If the last chapters of this book were the longest in comparison with the rest, it was because religion and art - along with learning - formed the lion's share of the entire background against which the life of the Celtic aristocrat took place. We know comparatively less about the lower social strata and their daily life, both spiritual and material; We can only guess about much of this. The literature of the ancient Celtic world, as well as the mentions of ancient authors about barbarians, speak only of the thoughts and actions of learned people and landowners in Celtic society. The tangible Celtic antiquities that archeology reveals also show those aspects of life most closely associated with the prosperity of society: burials, weapons and personal ornaments, horse harnesses; houses and fortresses of wealthy aristocrats. The unfree members of society and the lower stratum of free people had almost no ceramics and metal objects that could survive to this day; modest houses required almost no permanent foundation, which would have left postholes that an archaeologist could also find. The situation was very reminiscent of the Scottish mountains in the 18th century. Describing his journey with Dr. Johnson, Boswell remarks: “When we had already advanced sufficiently on this side of Loch Ness, I noticed a small hut, in the doorway of which stood a woman who appeared to be elderly. I thought the spectacle might amuse Dr. Johnson; so I told him about it. “Let's go in,” he suggested. We dismounted and, together with our guides, went into the hut. It was a tiny, miserable hut, it seemed to me, built from nothing but earth. The window was replaced by a small hole; it was plugged with a piece of peat, which was sometimes removed to let in light. In the middle of the room, or rather the space we entered, there was a fireplace that was heated with peat. Smoke came out through a hole in the roof. This woman had a pot on the fire in which goat meat was boiling.”

Probably, a similar scene could be observed in the world of the Iron Age: modest temporary dwellings and poor property - that’s all that representatives of the lower classes saw in their lives. Although information about other, non-aristocratic elements of Celtic society is inherently scant, there are certain factors - primarily related to the survival of Celtic culture on the periphery of the Western world - which lead us to assume that the humbler members of society, despite all the wretchedness home and lack of possessions, they were nevertheless, like their modern brethren, characterized by a deep reverence for art, intellect and learning, as well as for the gods and those who serve them. They could (and undoubtedly did) appeal to the local spirits and forces of nature, which they believed to control their own humble destiny, without recourse to the great deities of the upper classes and the aristocratic priests who supplicated these gods on behalf of the entire tribe. Probably, ordinary people observed certain ritual days and performed sacred rites that were known only to themselves and their equals in social status; if necessary, they could make sacrifices in their own special way and firmly believed in the power of the water of revered local wells, which helped the sick and made the barren fertile. However, all our evidence indicates that they, like members of the tribe, took part in the great tribal meetings and were present at the vital sacrifices on which the welfare of the whole people depended. Caesar himself writes: “If anyone - whether it be a private person or a whole people - does not obey their determination, then they excommunicate the culprit from the sacrifices. This is their heaviest punishment. Anyone who is excommunicated in this way is considered an atheist and a criminal, everyone shuns him, avoids meeting and talking with him, so as not to get into trouble, as if from an infectious disease; no matter how much he strives for it, no judgment is carried out for him; He also has no right to any position.”

Everything we know about modern farm laborers and tenant farmers in areas that are still Celtic forces us to assume that their brethren in the pagan Celtic world had the same reverence for intelligence and spirituality and all their manifestations in culture and that this was not at all influenced by them. more than a modest lifestyle. Both laborer and landowner could not imagine the great gods and semi-divine heroes without certain intellectual aspects, although these ideas were very limited. At no level in Celtic society would a jester, a handsome but brainless hero, or a lovely but stupid goddess be tolerated. It is often believed that the god Dagda was a kind of positive jester, but there is no real data on this matter: apparently, all the blame lies with hostile or humorous scientists who turned the powerful god of the tribe into some kind of good-natured buffoon.

Both gods and heroes were imagined as highly intellectual, having comprehended all the secrets of learning, poets and prophets, storytellers and artisans, magicians, healers, and warriors. In short, they had all the qualities that the Celtic peoples themselves admired and desired to possess. It was a divine reflection of everything that was considered enviable and unattainable in human society.

Thus, religion and superstition played a defining and profound role in the daily life of the Celts. This is in fact the key to any attempt to understand their peculiar character. Caesar writes: “All the Gauls are extremely pious.” All our data supports this assertion, and we do not need to look for some hidden political background here. Perhaps more than other peoples, the Celts were imbued with and constantly occupied with their religion and its outward expression, which was constantly and directly in the foreground of their lives. The deities and that Other World in which they were believed to live (when they were not invading the world of people, which they did quite often), were not just some theoretical ideas that could be remembered at a convenient time - on holidays or then, when it was necessary to celebrate a victory, at moments of national sacrifices or troubles (tribal or personal), or when it was necessary to receive something specific from them. They were omnipresent, sometimes menacing, always vengeful and ruthless. In the everyday life of the Celts, the supernatural was present along with the natural, the divine - with the ordinary; for them the Other World was as real as the substantial physical world, and just as omnipresent.

It should be emphasized from the outset that it is not easy to learn anything about the pagan Celtic religion. Just as the elements on which it was ultimately based were varied and elusive, so the sources for such research may be very varied, unequal in time and quality, scanty and scattered. The daily life of the ancient Celts as a whole, the nature of their behavior in society, their tribal structure, their laws and their characteristic style of art should be studied in order to better understand the rules and prohibitions that governed their religious behavior.

Ancient Celtic society was essentially decentralized. Its characteristic tribal system led to many local variants, but these variants continued to be part of a single whole. We know that at the zenith of their power the Celts occupied very large areas of Europe. As we have already seen, their territory extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Black Sea in the east, from the Baltic in the north to the Mediterranean in the south. But, despite the enormous differences and the long period of time that passed between the formation of a society rightly called Celtic and 500 AD. e., despite all the tribal characteristics, preferences and possible variations in linguistic dialects and economic system throughout this region, as well as between the continent and the British Isles - in short, despite all this, one can indeed talk about a Celtic religion, although not about the religious system, about the similarity of rituals and the unity of types of cult, about the same mixture of the natural and the supernatural. All this speaks of a deep and truly remarkable religious uniformity.

There are various sources of information about the pagan Celtic religion, and their fragmentary nature makes their use very risky, since the problem arises: how to connect them with each other and convincingly prove this connection? However, by combining the data of several sciences and comparing several sources, we can get a very general idea of ​​​​the nature of the beliefs and rituals of the Celts.

First of all, we must consider the main sources on the pagan Celtic religion. The most important source we do not have is the texts that were written in their own language or Latin or Greek by the Celts themselves and which would give us a strictly Celtic view, from within society. There are simply no such sources. The Celts did not bother to write down their laws, genealogies, history, poetry or religious precepts. They considered them almost something sacred. Some Celts, as we have already seen, did use Greek for business purposes. But there can be no doubt that the Celts did not want their traditional traditions and learning to become accessible to godless strangers; these secrets were carefully guarded by those responsible for their perpetuation. Moreover, the reliance on oral memory is one of the most prominent characteristics of their culture, and it is still preserved and highly revered in those areas of the modern world where Celtic languages ​​are spoken.

Thus, all these traditional disciplines had to be transmitted orally from teacher to student and from generation to generation. As we know, the future druid needed about 20 years to master all the secrets of his profession and fully assimilate them. Similarly, in Ireland, the filid had to study from 7 to 12 years in order to orally study all the complex subjects in which he studied. Oral tradition and its persistence is one of the most characteristic features of Celtic culture. In Ireland there were no ancient texts that could complement the information of archeology in the study of religion, however, there is a local literature, as in Wales, and although the legends and mythological episodes were actually recorded quite late - starting from the 7th-8th centuries - they obviously relate to events much more archaic than the period in which they were given literary form.

Due to the lack of direct written information from the Celts themselves, we are forced to look elsewhere for all the information we can gather. This information is mainly of three types and should be treated with great caution. If we see that different sources of information combine and confirm each other, then we are on relatively solid ground.

In some ways, archeology is the most reliable of the three sources mentioned, but it is inherently limited and lacks the detail that written records provide. Another source - data from ancient authors - gives us fascinating information about various aspects of Celtic religious life. But it is not always clear to what period this information belongs, whether it is based only on rumors or represents a record of what the author himself saw. The last source - local literature - is the most vivid and detailed evidence of the pagan Celtic religion, but it is so saturated with interpolations on the part of Christian scribes, fairy tales and folklore motifs common to all peoples that it must be handled very carefully and resisted the temptation to freely use it. interpret.

Overall, we have enough information about the Celtic religion to form a complete and convincing picture from the many pieces of information we have. To some extent it is possible to determine what was universal in their religious practices and what was their own, only Celtic, as well as the individual ways in which they expressed belief in the supernatural.

Having briefly analyzed the nature of the sources and made sure that the Celts really had a religion, we will try to find out more about it. What was most typical about it, what were its main features and religious cults?

The Celts had certain places where they addressed the deities, and there were also priests who prayed to the gods on behalf of the tribe. There were holy days, periods of celebration, and cult legends that explained the origins of these holidays. Since these are all aspects of the religious practice on which everything else depended, it will be useful to first try to get a general idea of ​​them before considering the gods and goddesses themselves.

Temples, shrines and sanctuaries

In recent years, archaeologists have discovered some structures that completely change previous ideas about the nature of pagan Celtic temples and places of worship. It was previously believed that, with very minor exceptions (such as the elaborate temples built in Mediterranean style at Roquepertuse and Entremont near the mouth of the Rhone), the Celts had nothing even remotely resembling temples for religious activity. It was believed that the Celtic priests - the Druids - carried out their rituals and made sacrifices to the gods only in nature - for example, in groves of trees that were considered sacred due to their long-standing connection with the gods, or near sacred springs, the waters of which had special properties and through which one can was to gain access to the patron deity. Later, under the auspices of the Christian Church, these local deities were replaced by local saints, who often bore the same names as their pagan prototypes, and the veneration of wells continued in all its originality. Favorite places were the tops of sacred hills or the vicinity of mounds associated with some deified ancestor; however, it was believed that temples as buildings did not exist.

Now archaeologists are beginning to recognize and discover a number of monuments that represent the sanctuary buildings of the pagan Celts. Many of them were found in Europe, and some in Britain. Further research and excavation, as well as revision of the results of earlier excavations, will undoubtedly lead to new discoveries. In some cases it may be that a misinterpretation of the nature of such structures has actually obscured their true meaning; there are probably many more of them in the British Isles than we now think.

Rice. 37. Plans of firekshanzen - places of pagan cult, surrounded by earthen fences.

These buildings are rectangular earthen structures, which in Europe are called firekschanzen, that is, square fences. Overall they appear to date from the 1st century BC. e., and from a cultural point of view go back to the square burial enclosures of the Iron Age and are continued in Gallo-Roman temples, which were usually built of stone and were square or round in plan. Some Vierekschanzen, such as Holzhausen, Bavaria (Figs. 37, 38), had pits or shafts for offerings. Here, under two earthen ramparts, standing very close to each other, there were log palisades. Inside the enclosure there were deep shafts in which traces of offerings were found, including meat and blood, probably sacrificial ones. In one of these fences the remains of a temple built from logs were found.

Rice. 38. Ritual mine. Holzhausen, Bavaria.

Many deep shafts, mostly circular in cross-section, have been found in Britain. Some of them were discovered during excavation work during the construction of railways in the 19th century. Unscientific excavations and recordings have caused great damage and loss of materials; Traces of mine-related buildings or earthworks were often overlooked or described so inaccurately that in most cases the information was virtually useless. The mine, excavated in Wilsford (Wiltshire), was dated using radiocarbon dating to the 14th century BC. BC, and this suggests that religious buildings and centers of ritual activity of this type existed long before the Celts. All this makes us reconsider the origins of the Celtic priests - the Druids, who, of course, used such sanctuaries in Celtic times.

One vague testimony of Athenaeus, which we have already touched upon in another context, makes us think of precisely such rectangular ritual fences.

“In the story of Lovernius, the father of that Bituitus who was killed by the Romans, Posidonius writes that, seeking the love of the people, he rode through the fields in a chariot, scattering gold and silver to tens of thousands of Celts accompanying him; Having fenced off a rectangular space with a side of twelve furlongs, he placed vats there filled with expensive wine, and he prepared such mountains of food that for many days in a row he could treat everyone who wanted it, without experiencing a shortage of anything.”

From Irish sources we know that the ritual gatherings of the Celts were accompanied by lavish feasts and copious libations, and that games, horse racing and trade played an essential role in the solemn religious festivals. One of the most interesting and impressive discoveries in recent times was the 1956 excavation of a striking Celtic sanctuary at Libenice, near Kolin in the Czech Republic. In a long enclosure surrounded by a rampart and a ditch, evidence of child and animal sacrifices, a human skull that could have been used for ritual libations, a platform for sacrifices, pits with bones and a huge amount of dishes, also broken for ritual purposes, were discovered. Two twisted bronze torques, apparently, originally covered the necks of two huge wooden idols: only the holes from the pillars remained - the idols themselves were not preserved. The burial of an elderly woman, possibly a priestess of this sanctuary, was discovered; it contained brooches, ceramics and other objects that allow us to date the sanctuary to the 3rd century BC. e.

A much earlier, but very similar structure was discovered at Aunet-aux-Planches (Marne department); it belongs to the era of the burial field culture and dates back to the 11th century BC. e. It is also possible that the long enclosure at Tara, commonly called the Mead Hall, one of the most important sacred places of ancient Ireland, is another example of such a structure. The heirs of these various buildings were, on the one hand, stone Romano-Celtic temples, and on the other, the fenced Roman cemeteries of Gaul and Britain.

Thus, our data shows that the Celts were far from worshiping their gods only in groves and other places in nature: in fact, they had a wide variety of buildings in which they performed their rites. There is no doubt that future archaeological surveys on the continent and the British Isles will reveal many more of them. There is also a number of evidence of wooden temples inside these areas, fenced with earthen ramparts.

In Celtic the sanctuary was called nemeton; there is no reason to assume that similar fences were not also called this word, although it could also refer to clearings in groves that also served as sacred places. In Old Irish this word sounds like "nemed"; There is also the word “fidnemed” - “sacred grove”. Place names indicate that the word was widely used in the Celtic world. So, in the 6th century AD. e. Fortunatus mentions a place called Vernemet(on) - “Great Sanctuary”; there was a place with the same name in Britain, somewhere between Lincoln and Leicester. The city of Nanterre was originally called Nemetodur, and in Spain there is a place called Nemetobriga. Drunemeton is known - “Oak Sanctuary”, which was both a sanctuary and a meeting place for the Galatians, as well as many others. In Britain there is evidence of a place called Medionemeton ("Central Sanctuary") somewhere in Scotland, and at Buxton in Derbyshire there was a sacred spring called the "Acts of Arnemetia", that is, "the waters of the goddess Arnemetia", mistress of the spring and sacred grove.

Thus, the Celts not only worshiped their deities and performed expiatory rites in sacred clearings in forbidden groves. They built various earthen enclosures that either contained wooden temples or some key place for sacrifices and propitiation of the gods, such as a huge ritual pillar or column, a shaft or pit for throwing the remains of victims - both animals and people, and a repository for votive offerings of another kind. Undoubtedly, in most cases there must have been a rough hut - wicker or made of wood - which the priest could use to store the signs of his priestly dignity and ritual objects.

In such places the Celts worshiped their gods. Now we must try to find out who was the mediator between the gods and the believers. At least some of the Celtic priests were called Druids, and we have already spoken of them in connection with their place in society and their role as guardians of ancient tradition. We must now consider them in the light of religion, as priests. Most readers are familiar with the word “Druid” and imagine the romantic Celtic priests who performed their sacred rites, so colorfully described by Pliny: “They call the mistletoe by a name that means “all-healer.” Having prepared the sacrifice and feast under the trees, they bring there two white bulls, whose horns are then tied for the first time. The priest, dressed in a white robe, climbs the tree and trims the mistletoe with a golden sickle, and others catch it in a white cloak. They then kill the victims, praying that God will accept this propitiatory gift from those to whom he bestowed it. They believe that mistletoe, taken as a drink, gives fertility to infertile animals and that it is an antidote to all poisons. These are the religious feelings that many peoples experience over completely trivial matters.”

One might wonder if the mysterious beads on the horns of bulls in Celtic religious iconography suggest that the horns were tied together in preparation for sacrifice, indicating that these animals belonged to the gods or were the god himself in animal form. It is also interesting to note that the word for mistletoe in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic is "uil-oc" literally meaning "all-healer". Pliny's story about this ritual, which accompanied the sacrifice of bulls, had a huge influence on subsequent attitudes to the question of the Celtic priesthood: there was no awareness of how limited our real information about the Druids is, and to a very large extent fantasy began to color the facts.

In fact, with the exception of some very scanty references to such a class of pagan priests in ancient authors and very vague references in local tradition, we know very little about the Druids. We do not know whether they were common throughout the Celtic world, whether they were the only high-ranking priests, or in what time period they were active. All we know is that at a certain period in history some of the Celtic peoples had powerful priests who were called that way; they helped defend against the forces of the Other World, often hostile, and with the help of rituals known only to them, they directed these forces for the benefit of humanity in general and this tribe in particular. The most in-depth analysis of the nature of Druidry is contained in S. Piggot's book “Druids”.

The fact that in our time so much attention is paid to the Druids is entirely due to the activities of antiquarian writers, starting from the 16th century. The whole "cult" of the Druids was connected with the concept of the "noble savage", and on a very meager basis of fact a whole fantastic theory was built, which led to the emergence of the modern "Druidic cult" which is practiced at Stonehenge. There is not the slightest evidence that the pagan priests of the ancient Celtic tribes were in any way connected with this Neolithic and Bronze Age monument (although their predecessors may have had something to do with it). Modern events such as the Eisteddfod - an annual celebration of music and Welsh culture in Wales - and other similar festivals throughout the still-Celtic world have helped to perpetuate the image of the idealized druid, but this image is inherently false, based not so much on surviving ones, but on reconstructed ones. traditions

The influence of the antiquarian philosophers was so great that there is virtually no Neolithic or Bronze Age henge that is not attributed to "Druid" origin or connection with the Druids. Throughout the British Isles, and especially in the Celtic regions, we find Druid circles, thrones, mounds, Druid stones. Dr. Johnson very astutely remarked about the first such monument he saw: “About three miles beyond Inverness we saw, just by the road, a very complete example of what is called a Druid temple. It was a double circle, one of very large stones, the other of smaller stones. Dr. Johnson rightly noted that “to go to see another Druid temple is only to see that there is nothing here, since there is neither art nor power in it, and seeing one is enough.”

The Celts themselves in pre-Christian times did not leave any evidence of their priesthood. The only mentions of Druids in Ireland, therefore, date back to times after paganism. It is unclear whether they accurately depict the character of the Druid, or whether what is said about the Druids is only the result of a negative attitude towards them on the part of the new priesthood that was hostile to them. In some cases the Druids, who are constantly mentioned, appear to be worthy and powerful people; sometimes they are even given preference over the king himself. Thus, in “The Rape of the Bull from Kualnge” the druid Cathbad is named the father of the king himself - Conchobar, the son of Ness. It says that Cathbad had a group of disciples whom he instructed in Druidic science. According to Irish tradition, he is depicted as a teacher who teaches the youth the religious traditions of the tribe and the omens by which these traditions can be turned to their advantage. This is consistent with the picture of Celtic priests painted by Caesar in the 1st century BC. BC: “Druids take an active part in matters of worship, monitor the correctness of public sacrifices, interpret all questions related to religion; Many young people come to them to study science, and in general they are held in great esteem by the Gauls.”

In one of the oldest of the Old Irish sagas, The Banishment of the Sons of Usnech, the dramatic event, the cry of the unborn femme fatale Deirdre in her mother's womb, must be explained through the prophetic powers of the Druid Cathbad. After this ominous event occurred, which frightened everyone present, the expectant mother rushes to the druid and begs him to explain what happened:

You better listen to Cathbad
Noble and beautiful,
Overshadowed by secret knowledge.
And I myself, in clear words...
Can not say.

Cathbad then “placed… his palm on the woman’s stomach and felt a thrill under his palm.

“Truly, this is a girl,” he said. “Her name will be Deirdre.” And a lot of evil will happen because of her.”

After this, a girl is really born, and her life really follows the path predicted by the Druid.

According to Irish tradition, Druids are characterized by dignity and power. Other references give them other, almost shamanistic, features. The name in question is the famous druid Mog Ruth: at least one specialist in Celtic mythology believed that he was originally a sun god. Although to claim this is to go much further than the available evidence allows us, he was nevertheless considered a powerful sorcerer and allegedly had the ability to raise a storm and create clouds with just his breath. In the saga "The Siege of Drum Damgaire" he wears enchennach - "bird clothes", which is described as follows: “They brought to him the skin of Mog Ruth's hornless brown bull and his motley bird clothes with flowing wings, and, in addition, his druid robes. And he rose together with the fire into the air and into the sky.”

Another account of the Druids from local Irish sources portrays them in a humorous light and as not being as worthy as antiquarian admirers would have them believe. However, perhaps the reason for this is the confusion of the word “druid” with druith - “fool”. In the saga "The Intoxication of the Ulads", which is full of mythological motives and situations, Queen Medb, an Irish goddess by origin, is guarded by two druids, Crom Derol and Crom Daral. They stand on the wall and argue. One thinks that a huge army is approaching them, while the other claims that these are all just natural parts of the landscape. But in reality it is really the army that is attacking them.

“They did not stand there for long, two druids and two observers, when the first detachment appeared in front of them, and its approach was white-bright, crazy, noisy, thundering over the valley. They rushed forward so furiously that in the houses of Temra Luachr there was not a sword left on a hook, not a shield on a shelf, not a spear on a wall that would not fall to the ground with a roar, noise and ringing. On all the houses in Temre Luakhra, where there were tiles on the roofs, those tiles fell from the roofs onto the ground. It seemed as if a stormy sea had approached the walls of the city and its fence. And in the city itself, people’s faces turned white, and there was gnashing of teeth. Then two druids fainted, and into unconsciousness, and into unconsciousness, one of them, Krom Daral, fell from the wall outside, and the other, Krom Derol, fell inside. But soon Krom Derol jumped to his feet and fixed his gaze on the detachment that was approaching him.”

The Druid class could have had some kind of power in the Christian era, at least in the Goydel world, and we have no reason to believe that with the advent of Christianity, pagan cults and all the attributes and people associated with it instantly disappeared. In Scotland, Saint Columba is said to have met a Druid named Broichan near Inverness in the 7th century AD. e. The Druids may have existed for some time under Christianity, although they no longer had the same religious power and political influence; perhaps they turned only into magicians and sorcerers.

However, in ancient times their power, at least in some areas of the Ancient World, was undeniable. Caesar, apparently, was basically right when he wrote: “Namely, they give verdicts in almost all controversial cases, public and private; whether a crime or murder has been committed, whether there is a dispute over inheritance or borders, the same Druids decide... Their science is thought to have originated in Britain and from there transferred to Gaul; and to this day, in order to get to know it more thoroughly, they go there to study it.”

In addition, Pliny mentions the veneration that Druidry enjoyed in the British Isles. He notes: “And to this day Britain is fascinated by magic and performs its rites with such ceremonies that it seems as if it were she who transmitted this cult to the Persians.”

Caesar, speaking about Britain, does not mention the Druids. Episodes such as the Boudicca revolt and the religious rites and practices associated with them give the impression that in the 1st century AD. e. there was something very similar to Druidry, at least in some parts of Britain. In fact, ancient authors have only one mention of Druids in Britain. Describing the attack of the Roman governor Paulinus on the Druid fortress on Anglesey in 61 AD. e., Tacitus says: “On the shore stood a fully armed enemy army, among which women were running, looking like furies, in mourning robes, with flowing hair, they were holding burning torches in their hands; The Druids who were right there, with their hands raised to the sky, raised prayers to the gods and uttered curses. The novelty of this spectacle shocked our warriors, and they, as if petrified, exposed their motionless bodies to the blows raining down on them. Finally, heeding the admonitions of the commander and urging each other not to be afraid of this frenzied, half-female army, they rush towards the enemy, throw them back and push the resisters into the flames of their own torches. After this, a garrison is placed among the vanquished and their sacred groves are cut down, intended for the performance of ferocious superstitious rites: after all, they considered it pious to irrigate the altars of the lairs with the blood of prisoners and ask for their instructions, turning to human entrails.”

We already know that the Druid stronghold on Anglesey may have been associated with both economic and religious aspects, which explains the fanatical resistance to the Roman invasion. Further archaeological excavations, along with the classification of some of the cult figures on Anglesey that have not yet been studied in this context, may shed more light on the nature of Druidry on this island, and perhaps in Britain as a whole.

Evidence from ancient authors suggests that female druids, or druidesses, if they can be called that, also played a role in the pagan Celtic religion, and this evidence is consistent with the data of the insular texts. Vopisk (although this is a rather dubious source) tells an interesting story: “My grandfather told me what he heard from Diocletian himself. When Diocletian, he said, was in a tavern in Tungri in Gaul, still had a small military rank and was summing up his daily expenses with some female Druidess, she said to him: “You are too stingy, Diocletian, too prudent.” To this, they say, Diocletian answered not seriously, but jokingly: “I will be generous when I become emperor.” After these words, the Druidess is said to have said: “Don’t joke, Diocletian, because you will be emperor when you kill the boar.”

Speaking about the prophetic abilities of the Druids and again mentioning women, Vopisk says: “He claimed that Aurelian once turned to the Gallic Druidesses with the question of whether his descendants would remain in power. Those, according to him, replied that there would be no more glorious name in the state than the name of the descendants of Claudius. And there is already Emperor Constantius, a man of the same blood, and his descendants, it seems, will achieve the glory that was predicted by the Druidesses.”

We have already seen what prophetic power is attributed to the seer Fedelm in The Rape of the Bull from Kualnge; there is every reason to believe that in the Druid class women, at least in some areas and at some periods, enjoyed a certain influence.

Idols, images and votive offerings

We already know something about the temples and sanctuaries of the Celts and about the Druids who were priests of at least some of the Celts. Now the next question arises: were cult images made in pre-Roman times? Did the Celts worship their gods in a tangible form or did they simply imagine abstract concepts of divinity?

Rice. 39. Five of 190 objects (all from oak heartwood) discovered at the Sequana sanctuary at the mouth of the Seine River (Côte-d'Or, France).

All our data suggests that they had a wide variety of images and idols. Astounding evidence of this is a huge treasure of about 190 wooden objects from the site where the Temple of Sequana was located at the source of the Seine River. All are made from oak heartwood, as are many other iconic wooden objects from Denmark (where Celtic influence was strong), France and the British Isles. Such a large number of surviving images actually indicates that at one time they existed in huge numbers. Thus, the favorite material for making idols was wood, and since the Celts revered oak more than any other tree, the choice of oak for making idols was quite natural. Some philologists believe that the word “druid” itself is associated with the Celtic designation for oak, which itself is also associated with the Greek name for oak - drus. The second syllable of this word is possibly related to the Indo-European root "wid", meaning "to know"; that is, in general, "druid" means something like "a sage who reveres the oak tree." Maximus of Tyre says that the Celts imagined Zeus (meaning the Celtic equivalent of the ancient god) as a huge oak tree. Caesar says that Gaul has the most images of Mercury (again referring to the local gods who merged with Mercury in Roman times). All this suggests that the Celtic religion was by no means devoid of images, as is sometimes claimed - quite the contrary.

It is clear, however, that stone images were less popular, and although a small number are known from at least the 6th century BC. e., stone sculptures became truly revered only from the 1st century BC. e. under the auspices of the Roman world. However, there is also a lot of evidence that the stones themselves, decorated in the Celtic manner, like the stones from Turo or Castlestrange (Ireland), or the pillar from Sankt Goar (Germany), or simply stone blocks or standing stones, were revered in themselves: it was believed that they have amazing power. Stones, as we have already seen, often marked the boundaries between tribes. Lia Fal - the great inauguration stone of ancient Ireland - shouted when the true ruler of Ireland stood upon him. There are countless stories in the Old Irish tradition about the power of sacred stones. Today, in modern Celtic folk beliefs, some stones are still considered to have supernatural powers, and in remote areas of the existing Celtic world the use of stones in black magic and similar rituals is still remembered. In the Irish "Ancient Places" (stories explaining the origin of the names of certain places) there are references to the stone idol Cenn Croich, or Cromm Cruach (in modern folk legend - Crom Oak), and eleven of his brothers. Although this legend is of course not to be taken literally, there are elements of it that fit convincingly with the general picture of Celtic belief as we imagine it. Moreover, the fact that the idol supposedly stood on Mag Slecht, the "Valley of Worship" in the north-west corner of County Cavan, where there appears to have been a large cult area of ​​primary importance in pagan times, emphasizes the truth behind the story. The legend says: “Here stood a tall idol that had seen many battles, and it was called Cromm Cruach; he forced all the tribes to live without peace... He was their god, ancient Kromm, hidden in many mists; as long as people believed in him, they could not find the eternal Kingdom above all refuges... Stone idols stood in rows, four rows of three; and oh woe, in order to deceive the troops, the image of Kromm was made of gold. From the reign of Eremon, a generous leader, stones were revered here until the arrival of the noble Patrick in Ard Macha. He smashed Kromm with a hammer from head to toe; with his great courage he drove out the powerless monster that stood here.”

This colorful account of the overthrow of pagan idols by the Christian church may explain the paucity of stone sculptures in the pre-Roman Celtic world.

Cromm, or Cenn Cruach, remained in Irish folk tradition as Crome Oak. Moira McNeill, along with other scholars, analyzes the legends of this cult figure in connection with the great calendar festival of Lughnasadh. Another stone idol is described in the Irish Calendar of Aengus: “Clohar, that is, the golden stone, that is, the stone set in gold, which was revered by the pagans, and a demon named Kermand Kestah used to speak from this stone, and it was the chief idol of the North "

Another idol, this time supposedly British, was called Etarun. This name may contain the same root as the name of the great Gallic god with the wheel - Taranis, traces of whose cult are actually observed in Britain. It was not only gods or demons who were believed to dwell in the stones and speak from them; weapons were also considered the home of spirits. People believed that the sacred weapons of gods and semi-divine heroes could act and speak independently of the owner through the actions of supernatural forces that controlled them. In The Rape of the Bull of Cualnge we read how Sualtaim, the earthly father of Cuchulainn, is killed by his own shield: he violated the custom that no one should speak before the Druid spoke:

“Then Sualtaim left them in anger and rage, because he did not hear the desired answer. And it so happened that the Gray of Macha reared up and galloped away from Emain, and the shield of Sualtaim slipped out of his hands and cut off his head with its edge. Then the horse turned back towards Emain, and on its back lay a shield with the head of Sualtaim. The head said again:

“Husbands are killed, women are taken away, cattle are kidnapped, O Ulads!”

The number of small initiatory models of weapons such as spears, swords and shields found in ritual contexts in Britain and on the Continent also suggests that the weapon was considered the home of supernatural powers. Some of these miniature objects were deliberately broken, no doubt in accordance with the rituals and beliefs that existed at the time. Daggers with handles in the shape of people (Fig. 40) depicted the very spirit or deity that supposedly lived in them or was responsible for their origin. This is another source of evidence regarding the veneration of these objects in the ancient Celtic world.

Rice. 40. Man-shaped short sword handle from North Grimston, Yorkshire, East Riding.

The art of La Tène, as we will see in the next chapter, turned out to be another treasure trove of cult symbols. All were delicately woven into fluid patterns of spirals, stylized foliage and plants; the torques itself (neck decoration) served as a magical insignia worn by gods and heroes. On many decorated items of horse harness and helmet decorations we see symbols of magical power and amulets against evil.

The Celts were by no means ignorant of everything related to the veneration of idols and anthropomorphic images - it can be considered proven that they had plenty of all this. But since they tended to express their beliefs and ideas indirectly, this is not always obvious, and only a study of Celtic culture and everyday life in general can reveal the subtle influence of religion and superstition in many ways that at first glance seem mundane and ordinary.

Holidays and ritual gatherings

We looked at the sanctuaries and sacred sites of the Celts and learned that there were many of them, although many have only been discovered in recent years, and some are still awaiting discovery. We have become acquainted with those who had to speak to the gods on behalf of mankind, and have discovered that the Celts certainly had priests called Druids, and there is evidence of the existence of other priests, although we do not know what role they played and how they were connected with the Druid class. We have seen that the Celts had idols and cult images in abundance, and in the future many of them will undoubtedly be discovered or found in literary contexts.

And finally, let's try to figure out in what cases all these items were used? What rituals did the priests perform in the sanctuaries where many of the idols and other paraphernalia of the religious cult were located?

The Celts celebrated the main calendar holidays. We already know that the Celts considered time to be nights. The Celtic year in Ireland was divided into four main parts, and it is quite possible that this was done in other parts of the Celtic world. Each part of the year began with a great religious festival, at which some cult legend was remembered. The holiday was accompanied by feasts and fun, fairs and bazaars, games and competitions, as well as solemn religious rites, and in Gaul, at least, sacrifices of both people and animals. This custom was abhorred by the Romans, who had long abandoned the practice of human sacrifice by the time they came into close contact with the pagan Celtic world.

The first ritual stage of the calendar year was February 1st. This holiday was apparently dedicated to the goddess Brigid, whose place was later taken by her Christian successor, Saint Brigid. This powerful goddess was also known as Brigantia, the patron goddess of northern Britain. Dedications and names of places on the continent also speak of her cult. She was most likely one of the most revered goddesses of the entire pagan Celtic world. What the holiday in her honor, which was called Imbolc (or Oimelg), was not entirely clear, however, apparently, it was associated with the beginning of milking of sheep and, thus, was primarily a holiday of shepherds. In the later Christian tradition, attention is drawn to Brigid's connection with sheep and shepherd life, as well as with fertility in general; apparently, these are echoes of the role played by its pagan predecessor.

The second holiday, Beltane, was celebrated on May 1. It may have been associated with the veneration of the ancient Celtic god Belenus, who is known from some 31 inscriptions discovered in northern Italy, southeastern Gaul and Norica. There are also epigraphic traces of his cult in the British Isles, and some evidence from the literary tradition suggests that traces of knowledge about this deity persisted in the Celtic world even later. Beli Mawr, who appears in the Mabinogion as a powerful king of Britain, appears to have been considered an ancestor deity of the aristocracy of early Wales and can be identified in origin with Bhelen himself. The power and influence of this early pastoral deity may explain the popularity and longevity of his festival, which still survives in at least some areas of the Scottish Highlands. According to Cormac, the 9th-century author of an Old Irish dictionary, the word "Beltane" comes from "Beltene" - "beautiful fire". It was a holiday associated with the promotion of fertility, and magical rites occupied a large place in it, designed to ensure the reproduction of livestock and the growth of crops. Large fires were lit and cattle were driven between the fires for purification. Again, according to Cormac, the Druids lit two fires and drove animals between them. Undoubtedly, sacrifices were made at these festivals. Beltane was also called "Ketsamain".

The third seasonal festival was also widespread throughout the Celtic world, and traces of it are still alive in modern Celtic folk customs. Celebrated on August 1, Lughnasadh was primarily an agricultural festival, associated with the harvest of grain rather than with a pastoral economy. He was closely associated with the god Lugh in Gaul (Lugh in Ireland, Lleu in Wales), a powerful, widely worshiped deity whose cult may have been introduced to Ireland by later Celtic settlers. In Roman Gaul, in Lyon (Lugdunum), a holiday was celebrated on this day in honor of the Emperor Augustus, and it seems quite obvious that it replaced the old holiday dedicated to the Celtic god, after whom the city was called the “fortress of Lug.” Lughnasadh was a very important holiday in Ireland, as the folklore that has come down to us confirms. This holiday was sometimes called Bron Trogain - "Sorrow of Trogan", and perhaps this is the old name of Lughnasad. In Ireland, two large gatherings were traditionally held on Lughnasadh, both associated with powerful goddesses. One of these holidays was the festival of Tailtiu, the other was the festival of Karman. The Tailtiu festival took place in Teltoun, County Meath. There are two legends that explain the origin of this holiday. One says that it was erected by the god Lugh in honor of his adoptive mother Tailtiu, who died here on 1 August. We have already realized how important the educational system was to Celtic society and that (ideally) adoptive parents were treated with respect and love. Apparently, the same thing happened among the gods.

The Lughnasadh holiday traditionally lasted a whole month - 15 days before August 1 and 15 days after. Other traditions say that Lugh founded the festival of Tailtiu in honor of his two wives, Nas and Bui. In Ulster Lughnasadh was celebrated at Emain Macha, in Leinster at Carman. It was believed that Carman was the mother of three sons: together with her sons, she devastated all of Ireland, she - in a purely feminine way, using magic and witchcraft, they - resorting to their strength and weapons. Finally the sons were defeated and forced to leave Ireland, and Carman remained here as a hostage "along with the seven things that they revered." She died of grief, and a holiday was held in her honor, in accordance with her wishes.

The fourth festival - in fact the first of the Celtic year, since it marked the beginning of it - was Samhain, perhaps the most important of the four. On this day, the Other World became visible to people and all supernatural forces roamed freely in the human world. It was a time of terrible danger and spiritual vulnerability. It was celebrated on the night of November 1 and throughout that day. In the ancient Irish sagas, this is a very significant holiday, and most events that have mythological and ritual significance are dedicated to this date. It was the end of the shepherd's year and the beginning of the next; undoubtedly, on this day sacrifices were made, which were supposed to appease the forces of the Other World and scare away hostile creatures.

On Samhain, the Dagda, the tribal deity of the Irish, entered into sacred marriage with Morrigan, the raven goddess of war; on the battlefield she acted not with the help of weapons, but by magically intervening in the battle. Throughout the early tradition the inherent gift of prophecy is emphasized. She could be both a good friend and a ruthless enemy. On another occasion, the Dagda united with the river goddess, patron of the Boyne River.

In remote areas the festival of Samhain is still celebrated among the Celtic peoples, and until recently a very elaborate ritual was observed on this day. It was a night of fortune-telling and magic: the correct rituals had to be performed in order to propitiate the supernatural forces that were believed to be scattered throughout the human world at this time.

There were, of course, other holidays in the ancient Celtic world. It was the festival of Thea, patroness divine of the Assembly of Tara, one of the greatest shrines in Ireland; she was also held captive, like Karman and Tailtiu. Another patroness of the festival, Tlachtga, allegedly gave birth to three twins at once (a typical Celtic mythological motif), and all had different fathers. Like the goddess Maha, she died in childbirth. These ancient goddesses apparently played a role in the ritual festivals of the ancient Celtic calendar.

Severed heads

Now from sanctuaries and temples, priests and idols, periodic holidays and ritual meetings, we move on to consider the nature of those very deities for whom this entire system of religious rites was designed. However, before talking about the character of some individual deities and their cults, we, perhaps, will build a bridge to this topic by considering the symbol in which to some extent the entire pagan Celtic religion was focused and as characteristic of it as the cross is for the Christian culture.

This symbol is a severed human head. In all the various forms of its representation in iconography and verbal art one can find the core of the Celtic religion. This is truly, as they say, “a part instead of the whole,” a kind of generalizing symbol of the entire religious philosophy of the pagan Celts.

It happens that it is also the most documented of all cults, fully attested not only by all three of the sources we use here, but also so durable that traces of it survive to this day in the superstitions and folklore of existing Celtic peoples.

The Celts, like many other primitive tribes, hunted heads. We know this from skulls found in Celtic hillforts. In some cases, even the nails with which they were nailed to the gates or pillars around the fortress walls have been preserved. Severed heads were trophies that testified to the military power of the owners, and, at the same time, the powers that were believed to be inherent in the human head served as protection and averted evil from the fortress or home, bringing goodness, luck and success. Diodorus Siculus speaks of the Gauls' custom of beheading their enemies and tells how they nailed the heads to their houses or embalmed them in oil and considered them priceless treasures. His evidence of the importance of the head in Celtic daily and spiritual life is supported by an observation by Livy.

Livy also describes how, in 216, the Boii tribe placed the head of a high-ranking enemy leader in a temple. Human skulls were exhibited in special niches in large temples in Roquepertuse and Entremont, confirming the fair observations of ancient authors. Livy goes on to speak of the Celtic custom of decorating human heads with gold and using them as drinking cups; perhaps this was precisely the function of the human skull discovered in the Libenice sanctuary. There are many examples in the literature of the Celtic peoples of human heads being used in this way. Outright headhunting occurs constantly in the Uladian cycle of Irish tales, as well as in other legends. In The Rape of the Bull of Cualnge, following the first battle after taking up arms, Cú Chulainn returns to Emain Machu with a flock of swans, wild deer, and three severed heads. Later in the “Abduction” it is said that “Cuchulainn held nine heads in one hand and ten in the other and shook them as a sign of his fearlessness and valor” in front of the army. It’s unlikely that the troops asked him any questions about this...

It is said that many characters, gods or heroes, never sat down to feast without placing a severed head on the table before them; The Celts believed that the human head is the seat of the soul, the essence of being. She symbolized the deity itself and possessed all the desired qualities. She could be alive after the death of the body; she could ward off evil and prophesy; she could move, act, speak, sing; she could tell stories and entertain; she presided over the Other World feast. In some cases it was used as a symbol of a particular deity or cult; in others it symbolically expressed religious feelings in general.

The most impressive example from literature regarding the belief in the power of a severed head occurs in the story of Branwen in the Mabinogion. In this tale, which tells of the ill-fated sister of Bran the Blessed, the "Blessed Raven" (possibly originally a powerful Celtic god), the magical severed head of the euhemerized deity plays an important role. It says that Bran was so tall that it was impossible to build a house tall enough to accommodate him, a clear indication of his supernatural nature. After a disastrous expedition to Ireland, he was wounded and, at his request, his surviving comrades cut off his head. Before this, he made prophecies about future events and told them what to do and how to behave in order to avoid troubles and disappointments. Bran's severed head lived on after his body was decapitated. His people took their heads with them to the Other World, where they feasted and had fun for a long time in some magical time, having no idea where they were and not remembering anything about the suffering they endured. The head entertains them and magically provides them with hospitality and company: “And they remained there four to twenty years, but in such a way that they did not notice the time and did not become older than they were when they came there, and there was no more pleasant time for them and fun. And the head was with them, like a living Bendigeid Vran. And therefore their stay there is called the Hospitality of the Honorable Head.”

Finally, one of Bran's friends, ignoring his warnings, opens the forbidden door. The spell breaks and they remember what happened again. Again acting on Bran's orders, they take the head to London and bury it there. She becomes a talisman, warding off evil and plague from the country until she is dug up. After this, her power stops. There are several similar stories in Irish tradition where a severed head presides over celebrations or entertains the crowd.

Archeology fully confirms this most important cult for the pagan Celtic peoples. Hundreds of heads were made from stone; the same number or even more were made of wood, but, of course, much fewer wooden heads have come down to us than stone ones. In La Tène art the human head or mask appears as a constant motif, and here, as in later stone images, a variety of cult attributes can be discerned, including horns, crowns of leaves, or groups of several heads. These heads were undoubtedly endowed with magical powers to ward off evil; some of them depicted individual gods or goddesses.

Rice. 41. Head of Janus from basaltic lava, Leichlingen (Rhineland, Germany).

Rice. 42. Horned head from Starkenburg, Germany.

The Celts firmly believed in the magical power of the number three. According to cult legends, their deities were often born as triplets, along with their two namesakes. Some mythological characters were considered to have three heads. Three-faced heads were depicted in sculpture in Celtic countries in Roman times, undoubtedly also testifying to the sacred power of the number three. Many such heads have been found in Britain. Other heads have the shape of a two-faced Janus (Fig. 41), which perhaps reflects some concept of a god who looks forward to the Other World and back to the human world. Sometimes the heads are crowned with horns; Apparently, this is connected with the cult of horned deities in general (Fig. 42). Sometimes the heads do not have ears, sometimes the ears are exaggerated or the sculptures have slits for inserting animal ears. The eyes are usually emphasized; sometimes one of them is larger than the other, sometimes one or many have several pupils. The faces are usually mask-like and devoid of any expression and have nothing in common with the portrait heads of the ancient world. This huge corpus of heads and the evidence that in ancient times there were many more of them, both wooden and stone, and metal, provide us with an excellent additional source of information about the fundamental, vital role of the human head in the pagan Celtic religion at all times and throughout history. territory of each tribe. It can rightfully be said that the Celts revered a head god - a symbol of their entire religious faith.

Deities and cults

We must now look at the types of deities that the Celts worshiped; for while there is an obvious basic unity of religious belief and ritual practice, there is also a distinct tendency to regard gods and goddesses as divine types within their own distinct cultic sphere. In this case, although we know literally hundreds of deity names from epigraphy and literary tradition (some of them found frequently throughout the Celtic world, others appearing only once or twice), there are only a very limited number of divine types. It is clear that the same type of deity was worshiped over a wide area, even if he or she had different names and their cult legends varied slightly from tribe to tribe and depending on personal preference.

Before proceeding to consider the most prominent of these cults, it is necessary to say something about the Celtic deities as a class. Apparently, the Celts did not have a specific pantheon, a clear division of gods and goddesses according to special functions and categories. There are deities whose frequent appearance in epigraphy and literature suggests perhaps a more profound influence than those who were recorded only once or twice, and this perhaps justifies the assumption of the existence of some hierarchy of deities. However, even in this case we are talking about both gods and goddesses “of all trades”, and about those who were involved in a particular area of ​​public life.

Celtic deities, in general, seem to have been very multifaceted personalities. The tribal god (regardless of what he was called in different areas) was the main type of Celtic deity. Each tribe had its own divine father. He was represented as the ancestor of the people, the father of the king or chief, in whom divine power was believed to reside. Just like this god, the king was responsible for the general well-being of the tribe, the fertility of livestock and the people themselves, for a good harvest and the absence of plague and disasters, for correctly chosen laws and fair judicial decisions. A king "with a vice" or one who turned out to be morally corrupt could only harm the tribe; a good reign ensured good weather and harvest - in a word, everything that was good for people. Like the king, God the Father presided over justice and laws in times of peace. But he could take up arms and lead his men into battle during the war. Caesar writes: “The Gauls all consider themselves descendants of Father Ditus and say that this is the teaching of the Druids.” This Celtic equivalent of Father Dith, the sacred ancestor god, is undoubtedly the same universal tribal god who in the Irish tradition is the Dagda - "The Good God". This is a huge, powerful warrior with a club and a cauldron, the husband of the mighty Morrigan, the raven goddess of war, and also Boand, the eponymous goddess of the Boyne River. Among others, his equivalent in Gaul seems to have been a figure like Sucellus, the “Good Fighter,” who, with his hammer and cup, closely resembles the verbal descriptions of the Dagda.

The god of the tribe became the consort of the earth goddess, whatever her name might be in different places and according to different traditions. As we have already seen, one of the consorts of the Dagda was a powerful goddess of war, who, at her own will, could take the form of a crow or raven and who influenced the outcome of the battle with the help of her magical powers and divinations. Another connection between the two fathers of the tribe - the Gallic Sucellus and the Irish Dagda - is that the companion of the Gallic god was Nantosvelta - “The Maiden of the Winding Stream”, whose attribute was just the raven.

Thus, we can consider that the "basic unit" of the Celtic divine community was the main tribal god, in charge of all aspects of life, the divine counterpart of the king or chief, and his consort - the earth mother, who took care of the fertility of the country, the crops and livestock and who took an active part in the battle against the enemies of the tribe, using not so much weapons as spells and magic spells to win. In addition to the mention of this main divine pair, there is evidence of gods with more limited spheres of influence, which can be found in human society: a blacksmith god, a divine healer, a god who practiced the verbal arts, a patron deity of some sacred well or river. However, the “jack of all trades” god could, if necessary, engage in one of these arts, if necessary, and the spheres of influence of the gods probably overlapped quite often.

Thus it appears that, from the Celtic point of view, the divine social order corresponded to the order in the tribal hierarchy. There is also some evidence of the existence of a group of deities more "high" than the tribal gods, that is, a kind of gods of the gods themselves. Some goddesses appear to have occupied the position of "mother of the gods" at some stage. These are such obscure but powerful figures as Anu, or Danu, Brigid, or Brigantia, or the Welsh Don, who, apparently, filled the same role. Anu is “she who feeds the gods,” perhaps, like Danu, the Welsh Don also corresponds to her. Brigid is a pagan goddess, in some legends she is the mother of the gods Brian, Iukhar and Iukharba. According to other traditions, the mother of these three was Danu; they were called "people of the three gods." However, Brigid's most prominent position was not as the triple daughter of the tribal god Dagda (for there were three sister goddesses named Brigid), but as the early Christian enlightenment saint, Brigid of Kildare. Nine virgins were constantly around the sacred eternal flame of St. Brigid. Its British equivalent was, of course, Brigantia, "High", which gave its name to an area of ​​Roman Britain equal to the modern six northern counties of England and the powerful confederation of the Brigante tribe who lived in that area.

All these powerful female deities, whether they ultimately represent the same goddess or the same basic concept of a divine mother, suggest that above the tribal god and his consort - the earth mother of the tribe - there was indeed a group of higher deities, those who raised the gods themselves and whose sons even surpassed the tribal gods.

Other obscure, vaguely defined, but apparently very interesting goddesses are reflected in literary accounts of female heroines who taught Cuchulain his irresistible techniques in combat and served him so well in times of trouble. Scathach, who is said to have granted (by coercion) the three wishes of Cuchulainn, the hero of the Uladian cycle, was a great warrior-queen in the mold of the ancient Irish divine Queen Medb - "The Intoxicating One". Scathach gives the hero his daughter, first-class training in military strategy, and reveals his future to him. Cu Chulainn then defeats her enemy, another powerful woman, Aife, who rides a chariot herself and ignores the world of men. The Uladian hero defeats him with superior strategy, and she also grants three of his wishes, including not only making peace with Scathach, but also sleeping with Cú Chulainn and giving him a son. This is what happens, but later Cu Chulainn does not recognize the son she bore to him and kills him in a duel before he understands who the young fighter is to him.

It can be believed that all of these powerful warrior goddess-queens are somehow related to each other and they all actually embody the concept of a goddess who is above the tribe - the great goddess of the gods themselves.

Keeping in mind this basis of the organization of the pagan Celtic Otherworld with its division of the gods into the tribal god and mother goddess and then all the gods and goddesses with different, more specific functions, we must now consider some of the individual cults with which these deities were associated, regardless depending on what names they were called under. We have already seen that the cult of the severed human head was vital to Celtic religion and could express all aspects of Celtic religious behavior. Bearing in mind that this symbol alone could represent the many separate cults of which their mythology was composed, we can proceed to a general survey of the more typical cults and the types of deities that were associated with them.

The Celts, as we will see, had a great reverence for animals. It is therefore not surprising that one of the most well-attested types of gods throughout the pagan Celtic world was the horned god. There are two main types of horned god. The first is a god with deer antlers, who, as is known from one inscription, bore the name (K)ernunn - “Horned”. There is early evidence of his cult throughout the Celtic world, and he appears quite regularly. Cernunnos has the antlers of a stag; the god is often accompanied by a deer - his cult animal par excellence. He often wears a torkves, a sacred neck ornament, around his neck, and sometimes holds it in his hands. He is constantly accompanied by a mysterious snake with a ram's head or horns. This creature was also depicted next to the local god, who replaced Mars. The deer god often appears to us sitting on the ground, which apparently recalls the customs of the Gauls, who did not use chairs and sat on the floor.

It is clear that the cult of this god was widespread throughout the Celtic world, and he may have been a deity especially revered by the Druids. There is strong evidence of this deity in the literary traditions of both Wales and Ireland, and the fact that in Christian manuscripts this figure became a symbol of the devil and anti-Christian forces suggests his essential importance to the Celtic religion. He was often depicted as a master of animals. For example, he sits on a cauldron from Gundestrup, holding a snake with the head of a ram by the neck; on his sides stand a wolf and a bear. Many other animals are shown in the background. In contrast to the horned god of the second type, the god with deer antlers is always depicted as peaceful and his entire cult is the cult of fertility and agricultural and commercial prosperity. The dignity and sophistication of this cult speaks of its great antiquity and significance.

The second type of horned god, which we also find throughout the Celtic world, is the god with the horns of a bull or ram. He is infinitely rougher than his brother with deer antlers, but they also have something in common. At times these two cults seemed to merge into one. For example, both gods were associated with the Roman Mercury. Mercury's association with economic prosperity must have led to the identification of the Celtic deity with antlers with this ancient god. Moreover, in his more ancient role as protector of flocks, Mercury naturally resembled in many ways the stag-horned deity (as ruler of animals) and the bull-horned or ram-horned god, who was also clearly associated with shepherding. The name of the god with bull horns is unknown. He may have been one of those deities worshiped in parts of Gaul or Roman Britain, where the evidence for his cult is particularly impressive. In many ways he is the god of war. Sometimes in local iconography it appears as the horned head of the most typical local species. Most often he was depicted as a naked warrior with a clearly drawn phallus, holding a spear and shield in his hands. Sometimes it is compared to Mars, and sometimes to Mercury. In addition, he, as a rough forest deity, could be identified with Silvanus - a god also phallic, but at the same time unarmed. As the god of constantly warring shepherd tribes, he vividly reflected their attitude to life and cherished aspirations - a mighty warrior, protector of herds, who gave courage and fertility to people and animals.

We have already seen that the tribal god was essentially a powerful warrior, and, regardless of what were his spheres of influence and activities in times of peace, when the tribe was in danger of invasion or was ready to go on a campaign to conquer new lands, the god -the father became his leader in battle, the divine ideal of human courage and endurance. The Celts, a restless, mobile people, preferred beautiful decorations to permanent houses, complex and durable religious buildings, and therefore had to have some kind of amulets or idols that were easy to carry and that would serve as a symbol of the divine warrior or would be dedicated to him. Often it was apparently a head made of stone or wood, or a small wooden idol, or maybe even just a stone or a sacred weapon in which the god spoke, inspiring the warriors.

It was natural that to the Romans, when they first became acquainted with the Celts, the Celtic deities should have seemed monstrously aggressive, and so the tribal god of the Celts tended to be identified with Mars, the Roman god of war. As conflict and tension subsided and life became more peaceful and tranquil under Roman rule, the tribal god continued to be depicted as Mars. However, we know that in many cases, mainly taking into account other attributes and dedications to this god that we find in the iconography, the warrior god was associated more with phenomena such as healing waters and agricultural fertility, or figured in the role of a local god -protector, custodian of local cultural tradition.

In the northern regions of Britain, where the Roman conquest never lost its military aspect, the warrior god - most often with the horns of a bull or ram - was depicted as Mars, and only in his guise as the god of war. Only one northern deity, namely Mars Condatis - "Mars at the meeting of the waters", who was worshiped at Chester-le-Street and Pearsebridge in County Durham, suggests the powers of a sacred spring or river, recalling the role of Mars in many areas of Gaul and southwest England. The gods identified with Mars in the south-eastern regions of Britain were primarily associated with healing. It is interesting that Irish deities were also involved in healing. Lugh, the son of Ethlenn from the Tribes of the Goddess Danu in the ancient Irish tradition, an unusually skillful warrior who, in addition, owned many different crafts, was allegedly the divine father of the great hero Cuchulainn. When Cuchulainn was almost mortally wounded ("The Rape of the Bull of Cualnge"), Lugh comes to him in the guise of a warrior; at the same time, however, no one sees him except the hero himself. He sings magic spells over his son to induce sleep on him, and then applies sacred herbs and plants to his terrible wounds and heals the wounded hero with chants: Cuchulainn is again whole, unharmed and ready to fight.

For such a warlike people as the Celts, God in his warrior form had to occupy a leading place in mythology and later iconography. We should not forget about the cult of weapons. As we have already seen, many ancient Irish sagas tell that some especially revered swords, shields or spears were made by the gods themselves or acquired by the gods and brought to Ireland by them.

In general, Celtic goddesses were powerful female deities. They were mainly in charge of the earth, the fertility of both plants and animals, sexual pleasures, as well as war in its magical aspect. The concept of a trinity of female deities appears to have played a fundamental role in pagan Celtic beliefs. In iconography, the tribal mother goddess was depicted primarily as a group of three mother goddesses known in both the Gallo-Roman and Romano-British worlds. The maternal aspect of the tribal goddess was of paramount importance; therefore, it is not surprising that in sculpture she was depicted as a mother goddess who feeds her child, holds him in her lap or plays with him. The maternal and sexual aspects of the Celtic goddesses are quite well attested. However, in addition to this basic function of the tribal mother goddess, other, narrower spheres of influence of female deities can be identified. For example, the warlike triple raven goddess, or rather, three goddesses named Morrigan, were more concerned with battle as such, prophesying and changing their appearance, although their sexual aspect is also very clearly expressed. Other goddesses, such as Flidas, seem to have been, like Cernunnos and other deities, the mistress of the forest animals - the Celtic equivalent of Diana. They hunted, raced their chariots through wild thickets, and also protected herds and contributed to their increase. Flidas was the lover of the great hero Fergus, son of Roach ("Great Horse"). Only she could satisfy him completely sexually.

Among other goddesses who are known to us from the ancient Irish tradition, we can name Medb herself with her endless series of husbands and lovers; great goddesses of healing springs and wells; obscure female deities, such as the British goddess Ratis - “goddess of the fortress”, Latis - “goddess of the pond” (or beer) and so on. Another deity we don't know much about is Coventina, the nymph goddess of northern Britain. Many dedications to her have survived, and she had her own cult center at Carrowburgh (Brocolithia) on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland. The richness and complexity of the votive offerings in the sacred wells of Coventina speak of the veneration in which it was surrounded. Traces of her name on the continent suggest that the area of ​​her cult was wider than it appears at first glance.

At Bath, Somerset (anciently Aqua Sulis), the Romans adapted to their needs the cult of another great local goddess of the springs. The goddess of the hot springs of Bath - Sulis - was identified with the ancient Minerva. The iconography of Roman goddesses shows an image that is both ancient and native; it sometimes seems that the ancient images appeared primarily to give a tangible image to the local beliefs through which the source was dedicated to Sulis in the first place. In addition, at Aqua Arnemedia (Buxton) in Derbyshire, a Roman goddess was also venerated at sacred springs in Roman times.

Consequently, the major Celtic goddesses throughout the pagan Celtic world were mother goddesses and performed corresponding maternal and sexual functions. There were also war goddesses who sometimes wielded weapons and sometimes used the power of magic to grant success to the side they supported. The hero Cu Chulainn, having rejected the sexual advances of the great Morrigan, immediately experiences her resentment and anger. In a gloomy, vindictive mood, she comes to Cuchulainn precisely at the moment when he is having a hard time in a duel: “Morrigan appeared to them in the guise of a white red-eared heifer, leading fifty more heifers, chained in pairs with chains of light bronze. Here the women imposed bans and gesses on Cuchulainn, so that he would not let Morrigan leave without harassing and destroying her. From the very first throw, Morrigan's eye struck Cuchulain. Then she swam downstream and wrapped herself around Cuchulainn’s legs. While he was struggling to free himself, Loch inflicted a wound on him across the throat. Then Morrigan appeared in the guise of a shaggy red she-wolf, and again wounded Cuchulain Loch while he drove her away. Cuchulainn was filled with anger and struck the enemy’s heart in the chest with a blow from the ha bulga.”

Thus, the Celtic goddesses had dominion over the earth and the seasons; they were full of sexual energy and radiated maternal kindness. Many of them have clearly passed into folk tradition, such as the Irish Crone of Barra, the Scottish Crone of Benn Brick, or the strange sea-related Mulidartach; they perform miracles, and their spheres of influence correspond closely to those seen in the iconography and textual traditions of the older, pagan world.

Birds played a vital, fundamental role in the imagery of the pagan Celtic religion. Human emotions towards birds must obviously be considered very ancient, and one can clearly determine how people felt about individual species (Fig. 43). It is remarkable that some birds have been treated with reverence throughout the ages, and these ideas have passed into modern oral tradition. Others experienced a short period of popularity, but birds - both in general and individual species - have always resonated with the Celtic character.

Birds played different roles. The Druids were said to make predictions based on the flight and calls of birds. The texts contain many fascinating examples of the meanings attached to bird calls. As early as the period of the urn culture, in the Proto-Celtic era, some birds appear repeatedly in contexts that were apparently cultic. Various water birds were associated with the cult of the sun, especially in its healing form. Idols were depicted sitting in chariots driven by birds. The sun itself was carried by a cormorant (Fig. 44), a duck or a goose; these birds continued to be depicted in later artistic traditions. Several varieties of ducks can be distinguished, and the accuracy of ornithological observations in the iconography of pagan Europe is simply amazing. One of the most elegant examples of the use of birds to decorate a household object (which, however, may have been intended only for ritual purposes) is a meat fork (or goad for horses) from Dunaverney, Ireland. This object has outline depictions of crows and swans with their cubs, and the fact that they are all mobile suggests their connection with the science of bird divination, and this object could have belonged to a king or priest.

Rice. 43. Owl. From a broken brooch discovered in Weiskirchen (Lorraine, France).

Rice. 44. Cormorants. Image on a torque from Breverie (Marne, France).

Some larger and more visible birds played a role throughout the Celtic tradition. Among them are a swan, a crane or stork, a raven, various species of ducks and an eagle, which, however, is much less common than one might expect. The attribute of Celtic Jupiter was, rather, not an eagle, but a wheel. The swan has always been considered the embodiment of purity, beauty and possible good luck; Its connection with sexual aspects is also obvious. Often, lovers of both sexes, going on romantic trips, took the form of swans.

The crane was considered a very ominous bird; in the ancient Celtic world, eating its meat was prohibited. If necessary, hostile goddesses or evil and sexually promiscuous women took on the appearance of a crane. This bird was never loved, and aversion to it has permeated modern Scottish tradition.

The raven was deceitful and dangerous, he needed an eye and an eye, and he had to be pacified with the help of certain rituals (Fig. 45). It was the Irish goddesses of war who turned into ravens, appearing not in human form; The raven was a servant and messenger of some gods.

Birds of the Other World in the pagan Celtic tradition sang with gentle voices; their singing drowned out the pain and gave pleasure. Judging by the way they were depicted in iconography and presented in texts, they belonged to some radiant goddess gifted with sexual power; both gods and heroes wooed her and conquered her.

Rice. 45. Handle (?) decorated with ravens, from Lisnacroger (County Antrim, Ireland).

Legends and superstitions regarding birds still live on in the folklore of the modern Celtic world. They say that the symbolism of birds in the religious traditions of the pagan world was fundamental.

Animals in Celtic mythology

Finally, we must briefly consider the role of animals in pagan Celtic mythology. Animals played a very prominent and distinct role in Celtic traditions, second only to birds.

The boar appears to have been the animal par excellence in ancient Celtic society. Since La Tène times there is numerous evidence of his veneration. Data from Galyntat burials, where pig bones are found, indicate that in more ancient times they had some kind of ritual significance. The iconography of the Romano-Celtic regions provides many examples of images of a pig or wild boar (Fig. 46); island texts also contain numerous references to this animal - both as a supernatural creature and as a favorite dish of people and gods. It was the favorite prey of hunters, the food of heroes. Sexual capabilities, physical strength, the heroic defense of a cornered boar and its passion for the fruits of the sacred tree - the oak - ensured pigs and boars a place of honor in Celtic mythology. There was even a Gallic god called Mokk, that is, “Pig”; another carried a huge boar on his body (Fig. 47). Simple altars of the mysterious god of northern Britain, Veterius, or Vithyrius, as he is also called in the inscriptions, were also decorated with images of a boar and a snake.

Rice. 46. Bronze boar from Nevian-Souiat (Loiret department, France); bronze boar from Bata (Tolna, Hungary).

Rice. 47. Stone figure from Effigné (Haute-Marne department, France).

We have already talked about the deer as an attribute of Cernunnos (Fig. 48). The horse has also been highly revered since the era of the urn fields. The bull (Fig. 49), apparently, played a somewhat subordinate role, nevertheless, it was still very important for local cults. A three-horned bull is often found in Belgae religious iconography; some such bronze images reached Britain. The Rape of the Bull of Qualnge revolves around a titanic supernatural bull, the Brown of Qualnge, who was originally an anthropomorphic deity and then took on many animal forms until he became a mighty bull. But it seems that the mythologies of the pagan Celts were to some extent dominated by the boar and the stag. The ram (Fig. 50), both in the guise of the mysterious ram-headed snake and in its natural form, also appears in cultic contexts, while the ram-horned god is well attested in early iconography.

Rice. 48. 1 – fibula with the image of a horse (Schwieberdingen, Ludviksburg, Germany); 2 – fallow deer (Taunus, Germany); 3 – horse (Silchester, Hampshire); 4 – horse (Friesen, Saarland, Germany).

Some aquatic creatures also played a role in the creation of supernatural legends. The most important of these was salmon; he was considered the keeper of the wisdom of the Other World; Some deities took his form, he was the spirit and symbol of sacred rivers and lakes. According to Irish tradition, the salmon ate the nuts of the sacred walnut tree that fell into the pond, and therefore its wisdom and supernatural powers were constantly renewed. A relief from Gaul shows a human head between two huge salmon; perhaps this should be explained as the transfer of magical wisdom to a magical head. In the same way, some Gallic gods and the Scandinavian Odin received their knowledge about the world and the events in it from two ravens that sat on their shoulders and spoke directly into their ears.

Rice. 49. Representation of a bull on a bronze chariot detail from Bulbury, Dorset.

The dog (Fig. 51) also played an important role in the mythology of the Celtic peoples. As we already know, the hero Cuchulainn was forbidden to eat dog meat. Nodont, the god worshiped at Lydney, was also heavily associated with dogs. In one case, his name is accompanied by an image of a dog, and this suggests that, like Celtic deities in general, Nodont could be a werewolf and, of his own free will, take the form of his cult animal.

Rice. 50. Ram on a silver torque from Manerbio sul Mella (Brescia, Italy); a ram on a gold torque from a treasure discovered in Franc-le-Buissenal (Hainaut, Belgium).

Rice. 51. Bronze dog (found place unknown).

The Celts passionately and joyfully believed in the Other World, the home of the gods, the source of all pleasures and happiness. They believed in the continuation of material existence. Their burials were equipped with items that were considered necessary for the journey to the Other World and the feast. An intelligent and fearless hero could force his way into the Other World in his mortal form, using treachery and cunning. The goddess could fall in love with the hero and take him with her to her own magical kingdom. Nowhere do we see the Other World serving as a reward for good behavior. The concepts of good and evil were simply absent from the Celts’ ideas about life after death, beyond the grave, or even being in the Other World during life - with some divine creature. The Other World naturally belonged to every person: it was as definite and almost as tangible a place as the world of people.

Magic dominated the entire Celtic religion; Religion was also influenced by the correct or incorrect performance of the ritual. The Celtic gods were as dexterous and unpredictable as their fellow tribesmen; if you find an approach to them and pacify them according to their personal inclinations with sacrifices and the recitation of spells and chants, they could become kind and beneficent. If they were neglected or insulted, they became cruel and restless. The gods often visited the human world and joked with those who crossed their path. They were neither invincible nor immortal. It was believed that they could die, like the people themselves.

Conclusion

In this necessarily brief essay on a large and complex topic, we have said enough to enable us to consider, at least in the most general terms, the main features of the pagan Celtic religion. Caesar said:

"All Gauls are extremely pious," and all the data we have confirms this observation. The life of the pagan Celts - and, to some extent, their Christian descendants - was shrouded and imbued with superstition and minor religious signs, expiatory rites, spells and actions that were supposed to ward off evil. Not a single bird could fly over the Celt's head or land on the ground without some significance being attached to its movements; the meat of some animals could not be eaten due to religious taboos; buildings were not built without certain sacrifices, animal or human (the remains of the victims were buried under the foundation), and the like. In every area of ​​daily life, the Celts considered it necessary to defend themselves against the gods and forces of the Other World, as the Druids taught them in ancient times; this teaching was repeated by each new generation of priests and seers. A bad person was one who did not perform all the atonement rites, thereby incurring the wrath of the gods: he was considered simply a fool, ill-mannered and devoid of reason.

Although the religion of the pagan Celts was barbaric and rather obscure, without a clear system, without dogma, it is impressive in its frankness and the huge role it played in the life of the people. Moreover, it was sufficiently homogeneous over a large area and over long periods of time to have its own individual character, which made it primarily a reflection of the spiritual life of the people. Thus, it deserves a certain place among the religions of the ancient world.

Introduction…………………………………………………………………….. 3

1. History of the Celtic tribes………………………………………….4

2. Religion of the ancient Celts………………………………………......8

2.1. Druids……………………………………………………………8

2.2. Gods………………………………………………………………………………........10

2.3. The decline of Druidism and its vestiges……………………………...12

Literature……………………………………………………………………………….13

Introduction

Currently, in world culture it is difficult to trace the heritage of any one people. And in general, the terms people and nationality can be traced very relatively, taking into account our possible ignorance and, first of all, assuming that the data we have is reliable. Thus, we can only talk about what the division of the population is in our opinion. The globe into separate ethnic groups, what is their role in the historical process and, as a consequence, in the formation of modern civilizations. Ancient peoples represent a very interesting object for study, because many of them were scattered over a vast area and made a significant contribution to the history of a number of modern countries. Their religion, culture, and traditions were passed down through the centuries, changed and intertwined more than once, giving peculiar shades and flavors to the foundations of neighboring tribes. One of the most widespread peoples were the Celts. Traces of their existence have been found throughout Europe, the Mediterranean coast, and parts of western Asia - approximately 1/13 to 1/10 of the land. And all because they led a mainly nomadic lifestyle, constantly conquering and exploring new territories. All this would have been impossible without a clear hierarchy in society, which allowed some to rule and others to obey. Unlike the neighboring Roman Empire, where the social pyramid was based on an army loyal to the king, among the Celts religion and mythology played the main role. They were kept and brought to life by the Druids, in other words, the priests. To understand this, you must first understand who the Celts are and what their history is.

History of the Celtic Tribes

In the first half of the last millennium BC. From the mass of nameless primitive peoples in the territory north of the Alps, the first to emerge were the Celtic tribes, the initial pages of whose written history were marked by bloody battles and devastating raids on the richest centers of the time, which threw the rest of Europe into disarray. The educated southern world, in particular the Greek and Roman world, to which we owe the first information on the ancient history of Europe, knew nothing about the Celts until then. Meanwhile, to the northwest of the Alps, in a complex process, the community of this amazing people was born, who were the first of the barbarians, as the southern world liked to call them, to become a classic representative of the “barbarian” world. This people brought Central Europe closer to the southern environment and, thanks to their creative abilities, completed the development of primitive civilization in the territory north of the Alps. By this time, i.e. around the end of the 6th-5th centuries. BC. In the Celtic environment, important economic and social changes had already occurred, social stratification caused primarily by local conditions and prerequisites. Numerous centers of power of the local tribal nobility arose, which the southern world learned about when it was economically profitable for it to supply them with its products, thus helping to raise the standard of living and splendor of the ruling stratum. And suddenly well-armed groups of Celts boldly and courageously attacked the most important centers of the educated south, invaded Northern Italy, occupied even Rome and penetrated far to Sicily itself; at the same time, another wave headed to the Carpathian Basin, the Balkans and even Asia Minor. The southern world was stunned by their tenacity in battle, their courage, courage and greed. Only now did he come face to face with the unpleasant fact that beyond the Alps a numerous people had grown up who, during the next half millennium of European history, became an important military and political factor. Therefore, already in the 4th century. the Celts were considered one of the largest barbarian peoples of the then world, along with the Persians and Scythians. In addition, they did not always maintain hostile relations with their neighbors. There were also separate settlements that gradually mixed with other ethnic groups - the Scythians, for example, living on the territory of modern Russia. So the presence of Celtic blood in our ancestors is undoubtedly. And yet, this people did not achieve complete ethnic unity and did not create a single state entity, a power that would unite the various tribes into a single organized and stable whole. This people was fragmented into many more or less large tribal formations that spoke different, albeit related, dialects, most of which disappeared at a later time. The Greek world called them “Keltoi”, Celts. In all likelihood, this name spread precisely during the culminating period of the heyday of the centers of power of the ruling layer, if not earlier, then, in any case, not later than the 6th century, and it is possible that originally it was the name of one of the tribes, and perhaps and only the dominant clan, which was then appropriated to the entire people. It would be a mistake, however, to assume that there was some kind of pre-Celtic language as the original one, which served as the basis for all later dialects. There were a number of different dialects, just as there was in ancient times a network of cultures and cultural groups that later served as the unifying basis of Celtic culture and a single style. The name “Keltoi” became known to the rest of the world before others. The Romans, however, called the Celtic people “Galli” and from this word later came the names Gallia Cisalpina in the northern part of modern Italy, Gallia Narbonensis in southern France and Gallia Transalpina in the center modern France, well known from the “Gallic War”, which was waged by the Roman military leader G. Yu. Caesar in the last century BC. Later, again at a time when the old centers of Hallstatt culture had long since fallen into decay, the name Galatae, Galatians, appears. In Asia Minor they claim that their language was related to the language of the Treveri, that is, the Celts who lived in the area of ​​​​present-day Trier. But all these names are more or less synonyms. Diodorus Siculus, who traveled throughout most of Europe, and Caesar, who fought for a long time in Gaul, say that the names Galli and Galatae refer to the same people, who are called Keltoi, in Latin Celtae; Diodorus considers the name "Celts" to be more correct. We find a similar interpretation among historians and geographers of later times. Only in Britain, it seems, this name was not so common. Starting from the 5th century BC, the name “Celts” quickly spread throughout what was then Europe. But what happened before the 5th century remained a mystery for a long time. From the end of the 18th century. under the influence of romanticism, interest in the past of the Celts, which had already manifested itself earlier in Western Europe and the British Isles, where many descendants of this people lived, increases. This interest developed into a true Celtic mania, with the result that, often without any critical approach, real and imaginary evidence of the glorious past of the Celts was collected. Since the 17th century. It was believed that the Celts on the west coast of France and England were the builders of megalithic structures built from large blocks of stone, both menhirs (tall standing monoliths) and dolmens (funeral chambers made of large stones), and long stone alleys or circular structures (Stonehenge) , which are considered astronomical observatories and places of worship. Romantics considered the Celts to be the most ancient people, identified them with the descendants of biblical characters, and often, based on arbitrary etymological comparisons, came to the conclusion that the Celts were settled almost throughout Europe. Ideas about the high level of development of the Celts were also supported by literary falsifications. The most famous of them are the epic works of the Scottish poet D. Macpherson, dating back to 1760-1763, which the author presented as a translation from the Celtic works of Ossian, a Celtic bard who lived in the 3rd century. Echoes of empty etymologization persisted for a very long time, essentially until our time, and during this entire process a wide variety of archaeological finds were indiscriminately attributed to the Celts. Even at the end of the last century, pan-Celtic tendencies were observed as a counterweight to militant Germanism or English imperialism, and until that time Breton folk songs telling about the Druid resistance to Christianity or the fight against the Franks were considered authentic; in fact, these were the works of Ersart de la Villemarque, published in 1839. This is only one of the facts of falsification known to us, in fact, today's history of the Celts is greatly distorted, since the only way to copy books was a census, where “author’s amendments” cannot be ruled out "and original opinions. The court census was controlled, but the rest of the flow of information, although dubious, was not verifiable information. In the West, therefore, the Celtic traditions were very strong and supported by a wide variety of sources and monuments: the message of ancient writers telling about the life of the Celts and their warlessness; literary monuments of the Gallic-Roman era, especially inscriptions on tombstones and similar structures; etymological connection in the names of rivers, localities and hills; Celtic coins, the finds of which were rapidly multiplying; objects of Celtic art and material monuments in nature; and finally, occasional anthropological studies. All this little by little reveals the history of the Celts, who ruled Europe for many centuries in a row and gave rise to modern culture.

2. Religion of the ancient Celts

RELIGION OF THE CELTS

IRELAND AND THE CELTIC RELIGION

We have already said that of all the Celtic peoples, the Irish are of particular interest, because their culture has preserved and brought to us many features of the culture of the ancient Celts. And yet, even they did not carry their religion through the gap that separates us from antiquity.

They didn't just change their faith; they renounced it completely, so that no mention remains. Saint Patrick, himself a Celt, in the 5th century. who converted Ireland to Christianity, left us an autobiographical account of his mission, an extremely interesting document, representing the first written evidence of Christianity in Britain; however, he does not tell us anything about those teachings over which he triumphed. We learn much more about Celtic beliefs from Julius Caesar, who perceived them solely as an outside observer. The vast corpus of legends recorded in the form known to us in Ireland between the seventh and twelfth centuries, although they often clearly go back to a pre-Christian source, does not contain, apart from references to belief in magic and the existence of certain official rituals, any information about religious or even moral and ethical system of the ancient Celts. We know that individual representatives of the nobility and bards resisted the new faith for a long time, and this confrontation was resolved in the 6th century. in the battle of Moreau, but no traces of polemics, nothing that would indicate a struggle between two teachings, which is reflected, for example, in the descriptions of the disputes between Celsus and Origen, has reached us. As we will see, the literature of medieval Ireland contains numerous echoes of ancient myths, there appear the shadows of beings who in their time were undoubtedly gods or embodiments of the elements; but the religious content of these stories has been emasculated, and they have turned into simply beautiful stories. And yet, not only Gaul had, as evidenced by Caesar, its own developed creed; as we learn from the same source, the British Isles represented the center of the Celtic religion, were, so to speak, Celtic Rome.

Let's try to describe this religion in general terms before moving on to talk about the myths and legends generated by it.

THE FOLK RELIGION OF THE CELTS

But first it should be emphasized that the religion of the Celts, of course, was a complex formation, and it cannot in any way be reduced to what we call Druidism. In addition to the official doctrine, there were also beliefs and prejudices that arose from a source deeper and more ancient than Druidry, which were destined to long outlive it - and to this day cannot be said to have completely disappeared.

PEOPLE OF MEGALITHES

The religions of primitive peoples for the most part grow out of the rites and practices associated with the burial of the dead. We do not know the name or history of the oldest known people who inhabited the “Celtic” territories in Western Europe, but, thanks to the numerous surviving burials, we can say quite a lot about them. These were the so-called megalithic people, who built dolmens, cromlechs and mounds with burial chambers, of which there are more than three thousand in France alone. Dolmens are found in the south of Scandinavia and further south along the entire western coast of Europe up to the Strait of Gibraltar and on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. They were also found on some of the western islands of the Mediterranean Sea and in Greece, namely in Mycenae, where an ancient dolmen still stands next to the magnificent burial at Atreidae. Roughly speaking, if we draw a line from the mouth of the Rhone north to the Varangerfjord, then all the dolmens, with the exception of a few Mediterranean ones, will be west of this line. To the east, as far as Asia, we will not meet one. However, having crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, we find them along the entire North African coast, as well as in the east - in Arabia, India and even Japan.

DOLMENS, CROMLECHS AND BURNS

It should be clarified that a dolmen is something like a house, the walls of which are upright, uncut stones, and the roof is usually a single huge stone. The plan of the structure is often wedge-shaped, and hints of some kind of “porch” can often be found. The original purpose of the dolmen was to serve as an abode for the dead. A cromlech (which in everyday language is often confused with a dolmen) is, in fact, a circle of standing stones, in the center of which a dolmen is sometimes placed. It is believed that most, if not all, known dolmens were formerly hidden under a mound of earth or smaller stones. Sometimes, as, for example, in Carnac (Brittany), individual standing stones form entire alleys; Obviously, in this area they performed some kind of ritual and liturgical function. Later monuments, like, say, Stonehenge, may be made of processed stones, but, one way or another, the roughness of the structure as a whole, the absence of sculptural and any decorations (besides ornaments or just individual symbols carved on the surface), a clear desire to produce the impression due to the accumulation of huge blocks, as well as some other features that will be discussed later, bring all these buildings together and distinguish them from the tombs of the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and other more developed peoples. Dolmens in the proper sense eventually give way to huge mounds with burial chambers, as at New Grange, which are also considered to be the work of the Megalithic people. These mounds arose naturally from dolmens. The first dolmen builders belonged to the Neolithic era and used tools made of polished stone. But in the mounds they find not only stone, but also bronze and even iron tools - at first, obviously, imported, but then locally produced items also appear.

ORIGIN OF THE MEGALITH PEOPLE

The language spoken by this people can only be judged by its traces in the language of the conquerors - the Celts. But the distribution map of the monuments irrefutably indicates that their creators came from North Africa; that at first they did not know how to travel by sea over long distances and went west along the coast of North Africa, after which they moved to Europe where the Mediterranean Sea at Gibraltar narrows to the size of a narrow strait only a few miles wide, and from there they settled throughout the western regions of Europe , including the British Isles, and in the east they passed through Arabia to Asia. It should, however, be remembered that, although initially, without a doubt, a special race, over time the people of the megalith no longer possessed racial, but only cultural unity. This is clearly proven by the human remains found in the tombs, or more precisely, by the variety of shapes of their skulls. Archaeological finds characterize dolmen builders in general as representatives of a highly developed civilization for their time, familiar with agriculture, cattle breeding and, to a certain extent, sea voyages. The monuments themselves, often of impressive size, requiring deliberate and organized efforts in their construction, clearly indicate the existence at that time of a priesthood that took care of burials and was able to control large groups of people. The dead, as a rule, were not burned, but buried intact - impressive monuments apparently mark the burial places of important persons; no traces have reached us of the graves of ordinary people.

PLAIN CELTS

De Jubainville, in his sketch of the ancient history of the Celts, speaks of only two main tribes - the Celts and the Megalithic people. But A. Bertrand, in his excellent work “The Religion of the Gauls” (“La Religion des Gaulois”) divides the Celts themselves into two groups: the inhabitants of the lowlands and the highlanders. The Lowland Celts, according to his view, left the Danube and came to Gaul around 1200 BC. e. They founded lake settlements in Switzerland, the Danube basin and Ireland. They knew metal, knew how to work with gold, tin, bronze, and by the end of the period they learned to process iron. Unlike the Megalithic people, they spoke a Celtic language, although Bertrand seems to doubt that they belonged to the Celtic race. They were rather Celticized without being Celts. This peaceful people of farmers, cattle breeders and artisans did not like to fight. They burned their dead rather than burying them. In one large settlement - in Golasecca, in Cisalpine Gaul - 6,000 burials were found. Everywhere, without any exception, the bodies were previously cremated.

This people, according to Bertrand, did not break into Gaul as conquerors, but gradually infiltrated there, settling in free areas in the middle of valleys and fields. They passed through the Alpine passes, setting off from the environs of the Upper Danube, which, according to Herodotus, “is born among the Celts.” The newcomers peacefully merged with the local inhabitants - the people of the Megalith, and at the same time none of those developed political institutions that are born only with war appeared, but it is possible that it was these lowland tribes that made the main contribution to the development of the Druidic religion and the poetry of the bards.

CELTS OF THE MOUNTAINS

Finally we come to the third, actually Celtic, tribe, which followed on the heels of its predecessors. At the beginning of the 6th century. its representatives first appeared on the left bank of the Rhine. Bertrand calls the second tribe Celtic, and this one - Galatian, identifying them with the Galatians of the ancient Greeks and with the Gauls and Belgae of the Romans.

As we have already said, the second tribe is the Celts of the plains. Third - the Celts of the mountains. For the first time we meet them among the ridges of the Balkans and Carpathians. Their social organization was something like a military aristocracy - they lived off tribute or plunder from the subject population. These are the war-loving Celts of ancient history, who devastated Rome and Delphi, mercenaries who fought in the ranks of the Carthaginian and later Roman armies for money and for the love of battle. They despised agriculture and crafts, their fields were cultivated by women, and under their rule the common people turned almost into slaves, as Caesar tells us. Only in Ireland the pressure from the military aristocracy and the sharp divisions that arose in connection with this are not so clearly visible, but even here we find a situation in many ways similar to the situation in Gaul: here there were also free and unfree tribes, and the ruling elite acted cruelly and not fair.

And yet, although these rulers had vices generated by the consciousness of their own power, they were also distinguished by many beautiful, worthy qualities. They were stunningly fearless, fantastically noble, keenly aware of the charm of poetry, music, and abstract reasoning. Posidonius indicates that around 100 BC. e. they had a thriving college of poet-bards, and about two centuries earlier Hecataeus of Abdera reports musical festivals held by the Celts on a certain western island (probably in Great Britain) in honor of the god Apollo (Lug). They were Aryans of the Aryans, and this was their strength and ability to progress; but Druidism - not in a philosophical, scientific sense, but because of the power of the priesthood, which subjugated the political structure of society - turned out to be their curse; they bowed to the Druids, and this revealed their fatal weakness.

The culture of these mountain Celts was markedly different from the culture of their lowland counterparts. They lived in the Iron Age, not the Bronze Age; they did not burn their dead, considering it disrespectful, but buried them.

The mountain Celts conquered Switzerland, Burgundy, the Palatinate and northern France, part of Britain in the west and Illyria and Galatia in the east, but small groups of them settled throughout the Celtic territory, and wherever they went, they occupied the position of leaders.

Caesar says that Gaul in his time was inhabited by three tribes, and "all of them differ from each other in language, institutions and laws." He calls these tribes Belgae, Celts and Aquitani. He places the Belgae in the northeast, the Celts in the center, and the Aquitani in the southwest. The Belgians are the Galatians of Bertrand, the Celts are the Celts, and the Aquitani are the Megalithic people. All of them, of course, came under Celtic influence to a greater or lesser extent, and the difference in languages ​​which Caesar notes was hardly particularly great; and yet it is worth noting - a detail that is quite consistent with the views of Bertrand - that Strabo claims that the Aquitani were noticeably different from the others and resembled the Iberians. He adds that the other peoples of Gaul spoke dialects of the same language.

MAGICAL RELIGION

Traces of this triple division were preserved in one way or another in all Celtic countries, which should certainly be remembered when we talk about Celtic thinking and Celtic religion and try to evaluate the contribution of the Celtic peoples to European culture. Mythology and art seem to have originated among what Bertrand calls the inhabitants of the lowlands. But these songs and sagas were composed by the bards in order to entertain the proud, noble and warlike aristocrats, and therefore they cannot but express the ideas of these aristocrats. But in addition, these works colored the beliefs and religious ideas born among the Megalithic people - beliefs that are only now gradually receding before the all-pervading light of science. Their essence can be expressed in one word: magic. We should briefly discuss the nature of this magical religion, for it played a significant role in the formation of the corpus of legends and myths that will be discussed further. In addition, as Professor Bury noted in his lecture given at Cambridge in 1903: “In order to study the most complex of all problems - the ethnic problem, in order to appreciate the role of a particular race in the development of peoples and the consequences of racial mixing, it must be remembered that the Celtic civilization serves those gates that open the way for us to that mysterious pre-Aryan pre-world, from which, perhaps, we, modern Europeans, have inherited much more than we now imagine.”

The origin of the term "magic" is not precisely known, but it probably arose from the word "magi", the self-name of the priests of Chaldea and Media in pre-Aryan and pre-Semitic times; these priests were typical representatives of the system of thought we are considering, which combined superstition, philosophy and scientific observations. The basis of magic is the idea that all nature is permeated through and through with invisible, spiritual energy. This energy was perceived differently than in polytheism - not as something separate from nature and embodied in some divine beings. It is present in nature implicitly, immanently; dark, boundless, it inspires awe and awe, like a force whose nature and boundaries are shrouded in impenetrable mystery. Initially, magic was, as many facts seem to indicate, associated with the cult of the dead, for death was considered a return to nature, when spiritual energy, previously invested in a specific, limited, controlled and therefore less frightening form of the human personality, now acquires endless power and uncontrollable. However, not completely uncontrollable. The desire to control this power, as well as the idea of ​​the means needed for this purpose, were probably born from the first primitive experiences of healing. One of the most ancient human needs was the need for medicine. And it is likely that the ability of known natural, mineral or plant substances to produce a certain effect, often frightening, on the human body and mind, was perceived as an obvious confirmation of that understanding of the Universe, which we can call “magical”. The first magicians were those who learned better than others to understand medicinal or poisonous herbs; but over time, something like witchcraft science appeared, partly on the basis of actual research, partly on poetic imagination, partly on the art of clergy. Knowledge of the special properties attributed to any object and natural phenomenon was embodied in rituals and formulas, tied to certain places and objects, and expressed in symbols. Pliny's discussions of magic are so interesting that it is worth citing them here almost in full.

PLINY ON MAGICAL RELIGION

“Magic is one of the few things about which a long conversation is necessary, and only because, being the most deceptive of the arts, it has always and everywhere enjoyed the most unconditional confidence. Let us not be surprised that it acquired such a wide influence, for it united in itself the three arts that most excite the human spirit. Originally emerging from Medicine, which no one can doubt, it, under the guise of caring for our body, took the soul into its hands, taking on the guise of a more sacred and profound spiritual healing. Secondly, promising people the most pleasant and seductive things, she attributed to herself the merits of Religion, about which there is no clarity in human minds to this day. And to crown it all, she resorted to Astrology; after all, everyone wants to know the future and is convinced that such knowledge is best received from heaven. And so, having shackled the human mind in these triple fetters, she extended her power over many nations, and kings of kings worship her in the East.

Of course, it originated in the East - in Persia, and Zoroaster created it. All knowledgeable people agree on this. But is it only Zoroaster?.. I have already noted that in ancient times, and at other times, it is not difficult to find people who saw magic as the pinnacle of learning - at least Pythagoras, Empedocles, Democritus and Plato crossed the seas and, being rather exiles, rather than travelers, they sought to study magical wisdom. When they returned, they extolled magic and its secret teachings in every possible way.<…>Among the Latins in antiquity one can find traces of it, for example in our Laws of the Twelve Tables and in other monuments, as I have already said in the previous book. In fact, only in 657 from the founding of Rome, under the consulate of Cornelius Lentulus Crassus, did the Senate prohibit human sacrifice; this proves that even up to that time such terrible rites could be performed. The Gauls carried them out to this day, for only the Emperor Tiberius called the Druids and the entire horde of prophets and healers to order. But what is the use of issuing bans on art that has already crossed the ocean and approached the very borders of Nature? (Historia Naturalis, XXX.)

Pliny adds that, as far as he knows, the first person to write an essay on magic was a certain Ostgan, a comrade of Xerxes in the war with the Greeks, who sowed “the seeds of his monstrous art” throughout Europe wherever he went.

Magic, as Pliny believed, was originally alien to the Greeks and Italians, but was widespread in Britain; the system of rituals here is so developed that, according to our author, it seems as if the British taught this art to the Persians, and not the Persians taught them.

TRACES OF MAGICAL BELIEFS REMAINED IN THE MEGALITH MONUMENTS

The impressive ruins of religious buildings left to us by the Megalithic people tell us a lot about the religion of their creators. Take, for example, the curious mound at Man-et-Oyc, in Brittany. Rene Gall, who examined this monument in 1864, testified that it was preserved intact - the earthen cover was untouched, and everything remained as it was when the builders left the sacred place. At the entrance to the rectangular chamber there was a stone slab on which was engraved a mysterious sign - probably the totem of the leader. Just beyond the threshold of archeology, a beautiful pendant made of green jasper, approximately the size of an egg, was discovered. In the center of the room on the floor lay a more intricate decoration - a large, slightly elongated ring made of jadeite and an ax, also made of jadeite, the blade of which rested on the ring. The ax is a well-known symbol of power, often found in Bronze Age rock art, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Minoan reliefs, etc. A short distance away were two large jasper pendants, then a white jade axe, then another jasper pendant. All these objects were placed exactly along the diagonal of the camera, directed from northwest to southeast. Axes made of jadeite, jade and fiberboard were stacked in one of the corners - 101 samples in total. Archaeologists did not find any remains of bones or ashes or a burial urn; the structure was a cenotaph. “Isn’t a certain ceremony based on magical practices being revealed to us here,” asks Bertrand?

Palmistry in Havre-INIS

Regarding the burial at Le Havre-Inis, the curator of the Museum of Ancient Peoples, Albert Maitre, made a very interesting observation. There were found - as in other megalithic monuments in Ireland and Scotland - many stones decorated with an extremely peculiar design of wavy and concentric circles and spirals.

If the strange patterns on the human palm at the base and on the tips of the fingers are examined under a magnifying glass, it will be discovered that the patterns on the stones are very reminiscent of them. The lines on the palm are so distinctive that they are known to be used to identify criminals. Could the similarities found be coincidental? Nothing similar to these patterns is found in any other places. Shouldn't we remember here about palmistry - a magical art that was widespread in ancient times and even today? The palm as a symbol of power is a well-known magical sign, even included in Christian symbolism: just remember, for example, the image of a hand on the back of one of the crossbars of Muiredach in Monasterbojk.

STONES WITH HOLES

Another interesting and as yet unexplained feature of many of these monuments, from Western Europe to India, is the presence of a small hole in one of the stones that make up the chamber. Was it intended for the spirit of the deceased, or for offerings to him, or was it a path through which revelations from the world of spirits could come to a priest or magician, or did it combine all these functions? It is well known that stones with holes are the most common of the relics of ancient cults, and they are still revered and used in magical practices associated with childbirth, etc. Obviously, holes should be interpreted specifically as a sexual symbol.

STONE WORSHIP

Not only the heavenly bodies, but also rivers, trees, mountains and stones - everything became an object of worship for this primitive people. The veneration of stones was especially widespread and is not as easily explained as the veneration of living and moving objects. Perhaps the point here is that the huge individual blocks of unprocessed stone looked like artificially created dolmens and cromlechs. This superstition turned out to be extremely tenacious. In 452 AD e. The cathedral of Arles condemned those who “worship trees, springs and stones,” a practice condemned by Charlemagne and numerous church councils until very recent times. Moreover, a drawing made from life by Arthur Bell and reproduced here testifies that in Brittany there are still rituals in which Christian symbolism and ritual serve as a cover for the most complete paganism. According to Mr. Bell, the priests are very reluctant to take part in such rites, but they are forced to do so by the pressure of public opinion. Holy springs, the water from which is considered to have healing properties, are still quite common in Ireland, and as a similar example on the mainland, mention should be made of the sacred waters of Lourdes; however, the latter cult is approved by the church.

PITS AND CIRCLES

In connection with megalithic monuments, it is necessary to recall another curious ornament, the meaning of which is still unclear. Round depressions are made in the surface of the stone, and they are often framed by concentric lines, and one or more radius lines extend from the hole beyond the circles. Sometimes these lines connect the depressions, but more often they extend only slightly beyond the widest of the circles. These strange signs are found in Great Britain and Ireland, in Brittany and here and there in India, where they are called mahadeos. Also, I discovered a curious pattern—or at least it appears to be—in Dupois' Monuments of New Spain. This illustration is reproduced in Lord Kingsborough's Antiquities of Mexico, vol. A furrow is drawn through all these circles to the very edge. This pattern is very reminiscent of typical European patterns of pits and circles, although it is executed more accurately. There can hardly be any doubt that these ornaments mean something, and, moreover, wherever they are found, they mean the same thing; but what remains a mystery. We would venture to guess that this is something like a plan of a tomb. The central recess marks the actual burial site. The circles are the standing stones, ditches and ramparts that usually surround it, and the line or groove running from the center outwards is the underground passage into the burial chamber. From the figures below, this “passage” function that the groove performed becomes obvious. Since the tomb was also a shrine, it is quite natural that its image is among the sacred signs; perhaps his presence indicated that the place was sacred. It is difficult to say to what extent this assumption is justified in the case of Mexico.

MURMENT AT NEW GRANGE

One of the most significant and largest megalithic monuments in Europe is the great mound at New Grange, on the northern bank of the Irish River Voyne. This mound and others adjacent to it appear in ancient Irish myths in two qualities, the combination of which is in itself very curious. On the one hand, they are considered the dwellings of the Sid (in modern pronunciation shi), or the fairy people - this is probably how the deities of ancient Ireland began to be perceived, and on the other hand, according to tradition, the high kings of pagan Erin are buried here. The story of the burial of King Cormac, who supposedly became a Christian long before Patrick began to preach it on the island, and who ordered that he should not be buried at the river Voyne, since this place was pagan, leads to the conclusion that New Grange was the center of a pagan cult, which was by no means limited to the veneration of royalty. Unfortunately, these monuments in the 9th century. were found and plundered by the Danes, but enough evidence has been preserved that these were originally burials performed according to the rites of the ancient religion. The most important of these, the mound at New Grange, has been carefully examined and described by Mr. George Caffey, Keeper of the Collection of Celtic Antiquities in the National Museum, Dublin. From the outside it looks like a large hill overgrown with bushes. Its diameter at its widest point is slightly less than 100 meters, its height is about 13.5 meters. It is framed by a circle of standing stones, of which there were apparently thirty-five originally. Inside this circle there is a ditch and a rampart, and on top of this rampart there is a border of large stone blocks, laid on an edge, from 2.4 to 3 meters in length. The hill itself is actually a cairn, now overgrown, as already mentioned, with grass and bushes. The most interesting thing is inside the cairn. At the end of the 17th century. workers who were removing stone from the hill to build roads discovered a corridor leading inside; They also noticed that the slab at the entrance was densely dotted with spirals and rhombuses. The entrance faces exactly southeast. The walls of the corridor are made of upright blocks of uncut stone and covered with the same blocks; its height varies from approximately 1.5 to 2.3 meters; its width is slightly less than 1 meter, and its length is about 19. It ends in a cross-shaped chamber 6 meters high, the vaulted ceiling of which is made of large flat stones inclined inward and almost touching at the top. They are covered by a large slab. At each of the three ends of the cruciform chamber stands what appears to be a huge, crude stone sarcophagus, but there is no sign of burial.

SYMBOLIC PATTERNS IN NEW GRANGE

All these stones are completely unprocessed and were clearly taken from the bottom of the river or somewhere else nearby. On their flat edges there are drawings that are of particular interest. If you do not take the large stone with spirals at the entrance, it is unlikely that these drawings should have served as decoration, except in the most crude and primitive sense. In these drawings there is no desire to create a decor that matches the size and shape of the surface. Patterns are scratched here and there on the walls.

Their main element is a spiral. It is interesting to note the similarity of some of them with the supposed "fingerprints" at Le Havre-Inis.

There are also triple and double spirals, diamonds and zigzag lines. At the western end of the chamber, a design resembling a palm branch or fern leaf was found. The design is quite naturalistic, and it is difficult to agree with Mr. Kafi's interpretation that it is part of the so-called "fishbone" pattern. A similar palm leaf, but with veins extending at right angles from the stem, was found in a neighboring mound at Dout, near Lugcru, and also - in combination with the sign of the sun, the swastika - on a small altar in the Pyrenees, sketched by Bertrand.

SHIP SYMBOL AT NEW GRANGE

In the western section of the chamber we find another remarkable and rather unusual pattern. Various researchers saw in it a mason's mark, an example of Phoenician writing, a group of numbers; and finally (and no doubt correctly) Mr. George Caffey suggested that it was a rough representation of a ship with sails raised and people on board. Note that directly above it there is a small circle, which is obviously an element of the picture. A similar image is available in Daut.

As we will see, this figure can clarify a lot. It was discovered that on some of the stones of the Locmariaquer mound in Brittany there are many similar ornaments, and on one of them there is a circle in the same position as in the drawing at New Grange. This stone also depicts an ax, which the Egyptians considered a hieroglyph of divine nature, and in addition, a magical symbol. In Dr. Oscar Montelius's work on the stone sculpture of Sweden we find a sketch carved in stone of a rude representation of several ships containing men; above one of them is a circle divided into four parts by a cross, no doubt an emblem of the sun.

The assumption that ships (as in Ireland, drawn so conventionally symbolically that no one would see a concrete meaning in them unless the clue was given by other, more complex pictures) is accompanied by a solar disk only as decoration seems to me implausible. It is unlikely that the tomb, at that time the center of religious ideas, would be decorated with meaningless, empty drawings. As Sir George Simpson so well said, “Men have always connected sacredness and death.” Moreover, there is no hint of decorativeness in these scribbles. But if they were meant to be symbols, what do they symbolize?

It is possible that here we are faced with a complex of ideas of a higher order than magic. Our assumption may seem overly bold; nevertheless, as we will see, it is quite consistent with the results of some other studies concerning the origin and nature of the megalithic culture.

Once accepted, it will provide much greater certainty to our ideas about the relationship of the Megalithic people with the inhabitants of North Africa, as well as about the nature of Druidry and related teachings. It seems to me quite obvious that such a frequent appearance of ships and the sun in rock paintings in Sweden, Ireland, and Brittany cannot be accidental. And looking, for example, at an image from Holland (Sweden), no one will doubt that two elements clearly make up one picture.

SHIP SYMBOL IN EGYPT

The symbol of the ship, with or without the image of the sun, is very ancient and is often found on Egyptian tombs. He is associated with the cult of Ra, which was finally formed in 4000 BC. e. Its meaning is well known. This is the barque of the sun, the vessel in which the solar god makes his voyages - in particular, when he sails to the shores of another world, carrying with him the blessed souls of the dead. The solar god, Ra, is sometimes depicted as a disk, sometimes in another form, hovering above or inside a boat. Anyone who goes into the British Museum and looks at the painted or carved sarcophagi there will find many paintings of this kind. In a number of cases, he will see that the life-giving rays of Ra are pouring out onto the boat and those sitting in it. Further, on one of the rock carvings of ships in Bakka (Boguslen), given by Montelius, a boat with human figures is drawn under a circle with three descending rays, and above another ship there is a sun with two rays.

It may well be added that in the mound at Dowth, near New Grange, and belonging to the same period, as at Loughcrew and other places in Ireland, circles with rays and crosses within are found in abundance; In addition, it was possible to identify the image of the ship in Daut.

In Egypt, a solar barge sometimes carries simply an image of the sun, sometimes a figure of a god with accompanying deities, sometimes a crowd of passengers, human souls, sometimes a body lying on a stretcher. In megalithic drawings, the sun also sometimes appears, and sometimes not; sometimes there are people in the boats, and sometimes not. Once accepted and understood, a symbol can be reproduced with any degree of convention. Perhaps in its full form this megalithic emblem should look like this: a boat with human figures and a sun sign at the top. These figures, based on our interpretation, depict the dead heading to another world. These are not deities, for anthropomorphic images of gods remained unknown to the megalithic people even after the arrival of the Celts - they first appear in Gaul under Roman influence. But if these are the dead, then we have before us the origins of the so-called “Celtic” doctrine of immortality.

The drawings in question are of pre-Celtic origin. They are also present in places where the Celts never reached. Nevertheless, they are evidence of precisely those ideas about another world that, since the time of Caesar, have been accustomed to be associated with the teachings of the Celtic Druids and which clearly came from Egypt.

"NAVETAS"

In this regard, I would like to draw the reader’s attention to the hypothesis of W. Borlas, according to which a typical Irish dolmen should have depicted a ship. In Minorca there are buildings called simply “navetas” - “ships” because of this similarity. But, adds W. Borlas, “long before I knew about the existence of caves and navetas in Minorca, I had the opinion that what I previously called the “wedge shape” goes back to the image of a boat. As we know, real ships were found several times in Scandinavian burial mounds. In the same territory, as well as on the Baltic coast, in the Iron Age, a ship very often served as a tomb.” If Mr. Borlas's hypothesis is correct, we have strong support for the symbolic interpretation I have proposed for the megalithic sun-boat paintings.

SHIP SYMBOL IN BABYLONIY

We first encounter the ship symbol around 4000 BC. e. in Babylonia, where each god had his own ship (the barge of the god Sin was called the Barque of Light); Images of gods were carried during ceremonial processions on a stretcher in the shape of a boat. Jastrow believes that this custom dates back to the times when the holy cities of Babylonia were located on the coast of the Persian Gulf and celebrations were often held on the water.

STOP SYMBOL

There is, however, reason to think that some of these symbols existed earlier than any of the known mythologies, and different peoples, drawing them from a now unknown source, mythologized them in different ways, so to speak. An interesting example is the symbol of two feet. According to a famous Egyptian myth, the feet were one of the parts into which the body of Osiris was cut. They were a kind of symbol of power. Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead says: “I came to earth and... I took possession of my two feet. I am Atum." In general, this symbol of feet or footprints is extremely widespread. In India we find the footprints of Buddha; the image of feet is present on dolmens in Brittany and becomes an element of Scandinavian patterns on stone.

In Ireland, there are stories about the footprints of St. Patrick or St. Columba. What is most surprising is that this image is also present in Mexico. Tyler, in his “Primitive Culture,” mentions “the Aztec ceremony at the Second Festival in honor of the sun god Tezcatlipoca; they scatter flour of maize in front of his sanctuary, and the high priest looks at it until he sees the divine footprints, and then exclaims: “Our great god has come to us!”

“ANKH” AS COMPOSITION OF ROCK PAINTINGS

We have further evidence of the connections of the Megalithic people with North Africa. Sergi points out that the signs on the ivory tablets (probably having a numerical value) discovered by Flinders Petrie in the Naquadah burial are similar to the designs on European dolmens. Among the designs carved on megalithic monuments are also several Egyptian hieroglyphs, including the famous "ankh" or "crux ansata", a symbol of vitality and resurrection. On this basis, Letourneau concludes "that the builders of our megalithic monuments came from the south and are related to the peoples of North Africa."

LANGUAGE EVIDENCE

Considering the linguistic side of the issue, Rees and Brynmore Jones found that the assumption of the African origin of the ancient population of Great Britain and Ireland is quite justified. It was also shown that the Celtic languages, in their syntax, belong to the Hamitic, and specifically Egyptian, type.

EGYPTIAN AND “CELTIC” CONCEPTS OF IMMORTALITY

Of course, the facts that we currently have do not allow us to build a coherent theory of the relationship between Western European dolmen builders and those who created the amazing religion and civilization of Ancient Egypt. But if we take into account all the facts, it becomes obvious that such relationships took place. Egypt is a country of classical religious symbolism. He gave Europe the most beautiful and most famous images - the image of the divine mother and the divine child. It seems that from there the deep symbolism of the journey of souls led to the World of the Dead by the god of light came to the first inhabitants of Western Europe.

The religion of Egypt, to a greater extent than other developed ancient religions, is built on the doctrine of a future life. The tombs, impressive in their splendor and size, complex rituals, amazing mythology, the highest authority of the priests - all these features of Egyptian culture are closely connected with ideas about the immortality of the soul.

For the Egyptian, the soul, deprived of a body, was not just a ghostly likeness of it, as classical antiquity believed, no, the future life was a direct continuation of earthly life; a righteous person who took his place in the new world found himself surrounded by his own relatives, friends, workers, and his activities and entertainment were very similar to his previous ones. The fate of the evil one was to disappear; he became the victim of an invisible monster called the Soul Eater.

And so, when Greece and Rome first became interested in the ideas of the Celts, they were struck first of all by the doctrine of the afterlife, which, according to the Gauls, was professed by the Druids. The peoples of classical antiquity believed in the immortality of the soul; but what are the souls of the dead in Homer, in this Greek Bible! Before us are some degenerate, lost creatures, devoid of human appearance. Take, for example, the description of how Hermes leads the souls of the suitors killed by Odysseus to Hades:

Ermiy, meanwhile, the god of Killean, killed men

He summoned souls from the corpses of the insensible; having in his hand his golden Rod...

He waved them, and, in a crowd, the shadows flew behind Ermiy

With a squeal; like bats in the depths of a deep cave,

Chained to the walls, if one breaks away,

They will fall to the ground from the cliff, screaming, fluttering in disarray, -

So, shrieking, the shadows flew after Ermiy; and Ermiy led them,

patron in troubles, to the limits of fog and decay...

The ancient writers felt that the Celtic ideas about the afterlife represented something completely different, something at once more sublime and more realistic; it was argued that a person after death remains the same as he was during life, maintaining all the previous personal connections. The Romans noted with amazement that a Celt could give money in exchange for a promise to receive it back in a future life. This is a completely Egyptian concept. Such an analogy also occurred to Diodorus (book 5), for he had not seen anything similar in other places.

TEACHING ABOUT THE TRANSMISSION OF SOULS

Many ancient writers believed that the Celtic idea of ​​the immortality of the soul embodied Eastern ideas about the transmigration of souls, and a theory was even invented according to which the Celts learned this teaching from Pythagoras. Thus, Caesar (VI, 14) says: “The Druids try most of all to strengthen the belief in the immortality of the soul: the soul, according to their teaching, passes after the death of one body into another.” Also Diodorus: “...the teaching of Pythagoras is popular among them, according to which the souls of people are immortal and some time later they live again, since their soul enters another body” (Diodorus. Historical Library, V, 28). Traces of these ideas are indeed present in Irish legend. Thus, the Irish leader Mongan is a historical figure whose death was recorded in 625 AD. e., argues over the place of death of a king named Fotad, who was killed in a battle with the legendary hero Finn Mac Cumal in the 3rd century. He proves that he is right by calling from the other world the ghost of Kailte, who killed Fotad, and he accurately describes where the burial is located and what is inside it. He begins his story by saying to Mongan: “We were with you,” and then, turning to the crowd: “We were with Finn, who came from Alba...” “Hush,” says Mongan, “you must not reveal the secret " The mystery, of course, is that Mongan is Finn's reincarnation. But in general, it is obvious that the teachings of the Celts did not at all coincide with the ideas of Pythagoras and the inhabitants of the East. The transmigration of souls was not part of the natural course of things. It could happen, but usually did not; the deceased received a new body in that world, and not in this world, and as far as we can establish from ancient texts, there was no talk of any moral retribution here. This was not a doctrine, it was an image, a beautiful fantastic idea, which should not be openly proclaimed to everyone, as evidenced by Mongan's warning.

Obviously, the basis of the Druid teachings was the belief in the immortality of the soul. Caesar speaks directly about this and claims that the Druids developed this idea in every possible way rather for the sake of establishing their own status, rather than for considerations of a metaphysical order. A firm belief in another world, like that rooted among the Celts, is one of the most powerful weapons in the hands of the priesthood, which holds the keys to the afterlife. So, Druidism existed in the British Isles, in Gaul, and, as far as can be judged, wherever the Celts came into contact with the tribes of dolmen builders. The Celts also lived in Cisalpine Gaul, but there were no dolmens there - and there were no Druids. It is clear, in any case, that when the Celts came to Western Europe, they found there a powerful priesthood, complex religious rituals, huge ritual buildings and a people deeply immersed in magic and mysticism, with a developed cult of the Underworld. From this we can draw the following conclusions: Druidism arose thanks to the impressionability of the Celts, who, as we already know, were extremely capable of borrowing other people’s ideas, namely the ideas of the former population of Western Europe - the megalithic people, who, in turn, had a certain connection to the spiritual culture of the Ancient Egypt, which, however, should not be discussed further here. The question still remains largely open and, perhaps, will not be fully resolved, but if there is a rational grain in the assumptions put forward here, then the people of the megalith still take one or two steps from under the veil of eerie mystery that surrounds them , and it becomes obvious that he played a significant role in the development of religious ideas in Western Europe and in preparing this part of the world for the adoption of Christianity, which eventually triumphed here. Bertrand, in the most interesting section of his work - the chapter on the "Ireland of the Celts" - notes that many monasteries arose in Ireland very soon after Christianization, and their general organization probably indicates that they were in fact converted colleges of Druids . Caesar told us what similar, very numerous, establishments looked like in Gaul. Despite the difficulty of training and the severity of discipline in them, they attracted many people - for the Druids enjoyed enormous power and extensive privileges. There they studied the arts and sciences and trusted human memory with thousands of poems containing age-old wisdom. It seems that the situation was not too different among the Irish Druids. This kind of structure could easily turn into a Christian one - since in Ireland this religion took on a rather specific form. Magical rites did not need to be eradicated - early Irish Christianity, as the extensive hagiographical literature shows, was as replete with magical ideas as pagan Druidism. The main content of religion remained the belief in an afterlife. And most importantly, there was absolutely no need to deny the supremacy of the priesthood over earthly power; The words spoken by Dion Chrysostom about the Druids still retained their truth: “It is they who command everything, and kings on golden thrones, in magnificent palaces, are only their servants and the executors of their plans.”

CAESAR ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DRUIDS

Caesar speaks with great respect of the religious, philosophical and scientific knowledge taught by the Druids. “They tell their disciples a lot,” he writes, “about the luminaries and their movements, about the size of the world and the earth, about nature and about the power and authority of the immortal gods” (VI, 14). We would, of course, like to know something more specific; but the Druids, although they were excellent in the art of writing, categorically did not want to write down their teachings; truly a wise precaution, for in this way they not only created around him a certain atmosphere of mystery, so attractive to the human mind, but ensured that no one could ever refute their positions.

HUMAN SACRIFICE IN GAUL

The above-cited message from Caesar is morally contradicted by the monstrous practice of human sacrifice, the widespread use of which among the Gauls is noted by our author. Prisoners and criminals, or, if there were not enough of them, even innocent people, probably children, were herded inside specially built huts at set times and burned alive there in order to gain the favor of the gods. Of course, human sacrifices were not performed only by the Druids - at a certain stage of cultural development they took place in all areas of both the Old and New Worlds and in this case, no doubt, represented a relic of the customs of the Megalithic people. The fact that this practice did not disappear among the Celts, who were at a fairly high stage of development in all other respects, finds parallels in Mexico and Carthage and is obviously explained by the undivided dominance of the priestly class.

HUMAN SACRIFICE IN IRELAND

Bertrand attempts to rehabilitate the Druids by declaring that in Ireland we find no trace of this terrible custom, although there, as elsewhere in Celtica, the Druids enjoyed unlimited power. In a very ancient treatise, Dinshenhas, which has come down to us as part of the Book of Leinster, it is reported that in the valley of Mag-Slecht stood a large golden idol - Crom Creuch (Blood Moon). Asking for good weather and a harvest, the Celts sacrificed children at his feet: “They asked him for milk and bread in exchange for their children - how great was their fear and how sorrowful their groans!”

AND IN EGYPT

The Egyptians were distinguished by a light, cheerful character and were not prone to fanaticism; We do not find any mention of human sacrifices either among the inscriptions or among the drawings, which are as numerous as the information they provide about all aspects of the life of the people is rich. Manetho, Egyptian historian writing in the 3rd century. BC e., reports that human sacrifice was abolished only by Amasis I at the beginning of the reign of the 18th dynasty, around 1600 BC. e. But the complete silence of all other sources shows that, even if you believe Manetho’s statement, such rituals in historical times were extremely rare and were perceived negatively.

NAMES OF CELTIC GODS

What names did the Celtic deities have and what qualities did they have? Here we are largely groping in the dark. The Megalithic people did not believe that their gods had human form. Stones, rivers, springs, trees and other natural objects served as symbols for this tribe, or half symbols, half real embodiment of revered supernatural forces. But the impressionable Celtic soul of the Celt was not content with this. Caesar reports about the existence of gods in human form among the Celts with different names and characters, identifying them with the characters of the Roman pantheon - Mercury, Apollo, Mars, etc. Lucan calls the triad of deities: Teutat, Ez and Taran; It should be noted that in these names one can distinguish truly Celtic, that is, Aryan, roots. Thus, “Ez” goes back to the Indo-European basis “*as”, meaning “to be”, preserved in the name Asura Mazda among the Persians, Esuna among the Umbrians, and Ases among the Scandinavians. Teuthates comes from a Celtic root meaning "valiant", "warlike", and is a god similar to Mars. Taran (Thor?) - according to Jubinville, the deity of lightning (“taran” in Welsh, Cornish, Breton means “lightning”). Votive inscriptions to these gods have been found in Gaul and Britain. Other inscriptions and images confirm the existence in Gaul of many minor, local deities, from whom we have at best names. In the form in which they have come down to us, they bear obvious traces of Roman influence. All the sculptures are rough likenesses of works of Roman religious art. But among them there are also wild, strange images - three-faced gods, gods with branchy horns, snakes with the horns of rams and other now incomprehensible symbols of the ancient faith. Very noteworthy are the often repeated “Buddha pose” with crossed legs, so familiar to the East and Mexico, as well as the tendency, well known to us from Egypt, to unite gods into triads.

CAESAR ON THE CELTIC DEITIES

Caesar, who tried to fit the religion of the Gauls into the framework of Roman mythology - which, incidentally, the Gauls themselves did after the conquest - says that Mercury is considered the main god among them and that they see in him the creator of all arts, the patron of trade, the guardian of roads and the patron of travelers. From this we can conclude that for the Gauls, as for the Romans, he served as a guide for the dead - travelers to another world. Many bronze statues of Mercury made by the hands of the Gauls have reached us, and his very name was adopted by these people, as many place names testify. Apollo was called the god of healing, Minerva was the guardian of all arts and crafts, Jupiter ruled the sky, and Mars patronized war. Of course, Caesar here unites many different Gallic deities under five Roman names.

GOD OF THE UNDERWORLD

According to Caesar, the most notable god of the Gauls was (in Roman terminology) Dis, or Pluto, the deity of the underworld inhabited by the dead. The Gauls consider themselves his descendants, and in his honor, says Caesar, they begin counting the day from the onset of night. The name of God is not given. D'Arbois de Jubainville believes that he, like Ez, Teutat, Taran, and in Irish mythology - Balor and the Fomorians, personifies the forces of darkness, evil and death, and thus Celtic beliefs develop the world-famous solar myth based on the idea of ​​the eternal struggle between day and night.

GOD OF LIGHT

The god of light in Gaul and Ireland is Lug, whose name appears in many place names such as "Lug-dunum" (Leiden), "Lyon", etc. In Irish myths, Lug is endowed with distinctly solar properties. He comes to his army before the battle with the Fomorians, and it seems to the warriors, says the saga, as if they are seeing the sunrise. And yet, as we will see later, he is the god of the underworld, belonging to the forces of darkness through his mother Etlin, daughter of Balor.

CELTIC BELIEF OF DEATH

Celtic ideas about death, on the one hand, are completely different from both Greek and Roman, and on the other hand, as has already been indicated, they closely correspond to Egyptian ones. The other world was not a kingdom of darkness and suffering, but, on the contrary, of light and freedom. The sun was as much the ruler of another world as the ruler of this one.

Of course, there was evil, and darkness, and pain, and this principle in the myths of the Irish Celts was embodied by Balor and the Fomorians, which we will remember more than once; but that these images were in some special way associated with the idea of ​​death is, I think, an absolutely false hypothesis that arose from an erroneous comparison with the corresponding ideas of the peoples of antiquity. Here the Celts are more closely related to North Africa or Asia than to the European Aryans. Only by recognizing the fact that the Celts, from what we know of them since the collapse of their central European empire, are an exceptional mixture of Aryan and non-Aryan characteristics, will we come to a true understanding of their contribution to European history and their influence on European culture.

FIVE FACTORS OF ANCIENT CELTIC CULTURE

To sum up, we can, it seems, distinguish five components of the religious and spiritual life of the Celts, as it was before Roman and Christian influences. Firstly, here we have a huge array of folk beliefs and magical rituals, which include human sacrifices. These rituals differed from place to place because they were tied to various natural objects, which were considered to be embodiments or vehicles of divine or diabolical power. Secondly, there was, undoubtedly, a kind of intellectual and philosophical doctrine, the central object of worship in which was the sun as a symbol of divine power and constancy, and the central idea was the idea of ​​​​the immortality of the soul. Thirdly, there was the cult of anthropomorphic deities - Esus, Teutat, Lug and others, who personified the forces of nature or protected divine institutions. Fourthly, the Romans were deeply struck by the presence of quasi-scientific ideas among the Druids about the structure of the world, about the details of which we, unfortunately, know practically nothing. Finally, we had occasion to note the power of the institution of priests, which dominated the field of religious and secular education, as well as literature; who gave the right to this education only to members of a privileged caste and who, thanks to his intellectual superiority and the atmosphere of pious awe that surrounded him, became the main political, social and spiritual force in all the Celtic lands. We talk about these factors, mentally separating them from each other, but in practice they were intertwined into an indissoluble unity, and the Druid caste controlled everything. The question naturally arises: can we distinguish here Celtic and pre-Celtic, probably even pre-Aryan elements? This task is, of course, very difficult; however, it seems to me that, having compared similar facts and drawn relevant parallels, we will not be very mistaken if we attribute to the Megalithic people a special teaching, rituals and priestly institution of Druidry; and to the Celts - anthropomorphic deities and a thirst for knowledge and abstract constructions; folk superstitions are just the form that ideas common to the entire human race have taken in specific localities.

CELTS TODAY

Due to the fact that the present population of countries called "Celtic" is obviously mixed, it is often considered that this definition has no basis in reality. Those Celts who fought with Caesar in Gaul and the English in Ireland are no more - they died on the battlefields, in the vast expanse from Alesia to the River Voin, and in their place another racial substrate has established itself. According to this view, the only true Celts are the tall, red-faced Highlanders of Perthshire and north-west Scotland, and the few dynasties of the ancient conquering race still extant in Ireland and Wales. I think there is a considerable amount of truth in this concept. Nevertheless, we must not forget that the descendants of the Megalithic people carry a large admixture of Celtic blood physically, and spiritually - Celtic traditions and ideals. In addition, when touching on issues of national character and its origins, we should not forget that here it is impossible to carry out an analysis similar to the analysis of a chemical compound - simply isolate the constituent parts and unambiguously predict future properties. National character, no matter how stable it may be, is not a detail cast in a mold and obviously incapable of any growth or development. He is part of the living world; it is changeable and contains many hidden potencies that can burst out at any moment. I am personally convinced of one thing - that the ethical, social and intellectual development of the peoples united by Europeans under the name of the “Celtic outskirts” should only go under the sign of “Celticism” - it is necessary to preserve and support the Celtic tradition, literature, language, in a word, all that, by the heirs what, albeit not in a straight line, became the mixed peoples familiar to us. All this is close to their spirit and deeply rooted in their hearts, and a rich harvest awaits the one who, filled with bold faith, goes out with a plow to this arable land. On the other hand, pedantry, narrow-mindedness, intolerance should have no place here if we hope to achieve success; one should not cling to the external forms of the past just because the Celtic spirit once embodied in them. Let us not forget that in the early Middle Ages the Irish Celts were the most outstanding scientists and missionaries, the most outstanding pioneers in the field of religion, science and abstract thought in Europe. Modern researchers trace their luminous paths across half of the pagan continent, and the schools of Ireland were filled with foreign students who could not receive an education anywhere else. In those days the Celts played their star role in the world drama, and they could not play anything more magnificent. Truly, the legacy of these people should be preserved with respect, but not as a museum rarity; nothing would be further from their free, bold spirit than if it were left to petrify in the hands of those who call themselves the direct heirs of their name and glory.

MYTHOLOGICAL LITERATURE

After the outline of the ancient history of the Celts and the factors that influenced it, given in this and the preceding chapter, we move on to a survey of the Celtic myths and legends, in which the soul that created them still lives. We will not touch upon the literatures of any other peoples here. We will not talk about adaptations of legends of Celtic origin, for example, about the legends about King Arthur, because no one will say what is from the Celts and what is not. Moreover, in such cases, the last option is usually the most valuable.

So, everything that we present, we present without additions and without changes. Of course, it is often necessary to combine different versions, but everything they contain came directly from the spirit of the Celtic nation, and these legends exist to this day in Gaelic or Welsh.

The Celts are the inhabitants of the northern coast of Europe, where they have lived since time immemorial.

As is known, modern descendants of the ancient Celts inhabit only a small territory in the British Isles (Ireland and Wales) and the Brittany peninsula, located in northwestern France. The Irish, Scots, and Welsh speak mostly English (the Bretons speak French) and have almost forgotten their native language, myths, legends, and beliefs of their distant ancestors. However, in ancient times, Celtic tribes (if you can call them that) occupied vast areas in Central and Western Europe.

In my chronology I give some examples of the presence of these tribes in the territory of Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula, Eastern France, Central Germany, Spain, and Northern Italy. It is known from history that the Romans called these tribes Gauls, but they called all the Slavic tribes, which the Greeks called Scythians, by this name.

The very name “Celts” is considered to be Persian; this was the name in Western and Central Asia for an ax of the Bronze Age period with a socket perpendicular to the blade. Its similar samples were found in all territories inhabited by Indo-European tribes. The first mentions of such forms of stone axes date back to the Keltiminar culture of the Aral region in the Neolithic and Eneolithic eras - IV-III millennium BC.

Celtic civilization was not as material as it was spiritual and was based primarily on a developed culture that united tribes scattered over very vast territories. Archaeologists find similar images of ancient Celtic gods, identical attributes of the cult (staffs, cauldrons, animal figurines), parts of weapons decorated with the same traditional braided ornament in France, Denmark, Ireland, the Pyrenees, and the Balkans.

Many images, such as the Deer God on a cauldron from Gundenstrup, animal figurines of deer, unicorns and leopards, or deities on a silver plaque, are surprisingly reminiscent of products from Scythian burial mounds and can be confidently attributed to the famous Scythian “animal” style. These numerous finds indicate that the Celtic tribes had a common developed religious cult, based on a single mythological system, cosmogonic ideas and a complex pantheon of gods.

Dedicated to Andrew Lang

Preface

The scientific study of ancient Celtic religion has developed only in recent times. Due to the insufficient amount of material for such a study, earlier authors allowed themselves the most incredible flights of fancy, connecting the Celtic religion with the religion of the Far East, seeing in it the remnants of a monotheistic faith or a series of esoteric teachings hidden under the guise of polytheistic cults. With the advent of the works of M.M. Gaydos, Bertrand and D'Arbois de Jouvainville in France, and with the publication of Irish texts by such scholars as Dr. Windisch and Dr. Stokes, a new period of research began, and a flood of light of knowledge was poured onto the meager remains of the Celtic religion. In this field, pride of place among researchers of this religion belong to Sir John Rees, whose epoch-making work was the Gibbert Lectures on the Origin and Development of Religion on the Example of Celtic Paganism (1886). Since then, every scientist who studies this subject has felt a great debt to tireless research and brilliant speculations Sir John Rhys. I feel it necessary to note that I too am greatly indebted to him. However, in his Gibbert Lectures and later in his masterful works on "Arthurian conventions" he adopted the point of view of the "mythological" school: he saw in ancient stories myths about The sun, dawn and darkness, and in geological views - sun gods, dawn deities and an army of dark personalities of a supernatural nature. Studying this subject from an anthropological point of view and in the light of folk customs that have survived to this day, I came to different conclusions on many issues. The Hibbert Lectures will remain a source of inspiration for all Celtic scholars. The later studies of Solomon Reinach and M. Dottin, and Professor Anvil's valuable little book on the Celtic religion, gave new impetus to this work.

In this book I have used all available sources and taken as a basis the comparative anthropological method of research. I also studied earlier cults through surviving folk customs in "Celtic territory" wherever it seemed legitimate. The results obtained allow us to give a more accurate interpretation of the religious ideas of our Celtic ancestors, which were a mixture of primitive beliefs and folk beliefs.

Unfortunately, the Celts did not leave a description of their religion, so we are left to our own interpretations of existing materials. My book was written during a long period of life on the Isle of Skye, where the old language of this people still survives, where the spirit of this place speaks everywhere of things distant and strange; it was easier to try to understand the ancient religion there than in a more businesslike, prosaic place. Nevertheless, all the time I felt how much information would be gained if some old Celt or Druid would again visit his native places and allow me to ask him hundreds of questions that remained unclear... But, alas, this is impossible!

I thank Miss Turner and Miss Annie Gilchrist for their valuable assistance in my research, and the London Library for providing me with several works which do not belong to it.

This work has provided invaluable assistance to all scientists working away from libraries.

J. A. McCulloch

Rectors, Bridge of Allan, October 1911

Chapter 1
Introduction

To resurrect an outdated religion from oblivion and make it tell its story would require a sorcerer's wand. We know many ancient religions: Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome. Their mythology, theology, and works of art contain a large amount of information about human faith and the aspirations of peoples. How scanty is information about the Celtic religion! The bygone faith of the people who inspired the world with their noble dreams is built on suffering and often on fear; it must be recreated from fragmentary, in many cases transformed, remains.

We have superficial observations of classical witnesses; dedications in honor of Romano-Celtic deities, pictorial monuments of the same period; coins, material symbols, place names and personal names. As for the Irish Celts, there is a wealth of evidence found in manuscripts from the 11th and 12th centuries. Many of them, despite alterations and losses, are based on myths about deities and heroes, and also contain some information about rituals. From Wales come such documents as the Mabinogion, and strange poems whose characters are ancient transformed gods, but which tell nothing of rites or cults 1
Some authors see in bardic poetry the Druid esoteric system and traces of a cult secretly practiced by bards - the “neo-Druid heresy” (see. Davies. Myth. of the Brit. Druids, 1809; Herbert. The Neo-Druidic Heresy, 1838). Other authors saw in “Druidism” a monotheistic faith hidden under polytheism.

Valuable hints are given in ancient church documents, but more important are existing folk customs, in which much is taken from the ancient cult, although it has lost its meaning for those who use it now. You can also research folk tales and extract Celtic motifs from them. Finally, Celtic burial mounds and other vestiges of the past provide evidence of ancient faith and tradition.

From these sources we attempt to reconstruct Celtic paganism and gain insight into its inner essence, even as we work in the twilight of a pile of fragments. The Celts did not leave us a description of their faith and spiritual practice; all the unrecorded poems of the Druids died with them. However, from these fragments we see the Celts seeking God, tying themselves with strong ties to the invisible, striving to conquer the unknown by religious rite or magical art. The Celtic soul never turned to spiritual quests in vain. They never forgot or violated the law of the gods and believed that nothing happens to people outside the will of the gods. The obedience of the Celts to the Druids shows how much they respected authority in religious matters; All Celtic regions were characterized by religious piety that easily turned into superstition and devotion to ideals, even if the struggle for them seemed hopeless. The Celts were born dreamers, as their exquisite belief in Elysium shows; much of what is spiritual and romantic in all European literature owes its origins to them.

Comparison with religious development in other religions helps us reconstruct the religion of the Celts. Although no historical Celtic group was racially pure, the profound influence of the Celtic character soon "Celticized" the religious contributions of the non-Celtic element. The Celts had a wild past, and being conservative by nature, they retained much of that past. Therefore we will deal with the Celtic religion as a whole. These primitive elements existed before the Celts migrated from the ancient "Aryan" homeland; however, since they appear in Celtic religion towards the end of this period, we speak of them as Celtic. The oldest aspect of this religion, before the Celts became a separate people, was the cult of nature spirits or the cult of the manifestations of life in nature. It is possible that men and women had separate cults, with the cult of women being more important. As hunters, the Celts worshiped the animals they killed, asking them to forgive them for killing them. This feeling of guilt, which is found in all primitive hunters, has the nature of a cult. Sacred animals were kept alive and worshiped; this cult gave rise to the domestication of animals and pastoral life, with the probable influence of totemism. The earth, producing vegetation, was a fertile mother; the beginning of agriculture is mainly due to women, they practiced the cult of the Earth (later also the cult of vegetation and harvest spirits), and the earth was revered as a female deity. Then men began to take an interest in agriculture, and the Earth god took the place of the Earth mother or became her husband or son. Harvest spirits often became male spirits, although many spirits, even when elevated to the rank of deity, remained female.

As religion developed, more abstract spirits tended to become gods and goddesses, and idolized animals became anthropomorphic deities, with animals as their symbols, servants, or victims. The cult of the vegetation spirits was centered on the ritual of planting and sowing, and the cult of the growth deities was centered on the great seasonal and agricultural festivals in which the key to the development of Celtic religion can be found. With the conquest of new lands, the Celts arose gods of war, and yet the ancient female influence remained effective, since many of these deities were female. Despite having a large number of local war gods, the Celts were not a particularly warlike people. Before the conquests, they participated in wars only on occasion, constantly engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding. In Ireland the belief in the dependence of fertility on the chief shows the extent to which agriculture flourished there. Music, poetry, crafts, and trade gave rise to cultural deities, possibly evolving from the gods of growth. Later myths credited them with the creation of fine arts and crafts, as well as the domestication of animals. It is possible that some of the culture's gods were worshiped as revered animals. The culture goddesses still took their place among the culture gods and were considered their mothers. The prominence of these deities shows that the Celts were more than warrior tribes.

Thus the pantheon of gods was large, and within it the deities of growth were usually more important. The ancient nature spirits and divine animals were never completely forgotten. The Celts also preserved the old rituals of the spirits of vegetation, and the gods of growth were worshiped on major holidays. In essence, there was no hierarchical relationship between these deities until Roman influence destroyed the purity of the Celtic religion. By their nature the Celts were close to nature, and they never completely excluded its primitive elements from their religion. In addition, the influence of the cults of female spirits and goddesses remained an important factor until the end.

Most Celtic deities were local, each tribe having its own host of deities, but each god had similar functions in all tribes. Some received a more universal status, but retained their local character. The numerous deities of Gaul with distinct names may be better understood as local individual gods. This may also be true for Britain and Ireland. The gods worshiped in the more distant Celtic territories were apparently the gods of the dominant Celtic tribe, which extended its influence beyond tribal boundaries. If it seems doubtful to see close similarities between the local gods of peoples spread throughout Europe, then this can be explained by the influence of the Celtic character, which everywhere led to the same results, and also by the homogeneity of Celtic civilization, with the exception of certain regions - for example, southern Gaul. Although in Gaul we have only inscriptions, and in Ireland only distorted myths, the surviving folk customs of both regions indicate a similarity in their religious views. The Druids, as a religious organization, contributed to the preservation of this similarity.

Thus, primitive spirits of nature gave way to more significant gods, each of whom had his own power and functions. Although growing civilization tended to separate them from their soil, they never completely lost touch with it. After all, it was believed that for worship and sacrifices the gods gave man life and an increase in benefits, victory, strength and knowledge of crafts. But these sacrifices were rites in which the “representative” of the god was quite often killed. Certain deities were worshiped over vast areas, most often the gods of local tribes, and each place, hill, forest and stream had its own spirits. Magical rites were mixed with worship and performed by a professional priesthood. And since the Celts also believed in invisible gods, they believed in the existence of an invisible region where they supposedly passed after death.

Our knowledge of the higher aspect of the Celtic religion is incomplete, and no description of the inner spiritual life has reached us. It is not known whether the Celts had glimpses of monotheism, whether they were familiar with the feeling of sin. But the people, whose spiritual influence later became so significant, must have had at least primitive ideas about these things. Some of them must have known the soul's yearning for God or sought higher ethical principles than the norms of their time. The enthusiastic acceptance of Christianity, the piety of the early Celtic saints, and the character of the ancient Celtic church suggest this.

The attitude of the Celtic Church towards paganism was intolerant, although not always. Often she adopted some of the customs of the past, combining pagan holidays with her own, founding churches on the places of the old cult, dedicating sacred pagan sources to some saint. They believed that a saint could visit a pagan's grave to hear an old epic again or call pagan heroes from hell to give them a place in heaven. They believed that the saints prayed for dead heroes from the Land of the Blessed, studied the nature of this land of wonders, and reflected on the heroic deeds of "the ancient days, which seem to be far older than any history written in any book."

By reading such stories we learn a lesson in the spirit of Christian tolerance and Christian goodwill.

Chapter 2
Celtic people

Research reveals the fact that Celtic-speaking peoples were of various anthropometric types: short and dark-skinned, as well as tall and fair-haired Highlanders and Welsh, short and broad-headed Bretons, various types of Irish. Scandinavian-type people with Scandinavian names speak Gaelic. But all have similar physiques and temperaments, inherited, like the Celtic language, by descendants. There is no ethnically Celtic race as such, but something has been inherited since the days of "Celtic purity", which united various social elements into one general type, often found where no one now speaks the Celtic language. Dispassionate Anglo-Saxons may suddenly discover in themselves something of the forgotten Celtic traits of their ancestors.

Currently, two main theories of Celtic origins continue to compete. According to the first, the Celts are identified with the ancestors of the short, brachycephalic (short-headed) "Alpine race" of Central Europe, who lived there in Neolithic times after their migration from Africa and Asia. This type is found among the Slavs in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, in modern France in the region of Caesar's "Celtae", among the Auvergnans, Bretons, and also in Lozère and Jura. Representatives of this type were discovered in Belgian and French Neolithic burials. Professor Sergi calls this type the "Eurasian race" and, contrary to popular belief, identifies them with the Aryans - a savage people later than the dolichocephalic (long-headed) Mediterranean race, whose language they Aryanized. Later the Belgae came, adopting the Celtic speech of the people they conquered.

Broca assumed that the dark brachycephalic people, whom he identified with the Celts ("Celtae") of Caesar, were defeated by the Belgae and acquired the language of their conquerors, which is therefore incorrectly called Celtic by philologists. The Belgae were tall and fair-haired and infested Gaul, except Aquitaine, mixing with the Celts, who in the time of Caesar received an infusion of Belgian blood. But even before the conquest, the Celts had already mixed with the local long-headed people of Gaul, the Iberians, or Mediterraneans, according to Professor Sergi. The latter apparently remained relatively free from the admixture of Aquitaine.

But were the short, brachycephalic people Celts? Caesar says that the people who called themselves "Celts" were called Gauls by the Romans. The Gauls, according to classical authors, were tall and fair-haired. Consequently, the Celts were not a short, dark-skinned people; Caesar notes that the Gauls (including the Celts) looked with contempt on the short Romans. Strabo also says that the Celts and Belgaes had the same Gallic appearance, that is, they were tall and fair-haired. Caesar's assertion that the Aquitanians, Gauls, and Belgae differed in language, rites, and laws is unsupported by evidence and, as far as language is concerned, may mean no more than a difference in dialects. This also follows from Strabo's words that the Celts and Belgae are “slightly different” in language. No classical author describes the Celts as short and dark-haired, always the opposite. Rather, the short, dark-haired people were called Iberians regardless of skull shape. The classic witnesses were not craniologists. The short brachycephalic type is now known in France because it has always been so, displacing the tall, fair-haired Celtic type. The Celtic conquerors, smaller in number than the stocky, narrow-headed natives, were united by marriage or had shorter relationships with each other. In course of time the type of the more numerous race became predominant. Even in the time of Caesar, representatives of this type were probably already outnumbered by the tall and fair-haired Celts, who, however, Celticized them. But the classical authors, who knew the true Celts as tall and fair-haired, saw only this type, just as any person on his first visit to France or Germany sees everywhere the generalized type of French or German. Later he does not change his opinion, and neither did the classical witnesses. Caesar's military campaigns must have contributed to the exodus of many tall and fair-haired Celts from Gaul. This, given the tendency of dark-haired people to outnumber fair-haired people in Southern and Central Europe, may help to explain the growing predominance of the dark type, although the tall and fair-haired type is not at all uncommon there.

The second theory, as is now easy to suppose, sees in the Gauls and Belgaes a tall, fair-haired Celtic people, speaking a Celtic language, belonging to a race that spread from Ireland to Asia Minor, from Northern Germany to the Po River. Some Belgian tribes claimed Germanic origin, but the word "German" in this case may not mean Teutonic. The blond hair of these people led many to assume that they were related to the Teutons. But lightness of hair is relative: darker-haired Romans could be called light brown-haired, and they made a distinction between “fair-haired” Gauls and lighter-haired Germans. Their way of life and religious views (according to Professor Rees) were different; although they communicated for a very long time, the names of their gods and priests are not similar. Their languages, coming from the same "Aryan" source, are more different from each other than Celtic is from Italic, indicating a long period of Italo-Celtic unity before the Italics and Celts separated and the Celts came into contact with the Teutons. A typical German differs in mentality and moral principles from a typical Celt. Compare the eastern Scots of Teutonic origin with the western highlanders - and the difference itself will be striking. The historical Celts and Germans are distinguished by their shade of blond hair, character, religion and language.

The tall, blond men of the Teutonic type from the Roe burials were long-headed. Were the Celts (it is assumed that Broca's "Celts" were not true Celts) long-headed or short-headed? Broca believes that the Belgae, or "Kimry", were long-headed, but everyone must agree with him that the excavated skulls are too few to make a general conclusion. Iron Age Celtic skulls in Britain are dolichocephalic (long-headed); perhaps this was the result of a local disease. Broca’s “Kymri” skulls are mesocephalic; he attributes this to mixing with the low-growing roundheads. Information is too scarce for generalizations, although among the Walloons (possibly descendants of the Belgae) and some Gauls there is a fairly high percentage of broad-headed ones.

The British skulls are round (early Celtic Bronze Age), mostly broad, the best specimens showing affinities with the Neolithic brachycephalic skulls from Grenelle (though their hosts were five inches shorter). Dr Beddoe believes that the narrow-skulled Belgae as a whole ensured the predominance of the meso- and brachycephalic round-headed population of Britain. Dr. Turnam believes that the Gallic skulls were rounded, with overhanging eyebrows. Professors Ripley and Sergi, ignoring the difference in height and higher cephalic index, identify them with the short Alpine race (Broca's Celts). Keene denies this. Maybe these peoples did not come from a common language family and came to Europe at different times?

But is it justified, based on the study of several hundred skulls, to draw far-reaching conclusions regarding peoples who lived for several thousand years? At some very distant historical period, a Celtic type could have developed there, and subsequently, perhaps, an Aryan type appeared. The Celts we know must have mixed with the aborigines of Europe and became a mixed race, retaining their racial and psychic characteristics and imparting them to other peoples. Some Gauls or Belgaes were long-headed, judging by their skulls; others were brachycephalic, retaining blond hair of a different shade. The classical witness writers tell us nothing about this people. But Irish texts tell about the living in Ireland of both tall, fair-haired, blue-eyed types and short, dark-skinned, dark-eyed types. Even in distant eras, there was mutual influence between the Celts and other peoples. What happened on the Eurasian steppes - the hypothetical cradle of the "Aryans", from where the Celts came, moving west - in truth, this is a secret with seven seals. The people whose Aryan speech was to dominate everywhere may have already possessed various types of skulls, and that era was far from "the very beginning."