Viking history. Celtic and Scandinavian mythology The role of women in society

Here is what is called a “Celtic tattoo” on our wonderful Internet. These designs are beautiful (otherwise this page would not be here) and if modern culture has found a niche for them as tattoo patterns, then why not?
But let's figure out what these ornaments mean and how Celtic they are.

The raven in Celtic mythology is a symbol of the god Lugh (from whose name, by the way, the names of the cities of Lyon and Leiden originate, so although we know about Lugh mainly from Irish sources, we can safely call him a common Celtic god). Lug was skilled in all crafts, so the range of symbolism here is pleasantly wide.

But.
Pair of ravens has nothing to do with Lug or the Celts in general. This is already Scandinavian mythology, these are Hugin and Munin (“Thinking” and “Remembering”) - Odin’s ravens. Who is Odin - I hope you know, if not - read.
And now the most important thing. At the time when both the Celts and the Scandinavians created these ornaments, they were sworn enemies, the Vikings plundered north-eastern Britain and the Celts felt very, very bad about them. So if you are an adherent of this symbolism, it is recommended to decide whether you are for the Celts or the Scandinavians.

everything is clickable
Purely Scandinavian ornaments.
Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged horse (image copied from an authentic ruin stone).
Three horns in modern culture are considered a symbol of Odin; the source of these ideas is violent fantasy (there is nothing like this in the Eddas). The triad became a symbol of Odin in the late 20th century. In short, on the Gotland Stone in the scene of human sacrifice, a sign of three triangles is placed above the victim. Modern writers of runic magic have turned this into the sign of Odin and recommend such tattoos. Well, what can I say... “I don’t recommend it, young man, I don’t recommend it. They’ll eat it” (c)
Wolf... it could be Fenrir, who will kill Odin in the Last Battle. Odin himself has two wolves; I have never seen paired images of wolves.

A whole flock:) Whatever symbol the wolf is for you (strength, loneliness, etc.) - this is an image of Scandinavian mythology, it is even more an image of modern mythology, but in no case is it Celtic. The Celts did not worship the wolf.

The sun met me with “Celtic” paraphernalia. I don’t know what’s Celtic about it, pure 21st century, Celtic stylization.
The hammer - yes, an authentic, Scandinavian symbol of the god Thor, the thunderer and protector of people. The drawing is taken from authentic bronze amulets that Scandinavians wore as a talisman against evil spirits.
The triad is again a modern symbol of Odin, very far removed from the originals in design. An example of 21st century mythology, which is no worse than the ancient one, just don’t confuse them :)

Back to the Celts.
So, one Raven - Celtic symbol, Meadow. Two crow is a Scandinavian symbol, Odin. A three...that's not three in O rona, no. It's three thief O us.
This is again a Celtic symbol, the goddess of war Morrigan. She, along with Badb and Macha, are called the three goddesses of war, but this association comes more from modern encyclopedias than from Celtic sources. Well, let's leave these subtleties aside. Morrigan, in addition to her belligerence, is also a seer and inspirer of warriors... a sweet feminine image;)
In the center is the world tree, modern Celtic stylization.
On the right is a more interesting ornament. This triple curl (if you look closely, it’s also in the center of Morrigan’s crows) is from the famous Irish mound of Newgrange, an enduring symbol for Celtic lovers. One little thing: this mound is older than the Celts by a modest two and a half thousand years, so this is a pattern borrowed by Celtic lovers, but not actually Celtic. Don’t ask about its symbolism: we are unlikely to know what they meant 4500 years ago.
But since the Newgrange mound was considered the place where the god of abundance Dagda lives, you can wear it as a symbol of the Dagda :) And this god is also associated with music, wisdom and luck in battle.

What kind of raven is in the center - don't ask; he simply fascinates me with his drawing. On the right and left are examples of how an ornament is made from an animal.

This is what is called on our Internet “ethnic tattoo”, and in non-Russian “tribal tatoo”. As you can easily guess, this does not correspond to any tribe, as well as to any ethnic group; pure 21st century stylizations. But beautiful!
You can consider the wolf Fenrir, he is fierce enough for that.
Come up with the symbolism for the falcon yourself;)

We know much less about the Celts than, for example, about the Greeks or Romans, although they also created a great and unique civilization. The main problem when studying the Celts is the lack of texts on the history of that time, written down directly from that era. The heritage of the Celts has reached us mainly through oral tradition in the form of legends and traditions.

Celtic women, unlike Greek or Roman women, had a large number of rights and privileges in society. This characterization is especially true for Irish Celtic society, where the “Brehon law” adequately supported the rights of the fair sex. Celtic women had property, could divorce their husbands, and were involved in the political, intellectual, spiritual and judicial spheres of society. As wives, they were not dedicated only to the kitchen and taking care of the home.

Traits

The Greeks of Herodotus' time easily recognized the Celts from other barbarians by their various national characteristics, most notably their fair skin, blue eyes, and blond or red hair. Although, of course, not all representatives had such an appearance. Ancient sources also contain mentions of dark-haired Celts, which, however, was a less typical type.
The appearance of the Celts, described by ancient authors, fully corresponds to the standards of beauty adopted by the Celtic nobility and glorified in ancient Irish literature. In addition to the descriptions present in ancient literature, one can judge the appearance and lifestyle of the Celts by the fine art of Celtic masters and remains from Celtic burials, the number of which, alas, is not large.
Antique sculptural images of the Celts also confirm the descriptions found in literature of tall people with flexible bodies and predominantly wavy or curly hair.

Traditions

Sculptural portraits serve as an excellent illustration of the fact that the Celts took care of their appearance and personal hygiene. In the early sagas there are many references to people washing themselves or going to the bathhouse. Unlike the inhabitants of the Mediterranean world, they used water and soap. According to Irish sagas, they also used vegetable oil and aromatic herbs to anoint their bodies. Archaeologists have discovered many elegant mirrors and razors that served as toilets for aristocrats. They are also mentioned in the texts.

Cosmetics and hairstyles

There is also evidence that the fair sex used cosmetics. Irish women dyed their eyebrows black with berry juice and tinted their cheeks with an herb called ruam. There is also evidence of the use of cosmetics by Celtic women on the continent. In Rome, the poet Propertius reproached his beloved for using cosmetics like the Celts.
Hair occupied a special place in Celtic ideas of beauty.
The Celts spent a lot of effort artificially increasing their volume, although for the most part they were already long and thick. Strabo wrote that the hair of the Celts was “thick, no different from the mane of a horse.”
Women wore their hair long, braiding it in complex ways, often pinned with combs; sometimes the ends of two braids were secured with gold and silver jewelry. In "The Rape of the Bull from Kualnge" there is an impressive description of the hair of the prophetess Fedelm: "Three strands of the girl's golden hair were laid around her head, and the fourth curled down her back to her calves."
There is no mention in ancient Irish texts of the use of limestone solution to wash hair, but it appears that this or a similar practice existed among the Celts. There are descriptions of people with hair so coarse that you could prick apples on it. One description suggests that the hair of the Celts was three-colored: dark at the roots, light at the ends and a transitional color in the middle. All this could well be the result of the use of limestone mortar.
Thus, for the Celts, the ideal of beauty was - usually, although not always - blond, thick, voluminous hair, styled in an elaborate hairstyle.

Decorations

Celtic women had a special passion for jewelry. The most characteristic Celtic decoration was the neck torc "torques" made of gold and bronze, less often - of silver. They were metal rods or hollow tubes bent in an arc, the ends of which were in contact, or there was a small gap between them. The metal was probably quite flexible - the hoop opened up and the ends diverged far enough to be worn around the neck. It is believed that Celtic women also wore the torques on their heads. Gold bracelets, rings, bronze brooches and brooches were also in use.

Standards of female beauty: ancient Scandinavians

When speaking about the ancient Scandinavians, I will mean the Viking Age, that is, the population of Northern Europe in the period from the late 8th to the 11th centuries.

The role of women in society

A characteristic feature of Scandinavian society at that time was that women had a high status, especially in comparison with other cultures. It was determined primarily by the significant role of women in the household. Scandinavian women performed traditional household duties, looked after livestock, prepared supplies for long winters, weaved and spun (including for export), and, most importantly, brewed beer, which the Scandinavians loved very much.

The Scandinavian woman was the full-fledged mistress of the house, with whom her husband consulted on important matters. Scandinavian women feasted with men, and the nobles sat in places of honor, unlike, for example, the ancient Greeks, who had to remain in the women's half.
In Scandinavian society, not only the physical beauty and noble birth of a woman were valued, but also her intelligence, pride, sometimes even arrogance, determination, practical intelligence and skills. All these qualities were socially significant, therefore they are invariably cited in the sagas.

Traits

On average, the height of the Vikings was slightly less than the height of people today. The height of men was on average 172 cm, and the height of women was 158-160 cm. These data were obtained based on studies of a number of skeletons from burials found in different areas of Scandinavia. Of course, individuals could be significantly higher. Norwegian anthropologist Berit Selevall notes in her work: “In terms of appearance, the people of the Viking Age were hardly very different from the current population of Scandinavia, except for slightly smaller height and somewhat better condition of the teeth, as well as, of course, clothing, jewelry and hairstyles.” "

Personal care

Some contemporary peoples of the Vikings called them “dirty savages” in a literal sense. However, archaeological research dispels myths about the alleged uncleanliness of the Vikings. Archaeologists often find beautiful patterned ridges at the sites of Old Scandinavian settlements. Apparently, they were used by a wide segment of the population, and not just members of the nobility.
Among the items found during the excavations there were nail pickers, tweezers, beautiful basins for washing, and traces of abrasions on the teeth indicate that toothpicks were also in use. It is also known that the Vikings prepared excellent special soap, which was used not only for bathing, but also for bleaching hair.
Not many painted images of people from that time have survived, and only a few of them lack stylization. In Sweden, small silver and bronze figurines of stately and elegant women were found in dresses with trains and with hair tied in a beautiful bun at the back of the head and covered, probably, with a hair net or scarf.

Decorations

Like the Celts, the Scandinavians were very fond of jewelry. With their help, one could not only decorate oneself, but also flaunt one’s wealth. At the same time, there were not so many decorations that did not have a functional purpose. These are bracelets, necklaces, neck hoops and various pendants on chains. Rings were rarely worn, and temple rings were completely alien to the Scandinavian tradition. Scandinavian women usually threw a cloak or cape over their sundress, fastening it in front with beautiful brooches made of gold, silver or bronze. There is an idea that the Vikings loved to decorate themselves with all sorts of items brought from overseas countries. But it would be wrong to imagine the noble and eminent Vikings looking like a Christmas tree covered with trinkets. Overseas jewelry was used very sparingly; most often, original Scandinavian ones were in use.

The Scandinavians, like the Celts, had ideas about female beauty that were largely associated with thick, long blond hair. This conclusion can be made by getting acquainted with the Old Norse epic. Married women wore their hair in a bun and wore conical white linen caps. Unmarried girls had their hair tied up with a ribbon.

2. SAXES, VIKINGS AND CELTS, 400-1066. n. e.

Anglo-Saxon conquest

V century - an extremely dark period. The first Germanic settlers were illiterate, and Bede and other later writers provide information that differs from the archaeological record. Archaeological evidence must be used with extreme caution, however, as it is often difficult to interpret and its uneven distribution partly reflects the geographical dispersion of excavations and fieldwork. The question of the extent to which continuity or rupture between Roman Britain and post-Roman Britain should be emphasized is far from settled. In particular, it is unclear whether there were large-scale tribal migrations or invasions by small groups of warriors at the time, an issue that remains subject to lively debate.

The invaders attacked eastern and southern England. The Jutes settled in Kent, the Isle of Wight and Hampshire; the Saxons - in southern England (Sussex - South Saxons, Essex - East Saxons), the Angles - in the lands further to the north.

Nevertheless, here the barbarians encountered longer and more successful resistance than in France, Spain or Italy, although the fight against foreigners was seriously complicated by internal fragmentation. Perhaps one of the reasons for the fierce resistance was the fears of the Roman-British elite, since they had something to lose: in Britain there was no such assimilation with the invaders as, say, in France. Around 500 the Britons, as legend has it, under the leadership of Artorius (Arthur), probably defeated the Saxons in a decisive battle at Mount Badon, and the victory was possibly celebrated in the great feast hall of the hill fort at South Cadbury, which may , is reflected in the legend of Camelot.

However, the Germans gradually conquered England, and much of Roman Britain was destroyed or fell into disrepair. However, this did not have a detrimental effect on either Christianity or Romanization. Archaeological research, capable of at least to some extent shedding light on this period, which is very sparsely covered by written sources, shows that life did not stop in large cities. In the conquered areas, the Roman-British population remained - mainly slaves and peasants. The high population level that characterized Roman Britain was maintained until the mid-6th century, that is, until the bubonic plague epidemic that devastated many European countries. It is believed that the Britons still formed the bulk, but adopted the culture of the dominant military elite of the invaders. Archaeological evidence suggests that the new settlers followed the example of the Romanized Britons, avoiding alumina and preferring light soil of gravel, sand and chalk. As a result, the Anglo-Saxons settled in already inhabited lands; although the element ley (from Old English leah), common in place names, meaning clearing for arable land or settlement, indicates continued deforestation.

Yet the language and culture of Roman Britain never recovered from the disasters it had endured, and with the decline of trade, subsistence farming took hold in England.

English society acquired rough warlike features. Judging by archaeological data, the amount of pottery and coins has decreased. All the invaders were pagans, and Christianity in England was on the verge of extinction. Christianity was not widespread in Britain and under the Romans. It is not entirely clear to what extent it, even as a state religion, was rooted even in the upper strata of British society. According to some scholars, the Romano-British elite remained pagan.

In the VI century. the Angles and Saxons achieved significant success; The Utes were not so lucky. One of the largest Saxon kingdoms, Wessex (the kingdom of the West Saxons), was formed in the area of Dorchester (on the Thames) and in Hampshire and began to quickly expand its borders to the west, although Dorest became part of it only at the end of the 6th or beginning of the 7th century. , and Cornwall - only in 838. The Angles founded kingdoms in East Anglia, the central counties (Mercia), Yorkshire (Deira) and north of the Tees (Bernicia). The last two states united to form Northumbria, which captured the British kingdoms of Elmet and Rheged and became the main power in Northern England.

It would be wrong to consider these centuries simply as Dark Ages, characterized solely by violence, cruelty, destruction and disaster. In a long-term approach, we can view the Dark Ages in a pre-Roman light, and Romanization itself as a phenomenon superimposed on more natural and underlying "rhythms" of continuity in the development of settlements, agriculture and trade.

We also have reason to give a positive assessment to some aspects of Anglo-Saxon society. Large quantities of early Anglo-Saxon pottery and metalwork have been discovered in the cemeteries. Richly decorated utensils, some imported from Europe and Byzantium (Eastern Roman Empire), were found in a ship burial at Sutton Hoo (c. 630) and, to a lesser extent, at Snape and Kentish cemeteries. This demonstrates the wealth of the East Anglian and Kentish dynasties and strong ties to the continent. At Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge (Suffolk), King Raedwald of East Anglia was probably buried. The exceptionally high quality of the jewelry found in this burial speaks of the wealth and luxury characteristic of the highest strata of society in the 7th century, and suggests the lost treasures of Anglo-Saxon civilization. To some extent, we can probably talk about revival. Burial at Sutton Hoo would have been unthinkable in the previous century. It reflects new political realities and strengthening ties with the continent.

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In France they were called Normans, in Rus' - Varangians. Vikings were the name given to the people who lived in what is now Norway, Denmark and Sweden from about 800 to 1100 AD. Wars and feasts are the two favorite pastimes of the Vikings. Swift sea robbers on ships wearing sonorous...
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BATTLE RAGE OF THE ANCIENTS1. Celtic Fenians The mentality of the Celtic warrior is somewhat reminiscent of the exaggerated, absurd ideas of a knight from the times of feudal fragmentation. Although the Celtic army knew the formation (sometimes forming a “living fortress” - a closed wall of shields like a river...

Celtic mythology is almost devoid of those brutal cruelties found in the legends of the Germans and Scandinavians. It is as charming and picturesque as the Greek one, and at the same time completely different from the Hellenic mythology, which is a kind of reflection of the mild climate of the Mediterranean, so far from our temperate climate zone. This is understandable. The gods are inevitably the product of the country where they appeared. How strange a naked Apollo would look, walking among icebergs, or Thor in animal skin, sitting under the shade of palm trees. And the Celtic gods and heroes are the original inhabitants of the British landscape, and they do not seem strangers on the historical stage, where there are no grapevines or olive groves, but rustle their own, domestic oaks and ferns, hazel and heather. Meletinsky E.M. "Edda" and early forms of epic. M., 1968.

The Saxon invasion affected mainly only the east of Britain, while in Western England, Wales, Scotland and especially in the legendary Ireland, the hills and valleys still preserve the memory of the ancient gods of the most ancient inhabitants of these lands. In South Wales and Western England, at literally every step there are mysterious and surprisingly romantic places that the British Celts considered the abodes of the gods or outposts of the other world. It is difficult to find a place in Ireland that is not in one way or another connected with the legendary exploits of the heroes of the Red Branch or Finn and his heroes. Ancient deities survived in people's memory, turning into fairies and retaining all their attributes, and often their names. Wordsworth, in one of his sonnets written in 1801, laments that while “in immortal books” Pelion and Ossa, Olympus and Parnassus are constantly mentioned, not a single English mountain, “though they stand in crowds along the edge of the sea,” has been honored “honors from the heavenly muses,” and in his time this was certainly the case. But in our time, thanks to the efforts of scientists who discovered ancient Gaelic mythology, everything is completely different. London's Ludgate Hill, as well as many other less famous hills, once boasted temples to Britain's own Zeus. And one of the mountains near Bets-y-Cud in Wales served as the British Olympus, where the palace of our ancient gods was located.

The ancient gods lived in legends, becoming the ancient British kings who ruled the country in a fairy-tale past, long before Julius Caesar. Such are King Lud, the legendary founder of London, King Lear, whose legend gained immortality under the pen of Shakespeare, King Brennius, who captured Rome, and many others who also played their role in ancient plays and, in particular, in mystery plays. Some of them returned to the people, becoming long-dead saints of the early Christian church in Ireland and Britain. Their sacred titles, deeds and exploits most often represent a kind of church retelling of the adventures of their “namesakes,” the ancient pagan gods. And yet the gods survived again, becoming even more powerful. The myths about Arthur and the gods of his circle, having fallen into the hands of the Normans - the writers of chronicles, returned to the reader in the form of a cycle of novels about the exploits of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. As these themes spread throughout medieval Europe, their influence became truly all-encompassing, so that the poetic impulse emanating from them found a wide response in our literature, playing a particularly prominent role in the work of such 19th-century poets as Tennyson and Swinburne. Meletinsky E.M. The origin of the heroic epic: Early forms and archaic monuments. M., 1963.

Charles Elton traced the diverse influence of Celtic mythology on English poetry and fiction in his book The Origins of English History. “The religious ideas of the Briton tribes,” he writes, “had a very noticeable influence on literature. Medieval novels and legends, which in one way or another reflect the historical past, are full of all sorts of “valiant heroes” and other characters of a purely mythological nature. The primordial forces of earth and fire, as well as the spirits inhabiting the rapids of rivers, appear as kings on the pages of Irish chronicles or in the lives of saints and hermits in Wales. The Knights of the Round Table, Sir Caius and Tristan, and the noble Sir Bedivere, renounced their powerful origins for the new attributes they acquired as heroes of romance. King Arthur was born in a quiet and peaceful valley... by a goddess. “There, under the canopy of the forests, on the banks of the streams, a ray of sun rarely penetrated, and the nights were dark and gloomy, for neither the moon nor the stars were visible in the sky.” This was exactly the land of Oberon and Sir Gaon of Bordeaux. Such is the dense forest of Arden. In ancient mythology, the domain of the King of Shadows was known, the country of Gwyn-ap-Nudd, where Sir Gaon goes in The Faerie Queene.

In ancient times, all Celts were united by a single organization of priests - the Druids. They often enjoyed greater influence than the leaders. They were led by the Archdruid, and they all met once a year for meetings. The main center and school of the Druids were in modern England. They were probably founded by the predecessors of the Celts - the tribes of megalith builders. These megaliths, including Stonehenge, were the centers of sacred rites performed by the Druids. Sacred groves and springs were also revered. It is known that the Druids believed in the transmigration of souls: that after death a person’s soul can move into a newborn or another creature - a bird, a fish, etc. But they also believed in the afterlife - underground, under water or on islands in the ocean somewhere in the west. However, in general, the teaching of the Druids was secret, it was forbidden to write it down, and therefore its contents practically did not reach us.

Among animals, the Celts especially worshiped the horse and the bull. In Ireland, for a long time, the striking custom of the assumption of power by the new king was preserved. Its main part was the ritual of the sacred marriage of the king with a white mare, as if personifying the kingdom. After this action, the mare was ceremonially slaughtered, and the new king still had to bathe in the broth cooked from her. The ritual of sacred selection of the king is also known. In accordance with it, a specially appointed person ate raw meat and drank the blood of a sacred bull, and then went to bed. In his dream he was supposed to see the new king. Quite unusual, compared to other peoples, is the Celts’ veneration of the domestic pig and wild boar, associated with the other world. In some Celtic epics (sagas), the hero hunts a boar, and it leads him to the other world.

All Celts believed in several main gods. Among them is the angry god Esus. associated with the cult of mistletoe, the thunder god Garanis and the god of war and tribal unity Teutates. The Druids especially promoted human sacrifice. Thus, sacrifices to Yezusu were hung on a tree. Taranisa was burned, and Teutata was drowned. The horned Cernunnos was probably the god of fertility and wildlife. Lug was the god of light. In later Irish myths, he is an alien god who won a place among other gods by his skill in many crafts. Steblin-Kamensky M.M. Myth. L., 1976

After the conquest of Britain and Gaul (France) by Rome, the Druid organization was destroyed.

Britain was inhabited by another branch of the Celtic tribes, the Britons - the ancestors of the inhabitants of modern Wales (Welsh) and Brittany in France (Bretons). They also preserved the rich ancient epic, performed to the accompaniment of the harp. It is close to Irish, but more reworked in the Christian spirit. For example, here Manavidan, the son of Lir, is in many ways similar to Manannan, but now he is no longer a god, but a mortal full of wisdom. In general, Welsh myths are more like fairy tales. They are collected in the book Mabinogion - a kind of manual for young bards. The characteristic motifs of the Celtic epic are enchanted castles that rotate, can disappear, etc., as well as magical cauldrons that are always full of food or revive the dead placed there, or bestow eternal youth. Another striking feature of the pagan mythology of the Celts is the worship of heads. Thus, the ancient Celts cut off the heads of the enemies they killed and kept them as trophies. But also the heads of their own leaders could serve as a powerful talisman, an object of worship, and even continue to live in this form. Many Celtic images of sacred heads, sometimes three-faced, have survived. The most famous among them is the head of Bran, son of Lear and ruler of Britain. According to legend, it was buried in London and protected Britain from disasters.

At the beginning of the 5th century AD. e. The Romans left Britain. A few years later, Germanic tribes of Angles, Saxons and Jutes began to move to this island, torn apart by the internecine struggle of the Celtic princes (kings).

At the end of the 5th century, the Anglo-Saxon aggression was stopped for about 50 years. Legends associate this with the victories won by King Arthur, who managed to unite all the Britons. A Celtic general with this name actually existed. The king was helped by the wizard and soothsayer Myrddin (Merlin), his relative, to whom rumor attributes great miracles, for example, the transfer of the stones of the ancient sanctuary Stonehenge from Ireland to England. Arthur's father, King Uther Pendragon, was inflamed with passion for the wife of his vassal Igraine. With the help of Merlin, he took the form of her husband and thus took possession of her by deception. From this connection Arthur was born, who was given to Merlin to raise. But after Uther’s death, the one who would pull out the wonderful sword from the stone lying on the altar was supposed to become king. Only Arthur managed to do this. According to another legend, Arthur, with the help of Merlin, obtained his wonderful sword Excalibur from the fairy - the Lady of the Lake, where a mysterious hand held it above the water. Among Arthur's enemies was his sister, the sorceress (fairy) Morgana. Not knowing about his relationship, Arthur fell in love with Morgana in his youth. They had a son, Mordred. who at one time rebelled against his father, was killed by Arthur in battle, but managed to mortally wound him. The fairy Morgana transported Arthur to the magical island of Avalon, where he lies in a palace on the top of a mountain. When the hour of black trouble comes, King Arthur will return to save Britain. They tell the same thing about Merlin: he, too, turned out to be a victim of love and evil female magic. Imprisoned alive in a magical grotto, he will return in due time.

Myths and legends about the gods of the ancient Britons have reached us in the same compact or, on the contrary, expanded presentation as the myths about the Gaelic deities preserved in ancient Irish and Scottish manuscripts. They also suffered a lot from the persistent attempts of the euhemerists to proclaim them simple people, eventually turned into gods. Only in the famous “Four Branches of Mao and the Legs” do the gods of the Britons appear in their true form - as supernatural beings with immense knowledge of magic and witchcraft, creatures for whom there are no restrictions and barriers that fetter mere mortals. Apart from these four fragments of the ancient mythological system, as well as very, very scant mentions in the earliest Welsh poems and verses, the gods of the ancient Britons can be found only under other people's masks and names. Some of them eventually became kings in Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Britons, which is more than apocryphal in nature. Others were even awarded undeserved canonization, and in order to see their true appearance, it is necessary to strip them of the superficial veil of church veneration. Still others were especially liked by the Franco-Norman authors of adventure and romance novels, becoming famous knights and heroes, known today as the knights of King Arthur and the Round Table. But no matter what disguise they put on, the true essence of these characters still shines through underneath them. The fact is that the Gaels and Britons are two branches of the same ancient people, the Celts. In many of the gods of the Britons, who retained very similar names and attributes, we can easily recognize the well-known features of the Gaelic deities of the famous clan of Tuatha Dé Danaan. Steblin-Kamensky MM. Icelandic sagas. - Icelandic sagas. Irish epic. M., 1973.

Sometimes in myths the gods of the Britons appear divided into three families - “children of Don”, “children of Nudd” and “children of Llyr”. However, in fact, there are not three such families, but two, for Nudd, or Lludd, as he is also called, while he himself called himself the son of Beli, was none other than the husband of the goddess Don. There is no doubt that Don herself is the same deity as Danu, the foremother of the gods of the Tuatha Dé Danaan clan, and Beli is the British equivalent of the Gaelic Bile, the great father of Dis or Pluto, who expelled the first Gaels from Hades (Hades) and gave them possession of Ireland. As for the other family, the “children of Llyr,” we are also familiar with them, for Llyr of the Britons is none other than the well-known Gaelic god of the sea, Lir. These two families, or clans, are usually in opposition to each other, and the military clashes between them, apparently, symbolize in the myths of the Britons the same conflict between the forces of heaven, light and life, on the one hand, and the forces of the sea, darkness and death - on the other, which is already familiar to us from Gaelic mythology, where it is described as constant battles between the gods Tuatha Dé Danaan and the evil Fomorians.

As for the material monuments of the widespread cult of this god, there is no shortage of them. During Roman rule, a temple to Nodens, or Nudens, was erected at Lydney, on the banks of the Severn. On a bronze plate preserved in it. Nudd is depicted as a young deity, shining like the sun and standing in a chariot, riding a team of four horses. He is accompanied by winged spirits representing the winds; and his power over the inhabitants of the sea is symbolized by the tritons following the god. Such were the attributes of the cult of Nudd in the west of Britain; as for the east, there is every reason to believe that here he had a whole sanctuary, located on the banks of the Thames. As legend says, St. Paul's Cathedral in London was erected on the site of an ancient pagan temple; the place on which he stood, as the same Geoffrey of Monmouth reports, was called “Part Lludd” by the Britons, and “Ludes Get” by the Saxons. Huntington S. Clash of civilizations. M., St. Petersburg, 2003

However, Nudd, or Ludd, who was apparently considered the supreme god, occupies a much more modest place in the mythical history of the Welsh than his own son. Gwyn ap Nudd outlived almost all of his celestial relatives in myths and legends. Researchers have repeatedly tried to discover in him the features of the British analogue of the famous Gaelic hero - Finn Mac Cumull. Indeed, both characters' names mean "white"; both are sons of the heavenly god, both became famous as great hunters. However, Gwyn has a higher sacred status, for he invariably commands people. Thus, in one early Welsh poem he appears as the god of war and death and in this capacity plays the role of a kind of judge of souls, a god who accompanies the slain to Hades (Hades) and reigns supreme over them there. In a later, already partially Christianized, tradition, he is described as “Gwyn ap Nudd, whom God put in charge of the demonic tribe in Annwn, so that they would not destroy the human race.” Even later, when the influence of pagan cults completely weakened. Gwyn began to act as the king of Tylwyth Teg, these Welsh fairies, and his name has not yet been erased from the name of the place of his last refuge, the romantic and picturesque valley of Nith. He was considered the king of the hunters of Wales and Western England, and his companions can sometimes be heard at night when they hunt in deserted and remote places.

In his ancient form - that of the god of war and death - he is presented in an ancient poem in dialogue, preserved as part of the Black Book of Carmarthen. This poem, vague and mysterious, like most monuments of early Welsh poetry, is nevertheless a work imbued with a peculiar spirituality, and is rightfully considered a wonderful image of the poetry of the ancient Cymric people. This character reflected perhaps the most transparent image of the pantheon of the ancient Britons, the “great hunter”, hunting not for deer, but for human souls, rushing on his demonic steed along with a demon dog and pursuing prey for which there is no salvation from him . So, he knew in advance where and when the great warriors were destined to die, and scoured the battlefield, taking their souls and commanding them in Hades or on the “foggy mountain top” (according to legend, Gwin’s favorite refuge was the tops of the hills). The poem tells the story of the mythical prince Gwydney Garanir, known in Welsh epic lore as the lord of a lost land whose lands are now hidden beneath the waves of Cardigan Bay. This prince seeks the protection of God, who agrees to help him. The “Appearance” of Arthur, his sudden invasion into the course of mythological history, is one of the many mysteries of Celtic mythology. He is not mentioned in any way in any of the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, which tells of a clan of gods of the ancient Britons comparable to the Gaelic gods Tuatha Dé Danaan. The earliest mentions of his name in Old Welsh literature depict him as one of the military leaders, no better, if not worse, than others, such as "Geraint, Prince of Devon", whose name was immortalized both by the ancient bards and by the inspired pen of Tennyson. However, soon after this we see Arthur ascended to an unprecedented height, for he is called the king of the gods, to whom the gods of the old clans of the celestials - the descendants of Don, Llyr and Pwyll - pay obsequious honors. The ancient poems say that Llud himself - that Zeus of the old pantheon - was in fact only one of Arthur's "Three Elder Knights of War", and Arawn, king of Annwn, one of his "Three Elder Knights of the Council". In the story called “The Dream of Rhonabwy,” which is part of the Red Book of Hergest, he appears as an authoritative overlord, whose vassals are considered to be many characters who in ancient times had the status of gods - the sons of Nudd, Llyr, Bran, Gofanon and Aranrhod. Huntington S. Clash of civilizations. M., St. Petersburg, 2003 In another story from the same Red Book, entitled “Kullvkh and Olwen,” even higher deities are declared his vassals. So, Amaeton, son of Don, plows the land for him, and Gofannon, son of Don, forges iron; Beli's two sons, Ninniau and Peibou, "turned by him into bulls to atone for sins," are harnessed to one team and are busy leveling the mountain so that the harvest can ripen in one day. It is Arthur who convenes the knights in search of the “treasures of Britain,” and Manavidan, son of Llyr, Gwyn, son of Nudd, and Pryderi, son of Pwyll, rush to his call.

The most likely explanation for this phenomenon, apparently, is that this image reflected the accidental contamination of the glorious deeds of two different Arthurs, which led to the emergence of a single half-real-half-mythical character, however, retaining the features of both of his prototypes. One of them was clearly a god named Arthur, whose worship was more or less widespread in the lands of the Celts - no doubt the same Arthur whom an ex voto inscription discovered in the ruins of south-eastern France calls Mercurius Artaius (Mercurius Artaius). The other is the completely earthly Arthur, a leader who bore a special title, which in the era of Roman rule was called Comvs Britannae (Sotes Britannae). This "Earl of Britain" served as the supreme military leader. His main task was to ensure the protection of the country from possible invasions of foreigners. Under his command were two officers, one of whom, Dux Britan-niarum, that is, “Duke of Britain,” oversaw order in the area of Hadrian’s Wall, and the other, Comes Littoris Saxonici, that is, “ Count of the Saxon Coast" ensured the defense of the south-eastern coast of Britain. After the expulsion of the Romans, the Britons long retained the structure of military administration created by their former conquerors, and it is quite reasonable to assume that this post of military leader in early Welsh literature corresponds to the title of "emperor", which, of all the famous heroes of British mythology, was the prerogative of Arthur alone . The glory of Arthur the king united with the glory of Arthur the god, and the general syncretistic image became widespread in lands on which traces of the ancient settlements of the Britons in Great Britain have already been discovered in our time. This created the basis for numerous disputes regarding the location of Arthur's Domain, as well as cities such as the legendary Camelot, and the loci of Arthur's twelve famous battles. The legends and stories about Arthur and his knights undoubtedly have a genuine historical flavor, but they also have the same undeniably mythical character as the stories about their Gaelic colleagues - the heroes of the Red Branch of Ulster and the notorious Fians.

Of these two cycles, the latter is closest to the circle of Arthurian legends. Arthur's rank as the supreme military leader of Britain provides a very telling parallel to Finn's role as leader of the "local Irish militia". And Arthur’s replacement knights of the Round Table are very, very reminiscent of the Fians from Finn’s entourage, who are looking for all sorts of adventures. Both of them engage in battle with equal success both with people and with supernatural creatures. Both raid the lands of Europe, right up to the very walls of Rome. The vicissitudes of the love affair between Arthur, his wife Guenhwyvar (Guinevere) and his nephew Medrawd (Mordred) in some respects resemble the story of Finn, his wife Grainne and his nephew Diarmuid. In the descriptions of the last battles of Arthur and the Fians, one can feel the breath of the deep archaism of primitive myths, although their actual content is somewhat different. At the Battle of Camluan, Arthur and Medravd meet in the last duel, and in the last battle of the Fians at Gabra, the original protagonists are forced to give way to their descendants and vassals. Smirnitskaya O.A. The roots of Yggdrasil. -- The Roots of Yggdrasil: Ancient Scandinavian Literature. M., 1997. The fact is that Finn himself and Cormac have already died, and instead of them, Oscar, the grandson of Fian, and Cairbre, the son of Cormac, are fighting, who hit each other and also die. And, just as Arthur, according to many, many of his followers, did not actually die, but simply disappeared into the “island valley of Avilion,” a Scottish legend tells how, many centuries after the earthly life of the Fians, a certain wanderer accidentally Finding himself on a mysterious western island, he meets Finn Mac Cumull there and even talks to him. And another version of the legend, which forces Arthur and his knights to remain underground, being immersed in a magical sleep, awaiting their future return to the earthly world in glory and power, directly echoes a similar legend about the Fians.

However, although these parallels highlight the special role of Arthur, they nevertheless do not specify the place that he occupies among the gods. To find out what it was, we must carefully study the dynastic genealogies of the Celtic celestials and determine whether they are missing any character whose sacred attributes could be inherited by the newly arrived god. There, side by side with Arthur, we meet familiar names - Lluld and Gwynn. Arawn, Pryderi and Manavidan. Amaeton and Gofannon coexist peacefully with the children of Don. And then there is a clear gap. In later myths there is no mention of Gwydion. This greatest of the sons of the goddess Don died heroically and completely disappeared from the sight of the creators of myths.

It is significant that the same stories and legends that were once told about Gwydion later became associated with the name of Arthur. And if so, then we have the right to assume that Arthur, the supreme god of the new pantheon, simply took Gwydion’s place in the old genealogy. A comparison of the myths about Gwydion with the new myths about Arthur shows almost complete identity between them in everything except names.

The harsh climate of the north, the land of eternal ice and snow, created a special gloomy tone for northern legends and myths. The myths of Scandinavia are based on stories about the Vikings, courageous sailors who conquered northern Europe in 780-1070. The Vikings are considered to be descendants of Germanic tribes that lived during the Roman Empire in the territory of modern Germany. After the fall of Rome, the Germans spread throughout Western Europe: first they appeared in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, then they colonized most of the British Isles, part of Spain, and France. Iceland and Greenland and even settled in North America.

In German-Scandinavian myths, it was about the constant struggle taking place between gods and monsters. Evil monsters and giants tried to destroy the existing world, and the gods opposed them. The gloomy themes of these stories were quite consistent with the turbulent life of the Scandinavians and the harsh climate. (Note that Germanic mythology itself was preserved in a few references, for example, by the Roman historian Tacitus.

But even the harsh climate did not prevent the development of poetic traditions. Skalds, poets who performed their hours-long sagas about beloved heroes, were respected members of society. On long winter evenings, their stories occupied and entertained people, completely replacing modern television. Smirnitskaya O.A. The roots of Yggdrasil. -- The Roots of Yggdrasil: Ancient Scandinavian Literature. M., 1997. Scandinavian poems began to be written down after the 10th century, which is why many different versions of these myths have reached us.

Norse mythology has several main literary sources, mainly Icelandic literary monuments. The Younger Edda, a textbook on the poetic art of skalds, written by the Icelander Snorri Sturluson (1179-1224), is considered very important in Scandinavian mythology. The source of inspiration for many Scandinavian myths was also the Elder Edda, a collection of mythological and heroic poems from Iceland. Norse sagas, for example "The Saga of the Volsungs", occupy an important place in the Scandinavian epic.