The Religion of the Ancient CeltsMacCulloch, J. A. (John Arnott)
Religion
The Religion of the Ancient Celts
MacCulloch, J. A. (John Arnott)
Celts -- Religion; Mythology, Celtic
(2) The second theory, already anticipated, sees in Gauls and Belgæ a
tall, fair Celtic folk, speaking a Celtic language, and belonging to the
race which stretched from Ireland to Asia Minor, from North Germany to
the Po, and were masters of Teutonic tribes till they were driven by
them from the region between Elbe and Rhine.[15] Some Belgic tribes
claimed a Germanic ancestry,[16] but "German" was a word seldom used
with precision, and in this case may not mean Teutonic. The fair hair of
this people has made many suppose that they were akin to the Teutons.
But fairness is relative, and the dark Romans may have called brown hair
fair, while they occasionally distinguished between the "fair" Gauls and
fairer Germans. Their institutions and their religions (_pace_ Professor
Rh[^y]s) differed, and though they were so long in contact the names of
their gods and priests are unlike.[17] Their languages, again, though of
"Aryan" stock, differ more from each other than does Celtic from Italic,
pointing to a long period of Italo-Celtic unity, before Italiotes and
Celts separated, and Celts came in contact with Teutons.[18] The typical
German differs in mental and moral qualities from the typical Celt.
Contrast an east country Scot, descendant of Teutonic stock, with a West
Highlander, and the difference leaps to the eyes. Celts and Germans of
history differ, then, in relative fairness, character, religion, and
language.
The tall, blonde Teutonic type of the Row graves is dolichocephalic. Was
the Celtic type (assuming that Broca's "Celts" were not true Celts)
dolicho or brachy? Broca thinks the Belgæ or "Kymri" were
dolichocephalic, but all must agree with him that the skulls are too few
to generalise from. Celtic iron-age skulls in Britain are
dolichocephalic, perhaps a recrudescence of the aboriginal type. Broca's
"Kymric" skulls are mesocephalic; this he attributes to crossing with
the short round-heads. The evidence is too scanty for generalisation,
while the Walloons, perhaps descendants of the Belgæ, have a high index,
and some Gauls of classical art are broad-headed.[19]
Skulls of the British round barrows (early Celtic Bronze Age) are mainly
broad, the best specimens showing affinity to Neolithic brachycephalic
skulls from Grenelle (though their owners were 5 inches shorter),
Selaigneaux, and Borreby.[20] Dr. Beddoe thinks that the narrow-skulled
Belgæ on the whole reinforced the meso- or brachycephalic round barrow
folk in Britain. Dr. Thurnam identifies the latter with the Belgæ
(Broca's Kymri), and thinks that Gaulish skulls were round, with
beetling brows.[21] Professors Ripley and Sergi, disregarding their
difference in stature and higher cephalic index, identify them with the
short Alpine race (Broca's Celts). This is negatived by Mr. Keane.[22]
Might not both, however, have originally sprung from a common stock and
reached Europe at different times?[23]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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