tree into a T cross (Tau) for the
sacrifice. There was a male group of sun priests called
Belec (servants of Bel {Baal}) and there was also a
sisterhood called Inghean audagha (virgin daughters of the
fire) who guarded the sacred fire. Another female sect of
the filidh were the Bean Sidhe {banshee} who keened and
wailed for the souls of the dead, especially at burial
sites. The filidh were some of the most powerful and
revered of the druidic class of nobles in Celtic society.
Many chose to become initiates but few withstood the
rigorous tests inflicted on them. The initiates themselves
were chosen from the best the population had to offer and
any degenerates or malefactors were quickly rejected or
eliminated. Candidates had to show above-average self-
control and superior intellect.
For those who did survive the rigorous tests and hard
years of study, there was the most important of all tests,
that of death and resurrection. The few initiates who
succeeded in making it to the end were allowed to wear the
druidic striped cloak (breacans) of six colors including
the black cowl of a filidh.
NAME Ollamh
EPITHET Master Bard / Master Poet and Philosopher
ALTERNATIVE baird / bardd / bardi / bardus / oilave / ollamh
/ ollav / ollave / poet
CATEGORY teacher / philosopher / healer / chanter of
satire and eulogy / lampooner / entertainer /
story-teller / popular poet / minstrel / singer
/ musician / harpist / lyrist / piper / flautist
REMARKS The bards (singers of praise) were the
entertainers of the Celtic world and sought to enlighten,
promote harmony and encourage virtue by singing the deeds
of their gods, heroes and warriors as they played their
instruments. A Master Bard was sufficiently proficient at
the art to cause his or her audience to weep, laugh or fall
into a trance-like healing sleep.
For an initiate to become a Master Poet and
Philosopher took from 9 to 12 years. They had to memorize
250 prime stories and 100 secondary stories. A good poet
could arrange the stories to fit any occasion.
The stories were divided into major tales (prim-scéil)
of navigations, cattle raids, battles, sieges, destructions
of fortified places, slaughters, tragic deaths, feasts,
love stories, elopements, adventures, expeditions and
concealments; and minor tales (fo-scéil) of exiles, water-
eruptions, pursuits and visions.
Most initiates would have to acquire a knowledge of
mathematics, acoustics, harmonic theory, rhyming schemes,
music theory, composition and philosophy. He or she would
also need enough understanding of materials, tools and the
principles of acoustics to build instruments and to
understand the mathematical relationship between notes. As
well as these and more subjects, the initiates would have
to be accomplished in the weapons of war. Although they
were free from military duty and taxes, they were after all
Celts of noble blood and sometimes could not refain from
becoming involved in combats, battles and, above all, using
their swords to settle disagreements among themselves.
There were 4 divisions of knowledge while studying to
become a bard or a poet. The first was called Cana (5th
year), then Cli (6th year), Anruth (7th-9th year) and
Ollamh (10th-12th year of study). The Ollamh was roughly
equivalent to a modern-day professor and had the privilege
of wearing the striped cloak (breacans) of six colors of
the druidic order including the blue cowl (Tugen) of a bard
or the green cowl of the poet. Although their advice was
taken very seriously, the Ollamh spoke only after the
chieftain, who wore the 7 colors.