The Celts
Dalriadans from Ulster, King Colla ola Crioch and 350 of his people (Scottis) are banished from Ireland (Eriu) in 327 A.D. (A.C.E.). They travel to Pictland (Alba, present-day Scotland) and settle on the West Coast. The Northeastern and Southeastern coasts are controlled by the Picts.
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In 367 A.D. (A.C.E.), the Celts move southward into what is present-day Europe where they pillage the lands and the peoples of this area (including Rome). Eventually, the Celts lose control of these areas due to their loose tribal networks and plagues.
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Appearance
The Celts would usually shave off all of their body hair, except for that on their upper lip and on their heads. Many of them had long, blond hair which they would wash with limestone in order to give it a course appearance. Needless to say this was very effective in creating a look that would terrify their enemies. The Celts came to use a special blue dye from the woad plant that they would use to paint their faces and bodies. This served to make an even more horrific look.
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Social Status
Social standing among the Celts was a very interesting concept. Leaders were quite often determined at banquets where a warrior who believed himself to be the most powerful would take for himself the largest piece of meat and would then lay himself, since the Celts ate on the ground, in the most prominent position. If no one challenge the warrior, he was considered to have the right to this honor, however, if a warrior's position was challenged it often ended in a battle to the death among two warriors or even among entire tribes.
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Clothing
The Celts wore a type of covering known as a kilt. In ancient times, this was nothing more than a large piece of wool draped loosely around the body, but in later times would be re-introduced in the form of a skirt. The coloring of the kilt signified the area that the owner came from, evidenced by the elements used to obtain the dyes for the kilt. Later, the kilt would come to signify the clan or family to which the warrior owed allegiance.
When a warrior went into battle, he would usually remove his kilt for fear of destroying it. The Celts would wear only a neck torque or a kind of collar around the neck which served as a protection for them by their gods/goddesses.
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Legends
Morrigan is the "Earth Mother" and is also known as the "great queen". She is able to change her form and quite often takes the form of a raven. She is known as the "Raven of Battle". She is the goddess of evil, panic, uncertainty, fear, and irrationality.
Dagda is the "Tribal Father". He is the god of certainty, bravery, rationality.
These two together represent the balance of the world, or life as it involves both good and evil.
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The Cult of the Severed Head
The ancient Celts believed that the soul of all humans resided in the head. Whenever an enemy was defeated, the Celtic warrior would remove the head of this enemy. Two things were done with these heads:
- They were placed onto poles around a battlefield after a victory as an offering to the gods/goddesses that had helped the warriors win their battle AND
- They were placed in the doorways of homes. Since the warrior who had taken the head was believed to have control over the soul of the dead warrior, the heads were believed to protect the home of the Celtic family from evil spirits.
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Heroes
There are a number of heroes of the Celtic people but definitely one of the most famous is Cu Chulainn.
Another famous Celt is the "warrior queen", Bodicea
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