Unraveling The Celtic Culture

Hibah Hasan
Mrs. Laura Miller
Acc. English II
14 April 2015
Unraveling the Celtic culture
The Celtic culture is mostly known for its diversity. Even today, the complex ideas and beliefs define the Celtic culture. The Celts covered most of Central and Western Europe about as early as 700 B.C. (Hamilton 21). Archeologists have learned much about the Celts by studying the Irish, British and Roman cultures as they were closely connected to the Celts by the means of “trading and raiding” (Dillon and Chadwick 304). Even though archeologists argue that much of the recognized Celtic culture is blended with Irish and Roman ideas, there is also much known about the early Celtic social hierarchy, art, and clothing.
The Celtic society was divided into the nobles and the common people, where the ruler was at the top of the social ladder. Treated as slaves, the majority of the Celts spent their lives working for the nobles (Hamilton 22). The Celtic families were independent for the most part. They were specialized in making their own goods and farming for themselves (Hamilton 24). The Celts were a tightly knit society; therefore, they provided protection and food for the ill, elderly, or even poor (Martell 17). The weaponry and the household products were normally made by the metalworkers and smiths, which made them very valuable in the Celtic society. Other Celts normally became “traders, potters, salt miners, and wood workers” (Martell 20).
Even though Celts took various jobs, the most important and common profession was farming. They normally “mixed farming… with domesticated animals” because they were important for “providing meat and dairy products” (Duffy 15). Usually, the Celts acquired slaves to assist them in farming. One common way to gain more slaves was to trade for them in exchange “for other commodities”. Wine was one of the most important commodities that the Celts exchanged for the slaves due to the unsuitable climate for the grapes in Central Europe (Martell 21). Although slaves were an important part of the Celtic society, they were not necessarily treated with respect. The Celts most probably used “slave-chains” on the slaves for more efficient farming (Martell 20).
The women, however, in Celtic society were probably treated with respect in the Celtic society. There were various roles taken by a women like making “woolen cloth” (Martell 17). Some women and children “worked on farmlands” to provide food for their family (Martell 20). They also cooked and made homemade products like cheese and butter (Martell 17). Also, “in some noble families women became rulers”, and were treated with great respect and honor. Some women also took the “responsibilities of a family”, if the head of the family was gone (Martell 16). In certain places women were found “possessing several husbands” (Duffy 107). Also, the expensive burials of some females indicate the importance that they were bestowed upon (Duffy 23). The Celts “preference for goddesses over gods” could be one of the reasons that women were treated with honor (Duffy 107).
The Druids and the nobles were the “only two groups who counted” (Hamilton 22). The Druids were “teachers, healers, judges, poets, priests [,] and … foretellers” in the Celtic society (Duffy 17). They were pardoned from “paying taxes and military service” because they had meetings to discuss daily conflicts, and thus they had “great political power” (“Druids” 1; Duffy 57). Even here, there were women druids found in some tribes. The Druids taught orally to the young and the overall public. However, the Druids were known as religious leaders, and preached their animistic religion to the Celtic people (“Druids” 1). The second group, the nobles, was in charge of their clan and enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle. They hosted feasts to recognize the “the important visitors, or to mark a political coup, or a victory in a war”, but at the same time the banquet could be a show of appreciation to the common

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