Gayness among the ancient Celts

[docus]

It seems the ancient Greeks weren't the only ones to have a reputation for being pretty tolerant of homosexuality. I've been skimming over a few history books about the Celts and it seems gayness was very accepted in their society. There's this book by Daniele Vitali that quotes a few sources by ancient Greek and Roman historians (among them Aristotle and Arminius) that the Celts thought it useful and admirable for men to bond with eachother so they would fight better in war. Most field bedding for use during campaigns was designed for 2 people (male soldiers, presumably). A quick look on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts#Gender_and_sexual_norms) confirms this.

I already knew women had a better social position than was normal in most European cultures of the time, but it surprises me how close their gender roles mirror our own. I'm pleasantly surprised of how humane Celtic society could be, considering how warlike they were.

[Satyr]

Well, they were considerably less cruel than the Romans. I think you can't really conclude that the Romans were the most civilized in everything. As you mentioned, the Celts were quite humane when it comes to social aspects.

(Rich) Romans however, were as decadent as you can imagine. Even though the gladiator-fights in the Colosseum did certainly not always end in death, they are still a barbaric and cruel form of entertainment. Maybe it's just my lack of knowledge, but the as far as I know, only the Romans had this kind of slaughtertainment. It didn't stop at fights though. Women raped by animals, for example.

In Celtic culture, the position of women was equal to that of men for most part. However, if I remember correctly, Tacitus did mention a few things about marriage and adultery. One being that, if a woman commits adultery, she has to be shaven till no hair on her body is left. She was then to be driven from her home and through the whole town by her husband, using a whip. All this under the watching eye of the whole village.

Men, however, were allowed to do so.

[negative_zero]

Women raped by animals, for example.

Source in video form?

[docus]

In Celtic culture, the position of women was equal to that of men for most part. However, if I remember correctly, Tacitus did mention a few things about marriage and adultery. One being that, if a woman commits adultery, she has to be shaven till no hair on her body is left. She was then to be driven from her home and through the whole town by her husband, using a whip. All this under the watching eye of the whole village.

Men, however, we're allowed to do so.

Interesting, I've never heard of this. Sounds alot like the
tarring and feathering that used to be done in Europe during the middle ages, and is still being done in fundamentalist islamic countries today.

[Yggdrasil]

It seems the ancient Greeks weren't the only ones to have a reputation for being pretty tolerant of homosexuality. I've been skimming over a few history books about the Celts and it seems gayness was very accepted in their society. There's this book by Daniele Vitali that quotes a few sources by ancient Greek and Roman historians (among them Aristotle and Arminius) that the Celts thought it useful and admirable for men to bond with eachother so they would fight better in war. Most field bedding for use during campaigns was designed for 2 people (male soldiers, presumably). A quick look on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celts#Gender_and_sexual_norms) confirms this.

I already knew women had a better social position than was normal in most European cultures of the time, but it surprises me how close their gender roles mirror our own. I'm pleasantly surprised of how humane Celtic society could be, considering how warlike they were.

I like Celtic culture, it seems to have been pretty noble. They had a strong sense of independence and were pretty militaristic, but their culture also had a strong affinity for metalworking, poetry and the like. And yeah, as far as we know, Celtic culture seems to have had pretty liberal gender and sexual roles.

Their culture did have some nefarious aspects to it, though. I'm pretty sure that druids practiced human sacrifice, and ancient Celts were infamous for their headhunting habits.

[Satyr]

Interesting, I've never heard of this. Sounds alot like the
tarring and feathering that used to be done in Europe during the middle ages, and is still being done in fundamentalist islamic countries today.

Damn, upon further inspection it seems I mixed it up a bit. The work of Tacitus I was referring to was 'De origine et situ Germanorum', and it's about the Germanic tribes, not the Celtic. And honestly, I don't know how 'comparable' the two are.

Sorry man. :p

[negative_zero]

please post evidence of women being raped by animals

[Vizier]

I like Celtic culture, it seems to have been pretty noble. They had a strong sense of independence and were pretty militaristic, but their culture also had a strong affinity for metalworking, poetry and the like. And yeah, as far as we know, Celtic culture seems to have had pretty liberal gender and sexual roles.

Their culture did have some nefarious aspects to it, though. I'm pretty sure that druids practiced human sacrifice, and ancient Celts were infamous for their headhunting habits.

Don't forget they went to war with pijamas :cool:
http://www.thecrazygang.btinternet.co.uk/pics/woadraider.gif

Seriously though, most people seem to believe the Celts were barbarians,whereas the civilized people of Rome were pretty much the corrupted, decadent society; much like today I guess except with cooler reality shows and sports. Don't forget pedophilia wasn't exactly punished either.

Their mysticism and mythology is also pretty interesting, although that would be a whole new topic.

[Yggdrasil]

Damn, upon further inspection it seems I mixed it up a bit. The work of Tacitus I was referring to was 'De origine et situ Germanorum', and it's about the Germanic tribes, not the Celtic. And honestly, I don't know how 'comparable' the two are.

Sorry man. :p

Speaking of that though, it seems that homosexuality was pretty prevalent in Pre-Christian European society. These might be interesting reads for anyone interested in the topic

http://www.seidh.org/articles/sex-status-seidh.html
http://www.connellodonovan.com/heruli.html
http://vesler.blogspot.com/2006/04/why-judaism-rejected-homos_114634268752564895.html

[Satyr]

Don't forget they went to war with pijamas :cool:
http://www.thecrazygang.btinternet.co.uk/pics/woadraider.gif

Seriously though, most people seem to believe the Celts were barbarians,whereas the civilized people of Rome were pretty much the corrupted, decadent society; much like today I guess except with cooler reality shows and sports. Don't forget pedophilia wasn't exactly punished either.

Their mysticism and mythology is also pretty interesting, although that would be a whole new topic.

Or better yet: nude.

Yes, they often went into the battlefield, completely naked. Though they obviously lack armour then, it had it's benefits. One of which was more freedom of movement.

Main reason was that for a Roman (average height of about 4'8"-5', 1.42m-1.52m), it was quite an intimidating view to see hundreds of naked Celts (average height of 5'-6', 1.52m-1.82m), screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs. To look even bigger, they used clay/lime to get their hair standing straight up.

On top of that, it is speculated that Celts ate fly-agaric (a specific kind of mushroom) or drank a conction made from it. Basically, that would mean they were doped up and in a superhuman rage when they entered the battlefield.

I don't know about you, but I would be scared shitless if I had to face that kind of enemy. :(

[negative_zero]

Awaiting videos of animals raping women.

[Gun Lover]

On top of that, it is speculated that Celts ate fly-agaric (a specific kind of mushroom) or drank a conction made from it. Basically, that would mean they were doped up and in a superhuman rage when they entered the battlefield.

What a horrible idea. I couldn't imagine eating a fistful of amanita muscaria and then trying to fight for my life.

It definitely would make you seem batshit crazy though :hypnohai:

[negative_zero]

No one knows what "soma" is

[Vizier]

Or better yet: nude.

Yes, they often went into the battlefield, completely naked. Though they obviously lack armour then, it had it's benefits. One of which was more freedom of movement.

Main reason was that for a Roman (average height of about 4'8"-5', 1.42m-1.52m), it was quite an intimidating view to see hundreds of naked Celts (average height of 5'-6', 1.52m-1.82m), screaming and yelling at the top of their lungs. To look even bigger, they used clay/lime to get their hair standing straight up.

On top of that, it is speculated that Celts ate fly-agaric (a specific kind of mushroom) or drank a conction made from it. Basically, that would mean they were doped up and in a superhuman rage when they entered the battlefield.

I don't know about you, but I would be scared shitless if I had to face that kind of enemy. :(

That's pretty badass and pretty much the antithesis of acting gay if you ask me. I would definetely shit my pants as well if I saw a horde of naked, balls tripping warriors coming at me yelling and flinging axes and swords.

[Satyr]

That's pretty badass and pretty much the antithesis of acting gay if you ask me. I would definetely shit my pants as well if I saw a horde of naked, balls tripping warriors coming at me yelling and flinging axes and swords.

I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, but a lot of them came unarmed. :p That allowed them to grab a Roman's shield to render it useless, after which they started gripping and reaching for the face, trying to rip it to shreds and scratch out eyeballs. If it was just one, that wouldn't really be much of a problem. But seeing how the Celts usually greatly outnumbered the Romans..

In the end though, it was very unusual for Celts to win because they had a very different battle-tradition. No such thing as tactics: just scare the enemy and leap right at them. The Romans however, were trained. They knew that if they applied their tactics and kept their calm, they would have the highest chance of surviving. Because the Celts were not used to an opponent who did nothing but standing calmly and waiting, they were un-nerved by just that. The tradition of champions from one tribe challenging the chieftain of another was a custom among Celts, but unheard of by Romans as well.

We're going immensely off-topic though. :D

[negative_zero]

looking forward for animal rape women vids

[Satyr]

No one knows what "soma" is

That's why I said that the fly-agaric is one of the theories, not the indisputable truth. And we're still talking history here, nothing in history is indisputable.

And if you want animalpr0n, you should be fapping at motherless right now.

[negative_zero]

I want to see videos of animals raping humans.

[Ebola]

It is worth mentioning that Roman historians (incl Tacitus) used the term "Celt" about almost every tribe encountered in Europe. They added a geographical location to the "celt" and they had a name for the tribe, eg. Celt-Iberians.
This means that, when studying Roman sources, one must assume that the "celt" refers simply to "strangers" be it Germanics, Celts or Gauls (who were actually "real" Celts by modern anthropological definition).
The same goes for the Romans´ use of the word "rex". Some (bad) historians read this as "king" though it was simply used to describe a local chief or leader.

[docus]

Damn, upon further inspection it seems I mixed it up a bit. The work of Tacitus I was referring to was 'De origine et situ Germanorum', and it's about the Germanic tribes, not the Celtic. And honestly, I don't know how 'comparable' the two are.

Sorry man. :p

Heh, those Germans have always been a little stricter than most of their neighbours huh?

About that fly agaric, I don't recall having read that much about Celtic berserkers. I thought that was mostly a Northmen thing, who ravaged the European countryside some 1000 years after the Celtic gold age. I know some of the northern Celtic tribes (the Belgae :p ) made a point of going into battle clearheaded, so that their courage would be sincere.

Anyhow, this is how I imagine the image that the Celts probably projected to their enemies:

ohDQp8puUn0

They're ripped. They're gay. They'll fucking kill you. Twice.

[Satyr]

Heh, those Germans have always been a little stricter than most of their neighbours huh?

About that fly agaric, I don't recall having read that much about Celtic berserkers. I thought that was mostly a Northmen thing, who ravaged the European countryside some 1000 years after the Celtic gold age. I know some of the northern Celtic tribes (the Belgae :p ) made a point of going into battle clearheaded, so that their courage would be sincere.

Anyhow, this is how I imagine the image that the Celts probably projected to their enemies:

ohDQp8puUn0

They're ripped. They're gay. They'll fucking kill you. Twice.

Lol, Mad Max II: Roadwarrior. Really one of those movies that's awesome because of how much it sucks.. :D

Well, I don't know about tribes closer on the mainland of Europe, but I've read that they do think they did it up in Ireland. Did know about them going into battle clearheaded.

Yes, well.. Like Caesar said: 'Horum omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae', 'out of all the Gaelic tribes, the Belgae are the bravest'. :p

[negative_zero]

hope to see animal rape women vids soon