Anne Ross, Academy Chicago Publishers, 1996 (1967)
On page 25 of this book the author opines,
An ability to handle the Celtic languages is fundamental in attempting any real appreciation of the oblique, indirect, circular approach of these peoples to art, literature, religion and social transactions.
The highly problematical nature of this lengthy text is largely connected with the discrepency between the impressions it conveys and the content communicated to one very carefully considering her actual words.
One of the clearest and one of the most common examples of this is her non-standard use of the word "Cult". On page 27 this is introduced as follows,
Patterns and a certain fundamental order can be seen to emerge from the complex system of Celtic religious thought, and this study is an attempt to define certain of these patterns, or 'cults' as it is more convenient to describe them, as the evidence suggests they occurred in the British Isles at the turn of the Christian era and in the centuries of Roman domination.
Pages 94 to 171 constitute a chapter entitled "The Cult of the Head". My translation reads, "Among British archaeological remains attributed to the Celtic and Romano-Celtic periods are human heads and the representations thereof."
A further example begins with her statement at the top of page 108: "Tricephaloi are rare in Britain. Such examples as there are, however, are impressive." Most of the page is then taken up with a discussion of one:
Found in an antique shop in Glasgow, and reputed to have come from Sutherland...It is of coarse grained granite, which does not seem to be of Scottish origin. This would rule out Sutherland as its place of origin although it may well have found its way there from the Continent at the time of the Roman occupation of Gaul, or during Viking times. (p. 108)
She then proceeds to consider one from Corleck, County Caven in Ireland, followed by another tricephalos found, along with a single head, from County Donegal in the same country. And she continues with one from the Isle of Guernsey. Next she offers us, "Another head which may have had four rather than three faces...recovered from Wroxeter" (p. 110) and, "A similar independent single head." (p. 110) Then we have the representation on the slab from Risingham, Northumberland, "Dedicated by the Fourth Mounted Cohort of Gauls." (p. 110) She concludes, "The above are the only tricephaloi so far recovered from the British Isles which are early in date." (p. 111) She then proceeds with mention of one from Wales, "Of uncertain date," (p. 111) and one from Ireland which, "Must, on stylistic grounds, be placed within the fully Christian period." (p. 112) She has presented us with four pages of fascinating text whose opening I translate, "We can confirm no tricephaloi from the Pagan Celtic British."
This author has placed in her book a number of conceivably contradictory statements. For example, in her section on the druids, she wrote both:
Caesar states that the Druidic order allegedly originated in Britain and was transferred to Gaul at a later date, while those who wished to study it in greater detail were in the habit of going to Britain in order to do so, (P. 81)
and,
It is noteworthy that the only reference to the Druidic priesthood in Britain is that made by Tacitus in his description of the attack of Paulinus on Anglesey in AD 61. (p. 83)
She even adds, "Caesar passes no comment on the insular Druids." (p. 83)
On pages 81-82 she comments on the lack of convincing evidence from the vernacular literature for belief in reincarnation, though on page 308, referring to "The Wooing of Etain," she writes, "...To whom she had been married in an earlier existence."
One of the principal aspects for the comprehension of this study is the ever constant requirement for the reader to differentiate between the information presented and the author's opinions. This is not a remark about how reasonable her guesses seem; there remains a need for awareness of what in the book is objective data and what is subjective, "Inference" derived from this data.
For example, in her section on swans, she speculates,
The evidence strongly suggests that this bird was especially connected with the solar cults which were widespread in Europe, and can be traced from the Bronze Age, into the Iron Age, certain of the motifs eventually being incorporated into early Christian iconography. (p. 302)
She proceeds,
To [...] suppose a propitiation of a god or gods whose functions were primarily concerned with the sun, especially in its therapeutic capacity. (pp. 301- 302)
Alert now to these aspects related to the comprehension of this book, let's take a look at its content.
The author in her introduction expresses her hope her incomplete listing of British archaeological remains may provide a framework for future and more extensive work. She mentions the other two sources complementing her focus on archaeology, the, "Surprisingly accurate," (p. 24) Classical references and, "The vernacular literatures." (p. 25) She states that most artifacts have not survived, "And that most of the direct evidence for native cults comes from Roman contexts." (p. 26) She cautions against much earlier writing on the topic. She writes, "For some archaeologists the world" (sic) "CELT has an ethnological significance," and,
The two concepts can, however, be correlated to demonstrate that what we mean by Celtic from the linguistic viewpoint is applicable to what we mean by Celtic from the ethnological angle. (p. 33)
She feels the main features of the later Celtic societies originated in the Urnfield culture of c. 1300-700 BC. She mentions the Hallstatt and La Tene periods, the Celtic migrations, the expansion of Rome, Irish as a Q-Celtic language and present, "Very incomplete knowledge of Celtic archaeology in Ireland." (p. 41)
In Chapter One, "Sanctuaries, Temples and Cult Sites," she comments on the sanctity of waters, opining that some names of rivers in Britain may be connected with goddesses. Although, "In Britain positive archaeological evidence for temples situated at the sources of rivers is lacking," (p. 48) she infers them. She mentions no archaeological remains from lakes on the island of Britain. She does refer to remains in a lake on Anglesey (Mona), opining a connection between these and the Roman attack in 61 CE. She mentions ritual shafts, including one whose hazel leaves and nuts remind her of the connection of the hazel in Celtic mythology to sacred wells. She adds,
In Roman times, certain native votive springs were patronized by the incomers, and, as in, for example, the case of Bath, distinguished by the erection of sophisticated buildings in which both native and intrusive deities were worshipped. (p. 56)
She proceeds to consider the sanctity of trees and groves, mentioning the names "Vernemeton," 'the especially Sacred Grove,'" and, "Medionemeton," 'the Middle Sanctuary'" (p. 63) on Britain. She mentions grave sites, "Little or no trace of temple structures." (p. 66) The sanctuary at Heath Row, "Was found to have had a wooden prototype of pre-Roman Iron Age," (p. 70) and there was, "A shrine at Frilford." (p. 70) She moves on to consider Romano-Celtic temples and then the Druids,
No matter what their function and status was in the pre-Christian period, they figure in the post- Christian literatures in the role of wise men, shape-shifters, prognosticators. (pp. 78-79)
As for archaeological evidence for British druids, "Not one single piece of iconography or epigraphy commemorates them with certainty." (p. 83)
Chapter Two, "The Cult of the Head", mentions, "The discovery of Mesolithic skull groups in a cave at Ofnet, Bavaria" (p 95), early, "Skulls from Jericho, adorned with pebbles and shells" (p. 95), and, "Etruscan burial urns on which an ornament in the form of a human head was affixed." (p. 96) She refers to,
Skulls from Bredon Hill and Stanwick, their positions suggesting that they were attached to poles at the gate or on the gate-structure itself. (p. 99)
Some pre-Celtic burial sites include representations of the human head. Heads also appear on British Celtic coins and some British Celtic masks have been found. We can confirm no tricephaloi from the Pagan Celtic British. "An impressive janiform head was recovered from the Roman supply depot at Corbridge, Northumberland." (p. 113) Some heads are represented with horns, some crudely, some, "Bear a resemblance to the Classical Gorgon or Medusa heads" (p. 125), and some heads are placed on stone pillars, some on, "Tiles, attached to the eaves of buildings" (p. 134), some on pottery and some in wells. Heads also feature in the vernacular literatures, where sometimes they speak or even sing.
Chapter Three considers "The Horned God." "Here our particular concern lies in the representations of horn-bearing, anthropomorphic deities." (p. 176) Although, she does not clearly confirm such for the British Celts, she does refer to survivals from elsewhere and other times. For example, She tells us that a single incomplete inscription from Paris above an antlered god, "Reading -Ernunnos-" (p. 180) provides the name Cernunnos.
The Corinium relief shows the stag-god in traditional, squatting posture. A most unusual feature of the portrayal is the way in which the ram-serpent attributes are portrayed. They are not represented as separate entities, having an existence and a significance independent of the anthropomorphic god, but actually substitute the legs of the deity, growing from his body, bending into a squatting posture, in place of his lower limbs, and then rearing up to terminate in large ram-horned heads, close to either side of the god's face, tongues protruding. [...] A second unpublished representation of the stag-god, this time portrayed as an antlered head, also comes from Corinium. (p. 185)
She considers others and also examines evidence from Ireland, including material from the traditional literature, whence she opines a connection between Conall Cernach and Cernunnos.
She states the animal symbols of the horned god to be, "The serpent and the ram, often composite...the stag and the bull." (p. 198) She discusses his connection to material prosperity, to war, "As a protector of the herds and flocks" (p. 205) and to hunting.
Chapter Four, "The Warrior God in Britain", considers epigraphic and iconographic, "Evidence for the war god in Britain." (p. 222) A number of such gods are named and examined in the chapter. These include: Cocidius, Teutates, "Invoked at Barkway in Herfordshire as MARTI TOUTATI" (p. 225), "Loucetius, "Invoked at Bath" (p. 228), but, "Clearly an import from Gaul." (p. 228) and Belatucadros, "Confined to Cumberland and Westmorland." (p. 235) Many and diverse are representations of, "The god likened to Mars being represented now wearing a helmet, now bear-headed, having long and curling hair." (p. 239) Some show him mounted.
The classical Mars is never depicted as a rider, whereas the native gods in Gaul equated with Mars are especially concerned with horses, and are sometimes portrayed on horseback. (p. 244)
She connects the function of healing to the warrior god and discusses healing springs, including Bath.
Chapter Five, "The Goddesses", mentions the significant difference between Celtic deities and many other pantheons.
For example, there is no trace of a Celtic goddess of love, but all the goddesses share in having marked sexual characteristics, and no matter what their individual departments of influence sexuality and maternity are their fundamental concerns. (p. 265)
She refers to the Celtic inclination to triplicate manifestations of a deity. She looks at the goddess with and without consort. She mentions the difficulty in determining the Celtic nature of deities, "Expressed in fully classical representational form." (p. 277) She discusses various goddesses, including those who are not exclusive to Britain.
Chapter Six, "Sacred and Magic Birds", does include the caution, "Once again, in this aspect of Celtic religion as elsewhere, the tentative and fragile nature of the evidence must not be underestimated." (p. 302) She supposes, "A god or gods whose functions were primarily concerned with the sun, especially in its therapeutic capacity." (p. 302-303) She infers a connection here with healing waters and aquatic birds such as: "The swan, the crane and the goose." (p. 303) She envisions processions in which live birds accompanied the image of the deity. She discusses swans bearing chains and suggests a solar connection. She states there are no traces of a raven goddess in Britain musing that,
The obvious association of this goddess with druidism and magic, and her powers as a prophet of evil may have caused her immediate suppression, in company with the native priesthood at the very beginning of the Roman campaigns in Britain. (p. 315)
On page 321 she states that there is no evidence for a raven god in Britain. She proceeds to comment on birds as omens in early and in more modern times. She refers to supernatural birds, hostile and friendly. She mentions various kinds of birds: geese, owls, eagles, cranes and their appearance in the vernacular literatures, folklore and elsewhere, e.g. Athena's association with the owl.
Chapter Seven, "Divine Animals", mentions the ease of theorizing, horned gods, cats, bulls ("A legend concerning the hunting and slaying of a bull is lacking from the vernacular tradition." p. 384 "Over and above the bull-horned gods, bulls do not play an important roll in Romano- British iconography." p. 385), boars,
Unlike the stag, the bull and the water birds, it does not figure to any extent as a cult animal in proto- Celtic contexts, but when the Celtic cultures emerge from their Bronze Age background, it is seen to be the animal which has the greatest representational popularity, and one which is used in a wide variety of contexts. p. 390
horses with the association to Epona, stags connected to Cernunnos, dogs and Cu Chulainn, rams,
Although the ram does not figure to any extent in the early literary tradition, the representational evidence indicates that it was a beast of some considerable cult importance and with a long ancestry in Indo-European religious symbolism... In insular tradition...the ram shows few traces of the original cult significance with which it must have been imbued. pp. 429-430
bears ("The cult can now only be inferred." p. 435), hares ("The number of actual examples is limited." p. 435) and fish. (It appears in connection with the god Nodons in the temple at Lydney Park on the Severn, and occurs as a symbol on Pictish stones p. 437)
Chapter Eight, "Aspects of Native Cults in North Britain", informs the reader:
The ACTUAL evidence for native cults is slight. Consequently a high proportion of the conclusions ultimately reached must be based on inference rather than stemming from factual sources. (p. 448)
Referring the reader to Sir Cyril Fox's PATTERN AND PURPOSE, "For a general discussion of the northern school of insular Celtic art" (p. 482) she mentions a terret, a, "Fitment for a bucket handle" (p. 451), a couple of buckets, place names, vernacular literatures, the northern deities (Brigantia, Maponus, Belatucadros ("The two traditions, epigraphic and iconographic, are never united, and none of the representations of these undeniably local gods has the name of BELATUCADROS attached to it" p. 466), Cocidius, Vitiris, Mogons and other deities evidenced in the North, though possibly also worshipped elsewhere.
This book is a fascinating consideration of British archaeological remains of the Pagan Celts. It also draws on the other two chief sources of evidence. the reader, however, is easily left with impressions that vary from the precise meaning of the text and needs to be alert to the prevalance of opinion within its pages.