The Gods and the Supernatural
The Nature of Celtic Religion
Because the pagan Celts did not write about themselves, the
only way that modern scholars can learn anything about their belief-systems is
by constructing hypotheses based upon archaeological sources and historical
documents written by contemporary, but alien, classical observers, who selected
and often misunderstood what they recorded.
There is another group of documents, those which tell of the
earliest Welsh and Irish myths and written in the vernacular. But these have to
be treated with extreme caution as sources for pagan Celtic religion, and as a
strand of evidence which must be treated separately from contemporary data.
This tradition is the work of Christian redactors writing in medieval times,
and close links between the undoubted mythology it contains and the evidence
which is synchronous with the pagan Celts (around 500 Be to AD 400) cannot
usefully be made. Moreover, this vernacular tradition relates only to Wales and
Ireland, far from the continental heartlands of the early Celts.
The picture painted by the evidence is of a rich and varied
religious tradition. This variety and complexity is due largely to the
essential animism which appears to have underpinned Celtic religion, the belief
that every part of the natural world, every feature of the landscape, was
numinous, possessed of a spirit. These natural forces were perceived as capable
of doing humankind good or harm, and so they had to be controlled and their
power harnessed by means of divination, sacrifice and other propitiatory
rituals. Sacred space could take the form of built shrines, but equally
important were natural cult loci such as lakes, springs and trees or open-air
enclosures where worshippers were not cut off from the numinous landscape
around them.
The perception of the supernatural as being present in the
natural world penetrated all aspects of Celtic belief. Thus, the most popular,
pan-tribal deities - the celestial gods and the mother-goddesses - were linked
to their respective functions as providers of light, heat and fertility. The
great healing cults of Romano-Celtic Gaul and Britain were centered upon the
natural phenomena of thermal springs. Many divinities - such as Epona,
Arduinna, Nodens and Cernunnos - had a close affinity with animals: indeed the
horned and antlered gods took on the partial personae of bulls or stags. The
perception of spirits in the landscape is amply demonstrated by the names of
gods on epigraphic dedications of the Romano-Celtic period, which betray their
topographical character, as personifications of places: the identity of gods
such as Glanis of Glanum and Nemausus of Nemausus (Nimes), both in Provence,
were merged inextricably with their locality.
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Cernunnos |
Problems of evidence
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Sequana |
Leaving aside the difficulties of the written sources for
the present, we have a very real problem in the archaeological (that is the
epigraphic and iconographic) evidence. This results from the fact that the
great majority of inscriptions and images date to the Romano-Celtic rather than
the free Celtic (i.e. pre-Roman) period. There is considerable overt Roman
influence on indigenous religious expression. Gods in classical guise and
bearing Roman names were adopted by the Celts but with subtle changes, such as
the addition of a native surname to a dedication, or of Celtic symbols - like
the wheel or torque - to the imagery of Jupiter or Mercury. Other divinities,
like Cernunnos, the Mothers, Epona, Sequana and Sucellus, appear almost wholly indigenous in concept, but their imagery still owes something to Roman
iconography and, of course, their names use Latin forms, even though their
meaning may be Celtic. But even these apparently native gods are sometimes
argued to be the products of Romanization in that, with a few exceptions, they
do not appear in the archaeological record until the Roman period.
What is perhaps more likely is that the perceptions
underlying the identity of these spirits were always present but only took the
form of physical images once the stimulus of the great Mediterranean traditions
of iconography took hold of the Celtic world. The lack of free Celtic epigraphy
and the comparative paucity of pre-Roman religious imagery means that,
inevitably, we have to observe Celtic gods through a window created by Rome.
Pre-Roman iconography and cult expression.
Iconography
When an invading group of Celts overran and plundered the
sacred Greek site of Delphi in the early third century BC their leader,
Brennus, laughed at the anthropomorphic images of the Greek divinities which
adorned the great sanctuary. He was apparently scoffing at the naivety of
Mediterranean perceptions of the divine. But whilst it is undoubtedly true that
religious iconography is comparatively scarce in Celtic lands before the
intrusion of Greco-Roman artistic traditions, images of Celtic divinities were nonetheless
present in small numbers in the last few centuries before Christ.
Stone sculpture falls into two main distributional clusters:
one in central Europe; the other in the area of southern Gaul known later by
the Romans as The Province (Provence), because of their early conquest of the
region (late second century BC).
The central European group includes large stone male
statues, dating between the sixth and third centuries Be, which are presumed to
represent gods or dead heroes. One of the earliest such figures is a huge
sandstone image from a late Hallstatt burial-mound at Hirschlanden near
Stuttgart. He is naked but for a conical helmet, a torque, belt and dagger. His
original position may have been at the top of the mound, and he may represent the
dead warrior himself or perhaps a war-god, patron of the deceased. (pic. left) The image at
Holzerlingen, also in Germany and of similar date, almost certainly represents
a god: a rough sandstone block was crudely hewn into a human torso, featureless
except for a belt at the waist. But the statue is janiform, surmounted by a
dual head bearing horns, perhaps the earliest representation of a Celtic horned
god. The carved head from Heidelberg comes from a statue or pillar-stone:
dating to the fifth-fourth century Be, it bears a leaf crown consisting of two
swelling lobes which meet above the head, and on the forehead is carved a motif
which has been interpreted by some as a lotus bud, a Greek symbol of
eternity. The two features of crown and lotus may signify divinity: both recur
on the pillar-stone at Pfalzfeld in the Rhineland which dates to the same
period, and which bears curvilinear foliate Celtic designs out of which peer
four leafcrowned human heads. Further east is the third-century Be ritual site
of Msecké Zehrovice near Prague, which produced a carved stone head, originally
from a life-size statue: the face is that of the typical Celt as stereotyped by
classical writers (and more recently by the creators of Asterix): hair en
brosse, staring eyes and flowing moustache. The image bears a heavy
buffer-torque, probably a symbol of divinity or, at least, high status. It is
difficult to interpret the Msecké Zehrovice head as representative of anything
other than a god.
The Provencal group of sculptures dates to between the fifth
and second centuries Be, and their presence may be due in part to the stimulus
of mimetic representation provided by the nearby Greek (Phocean) colony of
Marseilles. Such sanctuaries as those at Entremont and Roquepertuse in the
lower Rhone valley have produced a rich iconography, including sculptures of
crosslegged male figures, some of whom wear armour, and who may be war-gods.
The severed human head is a prominent iconographic theme at these shrines, and
some of these 'warrior-gods' hold severed heads in their hands, as if
reflective of the divine dominance over humans in life and death. Entremont
produced a carved pillar of incised human heads; both this sanctuary and that
at Roquepertuse had niches, filled with the human skulls of young men killed in
battle, built into the structure of the temple. The sanctuary at
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Janiform head, Roquepertuse |
Roquepertuse
was guarded by a janiform head, perhaps that of the presiding deity, who gazed
inwards and outwards from the gateway of his sacred place. Other stone
sculptures, presumed to represent divinities, come from elsewhere in the Celtic
heartland: an important example is the boar-god at Euffigneix (Haute Marne), an
image which dates to the second or first century Be. The carving takes the form
of a roughly hewn pillar depicting a beardless god wearing a heavy torque, with
a boar in low relief striding up his torso. On the side of the pillar is an
immense human eye, perhaps indicative of protection or omnipotence. The boar's
dorsal crest is erect, as if to reflect aggression: for the Celts, the image of
the boar was an important war symbol. The Euffigneix deity may himself be a god
of war, or perhaps of hunting and wild nature.
Imagery in metal - usually bronze - also bears witness to
the representation of divinities in the last few centuries Be. Small figures of
warrior- or hunter-gods come from St Maur-en-Chaussee (Oise), Balzars in
Liechtenstein and Dineault in Brittany,
the last-mentioned a warrior-goddess with a goose-crested helmet.
Images of animals are more common than are anthropomorphic
depictions: bulls, like those from Byciskila (Czechoslovakia) and Hallstatt (Austria), which date to the
sixth century Be, may symbolize the sacrifice of an animal which was central to
the early Celtic economy. Boar figurines may reflect war symbolism: some, like
those at Hounslow (Middlesex), Gaer Fawr and Luncani in Romania, were probably
helmet crests. But the bronze boars from Neuvy-en-Sullias (Loiret) are nearly
life-size and almost certainly came from a shrine. The Neuvy hoard dates to the
very end of the Gaulish Iron Age.
The Gundestrup Cauldron is one of the most important pieces
of pre-Roman Celtic religious art. It is a large silver-gilt vessel made up of
individual plates which bear a complex iconography, including depictions of divinities.
The cauldron was found dismantled in a Danish peat-bog at Raevemose Qutiand),
and was probably made in the second or first century Be. The circumstances of
its manufacture, use and subsequent deposition have long been the subject of
controversy.
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Gundestrop Cauldron |
It was probably made in south-east Europe by Thracian or Dacian
silversmiths. Many of the iconographic themes are exotic: lions, elephants and
griffons adorn the plates. However, there are a number of unequivocally Celtic
motifs: the weapons and armour belong to the Celtic world, and the deities
represented may be paralleled in the later Romano-Celtic imagery of Gaul and
Britain. These include the antlered god, sometimes identified as 'Cernunnos'
because of a first century AD Parisian monument linking this name with a
similar antlered figure. On the cauldron, the god is accompanied by a
ram-headed snake, an idiosyncratic cult-animal which occurs consistently with
the antlered god in Romano-Celtic Gaul. This serpent appears a total of three
times on the cauldron. The antlered figure appears with two torques on the
vessel, and he is thus represented on a number of later Romano-Gaulish
depictions. Interestingly, as early as the fourth century Be, an antlered
figure with torques and horned snakes is portrayed in the rock art of Camonica
valley in north Italy. Another undoubtedly Celtic divine representation on the
Gundestrup vessel is the wheel-god, depicted on an outer plate. Once again,
there is good evidence for this deity in Romano-Celtic imagery. The mystery of
the Gundestrup Cauldron may never fully be solved. It is possible that
south-east European craftsmen were commissioned to make a great cult-vessel for
a Celtic clientele. The cauldron could have been looted from Gaul by Teutonic
raiders, perhaps the Cimbri, and later buried by them for safety or as an
offering to their own gods.
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Boar god |
Vincent Megaw has pointed out that the Euffigneix stone
boar-god was perhaps carved by a craftsman who was more familiar with working
in wood than in stone. There is no doubt that images of gods were made in wood,
which usually does not survive. That they may have been common during the Iron
Age is suggested by the chance preservation of these figures in waterlogged
contexts. Five pinewood images of naked warriors with shields and detachable
phalli, set in a simple boat model, were found at Roos Carr in the Humber
estuary: they may date from as early as the seventh century Be. A wooden female
image dating to the first century Be comes from a wicker structure at
Ballachulish, Argyll; and there are other stray British figures. Oak carvings
of animals, dendro-dated to 123 Be, come from a shaft at the Viereckschanze of
Fellbach-Schmiden in southern Germany.
The first phase of the great healing sanctuary dedicated to
Sequana, goddess of the source of the Seine at Fontes Sequanae near Dijon,
dates to the interface between the free Celtic and Romano-Celtic periods. This
primary, first century Be, phase is represented by more than 200 wooden
votives, depictions of pilgrims and the parts of their bodies requiring a cure,
which were offered to the power of the sacred spring. Of similar date (first
century Be to first century AD) are the more numerous wooden images at
Chamalieres (Puy-de-Dome), a holy place where two springs met. We are reminded of
Lucan's statement concerning a sacred grove near Marseilles, encountered by
Julius Caesar's army: The images were stark, gloomy blocks of unworked timber,
rotten with age, whose ghastly pallor terrified their devotees.
We are unable positively to name or identify these pre-Roman
gods whose images were carved in stone, wood or bronze because this iconography
is unsupported by inscriptions or documents, although their accompanying
symbolism may sometimes suggest their possible function.
Ritual Behaviour
It is clear that iconography is by no means the sole
evidence for religious expression in the pre-Roman period.
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Sword Llyn Cerrig Bach |
Perhaps the most prominent iron age ritual behaviour concerns the deposition of prestigious objects, often of a martial nature,
which were frequently buried on dry land or in watery contexts. These
implements and weapons were often deliberately bent or broken in order ritually
to 'kill' them and thus render them appropriate as sacrifices to the spirits of
the supernatural world. Examples of this practice
are numerous: in Britain we may cite the deposit of metalwork, including
swords and chariot fittings, in the marshy lake at Llyn Cerrig Bach on the
island of Anglesey, which spans a period between the second century Be and the
first century AD. Broken weapons formed a substantial element of the offerings
made at later pre-Roman iron age temples, such as Hayling Island (Hampshire). This
occurrence may be closely paralleled at Gournay (Oise). Deposits in Switzerland
are particularly prolific:that at La Tene, on the shore of Lake Neuchatel, is
well known, but the equally important deposit of weapons and chariot equipment
at Tiefenau, in the oppidum of Bern-Engehalbinsel, is less familiar. This
evidence of recurrent ritual behavior may be interpreted as 'conspicuous
consumption', but equally it may express behaviour associated with a
warrior-cult, a practice essentially similar to that described by Caesar: When
they have decided to fight a battle, it is to Mars that they usually dedicate
the spoils they hope to win.
Classical writers on Celtic Gods
Although Greek and Roman writers recorded their perceptions
of Celtic culture and religion, especially from the first century Be, they
provide little evidence for the identity or function of Celtic deities. Indeed,
such commentators as Caesar, Strabo and Diodorus Siculus are more concerned
with ritual practices, such as headhunting, or religious functionaries, like
the druids, than with Celtic perceptions of the supernatural world. Caesar
alludes to druidic lore concerning the transmigration of souls. Both Lucan and
Diodorus comment on this Celtic belief in a cycle of death and rebirth.
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Esus |
Where mention of the gods does occur, it is heavily overlaid
by Roman conflation and misinterpretation. Thus Caesar speaks as if Celtic
deities are identical with those of the Roman pantheon, giving them such names
as Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. Does this mean that he was unaware of their
native names, that they were deliberately kept secret, or that the resemblance
with his own gods was so strong that he was concerned to record this
similarity? The first century AD Roman poet Lucan does allude to three gods
with Celtic names who were apparently encountered by Caesar's army in southern
Gaul in the first century Be. These are Esus, Taranis and Teutates, all of
whom, states Lucan, demanded appeasement in the form of human sacrifice. Lucan
implies that these were important Gaulish divinities, but this is not borne out
by archaeological testimony. Taranis and Teutates each occur on a handful of
dedications which are scattered within the Romano-Celtic world, and the name
Esus appears only once, on an early first-century AD monument in Paris.
All three names are descriptive: Taranis
('Thunderer') is tied to function; Esus means 'Lord' or 'Master'; and Teutates
probably refers to the divine leadership of a tribe or tuath. Esus and Teutates
are therefore titles rather than names.
Sporadic references to Celtic gods appear in the literature
of the Romano-Celtic period. Tertullian and Herodian allude to the cult of
Apollo Belenus in Noricum and north Italy, and Ausonius alludes to sanctuaries
dedicated to Belenus in Aquitaine in the fourth century AD. Grannus is referred
to by Dio Cassius who speaks of the
emperor Caracalla's unsuccessful attempts to find a cure for his physical
afflictions at the temples of Grannus, Aesculapius and Serapis. Reference is
made to Epona's cult by a number of sources, including Apuleius and Minucius
Felix. So the classical literary sources are of very little use in establishing
the identities of Celtic gods and the nature of belief. Any detail concerning a
Celtic pantheon must be sought from the epigraphy and iconography of the
Romano-Celtic world.
The Romano-Celtic tradition
Celtic religious expression is represented during the Roman
period by two main strands of material culture: epigraphy and iconography.
Inscriptions give us the names of deities; imagery demonstrates how they were
perceived as physical manifestations of the supernatural. One immediate problem
lies in the fact that, very frequently, an epigraphic dedication to a god
occurs without any accompanying image and vice versa. So it is usually impossible
to marry images with their names or names with their images. Moreover, there is
often a discrepancy between the ethnicity of a god as expressed by his name and
by his appearance. Thus a being with a Celtic name - such as Sequana - may look
very classical, whilst a god with a Roman name - Mars or Mercury, for instance
- may be depicted in wholly native style.
Epigraphy
The names of indigenous Celtic gods may contain Roman and
native elements or may be purely Celtic. Thus Mars and Mercury were frequently
invoked with different Celtic surnames or epithets: Mars Lenus, worshipped
among the Treveri, and Mars Corotiacus, invoked in Suffolk, are just two of
numerous examples. Mercury was equally diverse: his titles or surnames include
Cissonius and Moccus. Jupiter was surnamed Brixianus in Cisalpine Gaul and
Parthinus in north-east Dalmatia, both topographical names associated with high
places: these are just two of many such titles. Apollo was worshipped in Gaul
mainly as a healer: Moritasgus, Grannus, Belenus and Vindonnus are among his
epithets. Sometimes the Celtic name comes first: a good example is Sulis
Minerva, the healer-goddess of Bath (Aquae Sulis). The pairing of Roman and
Celtic god-names is confusing and difficult to interpret. Sometimes the Celtic
surname is descriptive - hence Mars Rigisamus (‘Greatest King') at West Coker
in Somerset, or topographical, like Apollo Grannus at Grand in the Vosges. But
Sulis was clearly a goddess in her own right, equated in the Roman period with
the classical Minerva.
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Sucellos |
Another method of epigraphic pairing concerns the linkage of
male and female divinities. A pattern may be discerned here, in that, very
frequently, the male deity bears a Roman or Roman and Celtic name, whilst that
of the female is wholly indigenous. Examples include Mercury and Rosmerta;
Apollo Grannus and Sirona; Mars Loucetius and Nemetona. Sometimes both members
of the divine couple have Celtic names: such is the case with Sucellus and
Nantosuelta; Luxovius and Bricta, the local spirits of Luxeuil; or Ucuetis and
Bergusia, the craft deities of Alesia. Again the native element may often be
interpreted as descriptive: 'Sucellus' means 'The Good Striker' (and his
iconographic image is that of a man bearing a long-shafted hammer);
Nantosuelta's name means 'Winding Brook'; Rosmerta is 'The Great Provider';
Nemetona 'The Goddess of the ’Sacred Grove'. Interestingly, goddesses like
Rosmerta and Sirona may be invoked alone, without their partner, thus
signifying their independent status within the Celtic pantheon.
Epigraphy gives us the names of many more purely native
divinities, sometimes linked with images. Such is Epona, the great
horse-goddess, worshipped all over the Celtic world. The mother-goddesses or
deae matres are interesting: often they are known merely by their Latin title
'matres' or 'matronae', but they may bear descriptive epithets which bear
witness to localized versions of their cult. The Rhineland mother-goddesses
bear outlandish-sounding topographical surnames, such as the Matronae Aufaniae
or the Vacallinehae. The Celtic
thunder-god Taranis is sometimes equated with the Roman Jupiter, but his
occurrence alone on several inscriptions argues for his independent identity.
The god of the Lydney (Glos.) sanctuary, Nodens, is invoked on his own, but he
is also linked with both Mars and Silvanus, as if the native god were perceived
as possessing an affinity with the functions of both Roman deities. This
apparent confusion in pairing recurs, for instance, with Mars and Mercury in
Gaul, whose native surnames are sometimes shared: thus both Mars Visucius and
Mercury Visucius were invoked on dedications.
The Evidence of Iconography
The imagery of Celtic religion in the Roman period is rich
and varied. If it is accompanied by a dedicatory inscription, a sculpture or
figurine may be positively identified; if not, the symbols accompanying the
image must be used to attempt some classification in terms of character or
function. A depiction may be associated with an inscribed name on only one or
two stones, although the image itself may appear many times. In
these instances, scholars have tended to use the inscribed
name to identify similar images where the dedication is absent. Such is the
case with Epona, the horse-goddess, whose image (a woman riding side-saddle on
a horse or sitting between two or more horses) is far more common than are
epigraphic dedications bearing her name.
Likewise, the inscribed name 'Cernunnos' accompanies a
depiction of an antlered, torque-bearing god on an early first-century AD stone
in Paris. But there are many images of a similarly antlered being from
Romano-Celtic Gaul which bear no name. Are we justified in assuming these
portrayals also represent Cernunnos? The name itself merely means 'Horned One',
and so it is less a true god-name than a descriptive title. The names Sucellus
and Nantosuelta occur at Sarrebourg near Metz, on a carving of a male and
female, the most distinctive accompanying symbol being the longshafted hammer
borne by Sucellus. But many other images of a similar divine couple were the
focus of veneration in Gaul and the Rhineland, without the identifying names,
although Sucellus is mentioned on one or two scattered dedications in Britain
and Gaul.
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The symbols or motifs which accompany images of Celtic deities
give some clues as to their function or identity, although our interpretation
of these symbols may be open to misconception. The celestial god frequently
carries a solar wheel as his main attribute. The fact that this wheel-god is
sometimes invoked under the name of Jupiter, the Roman sky-god, makes the
native divinity's identification secure. The Celtic god of the sky and sun was
sometimes invoked as a divine horseman, the horse symbolizing the prestige and
swiftness appropriate to the high god of sun and firmament. Although this
equestrian deity is entirely indigenous to the Celtic world, in terms of image
and meaning, he is nevertheless venerated under the Roman name, Jupiter. The
triple mother-goddesses may be represented by name, but their imagery alone
betrays their responsibilities as promoters of fertility. Thus they may be
portrayed with babies, children, fruit, corn or loaves. The Burgundian Mothers
are often represented one with an infant at the breast, a second with a napkin,
and the third with a bath-sponge and basin, and a cornucopia is frequently
present in emphasis of the symbolism of abundance. Occasionally, this simple
fertility imagery is subtly changed, so that the symbols of fecund plenty are
accompanied or partially replaced by motifs of the Fates, such as a balance or
spindle, reflective of the thread of life. In these images, the rolled napkin
may instead be interpreted as a scroll, the Book of Life.
The Celto-Germanic mother-goddesses are distinctive in their
imagery: they never reflect human fertility, but instead their attributes are
those of fruit, bread or coins, symbolic of prosperity and commercial success.
Moreover, these Rhineland goddesses may represent different ages of womanhood:
the central goddess is always depicted as a young girl with flowing hair,
whilst her flanking companions are older and wear huge beehive-shaped bonnets
or headdresses. The triplistic character of many mother-goddess images
expresses the power of 'three' in Celtic religion, a significance which transcends
mere intensity of expression by means of repetition.
Triplism is an important characteristic of Celtic religious
iconography, and triadism may be observed in imagery other than that of the
Mothers. The Genii Cucullati were hooded dwarves associated with fertility, and
indeed with the Mothers themselves, and they usually occur in threes. Gods with
triple heads were depicted especially among the Remi, the Aedui and Lingones;
and a triple-horned bull was venerated particularly in north-east Gaul.
The symbolism of the healer-deities is varied and
interesting. The Celtic Mars, at such therapeutic shrines as Mavilly (Cote
d'Or) and Trier, is not a warrior in the true, Roman, sense, but instead he
fights and protects against ill-health and barrenness. Sometimes, his image is
that of a soldier, as at Mavilly. Frequently, the motifs of healing and
fertility are blurred and merged. Thus curative goddesses such as Sirona and
Damona are represented with ears of corn, eggs and snakes: the corn is a symbol
of plenty; eggs have strong fertility associations, but may also represent
death and regeneration (since the egg must be broken in order to release new
life). Because of their habit of skin-sloughing, serpents were clear symbols of
rebirth. Many curative deities were partners, such as Apollo and Sirona: in
their imagery, it is often the goddess who possesses the symbolism evocative of
function.
But many healer-goddesses themselves carry no emblems which
in themselves are indicative of their curative function: Sequana, the divine
healer of the Seine at its spring-source near Dijon, is depicted as a woman in
a long robe and a diadem, sailing in a duck-prowed boat to reflect her aquatic
symbolism. But it is the presence of dedications and votive offerings that identify
Sequana as a healer.
Perhaps the most powerful group of images is that associated
with animals. The close relationship between god and beast is clearly reflected
in iconography which displays the ubiquity and cult importance of animal
symbolism. Some creatures accompanied anthropomorphic images, presumably to
demonstrate a particular quality or feature associated with the god's
character, just as occurs in classical imagery. But there are indications that
animals in Celtic religion achieved a status denied them in the Mediterranean
world. Some divinities - and Epona is a prime example - are dependent upon
animals for their iconographic and epigraphic identity.
Thus, Epona is always depicted riding on a mare or
accompanied by horses. Moreover, her name is philologically linked with epos, a
Gaulish word for 'horse'. She was the goddess of the craft of horse-breeding,
and she was revered by cavalrymen as a divine protectress of them and their
animals. But she also possessed wider responsibilities as a deity of fertility
and general well-being. There was even an underworld dimension to her cult. Other, less widely known goddesses enjoyed a similar
affinity with beasts: Arduinna, the boar-deity of the Ardennes Forest is one;
Artio, bear-goddess of Muri in Switzerland, is another.
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Artio |
It is difficult to establish whether or not the animals
themselves possessed divine status; the likelihood is that they were sacred
only inasmuch as they symbolized certain features of a particular cult. But
there is debate over the status of certain creatures which appear in the
iconography: monstrous animals, like the ram-horned serpent and the
triple-horned bull, may well have been worshipped as beings of tremendous
power, because of their hybrid or unnatural imagery. The triple-horned bull is
not associated with any particular anthropomorphic god, but the snake
frequently accompanies the antlered god, and is also sometimes linked with
Celtic versions of Mars and Mercury. Both images occur mainly in north-east
Gaul, although outliers occur as far west as Britain. Both these creatures are
endowed with extra features in order to increase their potency: horns are
symbols of power and fertility. Possibly linked with the triple-horned bull in
some manner is Tarvostrigaranus, the 'Bull with Three Cranes', who is named and
depicted on a first century AD stone from Paris.
The sanctity of animals is seen at its least equivocal in
the iconography of deities whose images, although essentially anthropomorphic,
nevertheless incorporate animal features. Of these, the most important are the
horned or antlered gods. Images with bull- or goat-horns appear all over the
Romano-Celtic world. A particular group occurs in North Britain, among the
Brigantes, where local deities were depicted as naked warriors, often
ithyphallic, with bull-horns. A god invoked especially in north-east Gaul is
portrayed with antlers, and other recurrent features may also be discerned on
these images: these include a cross-legged seating position; the possession of
two torques (one worn, one carried); accompaniment by a ram-horned snake and/or
stag; the possession of attributes of plenty, such as money, corn or fruit. As
discussed above, a god with torques and antlers was invoked as Cernunnos on a
Parisian monument, but all other images of an antlered god are without
dedications. This image is particularly interesting because, unlike most
Romano-Celtic iconography, there are examples which pre-date the Roman period:
one of the iron age rock carvings at Val Camonica in north Italy, dating to the
fourth century Be, depicts a standing figure with antlers, torques and a horned
serpent; and the same god appears on the Gundestrup Cauldron, as we have seen.
The presence of semi-zoomorphic images serves to emphasize the lack of rigid boundaries
between animal and human which is central to early Celtic religious
perceptions. Beasts were revered for their specific qualities (speed, virility,
aggression or beauty) and these qualities were woven into the Celtic expression
of the supernatural.
The Gods of the earliest written myths
Here, I would like to draw attention to the deities
themselves who are presented in this early Celtic literature. As mentioned at
the beginning of this chapter, it is important to recognize the impossibility
of making direct links between the gods of these western myths and those
expressed by the images and inscriptions which are the main concern of this
survey. There is a wide spatial and temporal chasm between the evidence for
Romano-Celtic religion and the Insular divinities to whom we are introduced in
- say - the Irish Book of Invasions.
The early Welsh and Irish deities have names and characters,
but no idea of cult or ritual associated with them is present in the documents.
They are supernatural heroes rather than true objects of belief. It is within
the Irish vernacular tradition that the pagan gods are most clearly developed.
The most important are those described in the Book of Invasions, the members of
the Tuatha De Danann, the divine race of Ireland, the 'people of the goddess
Danu'. The Tuatha De consist of deities with specific functions and
responsibilities: these include the Daghdha, who was a specialist in druid lore
and magic; Dian Cecht, the physician; Goibhniu, the divine blacksmith; Lugh,
the warrior and god of light, who was also skilled in arts and crafts; Brigid,
a triple goddess of poetry, prophecy and fertility. The Book of Invasions
recounts a series of mythical occupations of Ireland (in order to explain the
presence of the Gaels or Celts). The Tuatha De were one invading group, who
inhabited the island until dispossessed by the Gaels and forced to create a new
magical domain underground. This Otherworld was perceived as a mirror-image of
earthly life, but better, a land of immortality, joy and plenty.
The Ulster Cycle, too, had its supernatural beings, though
they are portrayed as heroes rather than gods sensu stricto. Chief of the
Ulster tales is the Tain Bo Cuailnge, and here we are introduced to such
characters as Cu Chulainn, the archetypal champion, and the warlike and
promiscuous Medb, queen of Connacht, an euhemerized goddess. These beings are
essentially similar to the heroic characters of the Four Branches of the
Mabinogi and the Tale of Culhwch and Olwen. The Insular and Welsh mythological
traditions contain many common elements: supernatural events; magical cauldrons
of regeneration and plenty; beings of superhuman size, strength and wisdom; a
brilliantly portrayed Otherworld; the potency of triads; supernatural animals,
and the related phenomenon of shapechanging between human and animal form.
A Celtic pantheon?
Leaving aside the separate and contentious issue of the
vernacular mythology touched on above, we may legitimately pose the question as
to whether it is possible to discern a hierarchy of Celtic divinities from the
bewildering array of epigraphic dedications and iconographical forms of pagan
Celtic Europe with which we are presented.
 |
Jupiter column |
Judging from frequency of occurrences and from distribution,
it is possible to make some assessment of the popularity of various god-types.
At the top are deities whose names and images appear widely and often
throughout the Celtic world. These include the sky- and sun-god, although
certain aspects of his cult, such as his depiction as a celestial horseman on
the 'Jupiter columns' of eastern Gaul and the Rhineland, may cluster in
specific regions. The mother goddesses and Epona likewise transcend tribal
boundaries and appear to have been venerated by many different communities. The
cults associated with these deities not only spanned wide areas but their
worship percolated down from the highest to the humblest echelons of society.
For example, some of the Rhineland mother-goddesses were invoked by
high-ranking officials in the Roman army or civil magistrates, whilst some
Gaulish and British carvings of the goddesses were clearly commissioned by
groups of rural people or by a single family for veneration in private shrines.
Likewise, the 'Jupiter-Giant columns' set up in honour of the Celtic sky-god were
the result of corporate religious activity, but the small pipe-clay figurines
of the same god from Gaulish factories would have been purchased by individuals
who perhaps could not afford an altar or a bronze statuette.
Less universal than the major, pan-tribal cults were those
which had specific centres of popularity but which also occur sporadically
elsewhere. The healers Apollo and Sirona had an important temple at Hochscheid
in the Moselle Basin and were venerated particularly among the Treveri and the
neighbouring Mediomatrici.
But the couple appears also in Burgundy, at Maiain, and
Sirona was worshipped as far apart as Brittany and Hungary . Another important
divine couple, Mercury and Rosmerta, were prominent especially in central and
eastern Gaul, but with a cluster of British monuments among the Dobunni of
Gloucestershire. Images of the antlered god occur mainly in eastern Gaul,
appearing, for instance, among the Burgundian tribes at such places as Beaune
and Etang-sur-Arroux and among the Remi at Reims. But the Santones of Saintes
in Aquitaine in western Gaul also venerated the antlered god and his image is
even known among the Dobunni of western Britain, at Cirencester.
Certain Celtic divinities were the focus of cults which were
of major importance but their veneration was centred upon a particular
religious site of which the deity was the resident spirit. Examples such as de
Sequana at Fontes Sequanae; Nodens at Lydney on the river Severn and Sulis at
Bath. Lenus Mars was a Treveran god, with major sanctuaries at Trier itself, at
Mohn and Pommern. But he was worshipped far away from his homeland, at Caerwent
in Gwent and at Chedworth in Gloucestershire.
More localized still were the numerous obscure deities who
are perhaps mentioned on only one or two dedications and who were apparently
venerated solely by the inhabitants of one small settlement, or at the site of
a particular spring or mountain. Such was Souconna, the spirit of the river
Saone at Chalon or Fagus ('Beech Tree') in the Pyrenees.
Conclusion.
One of the dangers of a survey such as this is the unwitting
presentation of a picture which can assume a timeless continuum, spanning
nearly a millennium. This is not the intention, but in part is the inevitable
result of studying a period which is essentially prehistoric, where chronology
is often imprecise, especially where iconography is concerned. Clearly, it is
possible to make distinctions between religious behavior before and after the
coming of Roman traditions to Celtic lands. It is possible to observe that
imagery increased towards the end of the Iron Age, when Greco-Roman concepts
and customs were already intruding upon the Celtic world. Imagery and epigraphy
which come from well-excavated sites offer an opportunity for close dating. But
all too often, good archaeological contexts are absent for iconography, and
dating by style alone is neither easy nor reliable. It is important, however,
to acknowledge pagan Celtic religion as a dynamic force, which was constantly
changing and responding to the stimuli of new concepts and ideas, whilst still
retaining a core of conservatism. It is indeed the tension between tradition
and innovation which gives Celtic religion its essential character of diversity
and enigma.
(The Celtic World, 1995 Miranda Green)
