About Celtic Women
Celts were groups of people that lived in parts of Western and Central Europe, in countries such as France, Ireland and Germany, in the first century B.C. Their influence spread throughout Europe, to parts of Spain and areas near the Black Sea, and they were able to take over parts that were under Roman rule until Julius Caesar and the Romans were able to take back control in the first century A.D. The Celtic people had a strong oral tradition and, because of this, they did not have a written form of language. Many Celtics lived in tribes, which were ruled by kings, and worked on farms.
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Significance
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In early Celtic societies, women held higher positions than they did later, when the communities became more patriarchal in nature. Women served in the army and occupied leadership positions. Celtic woman played important decision-making roles in different parts of public life, including in politics and religion. They could be lawyers, doctors, poets and landowners. They also sometimes occupied more traditional roles, as wives and mothers, but they had more freedom to choose their partners and to divorce than women living in the same time period.
Military
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Females often played major roles in the military in Celtic communities. One role that they had was leading soldiers into battle. They would also teach young boys how to fight because they were considered some of the top warriors, who were able to undergo the difficult task of training others. Female warriors in Celtic societies were known as ban-gaisgedaig and ban-fejnndh. These women were taught early in their lives how to fight, and they were grouped according to their ages and experience.
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Public Life
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In public life, women also had more freedom than others, such as Roman females, and they could be involved in business transactions. Although Celtic society was patriarchal even in the beginning, women did not need their husbands' permission to make deals with others. This was a contrast to Roman societies, where women were considered the property of their husbands. In fact, Celtic women served as diplomats, ambassadors and mediators. During political and military disputes, they were called upon to be judges, but they would also play similar roles in tribal politics.
Marriage
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In marriages, women brought dowries that were equal to the amounts that their husbands brought to the relationships, and they could retain their estates and money if their partners died. This meant that either the husband or the wife could seek divorce, and women had the freedom to be involved in legal cases. If a woman sought divorce, she would be able to retain the assets that she had brought to the marriage. Women could also own property during marriage, outside of what they shared with their husbands. Celtic societies were polygamous and in some parts of Scotland, Celtic women were allowed to have multiple husbands.
Goddesses
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In Celtic societies, female deities were considered almost as important as female warriors. Some of the goddesses, in fact, were warrior goddesses. A number of these deities were similar to those that were worshipped by Greeks and Romans, but they were set apart by the fact that they were seen as having dual natures, as being beautiful and hag-like at different times. These goddesses were often honored for their life-giving abilities as well as other qualities, such as their sovereignty and fertility. Goddesses often came in three, as evidenced by the fact that there were three goddesses of sovereignty, Eriu, Banba and Fatla.
Literature
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Celtic women were described frequently in classical literature, in sometimes exaggerated terms. They were depicted as being either more or as powerful as men and as being formidable in appearance. Diodurus of Sicily was one author who discussed Celtic women, talking about how they were almost as tall as Celtic men and were extremely courageous. Ammianus Marcellinus talked about how one Celtic man's wife was stronger than he was, and she could deliver hits and kicks that were formidable.
Notable Women
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There were a number of notable females in Celtic societies, who served as queens and military leaders. One of the most prominent teachers was named Scathach, a female warrior who ran one of the training schools in Scotland. One of the best male warriors in Irish legend, Cúchulainn, was taught by this woman, and legend said that he could fight entire armies alone. Scathach's military rival, Aife, was considered one of the greatest female warriors in Celtic history. One famous woman who was a member of the ruling class was Boudicca, a female who led one of the last revolts against the Romans. When her husband died, she became the ruler of one of the tribes in Southeastern Britain. The Romans viewed female leaders as being weak, and they tried to disgrace her by raiding her property, flogging her and raping her daughters. Boudicca led a revolt against the Romans, uniting her people but dying in the process. One of the best known female rulers was Medb, a queen who was considered more powerful than her husband. She is remembered as the leader of the Cattle Raid of Cooley, where she tried to steal a Roman bull that was of equal value to her husband's most prized beast. Although she was not successful, she is remembered as being an example of the formidableness of Celtic women.
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