The Celts: Europe's Mysterious Warriors

The Celts. When people today think of the Celts they generally imagine a bunch of people who sound like they're from Scotland or Ireland, kilts, bagpipes, and whisky. Actually, the Celts were an ingenious and war-loving civilization that introduced iron to Europe, and were dominant in a stretch of land spanning the Iberian Peninsula, Britain, and all of Central Europe with an enclave in Turkey. So great were their inventions that the Romans, who most people believe invented most things, actually copied most of the Celts' technology for their own purposes. Such technologies included the barrel, chain-mail, iron spokes for wheels, the road, and most of the Romans' arms and armor. Below I will shed light on these mysterious barbarians who changed the face of Europe forever.

Fact or Fiction: The Celts dressed like Highlanders and were red-haired.
Answer: Fiction! The Celts were generally tall, musclebound, and BLONDE. They also would have worn tunics of plaid cloth and pants. Below is an image of a Celt:

Fact or Fiction: The Celts would some times fight naked.
Answer: Fact! Some Celtic groups, in particular the Gauls and the Britons, would work themselves into a frenzy and fight naked with no armor but a helmet and a shield. There are also accounts of Celts having erections when they fought, so great was their frenzy. Below is an image of one of these "berserker" Celts:

Fact or Fiction: All Celts fought in the same way.
Answer: Fiction! The mad and berserker-like fighting style of the Gauls and Britons was not the same as the Celts on the Iberian Peninsula. Iberian Celts fought in chain-mail armor with a kopis-like sword called a falcata, a javelin made entirely of iron called a solifferum, and a buckler called a caetra. The Romans copied the gladius from the Celtiberians, and they adopted the Gaulish helmet and the Iberian javelin as well. Below are some images of Celtiberian weapons:

A Falcata

A Solifferum

A Caetra

A Celtiberian Gladius

Fact or Fiction: The Celts were the first known iron-workers in Europe.

Answer: Fact! The Celts were the first known iron workers in Europe, which was still using primarily bronze items around the year 600 BC, when Celts burst onto the scene. The Celtic iron methods were a style called folded iron, where they would forge iron plates and then bury them underground for three years to allow the impure elements to fall out of the iron. The Celts would then dig up the plates, melt them down, and then forge them into bars which were folded over many times to increase strength. The Celts also used folded iron in all of their tools, thus giving them the advantage over their bronze-wielding adversaries, which allowed for the vastness of the Celtic territories. Below are some fine examples of Celtic iron working skills:

A Celtic Sword

A Celtic Bridle

A Celtic Neck Torque

A Ceremonial Helmet

Celtic Metalworks discovered in a horde

A Celtic Mirror

A Celtic Helmet design that was copied by the Roman Legions for their own use

An iron bucket used by Belgian Celts

Fact or Fiction: The Celts were head hunters.
Answer: Fact! In Celtic Mythology heads were attributed to housing the soul, and there are many disturbing myths of heads possessing the abilities of prophecy and magic. As such, Celts located primarily in Gaul and Britain began head hunting, and they would hang the heads from their houses, their chariots, standards in the center of the village, or they would impale the skulls on wooden stakes in the village walls as a means of scaring any intruders. Evidence of the Celts' head hunting prowess has been discovered in many archeological sites in France, Belgium, England, and Scotland. Below is an image of a group of Celtic head hunters:

Fact or Fiction: The Celts were only present in Spain, Gaul, and Britain.
Answer: Fiction! The Celts were present in Central Europe, a swath of land running from Spain to the Black Sea, and they even had a small enclave in the Anatolian highlands on the Asian side of Turkey. Their presence was also strong in Ireland, and today the Six Celtic Nations, comprising of Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, and Brittany (which is actually located in Northern France) are the only nations that still speak the languages that the Celts themselves would have spoken.  Below is a map showing how far the Celts spread across Europe:

So what happened to the Celts, who were at the height of their power during the 3rd-1st centuries BC? The most widely held belief is that the Celts were unable to withstand the power and might of the rapidly expanding Roman Empire, and that their lack of armor was leaving them vulnerable to the Roman weapons. They also were being decimated by the newest superpower in Northern Europe at the Time: The Teutons. This vice-like attack seemed to have ended the Celts on Mainland Europe, but in the British Isles the Celts have survived into the Modern Era in places like Scotland and Ireland. All in all, this has been a brief overview of who the Celts were.