Celts and human sacrifice
- Celts and human sacrifice
The Celts practised human sacrifice ["The Religion of the Ancient Celts", J. A. MacCulloch, ch xvi, 1911, retrieved 24 May 2007. [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/rac/rac19.htm#fn_849] ] on a limited scale as part of their religious rituals. Animal sacrifice was more commonplace along with ritual deposition of tools, weapons and jewellery. The evidence for human sacrifices comes from:
* Archaeological data
* Irish medieval texts
* Writings by Romans and Greeks, though these are often at second hand.
Greco-Roman texts
Julius Caesar wrote in his "Gallic Wars":
:" [The Gauls] believe that unless a man's life is paid for by another man's, the majesty of the immortal gods cannot be appeased [...] . Some [tribes] have figures of immense size, whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill them with living men. After these figures have been set on fire, men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of victims fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent."
Archeological finding
In sites associated with Celtic settlements throughout Europe, human remains have been found bearing marks of being sacrificed. They have dated from the Neolithic era to far into the Roman times.
In Havránok, Slovakia, seven people were beaten to death and quartered. Parts of their bodies were subsequently thrown into a pit in the middle of a shrine, either to ensure a good harvest or as an offering to the deities of the Underworld (1st century BCE).
Ritualised decapitation survives in the archaeological record such as the example of 12 headless corpses at the French late Iron Age sanctuary of Gournay-sur-Aronde.
Lindow man may be an example of a human sacrifice from the 1st or 2nd century, preserved in a peat bog in near perfect condition. The case for his sacrifice hinges on the three separate injuries he suffered. He was throttled, clubbed around the head and had his throat slit. This dovetails with the threefold death detailed in medieval texts. Tollund Man has also been suggested as a bog sacrifice although both men may also have been executed criminals.
ee also
*Celtic mythology
*Wicker man
*Druidry
*Bog body
References
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Human sacrifice — is the act of homicide (the killing of one or several human beings) in the context of a religious ritual (ritual killing). Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals (animal sacrifice) and of religious… … Wikipedia
Human sacrifice in Aztec culture — Human sacrifice was an aspect of historical Aztec culture/religion, although the extent of the practice is debated by scholars. The Spaniards who first met the Aztecs explicitly stated in their writings that human sacrifice was widely practiced… … Wikipedia
human sacrifice — Offering of the life of a human being to a god. In some ancient cultures, the killing of a human being, or the substitution of an animal for a person, was an attempt to commune with the god and to participate in the divine life. It also sometimes … Universalium
Sacrifice — (from a Middle English verb meaning to make sacred , from Old French, from Latin sacrificium : sacr , sacred + facere , to make ) is commonly known as the practice of offering food, objects (typically valuables), or the lives of animals or people … Wikipedia
Anthropology and Archaeology — ▪ 2009 Introduction Anthropology Among the key developments in 2008 in the field of physical anthropology was the discovery by a large interdisciplinary team of Spanish and American scientists in northern Spain of a partial mandible (lower… … Universalium
List of The Belgariad and The Malloreon characters — This is a list of The Belgariad and The Malloreon characters. The Belgariad and The Malloreon are two parts of a fantasy epic written by David Eddings. Note: All of the statements (deceased, married) are written from the current information by… … Wikipedia
Germanic religion and mythology — Introduction complex of stories, lore, and beliefs about the gods and the nature of the cosmos developed by the Germanic speaking peoples before their conversion to Christianity. Germanic culture extended, at various times, from the… … Universalium
The ritual of the oak and the mistletoe — Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD, describes a religious ceremony in Gaul in which white clad druids climbed a sacred oak, cut down the mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to cure… … Wikipedia
Druid — For other uses, see Druid (disambiguation). Two druids , 19th century engraving based on a 1719 illustration by Bernard de Montfaucon.[1] … Wikipedia
Havránok — is an important archaeological site in northern Slovakia. It is located on a hill above the Liptovská Mara water reservoir around 2 km from the village of Bobrovník, about halfway between Ružomberok and Liptovský Mikuláš in the Liptov region. The … Wikipedia
