In 568, when the Langobards crushed the Byzantine army and became the rulers of the cisalpine region, how did the populace accept the Langobards? According to false perception, they were barbarians who oppressed the "Roman" citizenry of the region. First of all, the populace was not any more ethnically "Roman" than any of the other former Roman provinces in Europe. Like in France, they were basically Romanized Gauls, at least in most of this new conquered territory.
In the forward to the book 'The Lombard Laws' (Katherine Fisher; 1973), on pages XV to XVI, Edward Peters states the following:
"In military and political terms, at least, the Lombards encountered little of that resistance that the Romans had used so successfully against the Visigoths and Ostrogoths. Nor did the Lombards encounter that deeper-rooted social resistance that and organized provincial population, no matter how remote from imperial support, might have offered.
"The devastations of the Gothic wars and the heavy hand of the imperial restoration debilitated even the social fabric of Italy, leaving little in the way of a senatorial or curial class that might have led a resistance movement. With the reduction in imperial taxes that accompanied the Lombard occupation, moreover, even such resistance as might have been generated lost at least the cause of fiscal oppression, and many wealthy Romans fled toward, not away from, the new rulers of northern Italy. Life under the Lombards may well have been preferable to life under the imperial bureaucracy; it was certainly less expensive. Not only were the Lombards fortunate in having little serious military and social resistance, but they encountered little institutional or cultural resistance as well."
It continues on, but that gave the gist of it. Again, by "Romans," Peters is referring to the general population of Romanized Gauls. While other conquered Roman territories were given the respect of having the usage of their ethnic or national label after the Roman era was over, the mere existence of the modern state of Italy was enough to compel historians us use "Roman" here. The main point, however, is that they were not "oppressed" under the Langobards. In fact, it appears that they were actually happy with the change! Germanic and Celtic people were not strangers, historically speaking.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
How did the Cisalpine Romanized Gauls receive the Langobards?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Samhain to Halloween: Part 2
Halloween is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints, but is today largely a secular celebration.
Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, wearing costumes and attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, ghost tours, bonfires, visiting haunted attractions, pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.
HISTORY
Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, [it is] more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain or Samuin (pronounced sow-an or sow-in)." The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end". A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf). Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise showing a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young children on the right bob for apples. A couple in the center play a variant, which involves retrieving an apple hanging from a string. The couples at left play divination games.
The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes regarded as the "Celtic New Year."
The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.
Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.
The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.
The word Halloween is first attested in the 16th century and represents a Scots variant of the fuller All-Hallows-Even, that is, the night before All Hallows Day. Although the phrase All Hallows is found in Old English ("the feast of all saints"), All-Hallows-Even is itself not attested until 1556. Thus there is no evidence of an English term for this day before the Reformation.
SYMBOLS
Development of artifacts and symbols associated with Halloween formed over time encompassing customs of medieval holy days as well as contemporary cultures. The souling practice of commemorating the souls in purgatory with candle lanterns carved from turnips, became adapted into the making of jack-o'-lanterns. In traditional Celtic Halloween festivals, large turnips were hollowed out, carved with faces and placed in windows to ward off evil spirits. The carving of pumpkins is associated with Halloween in North America where pumpkins are both readily available and much larger – making them easier to carve than turnips. Many families that celebrate Halloween carve a pumpkin into a frightening or comical face and place it on their doorstep after dark. The American tradition of carving pumpkins preceded the Great Famine period of Irish immigration and was originally associated with harvest time in general, not becoming specifically associated with Halloween until the mid-to-late 1800s.
The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely a mix of the Halloween season itself, works of Gothic and horror literature, in particular the novels Frankenstein and Dracula, and nearly a century of work from American filmmakers and graphic artists, and British Hammer Horror productions, also a rather commercialized take on the dark and mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, evil, the occult, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include the Devil, the Grim Reaper, ghosts, ghouls, demons, witches, goblins, vampires, werewolves, zombies, skeletons, black cats, spiders, bats, and crows.
Particularly in America, symbolism is inspired by classic horror films (which contain fictional figures like Frankenstein's monster and The Mummy). Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins, corn husks, and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween.
The colours black and orange are associated with the celebrations, perhaps because of the darkness of night and the colour of fire, autumn leaves, or pumpkins.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Samhain to Halloween: Part 1
We briefly touched on this last week, but we should know the significance of Samhain. It's pretty easy to see how our Gallic ancestors viewed this time of the year with so much reverence. There's an ominous feeling to "Indian Summer," which we're at the tail end of in the Bay Area with a late Indian Summer, as we know that winter is just around the corner. It's in our genetic memory. Samhain is part of the ancient seasonal "Wheel of the Year." It should be mentioned that the Irish immigrants were the ones who made "Halloween" what it is today, which goes clear back into the ancient world.
SAMHAIN
Samhain — roughly translated as "summer's end" — is a festival held on October 31–November 1 in Gaelic cultures. A harvest festival with ancient roots in Celtic paganism, it was linked to festivals held around the same time in other Celtic cultures, and continued to be celebrated in late medieval times.
Samhain marked the end of the harvest, the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half".It was traditionally celebrated over the course of several days. Many scholars believe that it was the beginning of the Celtic year. It has some elements of a festival of the dead. Its relations to a festival of the dead is in the ancient belief that nature was dying during this time. The Gaels believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain; because nature and plants were dying, it thus allowed the dead to reach back through the veil that seperated them from the living. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. People and their livestock would often walk between two bonfires as a cleansing ritual, and the bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.
The Gaelic custom of wearing costumes and masks, was an attempt to copy the spirits or placate them. In Scotland the dead were impersonated by young men with masked, veiled or blackened faces, dressed in white. Samhnag — turnips which were hollowed-out and carved with faces to make lanterns — were also used to ward off harmful spirits.
The Gaelic festival became associated with the Christian All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, and has hugely influenced the secular customs now connected with Halloween. It continues to be celebrated as a religious festival by some Neopagans.
Samhain and an t-Samhuinn are also the Irish and Scottish Gaelic names of November, respectively.
ETYMOLOGY
The Modern Irish word Samhain is derived from the Old Irish samain, samuin, or samfuin, all referring to 1 November (latha na samna: 'samhain day'), and the festival and royal assembly held on that date in medieval Ireland (oenaig na samna: 'samhain assembly'). Its meaning is glossed as 'summer's end', and the frequent spelling with f suggests analysis by popular etymology as sam ('summer') and fuin ('sunset', 'end'). The Old Irish sam ('summer') is from Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) *semo-; cognates are Welsh haf, Breton hañv, English summer and Old Norse language sumar, all meaning 'summer', and the Sanskrit sáma ("season").
In 1907, Whitley Stokes suggested an etymology from Proto-Celtic *samani ('assembly'), cognate to Sanskrit sámana, and the Gothic samana. J. Vendryes concludes that these words containing *semo- ('summer') are unrelated to samain, remarking that furthermore the Celtic 'end of summer' was in July, not November, as evidenced by Welsh gorffennaf ('July'). We would therefore be dealing with an Insular Celtic word for 'assembly', *samani or *samoni, and a word for 'summer', saminos (derived from *samo-: 'summer') alongside samrad, *samo-roto-. The Irish samain would be etymologically unrelated to 'summer', and derive from 'assembly'. But note that the name of the month is of Proto-Celtic age, cf. Gaulish SAMON[IOS] from the Coligny calendar, and the association with 'summer' by popular etymology may therefore in principle date to even pre-Insular Celtic times.
Confusingly, Gaulish Samonios (October/November lunation) corresponds to GIAMONIOS, the seventh month (the April/May lunation) and the beginning of the summer season. Giamonios, the beginning of the summer season, is clearly related to the word for winter, Proto-Indo-European *g'hei-men- (Latin hiems, Slavic zima, Greek kheimon, Hittite gimmanza), cf. Old Irish gem-adaig ('winter's night'). It appears, therefore, that in Proto-Celtic the first month of the summer season was named 'wintry', and the first month of the winter half-year 'summery', possibly by ellipsis, '[month at the end] of summer/winter', so that samfuin would be a restitution of the original meaning. This interpretation would either invalidate the 'assembly' explanation given above, or push back the time of the re-interpretation by popular etymology to very early times indeed.
Samhain was also called the Féile Moingfhinne (meaning "festival of Mongfhionn"). According to Cormac's Glossary, Mongfhionn was a goddess the pagan Irish worshipped on Samain.
Bealtaine, Lúnasa and Samhain are still today the names of the months of May, August and November in the Irish language. Similarly, an Lùnasdal and an t-Samhuinn are the modern Scottish Gaelic names for August and November.
HISTORY
The Gaulish calendar appears to have divided the year into two halves: the 'dark' half, beginning with the month Samonios (the October/November lunation), and the 'light' half, beginning with the month Giamonios (the April/May lunation). The entire year may have been considered as beginning with the 'dark' half, so that the beginning of Samonios may be considered the Celtic New Year's day. The celebration of New Year itself may have taken place during the 'three nights of Samonios' (Gaulish trinux[tion] samo[nii]), the beginning of the lunar cycle which fell nearest to the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. The lunations marking the middle of each half-year may also have been marked by specific festivals. The Coligny calendar marks the mid-summer moon (see Lughnasadh), but omits the mid-winter one (see Imbolc). The seasons are not oriented at the solar year, viz. solstice and equinox, so the mid-summer festival would fall considerably later than summer solstice, around 1 August (Lughnasadh). It appears that the calendar was designed to align the lunations with the agricultural cycle of vegetation, and that the exact astrological position of the Sun at that time was considered less important.
In medieval Ireland, Samhain became the principal festival, celebrated with a great assembly at the royal court in Tara, lasting for three days. After being ritually started on the Hill of Tlachtga, a bonfire was set alight on the Hill of Tara, which served as a beacon, signaling to people gathered atop hills all across Ireland to light their ritual bonfires. The custom has survived to some extent, and recent years have seen a resurgence in participation in the festival.
Samhain was identified in Celtic literature as the beginning of the Celtic year and its description as "Celtic New Year" was popularised in 18th century literature. From this usage in the Romanticist Celtic Revival, Samhain is still popularly regarded as the "Celtic New Year" in the contemporary Celtic cultures, both in the Six Celtic Nations and the diaspora. For instance, the contemporary calendars produced by the Celtic League begin and end at Samhain.
NEOPAGANISM
Samhain is observed by various Neopagans in various ways. As forms of Neopaganism can differ widely in both their origins and practices, these representations can vary considerably despite the shared name. Some Neopagans have elaborate rituals to honor the dead, and the deities who are associated with the dead in their particular culture or tradition. Some celebrate in a manner as close as possible to how the Ancient Celts and Living Celtic cultures have maintained the traditions, while others observe the holiday with rituals culled from numerous other unrelated sources, Celtic culture being only one of the sources used.
CELTIC RECONSTRUCTIONISM
Celtic Reconstructionist Pagans tend to celebrate Samhain on the date of first frost, or when the last of the harvest is in and the ground is dry enough to have a bonfire. Like other Reconstructionist traditions, Celtic Reconstructionists place emphasis on historical accuracy, and base their celebrations and rituals on traditional lore from the living Celtic cultures, as well as research into the older beliefs of the polytheistic Celts. At bonfire rituals, some observe the old tradition of building two bonfires, which celebrants and livestock then walk or dance between as a ritual of purification.
According to Celtic lore, Samhain is a time when the boundaries between the world of the living and the world of the dead become thinner, allowing spirits and other supernatural entities to pass between the worlds to socialize with humans. It is the time of the year when ancestors and other departed souls are especially honored. Though Celtic Reconstructionists make offerings to the spirits at all times of the year, Samhain in particular is a time when more elaborate offerings are made to specific ancestors. Often a meal will be prepared of favorite foods of the family's and community's beloved dead, a place set for them at the table, and traditional songs, poetry and dances performed to entertain them. A door or window may be opened to the west and the beloved dead specifically invited to attend. Many leave a candle or other light burning in a western window to guide the dead home. Divination for the coming year is often done, whether in all solemnity or as games for the children. The more mystically inclined may also see this as a time for deeply communing with the deities, especially those whom the lore mentions as being particularly connected with this festival.
WICCA
Samhain is one of the eight annual festivals, often referred to as 'Sabbats', observed as part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year. It is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four 'greater Sabbats'. It is generally observed on October 31st in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Cernism: Finally giving a proper name to an old tradition
If you're familiar with this blog, then you are familiar with Cernunnos. The worship of the antlered male god of the forest, and the goddess, which was part of Western European culture for probably tens of thousands of years. This practice was part of Cisalpine Gaul more than anywhere else. It was widespread in Gaul, and even into Scandinavia. We don't need to rehash how certain religions have turned "infidels," "heathens," "witches," etc., into dirty words.
As with modern Druidry, it was revived by Freemasons in Britain, and given a universalist spin. The Wiccan Revival in the twentieth century took the worship of Cernunnos and other similar local traditons, and mixed it with other ancient spiritual traditions from the Levant, the Middle East, India, and all over the world, and formed "universalist Wicca." In more recent decades, Wicca has been touted, or at least implied, as the "leftist alternative" to "right-wing Christianity." Perhaps more importantly, as a consequence, the REAL tradition was lost.
Odinism is based on the worship of the chief god in Norse mythology: Odin. Therefore, let me ask, why couldn't the chief god of "Celto-European Witchcraft" (for lack of a better name) -- called Cernunnos, Cernenus, or Cern -- be given a proper traditional name as well? Why couldn't we call this tradition, if even just for reference, "CERNISM?" The main Odinist organization in the world is the Odinic Rite, so why not a "Cernic Rite?" As there are Odinists, why not "Cernists?"
Lets back up for a moment. In modern Greek tradition, all over the world, although they are Greek Orthodox in faith, they honor their folkish-pagan past. They seem to recognize it properly as a history! Why can't we do the same? Instead, we allow people to drag our ancient folk-culture through the mud without apology. No, the worship of Cern was not "Feminist," which makes females into males. It is true that Christianity did destroy Cernism, with disempowering women as part of the strategy of that day. It is also worth mentioning that certain political agendas have used ancient Greek and Roman gods and goddesses for their own purposes in recent decades.
Lets stop using "witchcraft" or "Wicca," and use CERNISM or the CERNIC TRADITION in this Celtic awakening. Lastly, it should be mentioned that the culture of Cisalpine Gaul was "Celto-Ligurian" rather than Celtic. The Alpine tribes were also a big part of the culture.
11-02-09 ADDITION: Someone left a comment and added a link for an image of an ancient drawing of Cernunnos from Val Camonica. There are many drawings like this, from over a span of thousands of years. Sometimes Cernunnos was depicted with an bow.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Druids of Cisalpine Gaul
One of the challenges which confronted Roman imperialism in Western Europe was defeating the Druidic priesthood. It was a spiritual war rather than a war of weaponry. Over time, the Romans were so successful that they erased the deeply entrenched Druidic system from memory. There is almost no knowledge of their traditions left today.
On the Druid Wikipedia page, you will find a good deal of information of how important and widespread this culture was from the British Isles, France (Gaul), Spain, Cisalpine Gaul, and vicinities; and why the Romans wanted to eliminate it. Also, YouTube has some interesting videos on it, and attempts to revive it. There are Druids today, but they have little to go on. Although largely identified with males, there seem to have been Druidic priestesses. As far as how the Druidry overlapped with the culture of Witchcraft within the Celtic world, we don't know as yet. Unlike the rest of the Celtic world, the worship of Cernunnos, or Witchcraft, seemed to have been just as strong as Druidry in Cisalpine Gaul.
***************************************************************************
The Romans and the Druids (from historylearningsite.co.uk)
The Romans had met the Druids before in conquered Western Europe. While the Romans were happy to make a peaceful settlement with most tribes/groups in England, they had no intention of doing the same with the Druids.
The Druids were priests. The Britons both respected and feared them. It was believed that a Druid could see into the future – they also acted as teachers and judges. They were considered to be very learned people. It could take up to twenty years of learning to become a Druid. However, we do not know a great deal about what they learned as Druids were not allowed to write any of their knowledge down.
In their own way, the Druids were very religious. It was this particular issue that angered the Romans as the Druids sacrificed people to their gods. Caesar, in particular, was horrified by the practice and his writings give us a good idea of what went on in Druid ceremonies -- though from his perspective only. The Romans had once sacrificed people but they now saw it as a barbaric practice that they could not tolerate in one of their colonies. The Romans determined that they would stamp out the Druids.
However, they had to be careful. The Druids traveled freely throughout England as the Britons were too scared to stop them. Therefore, they were not simply in one place where the Romans could attack in force. In AD 54, the Emperor Claudius banned the Druids. In AD 60, the governor of England, Suetonius, decided that the only way to proceed was to attack the known heartland of the Druids--the island of Anglesey in the hope that if the center of the Druids was destroyed, those Druids in outlying areas would die out.
Boats were built for the Roman foot soldiers while the Roman cavalry swam across with their horses. The Druids shouted abuse at the Romans and cursed them but they could not stop the Roman army from landing. Any ceremonial sites on Anglesey used by the Druids were also destroyed but many of them were in secret places and some survived.
***************************************************************************
Two other articles were interesting, but one was a little too long for this entry and the other was written a bit silly and humorous, but still worth reading:
Anglesey: Druid’s island
By Philip Coppens
Anglesey, the island on the far west of Wales, was one of the last vestiges of Celtic religion in Roman times. But whereas it is assumed that the Romans wiped out the druid religion… did it somehow survive? And is nearby Bardsey Island linked with it?
Romans vs. Druids: Best War Ever?
***************************************************************************
Two recent books which apparently have information on the Druids in Cisalpine Gaul:
The Cults of Cisalpine Gaul as Seen in the Inscriptions (2009)
Specifically about Cisalpine Gaul!
The Philosopher and the Druids: A Journey Among the Ancient Celts (2006)
This book also has much about Cisalpine Gaul, according to the reviews, and you can get a used copy for only 95 cents.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Pan-Celtism and what it means for us
In the past decade or two, there has been an amazing spread of Celtic identity throughout the world. Celtic festivals are common all over Western Europe, North America, Australia, etc. We now have the Celtic League, the International Celtic Congress, and a major international Celtic festival (which was held in Valle d'Aosta in 2009). The question is: where do we fit into this Pan-Celtic milieu?
We would have to fit in somewhere, as much of the spirituality and even the Celtic knotwork is tied to Padania. "Cisalpine Gaul," of course, was the name given to Padania by the Romans, which means in Latin: "Gaul south of the Alps." The Trophy of Augustus was the Roman trophy to the conquest of the Celto-Ligurian tribes.
One interesting commonality of the Celtic peoples throughout history is their struggle against encroaching Teutonic and Roman armies. In the movie 'Braveheart', Celtic Scots are depicted defending their homeland against basically Anglo-Saxon/Norman English. The Roman Julius Caesar conquered Celtic Gaul. These are just two of the more well-known examples. Many compare the Roman invasion of Cisalpine Gaul to the invasion of the English against the Scots.
Unlike many other European cultures, Padania doesn't have the definitive "one ancient culture" that it can draw most of it's inspiration from. Lega Nord chose the Celts. The Etruscans were too tied into Roman (Italian) identity, and the Langobards were invaders from somewhere else. At least some of this was based on political reasoning. We do not have the answer to this equation yet.
Actually, Cisalpine Gaul was demographically "Celto-Ligurian," as we have covered before. That is, a mix of both proto-Alpine and Celtic tribes. The Trophy of Augustus lists both Alpine and Celtic tribes.
The Pan-Celtic identity is such a good fit, as we are not really southern or northern European, and not Eastern European. Quite frankly, the region of Padania is/was historically located at the crossroads of Roman/Mediterranean (south), Germanic/Norse (north), Celtic/Gaulic (west) and Slavic (east) worlds. In viewing the greater scope of things, in both ancient and modern concepts, we're more Western European. Like the French, we're basically Romanized Gauls.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Main Page Link Deposit
We're simplifying the main page, and the following are the links from it for future reference:
PADANIA [WIKIPEDIA]
PADANISM [WIKIPEDIA]
LEGA NORD [WIKIPEDIA]
LEGA NORD [OFFICIAL]
MOVIMENTO GIOVANI PADANI
ASSOCIAZIONI PADANE
ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE INTERNET PADANO
PICCOLO ATLANTE DEI POPOLI GALLO ROMANZI CISALPINI
LA LIBERA COMPAGNIA PADANIA
NORTHERN ITALY GENEALOGY DISCUSSION LIST [YAHOO GROUP]
LOMBARDS [WIKIPEDIA]
COMUNITA ODINISTA [INTERNATIONAL]
COMUNITA ODINISTA [MYSPACE]
COMUNITA ODINISTA - VINLAND [USA & CANADA]
COMUNITA ODINISTA AMERICA MYSPACE [SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA]
COMUNITA ODINISTA AMERICA BLOGSPOT [SOUTH & CENTRAL AMERICA]
L'ARALDO DI THULE [COMUNITA ODINISTA'S ASATRU GROUP]
LANGBARDLAND
WINNILER
LE RADICI DEL LONGOBARDESE
ETRUSCAN CIVILIZATION [WIKIPEDIA]
THE MYSTERIOUS ETRUSCANS
ETRUSCAN FOUNDATION
ASSOCIAZIONE NAZIONALE ALPINI [ITALY]
ASSOCIAZIONE ALPINI D'ITALIA [USA]
CISALPINE GAUL [WIKIPEDIA]
TRIGALLIA.COM [CELTICA HERITAGE; SEE "LINKS" FOR REGIONAL GROUPS]
CHRIDHE GAIDHLIG CUORE GAELICO [CELTICA HERITAGE; SEE LINKS FOR REGIONAL GROUPS]
CELTICA FESTIVAL INTERNAZIONALE
LA SCELTA [OFFICIAL SITE]
LA SCELTA [YOUTUBE CHANNEL]
QUINLAN ROAD [LOREENA MCKENNITT; WORLD CELTIC HERITAGE MUSIC]
SYMBOL DICTIONARY.NET
