In the first part “Hallstatt and La Ten: on the verge between bronze and iron. (Part 1) "it was not only about how" iron came to Europe ", but also about the Celts - a people who settled throughout Europe, but never created their own state. And now, following the logic of things, it will be necessary to write about the Celts, but … who wrote about them best of all, so that it would be scientific enough, and popular, and interesting? Well, of course, the British historian Peter Connolly, who wrote three books about the military affairs of antiquity and in great detail (in sufficient detail, let's say) analyzed the military affairs of the Celts. And this is what he says: the Celts from the territory of southern Germany spread to almost all of Western Europe. In the V century. BC. their settlements were found in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, as well as in parts of France, Spain and Britain. A century later, they crossed the Alps and ended up in northern Italy. The first tribe to descend into the Po valley were the Insubras. They settled in Lombardy, and made the city of Milan their capital. They were followed by the tribes of the Boyi, Lingons, Kenomanes and others, who quickly conquered most of the Po valley and drove the Etruscans beyond the Apennines. The last tribe was the Senones, who settled in the coastal area north of Ancona. It was they who sacked Rome at the beginning of the 4th century. Well, the very name "Celts", which we use today, is from the Greek language - "kel-toi", although the Romans themselves called the people who lived in the Po valley and on the lands of France Gauls (Galli). In the IV century. the Celts gradually moved to the Balkans, and at the beginning of the III century. invaded Macedonia and Thrace. Having subjected them to devastation, they moved to Asia Minor and, finally, settled on the lands in Galatia, where they received the name Galatians.
Celtic embassy at the court of Alexander the Great. Having received the ambassadors, he asked them what they were afraid of more than anything else, expecting to hear in response that they were afraid of him, Alexander, but the ambassadors replied: “We are afraid that the sky will fall and crush us, that the earth will open up and swallow us, that the sea will overflow its shores and swallow us. That is, the Celts said that they were not afraid of anyone. Alexander the Great was very angry, but decided that it would be too much honor to fight the barbarians and chose to start a war with the Persian state. Drawing by Angus McBride.
At one time a very interesting book about the barbarians, including the Celts, was written by the English historian Timothy Newark. It was called "The Barbarians" *, and the drawings for it were made by the famous British artist Angus McBride (unfortunately now deceased).
Then in the IV century. the Gauls subjected the lands of central Italy to regular raids. Etruscans, Latins and Samnites had to work hard to repel the Gallic threat, but it never completely disappeared. Perhaps only the Romans managed to cope with the Celts. To this end, they carried out mass beatings of them in northern Italy, and in Spain, and in France. They cleared the valley of the Po River from the Celts after the war with Hannibal and, thus, already in the middle of the II century. BC. Polybius said about the Celts that only "in a few places beyond the Alps" the Celts still remained.
Unfortunately, most of the information about the Celts comes from their enemies - the Greeks and also the Romans, so you can trust her, but … with caution. In addition, it is very often very specific. For example, the Sicilian historian Diodorus describes the Celts as warriors wearing colorful clothes, with long mustaches and hair that they soak in lime to make them stand up like a horse's mane. But, you must admit that a lot of this information cannot be squeezed out!
Celtic helmet. France, about 350 BC Archaeological Museum of the city of Angoulême. This impressive piece of art was buried in a cave in western France. The entire helmet is covered with a thin gold leaf and decorated with coral inlays.
At first, the Romans were very afraid of the Celts, who, moreover, seemed to them to be giants because of their tall stature. But then they learned their weaknesses, learned to use them, and began to treat them with contempt. But no matter how great this contempt, the Romans recognized that, led by a good general, the Celts can be excellent warriors. After all, it was they who made up half of Hannibal's army, which, in turn, won victories over the legions of Rome one after another for 15 years. And then the Romans themselves realized how valuable these people are and for centuries they have been replenishing the ranks of their army.
Bronze helmet from the Somme peat bogs. Museum Saint-Germain, France.
As you know, many early societies included the warrior class. The Celts were also no exception to this rule. Their warriors were people from the middle and upper strata of society. They were given the right to fight, while the poor, according to Diodorus of Siculus, were either squires, or they drove war chariots and nothing more.
Celts. Drawing by Angus McBride.
Moreover, the Celt was a warrior in the most direct and heroic sense of the word. His whole life was viewed exclusively from the point of view of personal participation in the war and victories won in it in order to prove his courage and gain glory on the battlefield. But unrestrained courage in the absence of military discipline often led the Celts to severe defeats.
In the fifth book of his work, Diodorus gave a detailed and, most likely, quite accurate description of the Celtic warrior. But here it must be remembered that between the first clash of Rome with the Celts in the Battle of Allia and the conquest of Gaul by Caesar - the time described by Diodorus - 350 years passed, that is, an entire era. A lot has changed both in weapons and in battle tactics. So again you shouldn't trust Diodorus one hundred percent!
Celts from the pile settlement. Drawing by Angus McBride.
Be that as it may, but according to Diodorus, the Celtic warrior armed himself with a long sword, which he carried on his right side on a chain, and besides it with a spear or throwing darts. Many warriors fought naked, while others, on the contrary, had chain mail and bronze helmets. They were often decorated with chased figurines or onlays with images of animals or birds. He could have a long, human-sized shield, which was customary to cover with embossed bronze ornaments.
The Shield of Whitham, 400 - 300 BC NS. Culture of La Ten. The shield was discovered in the Witham River near Lincolnshire, England in 1826. Further excavations have revealed artifacts such as a sword, spear and part of a human skull. The shield is now in the British Museum.
In battles with the enemy cavalry, the Celts used two-wheeled war chariots. Entering the battle, the warrior first threw darts at the enemy, after which, like the heroes of Homer, he got off the chariot and fought with the sword. The bravest of the warriors began the battle, in turn challenging the bravest enemy to a double duel. If the challenge was accepted, his instigator could sing a song of praise in front of him, and show his bare ass to the enemy so that everyone can see, he despises him so much.
Celts on chariots. Drawing by Angus McBride.
The Romans highly respected those of their generals who accepted such a challenge and won in such a single duel. They were given the honorable right to dedicate the best part of the spoils of war to the temple of Jupiter Feretrius ("Giver of the booty" or "Bringer of victory"). There were also the second and third parts of the consecrated booty, which were also dedicated to the gods, but this already depended on the rank of the winner. For example, in the IV century. Titus Manlius defeated a huge Celtic in battle and, having ripped off the golden hryvnia (torques) from his neck, earned the nickname Torquatus by this feat. And Mark Claudius Marcellus in 222 BC. killed in a duel the Gallic leader Viridomar.
Well, if a Celtic warrior killed his opponent, he cut off his head and hung it around the neck of his horse. Then the armor was removed from the slain, and the winner sang a victory song over the corpse of the enemy. The captured trophies could be nailed to the wall of his dwelling, and the severed heads of the most famous enemies were even embalmed in cedar oil. So, for example, did the Celts with the head of the consul Lucius Postumus, who was killed by them in 216, which was then exhibited in their temple. Excavations at Entremont proved that such heads were not just trophies, but also part of a religious ritual, as they were located in certain places and were clearly used for cult purposes.
"Helmet from Linz" (reconstruction). Castle Museum in Linz (Upper Austria). Hallstatt culture, 700 BC
At the same time, absolutely all ancient authors are unanimous that the Celts did not value either strategy or tactics, and everything they did was influenced by momentary impulses, that is, the Celts had the so-called ochlocracy or the power of the crowd. In battle, they also acted in a crowd, although the presence of pipes and standards, depicted, in particular, on the arch in Orange, shows that, at least, they had a military organization. So, Caesar in his "Notes on the Gallic War" writes about how the pilums of the Roman legionaries pierced the closed rows of the Celtic shields - a situation is impossible if the enemy falls on you in a "crowd". That is, the Celts had to have some kind of phalanx, otherwise where could the "rows of shields" come from?
Thus, it turns out that the Celts were not so "wild" and knew the correct formations on the battlefield. In the battle of Telamon, as Polybius writes about this, they were attacked from two sides, but did not get lost, but fought in a formation of four, deployed in both directions. And the Romans were frightened by this impeccable structure, and by the wild roar and noise that the Celts made, having countless trumpets, besides, their warriors also shouted their battle cries. And then Polybius says that the Celts were inferior to the Romans only in weapons, since their swords and shields were inferior in quality to the Roman ones.
Celtic sword with scabbard, 60 BC Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The Romans reported four types of Celtic warriors: heavily armed marines, lightly armed marines, horsemen, and chariot warriors. And judging by ancient sources, the heavily armed infantrymen are swordsmen, and the lightly armed are javelin throwers.
Dionysius reports that the Celts are in the habit of raising the sword over their heads, spinning it in the air and unleashing a blow on the enemy in such a way as if they were chopping wood. This technique of working with a sword made a very strong impression on their opponents. But the Romans soon learned to resist him. So Polybius claims that they took the first blow on the upper edge of the shield, which on Roman shields was reinforced with an iron plate. From hitting this edge, the Celtic sword, which had a weak temper, was bent, so that the warrior straightened it with his foot, and while he did this, the legionnaire could easily attack him! In addition, a chopping blow took time, it could be deflected with a shield and at the same time struck from under it in the stomach with a piercing blow, which was much more difficult for the Celt to reflect.
It is believed that Polybius's statement that the sword was bent almost in half is an exaggeration. It probably happened sometimes, but in general the Celtic swords were of good quality. Peter Connolly writes that he saw a sword from Lake Neuchâtel, dating back to the time of Polybius, and it really could be bent almost in half, but it immediately took its previous shape. Connolly writes that Polybius also mentions the Celtic custom of wearing bracelets in battle. But if these were bracelets similar to those found in Britain, then this would most likely be possible. It is unlikely that such heavy bracelets would have been able to hold on to the hand when the warrior twisted his sword in the air, and then inflicted a powerful chopping blow on them!
* Newark, T. Barbarians. Hong Kong, Concord Publications Co., 1998.
