Teachings from the Ancient Celts: Bravery and Courage
Teachings from the Ancient Celts: Bravery and Courage
In this post Christian author Mark Fisher looks at the attribute of bravery and courage among the ancient Irish Celts and how this trait helped St. Patrick in his mission to the ancient Irish.
St. Patrick’s Bravery
In his book, How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill writes:
“We can also be sure that the Irish found Patrick admirable according to their own highest standards: his courage—his refusal to be afraid of them—would have impressed them immediately; and, as his mission lengthened into years and came to be seen clearly as a lifetime commitment, his steadfast loyalty and supernatural generosity must have moved them deeply. For he had transmuted their pagan virtues of loyalty, courage, and generosity into the Christian equivalents of faith, hope, and charity.”
Courage in the Face of Danger
Courage. Bravery in the face of personal danger. These were things the Irish highly valued. When Patrick approached the Irish, he was a Roman entering a foreign culture. For years before he escaped back to England, he’d lived among them as a slave. So he knew the Irish and their ways. But bringing the gospel to such a people was dangerous. The only ones who could safely travel the lands between the Irish kingdoms were druids, poets, bards, and the nobility. And no doubt the latter traveled with an armed escort. Between the kingdoms roamed bandits. So when Patrick appeared before the clan leaders speaking of a new God, he risked capture, slavery, and even death.
His Enemies—The Druids and Some Princes
One of his enemies was the druid class. When they heard Patrick’s message of the one God, they knew instantly this Christian religion brought trouble. Weren’t the spirits of the druids in the forests, rivers, lakes, and streams? Did they not exist in their mythical ancestors with names like the Fir Bolg and the Tuatha Dé Danann? And they were not also in the gods Danu, the earth mother, Manannán mac Lir, god of the sea and the Otherworld, and in Lugh, god of many things? Their gods were fickle, dark, and ever demanding. Patrick’s one God—and a God who loved!—threatened all this. More than once they tried to poison him.
Another enemy, at times, was the nobility of the regions. To a region mired in ancient tradition, Patrick brought change, and change was always threatening. Once, the princes of a region even beat him.
Yet he walked into this danger without hesitation. He preached his message of salvation for all with bravery and courage. And for this most of the Irish gave him admiration and an audience.
A Warrior of a Different Kind
For wasn’t it courage that upheld the warrior when he went into battle against his foe? When the raiders came, trying to steal cattle, grain, or women, the Irish went out to meet them with swords and spears held high and a battle cry on their lips. To go into battle was to admit that you might, at any moment, go into the next life. A fierce warrior, unafraid of death, was a feared and respected combatant. Thus was Patrick. He was a warrior of a different kind, fighting a spiritual, not an earthly enemy. And for this, the Irish greatly respected him.
Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celetic Ireland at the time of St. Patrick. To learn more about his book, click on the link.
Teachings From the Ancient Celts: Celtic Honor
Teachings From the Celts: Celtic Honor
In this post, Christian author Mark Fisher looks at the attribute of honor among the ancient Irish Celts. What is honor? Where is it in today’s world? How did Celtic honor compare to the Romans’?
What is Honor?
In today’s world, we don’t talk much about honor. It seems absent from the public discourse. We might start by defining what it is. My paper copy of Webster’s New World Dictionary, which I trust more than the online versions, defines honor as: “1 high regard or great respect given, received, or enjoyed; esp., a) glory; fame; renown b) good reputation; credit 2 a keen sense of right and wrong; adherence to action or principles considered right; integrity [to conduct oneself with honor].” There are more definitions, but I think we can stop there.
Where is Honor Today?
In today’s world, what institutions conduct themselves with a keen sense of right and wrong, adhering to right principles with integrity? I submit mostly the military and the church—if you don’t count certain high-profile moral failures not representative of the church as a whole. What about politics?—sadly, no. Business?—sometimes. Government?—not lately, but maybe there’s hope.
Celtic Honor
Which definition best applies to the Celts? Probably the first two. Some may disagree, but I believe the Celts would have most valued glory, fame, and respect. And adhering to right principles with integrity and right conduct.
Many of the other attributes which the Irish Celts held dear—bravery, loyalty, and strength—are also linked in some way to honor. To be brave in the face of the enemy and to uphold one’s convictions is honorable. To be loyal to one’s clan, one’s allies, and one’s friends is necessarily honorable. To be strong and not weak in battle also shows honor.
Their Honor Maligned, the Senones Occupy Rome
The Senones Tribe Defeats Rome
In my post of September 18, 2016, I wrote about the Celtic Senones tribe who tried, peacefully, to negotiate lands for themselves near the Etruscan city of Clusium. The city’s elders, fearing the newcomers, pleaded to Rome for help. Rome then sent the arrogant, but powerful, Fabbii brothers to the negotiations.
But the brothers’ haughty, contemptuous manner offended the Celts and immediately ended negotiations. Assuming the worst, the Etruscans marched out with an army. Then the Roman brothers, who were sent as ambassadors, not battle participants, couldn’t help themselves. They joined the fray, violating the unwritten law of neutrality for the role of ambassador.
Stunned by this unheard of breech of protocol, the Celts sent a diplomatic mission before the Roman senate. The Roman people were with them. But the Fabii brothers, dishonorable to the core, overruled both the Senate and the will of the people. In response, the Celts marched on Rome, conquered it, and for seven months occupied the city. Why? Because their honor was maligned. After receiving an apology and a ransom of gold, the Celts withdrew.
Led by the powerful Fabii brothers, the Romans showed nothing but dishonor, treachery, and deceit. And the Celts? They were upholding their code of right conduct, holding to a keen sense of right and wrong, having been offended by a lack of Roman integrity.
Roman Treachery Versus Celtic Honor
On other occasions when the Romans and Celts met on the battlefield, the Celtic tradition of deciding certain matters of honor was for a leader to challenge the offending army’s leader to single combat. The two armies, armed and ready for battle, would watch while their leaders fought it out, man-to-man. Whichever army’s leader lost would withdraw their forces from the field and cede the day. A more civilized method of handling grievances, no?
But what happened when Roman armies met the Celtic armies in such a situation? Honorable to the end, if the Celtic leader lost the duel, the Celtic army would withdraw in defeat. But if the Roman army’s leader lost, the Empire’s vaunted legions would simply ignore the Celtic code and attack their adversaries with redoubled force. Instead of honor, the Romans displayed treachery, double-dealing, and deceit.
In the next post, we’ll tackle the Celtic value of bravery.
Mark is the author of The Bonfires of Beltane, a novel of Christian historical fiction set in ancient, Celtic Ireland at the time of St. Patick. To learn more about his book, click on the link.