An illustrated survey of the Celtic Gauls discussing their religion and rites of life and death, war and peace. Written by an Iron Age specialist and practising archaeologist who has devoted research to the Celts and their religious practices, it aims to bring alive these people whose greatest honour was to die in battle and who also produced some of the finest works of art in European history.
More than two millennia after the Roman conquest that marked the beginning of the fading away of the Gaulish tongue and culture, traces of the world of the Gauls still pervade their land. The Gauls obstinately refused to put their worldview into writing, but they nonetheless left a foundation, buried into the soil in the form of artifacts or written in the manuscripts of their neighbors. The artworks of the Gauls, in particular, represent an invaluable source concerning the way the early Celts viewed the creation: more than mere folklore, it is also a philosophy that can be seen behind the images that they carved on rocks, stamped on coins, or cast in bronze. The world of the Gauls is gone, but its foundations remain, and they can become the basis for the edification of something new, a philosophy that will not be a reconstruction of the philosophy of the ancient Celts, but rather only one that shares roots with it. The present work examines these foundations and uses them as the starting point of a modern Celtic philosophy. The backbone of the old foundation is the tripartition of the creation into three realms: the first is the Dubnos, which is the Dark and the Deep, the earth, the waters, and the shadows of the night. The "middle realm" is Bitu, Life and Being, which is characterized by the color of blood: the one of the dawn and the dusk. Finally, the last one is the Albios, which is the Bright, the light of the skies that illuminates the day, and all that cannot be touched with the hands, that is, the metaphysical world. The three realms of nature, to which the Gauls associated different gods, are themselves constantly at war with one another, as reflected in their central myth, and it is through this harmonious strife that the creation can flourish and that man can accomplish his destiny. This book represents an encounter between the traces of the essence of the Gaulish world and the works of ancient and modern philosophers such as Heraclitus and Heidegger, an encounter that offers a new vision of the world in which man lives. About the author: Antón Bousquet is an independent researcher specialized in the philosophy of language, the philosophy of religion, and comparative cultural studies. He holds a Master's degree in Linguistics from the University of Grenoble III in France and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Intercultural Studies from Fujen Catholic University in Taiwan. A former teacher of French as a foreign language, he has worked in different parts of Europe, the Middle-East, and Asia.
In this guide Barry Cunliffe sheds light on the Celtic race using a range of evidence and explores subjects such as trade migration and the evolution of Celtic traditions.
Terry Jones' Barbarians takes a completely fresh approach to Roman history. Not only does it offer us the chance to see the Romans from a non-Roman perspective, it also reveals that most of those written off by the Romans as uncivilized, savage and barbaric were in fact organized, motivated and intelligent groups of people, with no intentions of overthrowing Rome and plundering its Empire. This original and fascinating study does away with the propaganda and opens our eyes to who really established the civilized world. Delving deep into history, Terry Jones and Alan Ereira uncover the impressive cultural and technological achievements of the Celts, Goths, Persians and Vandals. In this paperback edition, Terry and Alan travel through 700 years of history on three continents, bringing wit, irreverence, passion and scholarship to transform our view of the legacy of the Roman Empire and the creation of the modern world.
The Romans lived in fear and dread of their Gaulish neighbours in the middle and late Republic (fourth to first centuries BC). J. H. C. Williams here examines the perception they formed, and the stories they told, about the Gauls of northern Italy. Why did the Romans hate the Gauls so much, and how did they deal with them? Who were the Gauls - Celts, as many believe? The author tackles these and many other questions in a study of interest to students of cultural interaction and imperialism of all periods.
This book combines Men-at-Arms 129- 'Rome's Enemies 1- Germanics and Dacians', Men-at-Arms 158- 'Rome's Enemies 2- Gallic & British Celts' and Men-at-Arms 180- 'Rome's Enemies 4- Spanish Armies 218-19BC'. As Rome's borders increased, a multifarious clash of cultures ensued. Conflict was inevitable; to the victor, new territory and dominion; to the vanquished, humility and subjugation. The Celts, Celtiberians, Gauls, Teutones, Cimbri, and many others all fought without mercy to protect their people, territories and cultures from the Roman onslaught.
“A great book that summarizes pieces of Roman military history that are often not mentioned or difficult to find sources for . . . an entertaining read.”—War History Online As Rome grew from a small city state to the mightiest empire of the west, her dominion was contested not only by the civilizations of the Mediterranean, but also by the “barbarians”—the tribal peoples of Europe. The Celtic, the Spanish-Iberian and the Germanic tribes lacked the pomp and grandeur of Rome, but they were fiercely proud of their freedom and gave birth to some of Rome’s greatest adversaries. Romans and barbarians, iron legions and wild tribesmen clashed in dramatic battles on whose fate hinged the existence of entire peoples and, at times, the future of Rome. Far from reducing the legions and tribes to names and numbers, The Roman Barbarian Wars: The Era of Roman Conquest reveals how they fought and how they lived and what their world was like. Through his exhaustive research and lively text, Ludwig H. Dyck immerses the reader into the epic world of the Roman barbarian wars. “I was reminded, as I picked up this superb book, of that magnificent scene from Gladiator when they unleashed hell on the Barbarian hordes at the beginning of the film. Dyck has produced a book that celebrates the brilliance of the Roman commanders and of Rome itself from its foundation to its eventual demise.”—Books Monthly “Dyck’s details of ancient battles and the people involved provide as much sword-slashing excitement as any fictional account.”—Kirkus Reviews “His vivid prose makes for a gripping read.”—Military Heritage
*Includes pictures *Includes ancient accounts *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading "Caesar, having stationed his army on both sides of the fortifications, in order that, if occasion should arise, each should hold and know his own post, orders the cavalry to issue forth from the camp and commence action. There was a commanding view from the entire camp, which occupied a ridge of hills; and the minds of all the soldiers anxiously awaited the issue of the battle. The Gauls had scattered archers and light-armed infantry here and there, among their cavalry, to give relief to their retreating troops, and sustain the impetuosity of our cavalry." - Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico The Roman Republic's development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the "Celtic Threat." The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BCE became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy. The result was the gradual acquisition of buffer zones that became provinces of an empire that grew without any particular thought out or deliberate strategy of expansion. The Gallic Wars, the series of campaigns waged by Julius Caesar on behalf of the Roman Senate between 58-50 BCE, were among the defining conflicts of the Roman era. Not only was the expansion of the Republic's domains unprecedented (especially when considering it was undertaken under the auspices of a single general), it had a profound cultural impact on Rome itself as well. The Roman Republic, so dynamic in the wake of the destruction of their ancient enemy, Carthage, had recently suffered a series of dramatic upheavals; from the great slave rebellion of Spartacus to the brutal and bloody struggle for power of Marius and Sulla. Rome had been shaken to its very core, and a victory was essential both to replenish the dwindling national coffers and to instill in the people a sense of civic pride and a certainty in the supremacy of the Republic. Quite simply, in terms of scale, the Gallic Wars were unmatched by anything the Roman Republic had witnessed since the Punic Wars. By the end of the campaigns, ancient historians estimated that more than a million people had died, and still more were displaced or enslaved. Even by the more conservative estimates of modern historians, a casualty count in the hundreds of thousands appears possible. Either way, the war was a cataclysm, involving tens of thousands of combatants, and it also marked the greatest displays of skill by one of the greatest battlefield generals history has ever known. Caesar's successful campaigns in Gaul have become the stuff of military legend on their merits, but it helped that he had the foresight to document them himself. Caesar himself wrote a famous firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, apparently from notes he had kept during the campaigns, and he wrote Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) in the third person. Caesar's account described the campaigning and the battles, all as part of a propaganda campaign to win the approval of the Roman people. As a result, he left out inconvenient facts, including how much of a fortune he made plundering, but the work still remains popular today, and it is still used to teach Latin. Ancient Gaul: The History and Legacy of the Gauls and the Region in Antiquity looks at the most famous events involving Gaul and the ancient world, from the Gauls' sack of Rome to Caesar's famous conquest. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Gaul like never before.
