A Review of Celtic Warriors by Ó hÓgáin

Review of Celtic Warriors:The Armies of One of the First Great Peoples in Europe by Dáithí Ó hÓgáin

Thomas Dunne Books (An imprint of St. Martin's Press), 1999

Dr. Ó hÓgáin is best perhaps best know for his works studying Irish Mythology and is considered a foremost expert in the subject. With Celtic Warriors, he departs from mythology and Ireland both to focus instead on the historical accounts of the Celtic struggle against the Romans in Gaul and then Britain. This book ends with the Irish invasion of Wales and mentions that the accounts of British war leaders may have been incorporated into Irish legend, but leaves Irish myth for other books.

Using the Roman primary sources, Ó hÓgáin gives a brief but thorough description of the Celtic peoples. From the Celtic strikes on Rome, to Rome's invasion and conquest of Gaul, to the Roman invasion of Britain gives detailed and concise accounts of the battles that have been recorded in chronological order with details of the politics involved. There is nothing new here for those who have been studying this history already, however, this book can be an asset to those interested in the military history as a quick reference to supplement the primary text or to help get a better handle on sometimes confusing translations. It can also be a great start for someone just beginning their studies who has an interest in warriors, being less daunting than either primary sources or secondary but less focused ones. However, the latter are encouraged to move on to the primary and broader focused texts.

Showing that even good scholars can get confused by the bad scholarship of those before them, Ó hÓgáin's most obvious (to me) mistake is in reference to the tribes of what is now Scotland. "[The Caledonian Tribes] were a mixture of Celts and an earlier people whom the Romans called by the Latin name "Picti" ('painted ones'). The latter were an indigenous population who spoke a pre-Indo-European language,...." (pg. 108) Of course today, this is a bit backwards, as it wouldn't be 300 more years that the Romans would use the term "Picti" and therefore the people it refers to would be the DESCENDANTS of the Caledonii and not their ancestors. And there are few scholar of the Picts who now believe that any people of that name spoke a pre-I-E language, most believing that it was a Brythonic branch of Celtic that they spoke while a few hold out for a Germanic tongue. (For more of my own opinions on the Picts you may wish to read this.)

Some women on the warrior path may find only minor interest, but it should be remembered that we do need to know the men's stories, especially when we have so few of our own. He does mention not only Boudicca and Cartismandua, but the often dismissed Chiomara of the Tolistoboii, in Galatia. She may not have taken up arms but when captured and raped by a centurion tricked him into accepting a high ransom for her return, only so she could order her people to kill him in revenge. (pg. 71) His accounts of Cartismandua and Boudicca are nicely retold without any silly remarks about women being in such positions, it as if it's actually not remarkable. They are war leaders and politicians, no more or less than the men named.

A good reference book to have for anyone interested in Celtic warriors, but should undoubtedly be supplemented by some of Ó hÓgáin works on mythology.

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