The Celts - sosinglese.eusosinglese.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/The-Origins-of-Britain.pdf · The Celts Where did they come from? The Celts came from central Europe. Why? Because

The Celts

 Where did they come from?

The Celts came from central Europe. Why? Because the population was

increasing and they need new territories. So they expanded in France, Germany, Est Europe, Iberian peninsula and British isles.

C E LT IC FA M ILY L IFEThe unit of Celtic life was the clan. 

Parents did not rear children, but they were actually raised by foster parents. 

The foster father was often the brother of the birth-mother. 

Othala, Celtic rune of family.

FE ST IVA L SThe most important festivals were:

Samhain - 31/11 - the veil between this world and the Otherworld becomes thin.Imbolc - 31/01 - celebration of the end of winter and new year's beginning. Beltaine - 01/05 - celebration of fertility. Lughnasadh - 31/07 - summer festival celebrated with competitions of skills. 

SE A SONSThe oldest pre-Roman Celtic calendar is a lunisolar calendar of 355 days known as Coligny Calendar. Months, considering this Calendar, were: 

Samonios - "Seed fall". (October/November) Duman(n)(ios) - "Darkest depths". (November/December) Riuros - "Cold Time". (December/January)A nagantios - "Month in which One Does Not Travel" (January/February) Ogron(n)(i)(os) - "Ice Time". (February/March)G iamonios "Month belonging to Winter". (March/April) Simiuisonna (or Semiuisonna) - unknown etymology, probably connected to "sonna", Sun. (April/May) E quos - etymology unknown, probably connected to "horse". (May/June)E lembiu - "Month belonging to the Deer (hunt)". (June/July)A edrini(os) - "Bright (or Hot) Month". (July/August)C antlos - perhaps "Song month". (August/September) 

DRUIDS

We know very little about Druids. They were the Celt’s priests, responsible for all sorts of religious ceremonies. They were educated and powerful members of the tribe and were well respected by the other Celts. The main centre of the druids in Britain was Anglesey. We know a little about the druids from descriptions by Roman historians. The Romans tried to limit the powers of the druids because they were very important in Iron Age society.

The Anglo-Saxon paganism was a polytheistic belief system. The most important god was probably Woden, so the religion was also called Wodenism. Other prominent gods included Thunor and Tiw. They also believed in a variety of other supernatural entities who inhabited the landscape, including elves, nicor (water spirits) and dragons.Demonstrations of devotion, included sacrifice of inanimate objects and animals, to this deities, particularly at certain religious festivals during the year.Pagan beliefs also influenced funerary practices, where the dead were either inhumed or cremated. There was also a magical component to the early Anglo-Saxon religion, and there are some theories that there may have been shamanic aspects.

PAGANISM

FOODCooking was simple but wholesome and varied. There was wild fish and and deer to eat. There were also eggs, milk and cheese. Nuts and fruit in season. Honey was used for sweetening food and for making Mead to drink. The diet appears to be.

Chicken stew with herbs and barleyIngredients50g butter1- 1.5 kg chicken joints450g leeks4 cloves garlic175g pot barley900 ml water (3 ¾ cups)3 tablespoons wine vinegar2 bay leaves, salt, pepper1 tablespoon dried sageWhat to doWash, trim and slice the leeks.Chop up the garlic cloves.Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry the meat with the leeks and garlic until the vegetables are slightly softened and the meat lightly browned.Add the the barley, water, vinegar, bay leaves, salt and pepper.Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 1 to 1½ hours, until the meat is tender and about to fall off the bone.Add the sage and cook for several minutes.Serve in bowls