The Celts
The Celt civilization was born around 1200 BC and flourished between the 5th century BC and the 1st century of our era. During those five centuries, the Celts were masters of a great part of ancient Europe that extended from Ireland to Turkey. The Germanic invasions combined with the increasing power of the Romans led by Julius Caesar constituted an empire that put an end to the greatness of the Celt civilization in Europe. Gaul was first to surrender, followed closely by the southern Islands of Britain. In Scotland however, the Picts resisted the Romans and their country remained free. In addition, the Romans were unable to conquer the Irish Celts and their culture was preserved for a long time. The Celts are the ancestors of the Scottish, the Irish and the British, some of whom immigrated to Canada in the 19th century, among other places, to Inverness in the Megantic County.
Their society
Unlike other cultures of that same era, democracy reigned amongst the Celts as both men and women had the right to express themselves freely. Their society was very egalitarian and all citizens were equally skilful in all spheres of activity, including commerce and politics. Women could participate in decision making regarding peace treaties and acts of war, could have their own possessions and enter a profession. A woman could even become a druid, a queen or a warrior. According to legend, there were many women warriors among some of the Celt tribes. The Celt society was divided into three social classes, namely the sacerdotal class, the warrior class and the working class.
The sacerdotal class was made up of druids who also included the bards (musicians, poets, memorialists) and ovates (seers and priests). Those individuals destined to become druids were chosen at a very young age since a minimum of twenty years of studies and training was required to fill the position. A candidate had to demonstrate a variety of aptitudes as the druid served as the bridge between the world of God and the world of Man. A druid also held the function of astrologist, mathematician, herbalist, oracle, bard, historian, judge, diplomat, architect and doctor. In short, he was the one who held the knowledge and wisdom, knew of science and history, and was a master magician. Druids of different tribes gathered in sacred sites to exchange and share information thus ensuring a certain unity amongst the various Celt tribes.
The warrior class was made up of kings or princes, of the warriors themselves and of blacksmiths who were considered master craftsmen and who were responsible for the production of weapons. Based on accounts, and even the stories told by their enemies, the Celts were fierce during battle, demonstrating great courage and a temerity surely enhanced by a feeling of indifference towards death. The status of king or prince was only rarely passed down from father to son and was most often granted through an election process within the warrior class. The king had to follow the druid’s recommendations and could be discharged of his functions if he was deemed to make the wrong decisions for his people.
The working class included the “free people”, mainly farmers, breeders, craftsmen and servants. The slaves were war captives or individuals paying for a crime.
The material culture and its techniques
The Celts were experts in working with wood, metals, textiles, glass and leather. They were also excellent farmers who knew well before the Romans did how to use fertilizers for soils in which they grew spelt, wheat, hemp, barley, millet, oat, flax, poppy, peas, lentils and carrots. They invented the metallic ploughshare, the scythe and the sickle. They bred cows, sheep, goats and pigs. The Celts were remarkable stone carvers and goldsmiths and Celtic art is now widely recognized for its originality and great quality.
Their homes were rectangular or circular in shape, and depending on their geographic situation, built out of wood or clay. The Celts had very good hygiene and were known to have made use of soap. During archaeological excavations, razors, scissors, combs and jewelry were also found. They appreciated life and valued good meals and celebrations. Hospitality was considered a sign of nobility and this same hospitality is still alive to this day in the Scottish Highlands.
Their vision of the world
The Celts were very close to nature and respected it in all its different forms. Trees such as oak, mistletoe, apple and linden were regarded as powerful masters of wisdom and knowledge, along with animals like the dragon, wild boar, deer, eagle, bear, dog, horse, bull, hare, snake, owl, rooster and swan. Their religion was in part animist as it attributed a soul to objects and animals and in part polytheist for they believed in the existence of a multitude of gods. In another dimension lived the elves, gnomes, fairies and other mythical creatures.
They knew nothing of purgatories or the concept of hell. Their place of worship was not in churches but rather in the forest. When came the time to part with this world, a Celt had to travel on or in water to reach the next world which wasn’t all that different than the one he was leaving with the exception that there, he would be worriless and happier. It is important to note that to a Celt, an oath was sacred and mother earth would severely punish one who broke his promise, something the Romans would use to their advantage.
Oral and written traditions
Celt culture was transmitted orally. The stories and events were not written but memorized. The bards preserved oral history along with people’s traditions and passed them on from one generation to the next. Druids however, paid special attention to a form of scripture named Ogham that held a ritualistic function. These scriptures were represented by perpendicular or oblique strokes carved on yew sticks that served during divination ceremonies. At the time of their expansion in Europe, the Celts wrote in both Greek and Roman for commercial purposes. Tattoos with connotations of power and magic as well as paintings depicting war events were used among the Celts. The last tribe to have used these art forms was the Pict tribe. The Celtic language was divided into two main branches from which various dialects descend.
The rise of Christianity did not entirely suffocate the Celtic culture. In fact, by the end of the Middle Ages Christian monks were responsible for having transcribed their myths and legends including the most renowned: King Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin and the round table. The Celtic culture is still well alive today in the spirits of many of its descendants and of admirers of this grand era.
Insert pictures or images with the commentary and reference
Reference to map: http://encycl-celt.ifrance.com/hist.html
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A heritage to discover
Well before the arrival of the first colonists, the Abenaki practiced hunting, trapping and fishing in the forests surrounding the Inverness region and along the Bécancour River. It is from their summer camp at Joseph Lake in 1829 that they witnessed the arrival of a group of eighty-five Scots from the Isle of Arran.
For a few generations, several nationalities and religious faiths lived side by side in the Inverness Township. The first colonists, between 1807 and 1824, were made up of soldiers and British and American immigrants. The second wave of immigration, between 1827 and 1832, was mainly composed of Scottish and Irish immigrants. Between approximately 1834 and 1850 however, the influx of British immigrants decreases considerably and the subsequent wave of new colonists is made up primarily of French Canadians.
Abenaki
Archibald McKillop
Craig road
The First Comers
The French Canadians
Gosford road
Inverness Township
Lysander falls
Inverness’s recent history
Rectory Hill
The English population
The Irish
The Scots
The village of Inverness
