Brief introduction of Celtic warriors

Celtic European warriors are one of the most unique warriors in the ancient world. Celtic soldiers are tall, with long hair and beards, often naked, painted and tattooed, and like to collect enemy heads in battle. Celtic soldiers are formidable. Walking, riding or fighting in chariots, Celtic warriors are also famous for including women, sometimes female leaders, in their ranks. Through their final winners, Rome and other Celtic warriors surpassed Brennes (about 390 CE), Wiesington Torrix (82-46 BC), Ambiaud Ricks (about 54/53 BC) and Queen Budika (D). 6 1 CE) certainly brought trouble to their enemies, and their determination and courage on the battlefield touched them.

Ancient "barbarians"

As far as written materials are concerned, our best view of Celtic is the works of Greek and Roman writers. Classical writers often refer to those peoples who live outside their geographical control and knowledge as "barbarians". The Celts were called Kairto or Galatee by the Greeks and Celtic or Galilean by the Romans. They are a Celtic-speaking people who lived in western and central Europe from Iberia for centuries, from 1000 BC to the Danube and then to 1000 AD. The Celts themselves may not feel that they belong to the whole European race, but they are loyal to their local tribes, or at most, the alliance to which their tribes may belong. Therefore, any general treatment of Celtic must cover a wide geographical area and time period, and remind readers that there are differences in all aspects of Celtic culture, including war.

In Britain, Celtic soldiers used WOAD (a blue dye) to tattoo and design their bodies.

Another problem with any study of Celts is the lack of written materials they produced. These mostly illiterate tribes store and spread their culture orally, especially through knowledgeable druids. Therefore, apart from rare short inscriptions and archaeological discoveries, we must rely on Greek and Roman writers to understand most details of the Celtic war and general life. Naturally, the Romans were the ultimate winners, so materials like Julius Caesar's Gaul War may be priceless, but they were not designed to record Celtic culture for future generations. These classic writers are not without prejudice, misunderstanding and age-old stereotypes. When Strappo, a writer in the 1 century BC, mentioned that the Celts "all races ... are crazy about war, full of enthusiasm and fighting quickly" (in Cunliffe, 2 13), did he accurately describe an enemy or shape their soldiers? His own culture seems to have conquered such a brave enemy more successfully? However, classical writers are priceless. The Celts were not only their enemies, but also mercenaries of Punic, Greek and Roman armies.

ideology

From what we know about Celtic religion, as described by the Romans, some of these peoples are really keen on war. Although the meaning of the early Celtic gods is not clear, many great gods and goddesses, such as those seen in Irish Celtic literature in the Middle Ages (sorting out the early oral traditions), were conceived as warrior heroes. Like Lugh and Dagda. This is not unique, and it can be seen in many other ancient cultures. In Celtic tombs, including weapons, armor and chariots, the military value has been further reflected.

War is to gain wealth, prestige, power, land and revenge. Special raids were also carried out to capture cattle and slaves, and then they could be exchanged for luxury goods, such as portable gold items and wine. Prestige is an important part of Celtic society. The respect won in the battle gives soldiers a better position at the banquet, and they can choose a piece of meat. In addition, leaders should be generous to their subordinates. (www.lishixinzhi.Com) This situation keeps attacks and conflicts going, so as to gain more wealth for distribution.

Celtic soldiers are famous for their extraordinary bravery in battle, which can be explained from several aspects. First of all, the honor system of Celtic culture means that courage is a great virtue. In addition, in Celtic religion, there is a belief in the afterlife, which is considered as the afterlife, but it does not have all negative factors such as disease, pain and sadness. In this sense, death is not terrible. Finally, people have a strong belief in totem (see below), which appeals to animal spirits and gods to protect soldiers in battle.

Finally, some Celtic armies may have female soldiers, although ancient writers seldom noticed them. Of course, Celtic gods include women. For example, Irish Celtic III Sivir is called Mórrigna: Badb, Macha and Mórrigan. In addition, in Celtic mythology, some male heroes, especially Kuchulin, learned to use weapons from mistresses such as scassa Hull and Effie. There have been battle queens, such as Budika, queen of the British Aisini tribe, but it is still unknown whether women train separately from men, how many people take part in the battle and how long.

It is said that Celtic soldiers in Gaul bleached their long hair with lime water.

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Some Celtic soldiers fought naked-Roman writers called this group gaestae-which is why scholars are confused. Maybe they want to show their supreme confidence in their abilities and the protection provided by the gods. Naked soldiers may think this is a way to intimidate the enemy, a way to better show off their position in the tribe through the jewelry they wear, or a part of group identity. There may even be practical reasons for nudity, such as unrestricted fighting or ensuring that the wound is not infected by dirty cloth, which is one of the most common problems in dealing with the wounded in ancient battlefields.

However, not all Celtic soldiers are nudists. Many people wear coarse tunics, breeches and cloaks, usually with unique chessboard patterns, which were the pioneers of tartan later seen in Scotland and Ireland. Soldiers in higher positions will wear gold, copper or iron jewelry around their necks and wrists. Many Celtic warriors wear Tok necklaces-such as the famous statue of Rome's dying Gaul Mountain Museum-and these people may be symbols of status and rank in the community. Toles may also have spiritual symbols, but they are happy to be collected as war trophies by Celtic enemies.

Other important symbols, usually used as badges on helmets or patterns on armor and shields, include the sun disc or sun gear, stag, horse, dog, crow, bull and wild boar. People may think that soldiers wearing such representatives will show the same positive qualities in battle. It is said that Celtic soldiers in Gaul bleached their long hair with lime water. In Britain, they get tattoos and use woad (a blue dye) to draw tattoos and patterns (especially spiral patterns) on their bodies. Like animal patterns, these are likely to be seen as providing some kind of spiritual protection for the wearer.

Armor and shield

Celtic shields are usually large, oval or rectangular, made of wood and leather, with metal buckles and central protrusions to increase strength. The famous bronze Battersea Shield unearthed from the Thames and other similar areas is too fragile to be used for fighting, but only for ceremonies. Only high-ranking soldiers wear armor, which can be metal, leather or hard organic materials. Armor usually only includes breastplate or chain mail.

Helmets are made of bronze, iron or leather, sometimes with horns, feathers or animal heads attached. Surviving examples are usually conical, sometimes with cheeks or peaks like modern baseball caps. A luxury survivor in the 3rd century BC was a helmet from Ciumesti, Romania. A bird lives on a helmet, and its wings are moving. When a soldier rushes into the battlefield, it will flap its wings.

weapon

Celtic culture is good at forging metals, so they make powerful and effective weapons. Young people have been trained as soldiers since 14 years old. They associate with more experienced activists, learn the art of war, and skillfully use these usually heavy weapons.

The main weapon of the first class soldier is an iron sword with a straight blade of 90 cm (35 inches). Celtic soldiers slashed with their swords. The sword is hung on the belt with a scabbard made of metal, wood or leather, or on the back in northern England. The hilt and scabbard are decorated with gold, silver, ivory, semi-precious stones, enamel, stained glass and other materials. The leaves can also be decorated with seals, such as animal patterns.

The secondary weapons are spears and spears, which have iron tips, can be straight or twisted, and have straight, notched or serrated blades. The more complicated spearhead aims to cause the greatest damage not only when penetrating, but also when exiting the body. Bows and arrows and leather slings are used to launch small stone or soil missiles, but these two weapons may only be used for defensive positions, such as protecting forts, rather than fixed battles. The last weapon is a dagger with a long and wide blade in its scabbard. Surviving daggers usually have a torch-shaped appendage at the top of the scabbard.

tactics

Even before the battle began, the Celts liked to publicize their family lineage and insult their opponents. Then, the soldiers may provide one-on-one combat opportunities. This, like their appearance, is to intimidate the enemy. Of course, compared with the more disciplined Greek and Roman army, the Celtics' shouting, jumping and hitting the shield must be a disturbing experience. However, the Celtics are not a messy mob. Soldiers are divided into tribes, and each team has a standard, such as animal totem. It is likely that there will be a strict tribal hierarchy based on honor. We also know that they did not charge collectively, but kept a part of their troops as a reserve to strengthen the areas with weak front lines in the back.

Although most soldiers fight on foot, some people have horses. It was not until BC 1 century that there appeared a two-wheeled chariot that could carry soldiers and drivers. Chariots are made of wood with leather or wicker floors and sides, making them lighter and faster. They are connected to a pair of horses through a pole. In addition, a rich warrior was accompanied by some attendants and courtiers. The number of these attendees is a question of prestige. For example, these followers will be close at hand in the battle to replace the tired or injured horses of their owners. Horses and chariots may be reserved for ambushes and small * * * or chasing enemies fleeing the battlefield. When used in combat, it is first used as a means of launching missiles at the enemy, and then soldiers dismount and fight on foot.

In the fierce battle, the army was commanded by the front-line commander. Leaders usually commit ritual suicide after failure. The army was organized and assembled with horns. Known as Canix, the design of this instrument-seen in surviving examples and Celtic art-has the shape of an animal head at the end of the clock. These trombones sometimes have a clapper in their mouth, which will increase the extraordinary sound of the instrument.

At the beginning of the battle, the spear is thrown first, and then the enemy engages with the sword with the spear. When the Celtics played against the Celtics, the battle quickly became an individual competition. A common incident is to take the head of a defeated soldier, because these are considered to contain souls. The head of a particularly respected enemy was preserved with cedar oil for display.

When the Celts faced more organized armies like the Greeks and Romans, their strategic limitations were exposed. In the Greek phalanx-soldiers closely lined up with their shields and spears to protect each other-or men whose shields were used to create an indestructible Roman legion rock wall movement were usually not broken, so the personal nature of the Celtic war was not conducive to the organized teamwork of the enemy. The Celts did win several famous battles in ancient times, usually destroying the enemy's formation in their first crazy charge or using the terrain to ambush the army, but in the long run, the Celts were defeated not because of extraordinary courage or even weapons, but because of superior tactics and discipline.