Homosexuality among the Celts
Homosexuality among the Celts deals with the ancient and medieval evidence regarding homosexuality among Celtic peoples, including their interpretation by research. In general, there is a tendency towards overinterpretation , especially in amateur research.
While the ancient sources La Tene treat -temporal Celts of the country is medieval testimonies to refer insular Celts , including Irish and Welsh . These sources testify that among the La Tène period Celts, male homosexuality was socially recognized under certain circumstances, while medieval sources generally prove to be worthless and do not allow any conclusive statements about homosexuality among Celtic peoples. All testimonials are limited to male homosexuality.
Antiquity
The oldest evidence of Celtic homosexuality can be found in Aristotle (384–322 BC), who comes from the Macedonian Stageira . In his time, the Macedonians had initial contact with the south-advancing Celts, which makes it likely that Aristotle received his information firsthand. In his work Politics 2.9.7 (1269b), in the section on women and the state, he incidentally notes that among the Celts, sexual relationships between men are socially recognized.
The second testimony goes back to Poseidonios , who wrote in great detail and reliably about the customs of the Celts. His work has not survived, but there are many quotations from later authors, such as Diodor Siculus (1st century BC):
“Though they have handsome women, they associate very little with them; rather, they are drawn to a wild passion for hugs with men. They are used to lying on the floor on animal skins and tossing around with a sleeper on either side. But the most unbelievable thing is: they are not concerned about their own decency, but willingly surrender the blossom of their bodies to others; and they do not consider it shameful, but rather consider it dishonorable if one of them is courted and does not accept the favor offered. "
The passage in Athenaios of Naukratis ( Deipnosophistai 13.79) is very similar . The less detailed notes in Strabo ( Geography 4.4.6) and Eusebius of Caesarea ( Praeparatio evangelica 6.10.27) ultimately go back to Poseidonios and say nothing about the contemporary customs of the Celts.
In contrast, the testimony of Klaudios Ptolemaios (85-165) is generalizing and not usable for the topic. Based on astrological speculation, he postulates a natural basis of male homosexuality among northern peoples such as the Celts, Germanic peoples and Scythians :
“However, it follows from the evening aspect of Jupiter and Mars and also from the fact that the front parts of the triangle mentioned are male, but the rear parts are female, that they are without passion towards women and do not care much about the enjoyment of love in the union with Men, on the other hand, are more excessive and more likely to be jealous. Those influenced in this way do not regard their behavior as immoral and do not become really unmanly and soft because they are not influenced in the passive sense, rather they keep their souls manly, sociable, loyal, family-friendly and well-disposed. "
Only five ancient authors have reports of homosexual behavior among the Celts. They all go back to Aristotle and Poseidonius, both of whom are valued by scholars as reliable contemporary witnesses.
Interpretations of ancient sources
The ancient sources are interpreted differently by scientists and lay researchers, whereby the majority of contemporary historians and Celtologists consider the statements of ancient authors about the acceptance or tolerance of the Celts with regard to same-sex love among men as credible. The fact that there is no mention of homosexual customs among the Celts in Polybius , Livy and Caesar is considered controversial. It can be explained by the fact that the custom was no longer observed or that these authors saw no reason to report on it. The assumption that the reports regarding homosexuality should only be regarded as barbarian topos contradicts the meager sources and the detailed description in Poseidonios. Nevertheless, the choice of words is distorting and expressions such as “wild passion” fit perfectly into the ancient image of the wild barbarian.
The French religious researcher Bernard Sergent is discussing the possibility of an initiation rite that could go back to a common Indo-European cultural heritage among different peoples. David Rankin suspected a kind of bonding ritual that was supposed to strengthen the cohesion of a warrior association and required a temporary abstinence from women.
Helmut Birkhan connects the descriptions of Celtic homoeroticism (Diodor, Athenaios von Naukratis), which go back in particular to the tradition of Poseidonios, with the culture of feasts and feasts as part of the representative politics of the Celtic upper class. According to Birkhan, the word for "athlete" handed down in the Celtic vocabulary also points to socially accepted and widespread homosexual sexual contacts, since the etymon in question could apparently also designate the "pederast". Alexander Demandt , who confirms the existence of homoerotic relationships among the Celts, explains: “The Celtic women are described as beautiful. Nevertheless, as Diodorus (V 32) testifies, the men practiced the love of boys, which the Romans, Carthaginians and Teutons frowned upon. According to the ancient authors, like the Persians (Herodotus I 135) they had learned this from the Greeks. "
Bernard Sergent, a pupil of Georges Dumézil , tried to draw a connection between homosexual customs in Crete and the Taifals . In doing so, he referred to a note from Ammianus Marcellinus ( Res Gestae 31.9.5), according to which in the typhoon youths had sexual contact with adult men and the killing of a bear or boar freed them from this “disgrace”. More detailed is the report by Strabo ( Geogr. 4.4.6) about a Cretan custom, according to which it was considered honorable if a young man was kidnapped - in consultation with his relatives - by an adult man as a lover. Both hunted together for a period of time. The connection was officially ended with the presentation of prescribed valuable symbolic gifts and a public festival of sacrifices. Sergent notes that these three Indo-European peoples have the following similarities:
- Age difference : An age difference has been attested for Crete and the Taifals; this is less clear with the Celts.
- Hunting : The link with a hunt is documented for Crete and the Taifals; in the case of the Celts, the animal skins may indicate this.
- Shame : In Crete it was considered shameful for a young man if he was not kidnapped, or for an adult if the relatives did not allow the staged kidnapping. In the case of the Taifals it was shameful if no wild animals were killed afterwards; among the Celts, when a man was turned away by a lover.
The reference that the Celts had two lovers at the same time brings Sergent together with the Celtic trimariske described in Pausanias (10, 19, 10 f.); according to this the Gallic warriors had two assistants who saved him from battle if he was injured. According to Sergent, this could indicate the relationship of an experienced warrior and two recruits who also shared the camp together.
Sergent discusses whether these connections could be traced back to an original Indo-European initiation rite, but points out the lack of similar customs among other Indo-European peoples. In addition to the Greeks and Taifals, there are only similar reports for the ancient Macedonians and the late medieval Albanians . He also emphasizes that the Celtic testimonies give no indication of an initiation character.
middle Ages
None of the known medieval sources can serve as direct testimony to the behavior of Celtic peoples towards homosexuality. On the one hand Christian books of penance and on the other hand episodes from the saga are discussed.
Penance books
Medieval books of penance list penances for homosexual acts, among other things. For example, homosexuality of boys over a certain age had to be atone for 100 nights to a year. However, the disproportionate nature of the penalties in the case of sexual offenses suggests that it is not well established in practice. The rivalry against the allegedly widespread homosexuality and bestiality among the Irish and Welsh also sprang from a long-established practice among churchmen against “bad Christians” and lacks any reality.
legend
A Welsh legend from the Mabinogion reports how the two brothers Gwydyon and Gilfaethwy were transformed into a pair of animals by King Math as a punishment, namely deer and hind, boar and brook, wolf and Wülpin, and each of them fathered a young. Sergent suspects that this legend could possibly be a later reverberation of the initiation rite postulated by him for antiquity, whereby the three animals show characteristics of an ideal warrior. According to Birkhan, however, neither homosexuality nor bestiality can be inferred from this, although in ethnology initiation with ritual pederasty or even bestiality can be found. The same applies to the young warrior ( óclach ) in the Finn cycle , who changes his gender every year and thus alternately fathered children as a man or gave birth as a woman.
Sometimes the dramatically exaggerated episode in which the Irish hero Cú Chulainn laments the death of his foster brother Fer Diad , whom he himself killed in a duel, is interpreted as evidence of a homosexual relationship between the two warriors.
literature
- Bernard Sergent : Homosexualité et initiation chez les peuples indo-européens. Paris 1996. ISBN 2-228-89052-9 . Contains the two works L'homosexualité dans la mythologie grecque (1984) and L'homosexualité initiatique dans l'Europe ancienne (1986).
- Helmut Birkhan: Kelten: Attempt to present an overall picture of their culture. 3rd edition, Vienna 1999.
Individual evidence
- ^ Bernard Sergent: Homosexualité et initiation chez les peuples indo-européens ; Paris 1996. p. 506
- ↑ Joachim Herrmann (Ed.): Greek and Latin sources on the early history of Central Europe. First part, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-05-000348-0 , p. 181
- ↑ Joachim Herrmann (Ed.): Greek and Latin sources on the early history of Central Europe . Third part. Berlin 1991. ISBN 3-05-000571-8 , p. 237 ff.
- ^ David Rankin: Celts and the Classical World. London 1996. ISBN 0-203-44198-2 . P. 78
- ↑ Helmut Birkan: Celts. Images of their culture. Vienna 1999, p. 54.
- ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Kelten: Attempt to present an overall picture of their culture. 3rd edition, Vienna 1999, pp. 983 f., 1091.
- ↑ Alexander Demandt: Die Kelten (C. H. Beck Wissen series) , 6th edition, Munich 2007, p. 52.
- ↑ a b Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. 2nd Edition. Böhlau, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 . P. 983 f.
- ^ Bernard Sergent: Homosexualité et initiation chez les peuples indo-européens ; Paris 1996. p. 512