Gauls
Gauls was a Roman name for the Celtic tribes on the territory of Gaul (corresponds roughly to today's France , Belgium , Luxembourg and western Switzerland ).
After the Gallic War by Julius Caesar (58–51 BC) a distinction was made between:
- the actual Celtic Gauls or Celts , between Garonne and Seine-Marne
- Belgian Gauls or Belgians , from the Seine and Marne to the Rhine (heavily interspersed with Teutons )
- Aquitaine Gauls or Aquitaine , for example between the Pyrenees and the Garonne (not Celts, but Basques in the broader sense)
mythology
The Gauls derived their origin from an unknown god of abundance and the realm of the dead, who was equated with the Roman Dis Pater . Other deities were:
- Taranis and Cernunnos (god of heaven)
- Belenus (god of light)
- Grannus (god of fire and hot springs)
- Belisama (protector of the arts)
- Brigantia (goddess of victory)
- Epona (goddess of fertility)
- Teutates (tribal god)
- Esus (god of ways and trade)
- Medru (god of the Celtic Otherworld Mag Mor, the great plain)
The priests of these cults, the druids , ruled the spiritual life of the Gauls and taught them to believe in Cathubodua , the slaughter crows , as well as in the Matronae ( matrons ), the goddesses of fate and fertility, who mostly appeared in triple shapes. The cult of the dead held a prominent position, and the Gauls believed in life after death in another, otherworldly world. The Gauls were buried by being burned by their high priests.
A Gallic boar standard was found in 1989 on a beach near Soulac-sur-Mer . The boar plays a major role in Gallic mythology, the goddess Arduinna is shown riding on a boar. The Gallic rooster was not popularized until the French Revolution.
Pop Culture
Gauls have achieved international fame in particular through the comic series Asterix by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo .
See also
literature
- Eydoux: Hommes et Dieux de la Gaule. 1961.
- Caius Iulius Caesar: Commentarii de bello Gallico.
