Gauls

Modern day France, Galatia became the interest and political battleground during the First Triumvirate. A lot of what we know was the Roman perception of the Gauls comes from work during this period particularly from Julius Caesar or shortly after during the Principate.

Animals
Caesar says that the Gauls do not eat hare, hen, or goose but keep them as pets.

He also describes the Eurasian elk and aurochs, whose horn was made into drinking vessels.

Pliny speaks of a windegg, made by the spittle of a bundle of hissing snakes, which must not be allowed to touch earth, and can be tested because it flows against the current.

Customs/ Religion
The Senones were a Celtic tribe who settled in Northern Italy near the sea, and were the most famous of the tribes. They lived in villages without walls, did not have extra furniture, and slept in litters and ate meat while doing “nothing other than make war and work the land”, and “no other knowledge or skill was known to them at all”. Property consisted of animals and gold since those things could be carried about easily. Friendship was the greatest important thing, and the man who had the most attendants and companions was considered the most feared.

In the temples and areas sacred to the gods amongst the upper Celts, large amounts of gold are placed as dedications to the gods but none of the inhabitants steal it “despite the fact that the Celts are excessively greedy…”

The “view of Pythagoras” is popular among the Gauls, that is to say that they believe that the soul is immortal and that it enters into a new body after death. Some will throw letters onto funeral pyres of dead relatives due to the belief that the dead individual will read it.

They utilize two-horse chariots with a driver and a fighter in journeys and battle, and hurl javelins before leaping off their chariots to engage in combat with swords. Some Gauls think so little of death that they go into battle naked except for a loincloth. Attendants such as charioteers and shield-bearers are selected from the free poor, and they are accustomed to challenging the bravest of their enemies to single combat while those behind them are in battle order. The Gaul then proceeds to sing praises of his ancestors and belittles his opponent. They cut off the heads of their fallen enemies, tie them around the necks of their horses, and keep them as trophies. The swords of the Gauls are no smaller than the javelins of other peoples, and the heads of their javelins are larger than other peoples’ swords. They have even gone as far as forging their javelin-tips into twisted spirals so as to cause more damage when the spear is removed.

The Druids are the center of Gallic religion, and are sought for prophecy and foretell the future through examination of the flight of birds or sacrificing holy animals. The druids also practice human sacrifice. The druids are so skilled in language and are so trusted by their friends and enemies that they have been known to diffuse battles, even when the battle lines have been drawn up.

They are extraordinarily impious in their sacrifices and sacrifice criminals by impaling them as offerings to the gods. The women of these people are beautiful but ignored, as sex between men seems to be far more preferred. It is considered shameful if a sexual favor is offered and not accepted.

The Belgians who dwell in the part of Gaul nearest to the Germans just across the Rhine are constantly engaged in battle with their neighbors (the Germans).

In Gaul there are not only factions in each state but even in every single home. Those thought to be of the soundest judgement and thought by others to have the highest authority are considered the leaders of these factions. There are two classes of men in Gaul who can be considered to be held in esteem and honor, and then the plebs. The Plebs are almost the equivalent of slaves, and are so weighed down by debt or tribute or oppressed wrongly generally declare themselves slaves to the nobility. The two classes of distinction are the druids and the knights. The druids are religious figures who train for nearly 20 years, and decide public and private disputes. It is thought that druidism began in Briton and was imported to Gaul, and supposedly those wishing to study more seriously as druids go to Briton to study. The Druids do not pay into the war fund and are exempt from military service. Their practices and teachings are committed to memory and forbidden to be written down. The knights busy themselves with warfare. In terms of religious observance, the entire nation of Gaul is quite dedicated and human sacrifice is a norm. It is believed that it is not possible to appease the immortal gods without giving a human life for a human life. Of all the gods, they revere Mercury the most. After Mercury comes Apollo, Mars, Jove, and Minerva, whom they consider in the same ways that other peoples do. All Gauls believe themselves to be descended from Dis, and they determine all periods of time by night rather than day. Dowries are brought by both women and men in equal amounts, and then added to during the time which they are married. When one of the spouses dies, the other receives the entire amount. Funerals consist of pyres in which everything a man held dear in life is burned with him, including his animals. All news is reported to magistrates, who determine what ought to and ought not to be made public. Germans differ significantly from the Gauls since they possess no druids, and consider as gods only the elements which they can observe and which help them directly such as the Sun, Vulcan, and the Moon. They devote their whole lives to hunting and military activities. Sexual purity among the Germans is revered, and to know a woman before one turns twenty is considered “disgraceful”.

“The people are arrogant, superstitious, and at times so inhuman that they once believed the victim best and most pleasing to the gods was man.” The teachings of their religion are taught in secret and not written down.

Food
The Celts that took over the Etruscan plains ate meat but also had an agrarian society as they did nothing but go to war and work the land.

Discussion of the customs surrounding the communal consumption of food in Galatia. Food and wine gets entangled in their long moustaches. They eat whilst sitting on the floor on wolf or dog skins. The youngest boys and girls who have reached maturity are the servers. Pots and spits are full of meat. Xenia element of their culture. They invite everybody even strangers to feasts. They only ask who they are and what they want after they have been fed. Meals are used as the time to start verbal arguments and get challenges to single combat. Focus on warlike activities at all times.

Geography
Polybius says that geographical proximity of the Celts and Etruscans, and Celtic envy of the Etruscan land drew Celtic migration.

Diodorus Siculus claims that the land of Gaul is lacking in silver, but possesses much gold which is provided without the necessity of mining. Rather, it can be found in clods of earth filled with gold dust which can be gathered from the rivers with little work.

Caesar claims that the whole of Gaul ought to be considered in three parts: the first which is inhabited by the Belgians, the second by the Aquitani, and the third by the Celts, whom the Romans referred to as Gauls. The Gauls and the Aquitani were separated by the Garumna (Garonne) river, and the Matrona (Marne) and Sequana (Seine) rivers separated the Aquitani from the Belgians

Pliny claims that special herbs can be found in parts of Gaul which are harvested by the druids, particularly selago and samolus which are used for eye treatments and livestock illnesses respectively.

Integration into the Roman Empire
Gauls are as much Romans as the Romans as the Romans are also of mixed blood particularly in the Patrician class. To not invite them into the Senate would go against Roman practice to bring people in who were once not Romans so as to keep the strong and unified.

Physical Description/ Clothing
Gauls described as hair and clothes that are golden, cloaks are wicker-woven, and the mention of the torc. They hold two Alpine javelins per hand and have long shields.

Polybius tells us of Celtic tribes who settled in Northern Italy. According to him they are very ancient and the are called the Veneti. All that is said about them is that they dress differently from the Celts. However, no description of their clothes is given.

According to Diodorus Siculus, the Gauls gather earth that holds gold and place it in a kiln. After melting and shaping the gold, they make bracelets and torcs from the material. They also make gold corselets and rings. Diodorus also describes the physical characteristics of the Gauls. They are, “Tall and white, with flowing muscles. Their hair is not only blonde by nature, but they also seek to augment artificially this natural color. They are always washing their hair with chalk dissolved in water”.

The way they style their hair is also compared to animals/creatures such as the satyr and pans- it was common for authors to compare foreigners to animals. The most interesting description is that of their facial hair. “Some shave their beards and others let them grow a bit. The nobles shave their cheeks but let their mustaches grow so unrestrained that the cover their mouths". Their clothes are clearly different from those of the Romans as Diodorus describes them as being a large variety of colors. They also have what would seem to be an ancient plaid pattern which they wore. Additionally, the women are also as equal to the men in height as well as courage. Their children’s hair, we are also told, is grey upon birth and grows to match the color of their father later in life.

Language
The Veneti are an ancient people that differs from the Celts in their way of life and language.

The voices of the Gauls “are deep and quite rough. When they meet, they speak little and then in riddles and obscure metaphors. They say many things hyperbolically, boasting and threatening in dramatic style, in order to elevate themselves and diminish others.”

Gaul is divided into three ethnic groups: Belgians, Aquitani, and Celts. “All of these people differ from one another in language, institutions, and laws." The druids “learn by memory a great many verses. Thus not a few men remain at their studies for twenty years even. Nor do they think it right that these things be put into writing. When [they must write] in other business, both public and private, they usually use Greek letters. They seem to have instituted this for two reasons: because they do no wish that the teachings be brought amongst the rabble nor do they wish those who learn to be less eager to memorize, relying on writings, because it almost always happens that with the assistance of letters they loosen their diligence in learning and in memory."

Location
Galatia is in a triangle containing Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. Alongside countries such as Germany, Italy and Spain are characterised as freedom-loving, fond of weapons, hard-working and warlike. They are courageous, clean and leaders. Due to location, Gauls are seen more for their abilities in leadership and are co-operative.