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-MANNERS OF THE GALLI AND GERMANI-
[VI.12] When Caesar came to Gallia, the chieftains of one faction were the Aedui, the other the Sequani. Since the latter were less powerful by themselves, for the highest authority had, since ancient times, lain with the Aedui, and clientele of this faction was great, they united the Germani and Ariovistus with them and led them on by means of great expenditures and promises. And after several battles were conducted in their favor and all the upper-class of the Aedui were slain, the Sequani had so far surpassed the Aedui in power that they then drew a large part of their clientele to themselves, received the sons of their chieftains as hostages, forced them to publicly swear that they would undertake no design against them, took ownership of a part of the neighboring territory seized by forced, and took control of the whole of Gallia. Urged on by this need, Diviciacus, for the sake of seeking help, set out for Rome to the Senate, and had since returned with his goal unfulfilled. With Caesar's arrival came a reversal of all affairs, such as the hostages of the Aedui being returned, the old clientele being restored, and new advantages in establishing a client-patron relationship with Caesar were made since they could see that those who had gone over to his friendship enjoyed a better state of affairs and a more steady hand at the helm; and thus with the Aedui' influence and worth increased in regards to the rest of their affairs, the Sequani lost the sovereignty. Into their place came the Remi, whom it was understood equaled the Aedui in influence in Caesar's esteem, and so to them the Sequani consigned themselves in clientage since they were in no way able to be joined with the Aedui on account of ancient grudges. The Remi carefully protected the Sequani and thus began to hold a new and freshly acquired sway. The matter was far enough along that by far the chief people were considered to be the Aedui, and the second place of honor the Remi held.
[VI.13] In all of Gallia there are two kinds of person who are of any rank and worth. For the commons are held in a place nearly akin to slavery which undertakes no enterprise in and of itself and takes no interest in any deliberation. The majority of them, when they are either overcome by debt, or the great number of their tributes, or some injustice committed by a member of the more powerful, they consign themselves into slavery to the nobles. But of these two orders, the one is the Druids, the other is the Knights. The former are versed in matters divine, they take care of sacrifices public and private, and they interpret all matters of religion. A great number of youths flock to them for the purpose of training, for the Druids have much honor among their people. For they decide in nearly all controversies both public and private, including if any crime hath been committed, if any murder hath been done, if there is any dispute concerning inheritances or boundaries, and they decide in matters of reward and punishment. If anyone, either acting as a private person or in a public capacity does not submit to their will, the Druids interdict him from the sacrifices. This punishment is most grave amongst them. To those who have the interdict placed upon them are counted in the number of the impious and the criminal; all withdraw from their presence, their approach and speech people avoid lest they contract some sort of evil from their touch. No justice is rendered to these who seek it, no dignity bestowed. Among these Druids there is one who presides who wields the supreme authority among his fellows. Upon his death, either one who is preeminent amongst the rest succeeds, or, if there many equals, a vote of the Druids commences, or it is not unheard of that they even contend in arms for the chieftainship. These assemble at a fixed point in the year at a hallowed place in the territory of the Carnutes, which environs are considered to be in the very middle of the whole of Gallia. Hither do all who have disputes algates gather and obey the pronouncements and judgments of the Druids. Their training is thought to have been founded in Britannia and thence spread into Gallia, and now, those who wish to learn their art more carefully tend to set out thither for the sake of studying it.
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| Two Druids, Bernard de Montfaucon, 1719 |
[VI.14] The Druids are wont to not go to war, nor do they pay tribute along with the rest. In regards to soldiering they have an exemption and a dispensation in all matters. Roused by the idea of such rewards, many seek out training both of their own accord and some are sent by parents and relations to learn. In this training, they are said to learn by heart a great number of verses, and so some stay in this state of learning for twenty years. For they think it not divinely sanctioned to commit things to letters, although in nearly all other remaining affairs, both in public and private transactions, they make use of Greek letters. This seemeth to me to have been installed for two reasons: one, that they wish not for their learning to be conveyed to the masses, and secondly because they believe that their students less effectively train their memories if they rely on letters, for it occurs to almost the majority of people that, because of their reliance on letters, they take less care in their learning and memory. Amongst their foremost beliefs which they wish to proselytize if that perisheth not the soul, but passes along from one to another after death, and they very strongly think a man to be roused to valor if his fear of death is ignored. They discuss and impart to the youth much concerning the stars and their movements, the size of the world and the earth, the nature of the universe, and the might and power of the deathless gods.
[VI.15] The other order is that of the Knights. These, when the need or some war occurred, which was wont to happen in nearly every year before Caesar's arrival, when either they were inflicting injuries themselves or were routing those who were inflicting them, are all engaged in the war. The most illustrious of them in pedigree and resources are those who have the most vassals and clients about them. This they recognize as the only influence and power.
[VI.16] The entire populace of the Galli are given over to superstitions, and because of this those who are afflicted by more serious than average diseases, those who are engaged in battles and perils either sacrifice human victims or vow that they will sacrifice them, and make use of Druids as celebrants of these rites; for if the life of a man is not returned for the life of a man, then they believe the will of the deathless gods cannot be fulfilled, and they have sacrifices carried out publicly of that kind. Some have figures of an immense size, the limbs of which are woven of branches and filled with living people. When these are set on fire from below, the men, enveloped by the flames, perish. The execution in this fashion of those who are caught in theft or brigandage or some other offense are thought to be more welcome to the deathless gods; but, when a supply of such is lacking, they will not decline even innocent victims.
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| 18th Century Illustration of a Wicker Man |
[VI.17] The god they worship in particular is Mercurius. Many are his images, and they consider him to be the inventor of all arts, the guide of ways and marches, and think him to have great power in the acquisition of money and trading. After him they worship Apollo, Mars, Jove the Father, and Minerva. In regards to these they have nearly the same belief system as the rest of the nations, namely that Apollo dispels disease, Minerva handles the undertakings of work and artifice, Jove the Father keepeth the power o'er the heavens, and Mars ruleth war. To the lattermost, when the Galli decide to strive in battle, vow most of what they intend to take in the war. When they are victorious, they sacrifice the captured animals and then bear whatever is left into one place. One can see in many states the consecrated places of the heaped-up mounds of this stuff. Nor does it oft happen that any neglect his belief in such rites that he dare to either hide away at his own some object he hath spirited away, or to make off with anything once it hath been set there, for the the most grave pronouncement of death hath been decreed to follow, with torture included.
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| Lugus (Old Irish: Lugh; Welsh: Lleu) is considered the Mercurial god to which Caesar refers in his capacity as a master of crafts and arts. His name gives us the modern place names Lyon (Lugdunum "Lugus' Fort"), Laon, and Loudon in France, Leiden in the Netherlands, and Lugo in Galicia. The Celtic festival of Lughnasadh (August 1st) is named for him. |
[VI.18] The Galli assert that all of they hath sprung from Father Dis and such a tale hath been handed down by the Druids. Because of this, the span of all time they divide not by the day but by the night, and birthdays, and months, and the beginnings of years they thus reckon so that the day follows the night. In the remaining institutions of their life, they differ from nearly every other nation in this regard, that they suffer not their own children to approach them openly until they have reached adulthood so that they might withstand the tour of duty. They believe it shameful for a son of boyish age to stand in the sight of his father in public.
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| Sucellus, the closest to the Gallic Dis Pater (related also to the Irish Dagda (and Donn)) |
[VI.19] Husbands make an estimation of their own goods and, as much money as they received from their wives under the name of dowry, they add to an account which is held co-jointly and profits are laid by. Whichever of them survives, that portion belonging to both of them comes together with the profits of the previous time. Husbands have power of life and death over their wives and children, and when the paterfamilias born from a renowned family has died, his relations gather and should any suspicion arise concerning his death, they adopt a method of questioning used on slaves towards the wives, and should anything be found, they slay them with fire after applying all tortures. The funerals, in regards to the civilization of the Galli are amazing and costly. All things which are thought to have been dear to the heart of the dead while alive are cast into the fire, even animals, and a little while ago even slaves and clients which were widely deemed to be beloved by them were also burnt alive after the proper funeral rites were completed.
[VI.20] Of the states which are thought to conduct their government more genteelly, they have it established by law that if any should catch anything of rumor or report from his neighbors concerning the government, he should take it to a magistrate and not relay it to any other, for it is known that rash and inexperienced men are scared by false reports and compelled to misdeed and hatch plans concerning matters of the highest import. The magistrates conceal in secret what they see fit, and produce to the commons whatever they have judged to be of use. It is not allowed to speak about the government except in council.
[VI.21] The Germani differ much from this etiquette. For they have neither Druids who preside over matters divine, nor do they pay much attention to sacrifices. The believe that those gods whom they alone behold are to be ranked as gods and by whose aid they are clearly aided, such as the sun, and fire, and the moon, but the as for the rest of the godhead they have catch not even a rumor. Their whole life is spent in hunting and the zeal for warfare and stratagem. From their youth they train in toil and hardship and remain virginal for the longest time, for great is the praise such bears among their people: they believe the body's stature nourished by such deprivation, as well as their strength and sinews made strong; to have known a woman before the twentieth year they think to be amongst the most shameful of acts. Once such copulation takes place, no effort is made to hide it, for promiscuously do they bathe in rivers and use pelts or small cloaks of deer-hide which leaves a great part of the body nude.
[VI.22] For agriculture they have no love, and a great part of their food lies in milk, cheese, and flesh. Not a one has any fixed method of tillage or boundaries belonging to himself, but the magistrates and the chieftains every single year hand out to the tribes and families who have gathered together as much tillage and where they see fit, and they force them to move on after a year has passed. Many are the reasons they advance for this action: lest they, taken by a long-held custom, exchange their zeal for waging war to agriculture; lest they may enthusiastically acquire wide borders and the powerful drive the lesser from their goods; lest they better construct houses to withstand the cold and heat; lest a desire for wealth arise, from which are born factions and discords; the result of all this was to keep the commons in a contented state of mind, since each saw his own wealth placed on equal footing with the most powerful.
[VI.23] To these states the greatest glory is to have deserted lands as widely about them as possible, with their frontiers laid waste -- this they thought the principal evidence of manliness, that their neighbors should be driven out of their lands and thus abandoned them, and none would dare settle near them; at the same time they think themselves to be safer with the fear of a sudden invasion removed. When the states is either on the defense in war or wages it offensively, the magistrates who preside in warfare and have the power of life and death are chosen. In peacetime there is no one common magistrate, but chieftains of the environs and cantons who administer justice amongst their people and handle controversies. Brigandage they consider to have no infamy if it be committed outside the borders of each state, and then they declare it to be for the disciplining of youth and the lessening of sloth. And when anyone from the states speaketh in council that he will be their leader and any who wish to follow may proclaim it, then riseth up those who approve of both mission and man and promise him aid and then they are applauded by all the crowd. Those who do not follow are counted in the number of deserters and traitors, and trust is refused to them afterwards in all respects. They think it not sanctioned by divine will to injure a guest; they keep those who have come to them for any account whatsoever from harm, consider them sacrosanct, and the homes of all are open and food is supplied to them.
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