Unlike the shorter Roman “gladius,” which was primarily a stabbing weapon, the iron swords employed by the Gauls were designed to hack and slash at the enemy in a downward stroke resembling an axe-blow. The Celtic panoply generally consisted of a sword, spears, and a shield. They never took to it till after the twelfth century, and then only in imitation of the English. “Some of them have iron cuirasses, chain-wrought, but others are satisfied with the armour which Nature has given them and go into battle naked.” (Diod. Pausanias (c. 110 - c. 180 BCE) describes a tactic called trimarcisia in his Description of Greece, in which each mounted warrior would be accompanied by two grooms who each had a horse in case their master’s horse was wounded. The practice of burying important individuals with objects related to warfare and status dates back to the 12th-century BCE Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Pausanias talked about the Galatians (Galatae) and how they preferred to wear embroidered tunics and breeches with rich colors, often accompanied by cloaks striped with various tints. And in desperate situations, clientage even extended to entire tribes, as was the case during Caesar’s Gaul campaign when the Aedui called upon their allied clients for battle. These wicker shields—of various sizes—continued in use in Ulster even so late as the sixteenth century, and in the Highlands of Scotland till 200 years ago. In contrast, ordinary warriors only carried their spears, short shields, while eschewing any form of heavy armor. Thanks again. Greaves to protect the legs from the knee down were used, and called by the name asán. The 1st-century BCE 'Warrior of Grezan', one of the oldest and best examples of Celtic art depicting a warrior, may depict the figure wearing a breastplate. According to the chronicler Priscus of Panium’s description of the 443 A.D. siege of Naissus, the Huns used massive, wheeled siege towers to move protected archers close to the battlements and rain arrows onto the city’s defenders. The body of the chariot was spare and slight and erect, fitted for the feats of a champion, with space for the lordly warrior's eight weapons, speedy as the wind or as a swallow or a deer darting over the level plain. Also because their merchandise has proved reliable time and time again. The nobility, however, tended to showcase their swords as instruments of prestige, while also incorporating helmets and mail shirts as part of their battle panoply (although only worn by the warriors of highest status). Greek and Roman authors accused the Celts of barbarous and brutal behavior such as human sacrifice and even cannibalism. This battle axe name generator will give you 10 names that fit most axe weapons, like the battle axe and the tomahawk. Hence we often find in the Tales such expressions as the following:—“There was an atmosphere of fire from [the clashing of] sword and spear-edge, and a cloud of white dust from the cailc or lime of the shields.”. …they suddenly dashed out in full force and charged our cavalry, easily driving them back and throwing them into confusion. As for defensive equipment, Greek traveler Pausanias commented on how the Galatae (Galatians – Celtic people who migrated and settled in central Anatolia) carried their distinctive shields. It is even apparent that the structure of Celtic societies was quite diverse, with sacral kingship, tribal coalitions, and even republican political structures existing in different times and places. Warfare was interwoven into Celtic social structures, art, religion, and lifestyle, and the Celts acquired a warrior reputation among their neighbours in the ancient world. Jeffrey King is a writer with a an avid passion for history, travel, foreign languages, and cultural heritage. Those that required it were newly coloured, or whitened with a fresh coating of chalk or lime: and the metallic ones were burnished—all done by gillies or pages.