The Role of Mythologhy in Celtic History

The Role of Mythologhy in Celtic History

The Celts were a people of ancient, Indo-European origin.   Until about 500 BC, most Celts lived in what is now southwest Germany.   They then began settling throughout western Europe, especially the British Isles.   Most of what I know about the Celtic civilization is based on the mythical characters and events of the British Isles, particularly those of Ireland.   During the Middle Ages, Irish monks preserved many ancient collections of Celtic myths and legends.

The myths and legends that I managed to ascertain and study have left me with a sense of male superiority.   Take the story The Saving of Tara for instance.   Fionn Mac Cumhal, a great warrior, saved the village of Tara from Aillen, son of Midhna, and as a reward for his noble actions, was given leadership of the Fianna by the High King.   The Fianna’s main function was to uphold order in Ireland in the form of, basically, a police force.   In order to become a member of the Fianna, several requirements had to have been met.   First of all, you must have been versed in the twelve books of poetry, and second and most important, you had to be a man.   If these two necessary requirements were met, a strenuous set of initiation test followed.

At the beginning of the initiation, the man stood in a pit dug knee deep.   To defend himself, he had only a shield and a hazel rod.   These were to be used to deflect spears thrown by nine other men.   All spears were cast simultaneously at the potential warrior.   If he failed to deflect these spears, he was rejected.   The next test consisted of a chase through the forest, hunted by armed men.   The candidate had to avoid being captured or harmed in any way.   "Indeed, if he had a lock of his braided hair loosened or if he had broken a branch on the forest floor in his hasty flight he was rejected" 1.   After all this, if his hands could not be seen to be shaking, if they were he was rejected.   On top of this the man had to crouch under a branch his own knee height, leap over a...