|
Celtic Hist. Newsletter: Head Hunting
|
hist-@historicgames.com
|
Jul 01, 2009 12:09 PDT
|
The Celtic History Newsletter
Brought to you by
The Celtic Croft
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/
&
MacGregor Historic Games
http://historicgames.com
-----------------------
Head Hunting
Although scholars debate the exact meaning and depth of the so-called
"Head cult" of the Celtic peoples, it is said that the desecration of
bodies by the taking of heads was a practice that outraged Classical
writers. According the the first century historian Diodorus Siculus:
"They (The Celts) cut off the heads of enemies slain in battle and
attach them to the necks of their horses. The blood-stained spoils
they hand over to their attendants and striking up a paean and singing
a song of victory; and they nail up these first fruits upon their
houses, just as do those who lay low wild animals in certain kinds of
hunting. They embalm in cedar oil the heads of the most distinguished
enemies, and preserve them carefully in a chest, and display them with
pride to strangers, saying that for this head one of their ancestors,
or his father, or the man himself, refused the offer of a large sum of
money. They say that some of them boast that they refused the weight
of the head in gold"
While we should take this with a grain of salt since it was written
about "barbarians" by "civilized" the peoples who invaded them, there
is statuary evidence that would seem to confirm there was some form of
veneration of the human head. One example is the "shrine" which was
found at Roquepertuse, near the mouth of the Rhone River. It consists
of five steps leading up to three stone pillars with niches carved
into them for holding heads, or skulls:
http://www.unc.edu/celtic/images/216310.html
Or the various artworks and other sculptures that scholars describe as
representing severed heads
Sanctuary Portico of Stone with Severed Heads ( 3rd C BCE) - Celtic -
Bouches-du-Rhone, France:
http://gallery.sjsu.edu/sacrifice/lintelw_sev.heads
Reconstruction of a Statue with severed heads, Entremont, France,
2nd cent. BC.: http://www.le.ac.uk/ar/stj/sevheads.jpg
The taking of heads on a battlefield could have concrete purposes such
as providing proof of a warrior's courage, and prowess on the field,
not to mention the psychological aspect it might have on the enemy. In
Irish legend it is said that the severed heads of enemies are "Macha's
acorns." Macha being one of the aspects of three aspects of the Irish
war goddess, the Morrigan.
As for the religious aspects, scholars have speculated that the Celts
may have seen the head as the home of the soul, therefore the severed
head, might have been seen as retaining some life or power of its own,
or some power over their enemies.
Whatever the true meaning of the "head cult" of the Celtic peoples
some of its influence seems to have come down to us in legend and myth
as well. A Welsh legend tells the story of Bran the Blessed,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bran_the_Blessed who as he lay dying on
the battlefield, he orders his men to take his head and carry it with
them, and they live happily as Bran's guests in the otherworld for
seven years. There is also the head cutting "game" in the story of Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Gawain_and_the_Green_Knight#Synopsis
-----------------------
If you enjoy our monthly newsletter, please support it by visiting out
our online stores, or seek us out at the events listed on our web sites.
The Celtic Croft
http://www.kilts-n-stuff.com/
&
MacGregor Historic Games
http://historicgames.com
|
|
 |
|
