Celtic cauldron cult

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The cauldron played an important role in daily life for the Celts , partly also for the Teutons , but especially as a cult and ceremonial device. Since the Bronze Age , but especially in the Iron Age ( Hallstatt culture and Latène culture ), cauldrons have been used in the customs of the dead and in sacrificial and ordination rituals. In the early medieval literature of the island celts , a kettle with wonderful properties is a recurring motif.

Bronze cauldron from Feufbühl (Switzerland)

etymology

From the ancient Celtic word * kṷerio - / * kṷorịo , Old Irish co (i) re , Kymrian pair , comparable to Germanic * hṷer-az , Old Norse hverr , Anglo-Saxon and Old High German hwer - all with the meaning "kettle". Some Celtologists assume a connection to the tribal names of the Parisii and the Quariates , (both "Kessel (cult) people"). Likewise, the Lac des Peiroou ("Kessel Lake") near Saint-Rémy-de-Provence ( Bouches-du-Rhône ) and the source Le Peïroou in the Gard department derive their names from this.

Cult item

Cauldron in the grave of Hochdorf

From the Hallstatt period, there are archaeological finds that prove the cult function of the cauldron, especially as grave goods.

In the princely grave of Hochdorf (~ 550 and 500 BC) a bronze kettle with a capacity of 500 liters was found, in which there were remains of a substance similar to honey wine . Further cauldrons were found in Celtic graves near Apremont (Haute-Saône) , Vix (Côte-d'Or) with a height of 1.64 m, Duchcov (Dux in the Czech Republic ), Brå ( East Jutland ), Rinkeby ( Funen ) and Sophienborg ( Zealand / Denmark ) discovered. In the British Isles there are basin finds in Lake Llyn Fawr ( Glamorganshire ), in Lough Foyle ( Northern Ireland ) in the Thames ( Basin of Battersea ) and in Llyn Cerrig Bach ( Anglesey ). Some of these cauldrons were made in Greece and apparently imported for cult purposes. The Gundestrup boiler (see below) occupies a special position .

In Strabo (VII, 2,1-3) it can be read that the priestesses of the Cimbri killed prisoners of war by cutting their throats and bleeding them into a bronze cauldron. This was then prophesied. A scene on the cauldron of Gundestrup was interpreted in this way (but also as an initiation or rebirth ceremony). Since this basically Germanic people from Jutland took on Celtic allies in the course of their migration and also used many Celtic personal names for the leaders, a Celtic / Germanic cult penetration can be assumed.

The shape and ritual use of the cauldrons are inspired by the Mediterranean and the Near East , as archaeological and literary sources from this region show (the "poured sea" in the Temple of Jerusalem , images of ritual cauldrons for ablutions from Assyria and Cyprus ).

In early modern times, Scotland still had the necromantic custom of the faghaim nan Daoine (" invocation of man"), where the dead were questioned with the help of a kettle.

The Gundestrup cauldron

Initiation or sacrifice scene

The Gundestrup cauldron is a silver cauldron from the La Tène period (5th to 1st century BC). The cauldron, which is 69 cm in diameter, 42 cm high and weighs 8.89 kg, has rich relief decorations from Celtic mythology and, according to other interpretations, from Germanic mythology, and stylistically indicates a Thracian manufacturer. The interpretations of the picture decorations are very contradictory (see above). The cauldron was apparently used for local cult ceremonies.

An imitation of the Gundestrup kettle is the “ Chiemsee kettle ”, which was probably produced on behalf of National Socialism . After an initial report by Rolf Hachmann , which classified it as a Celtic work, it was finally determined that the gold kettle was created in the 20th century. The originator of the vessel is unknown.

mythology

In the island Celtic tradition, three types of miracle cauldrons are distinguished: the cauldron of wealth and abundance, the cauldron as booty from the otherworld and the cauldron of healing or rebirth.

Ireland

The “Good God” Dagda , a member of the Túatha Dé Danann , owns a kettle that donates inexhaustible food. When he scouted the Fomori before the Second Battle of Mag Tuired , they force him to devour a huge amount of stew from a hole in the ground, as they apparently did not know any cooking vessels.

Aided Chon Culainn ("The Death of Cú Chulainn ") tells of the hero's violation of his taboo ( geis ). On the way to his property Mag Muirtheimne , the three witch daughters of Calatin force him to eat from their cauldron in which they had cooked dog meat. As this wasforbiddenby a geis , he loses his superhuman strength and can bekilledby Lugaid Lága .

Wales

In some of the Mabinogion's tales , a cauldron is an essential prop of the plot.

Pryderi and Rhiannon caught in the cauldron
Efnisia blows up the cauldron

In the “Second Branch” Branwen ferch Llŷr (“Branwen, Llŷr's Daughter”), the Welsh King Bran the Blessed gives the Irish King Matholwch a cauldron that can revive warriors who have fallen in battle. When the Irish use the cauldron to fight the Welsh, Efnisien destroyed it at the risk of his life.

In the “third branch” Manawydan fab Llŷr (“Manawydan, Llŷr's son”) Pryderi and Rhiannon are cunningly fixed to a magic cauldron, from which they can only escape with Manawydan's help .

In the story Culhwch ac Olwen (“The Story of Culhwch and Olwen”) the giant Dyrnwch owns a cauldron that can distinguish bad from good people. He does not cook food for bad people, he prepares food for others immediately. Bedwyr fab Bedrawg steals the vessel on behalf of King Arthur .

Preiddeu Annwfn ("The Robbery of Annwfn") is an account of a war trip by King Arthur to the Otherworld to capture a magical, gem-studded cauldron that is kept in a glass fortress. This kettle is heated by the breath of nine virgins and only the bravest warriors are allowed to prepare their meals in it.

In the saga Hanes Taliesin ("The Story of Taliesin "), a story about the youth of the famous poet, he illegally tastes a magic potion from the cauldron of the witch Ceridwen and thereby gains the gift of poetry and prophecy.

All these cauldron variations are to be seen as indirect predecessors of the saga about the Holy Grail , even if no direct derivation from the Celtic origins can be assumed.

"Asterix"

In the comic series Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo , the theme of the Wunderkessel is a common thread that runs through all the booklets. The druid Miraculix's cauldron is always used by him to brew the invincible magic potion when danger threatens the small Gallic village. Only Obelix never gets to drink from it, as he once fell into the potion as a child and has maintained his strength ever since. In the 13th volume " Asterix and the Copper Kettle " , a kettle filled with gold coins is the main prop of the plot.

See also

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Vienna 2009, p. 809 ff.
  2. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 193.
  3. ↑ Pliny the Elder , Naturalis historia III, 35.
  4. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Vienna 2009, p. 813.
  5. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Vienna 2009, p. 853.
  6. ↑ a b Bernhard Maier: The religion of the Celts. Gods - myths - worldview. P. 99 f.
  7. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Vienna 2009, p. 810.
  8. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Vienna 2009, p. 378 ff.
  9. ↑ Helmut Birkhan: Post-ancient Celtic reception, projections of Celtic culture. Vienna 2009, p. 751 ff.
  10. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 307.
  11. ^ Bernhard Maier: Lexicon of the Celtic religion and culture . P. 150.
  12. ^ Ingeborg Clarus: Celtic myths. Man and his otherworld. P. 316 f.