Ancient Celtic religion

Ancient Celtic religion, commonly known as Celtic paganism,^[1]^[2]^[3] was the religion of the ancient Celtic peoples of Europe. Because there are no extant native records of their beliefs, evidence about their religion is gleaned from archaeology, Greco-Roman accounts (some of them hostile and probably not well-informed), and literature from the early Christian period.^[4] Celtic paganism was one of a larger group of polytheistic Indo-European religions of Iron Age Europe.

While the specific deities worshipped varied by region and over time, underlying this were broad similarities^[5] in both deities^[6] and "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples.^[7] Widely worshipped Celtic gods include: Lugus, Toutatis, Taranis, Cernunnos, Epona, Maponos, Belenos, Ogmios, and Sucellos.^[6]^[4] Sacred springs were often associated with Celtic healing deities.^[8] Triplicity is a common theme, with a number of deities seen as threefold, for example the Three Mothers.

The druids were the priests of Celtic religion, but little is definitively known about them.^[9] Greco-Roman writers said the Celts held ceremonies in sacred groves and other natural shrines, called nemetons, while some Celtic peoples also built temples or ritual enclosures.^[6] Celtic peoples often made votive offerings which would be deposited in water and wetlands, or in ritual shafts and wells.^[6] There is evidence that ancient Celtic peoples sacrificed animals, almost always livestock or working animals.^[10] There is also some evidence that ancient Celts sacrificed humans and, though possibly imperial propaganda, some Greco-Roman sources claim the Gauls sacrificed criminals by burning them in a wicker man.^[11]

^ Ross, Anne (1974). Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition. London: Sphere Books Ltd.
^ Hutton, Ronald (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, USA: Blackwell.
^ Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Routledge.
^ ^a ^b Green, Miranda (2012). "Chapter 25: The Gods and the supernatural", The Celtic World. Routledge. pp.465–485
^ Cunliffe, Barry (1997). The Ancient Celts. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 184.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cunliffe, Barry (2018) [1997]. "Chapter 11: Religious systems". The Ancient Celts (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 275–277, 286, 291–296.
^ Ross, Anne (1986). The Pagan Celts. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 103.
^ Koch, John (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1488–1491.
^ Hutton, Ronald (2009). Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain. Yale University Press. p. 17.
^ Cite error: The named reference Green94-96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference koch687-690 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Ross, Anne (1974). Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition. London: Sphere Books Ltd.

[2] Hutton, Ronald (1991). The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy. Oxford, UK and Cambridge, USA: Blackwell.

[3] Jones, Prudence and Pennick, Nigel (1995). A History of Pagan Europe. Routledge.

[Green,_The_Celtic_World-4] Green, Miranda (2012). "Chapter 25: The Gods and the supernatural", The Celtic World. Routledge. pp.465–485

[Cunliffe_1997_Page_184-5] Cunliffe, Barry (1997). The Ancient Celts. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. p. 184.

[Cunliffe_religion-6] Cunliffe, Barry (2018) [1997]. "Chapter 11: Religious systems". The Ancient Celts (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 275–277, 286, 291–296.

[7] Ross, Anne (1986). The Pagan Celts. London: B.T. Batsford. p. 103.

[Koch_religion-8] Koch, John (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 1488–1491.

[9] Hutton, Ronald (2009). Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain. Yale University Press. p. 17.

[Green94-96-10] Cite error: The named reference Green94-96 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[koch687-690-11] Cite error: The named reference koch687-690 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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