Life in Celtic Ireland

Life in Celtic Ireland

1. ° Roles °

   • The Royal Family
     • Each kingdom was ruled by a Rí. Rí' successor was called Tánaiste usually elected during Rí's lifetime. Rí's and Fánaiste were both selected from the Royal Family or derbhginr
       • Women
         • Women (Unless Slaves) appeared to be respected in Celtic Ireland. According to Breton Laws they could own property and had equal rights to males in family matters
   • The Nobles
     • Consisted of Warriors and Aos Dána
       • Warriors : •had to fight for the tribe •Weapons : 》Iron Swords 》Spears 》Axes •Often naked in battles but covered in paint and had a belt with brains or shrinked heads •Spend most time outside of fighting 》 Cattle Raiding 》 Hunting 》 Feasting
       • Aos Dána special skills included •Brehon or judges which understood the Brehon Law •Druids (Priests) •Filí (Poets) •Bards recited or sang poetry •Craftsmen such as carpenters or smiths
   • The Commoners
     • Below Nobles were commoners. They were farmers who rented lands form Nobles. Most farmers were quite poor
       • The Slaves
         • Slaves were often captured in raids on other tribes. They worked without payment and were at the lowest lever of Celtic Society

2. Iron Age

   • Iron age began around 1400BC when Iron was first discovered and Iron slowly began to replace bronze. Although it came to Ireland in 500BC
     • Gods
       • Lugh : God of War, festival Lughnasa named after him Bridgit: Fire Main Goddess Boan: River Goddess
     • Worship
       • They worshipped in woods and steams. Druids offered sacrifices to gods. They had many religious festivals or holidays like Samhain, Imbolc, Bealtaine and Lughnasa

3. Religion

   • Christianity came to Ireland in the 5th Century and Celts became Christian
     • Clothes
       • Women
         • Women wore ankle lenght tunics and in winter wore cloak called brats which were pinned with a gold/silver brooche
       • Poor
         • Poor men wore woolen trousers and women wore long plain tunics
       • The Celts cared about their looks. Clothes are made from linen and wool
         • Rich
           • The richer dyed their clothes with rare colours.The rarer colours were more expensive
   • 5th Century
     • During the 5th Century Celts became Christian and druids had lost their power. Although many Celtic traditions remained which the church adapted many of these customs

4. Story Telling

   • Story Telling was a Celtic Tradition and how children were educated Although in the 8th century monks began writhing stories down

5. La Téne

   • La Téne art was mostly made up of oriental swirls, spirals circles and carved patterns
   • Cattle
     • Back in the day the more cattle you had the more rich you were. Most rich people had hundreds of cattle and some even more than a thousand

6. Hallstatt

   • Salt mining was used to gain salt. Salt was used in preserving many objects like iron tools, weapons, jewberry, pottery, clothing, food etc. The earliest Celts were known as Hallstatt Celts

7. Tombs

   • Two types of tombs : 》Wedge tomb (Co.Clare) 》Cost grave (Co.Louth)

8. Death

   • The celts cremated their dead buried their ashes along with their personal belongings believing that they'd have them in their afterlife. This resulted into people breaking into graves and stealing the belongings later selling them for profit.
   • Organ Stones
     • Graves were marked by standing stones. They had a form of writhing called Organ, lines were carved into the edge which spelt a name. This was the earliest form of writhing in Ireland