Celtic society was based on status and honour, and status was based partly on birth and partly on individual achievement. Kinship and descent were vitally important; early Irish literature contains a vast mass of genealogies designed to celebrate the nobility of the present and legitimate their claims to power by an appeal to their distinguished ancestry in the past. Kingship passed within a closely defined lineage, and the lower grades of noble and free status were likewise hereditary. The special skills of poets, musicians and craftsmen, as well as any equipment needed, may also have been passed from one generation to the next in a family.
Status was not immutably fixed at birth, however, and it was possible to rise or fall in society by virtue of one’s acts. The early Irish law tracts provide examples of such social mobility. A king who failed in battle would lose the respect of his people, as well as having perhaps to accept the domination of his conqueror; a noble who acted unbecomingly or failed to meet the obligations of his rank would similarly have his honour-price reduced. Failure to meet one’s debts could result in slavery. On the other hand, conspicuous success in farming or in the accumulation of wealth could result in an ordinary free man acquiring greater authority and even aspiring to the status of a noble; after three generations his grandson could achieve a noble status.
The most important social institution which structured the relationship between individuals of different status in Celtic society was that of clientship. It is known in the prehistoric period from the evidence of the classical authors, and in more detail from the early Irish laws (Kelly 1988: 29-33), probably to be found
Throughout the Celtic world. It was a relationship which embraced social, military, political and economic obligations, and can be seen as lying at the heart of the power of the Celtic nobility as well as conferring benefits on the client.
Although there were obligations on both sides, the relationship was a fundamentally unequal one. The patron provided his clients with legal support, political protection and the possibility of sharing in the fruits of his success, for instance in raiding and looting; he also supplied his clients with a fief comprising the essentials for farming, especially livestock, but also tools and equipment, and sometimes land. In return, the client paid to the patron an annual food-rent based on the size of the fief, as well as manual labour, political support and military service. The early Irish laws contain details of different types of clientship, but the basic principles of the relationship are clear.
Clientship was fundamental to Celtic society, and a patron’s status was measured by the number of his clients. It structured all levels of Celtic society. A noble could be a patron of his own clients, and in turn be a client to another more powerful noble; even a king could be a client to another king. It provided an opportunity for economic success in farming to be put to use in the promotion of social standing, and was the most important mechanism for the exercise of power by one person over another. Its political importance is demonstrated by Caesar’s account of Orgetorix of the Helvetii; when brought to court on a charge of murder, he turned up with 10,000 of his household and followers, and was acquitted {De Bello Gallico 1.2-4).
Another important factor in the acquisition and enjoyment of social status was wealth, and the two main sources of wealth were cattle and treasure. The early Irish laws preserve three methods of counting the value of anything, in which the units of value were respectively a female slave, a cow and an ounce of silver. Cattle were central to the economy of early medieval Ireland (Lucas 1989), and may have had a similar importance in prehistory, at least in some parts of western Europe. Treasure was accumulated not just to be hoarded, but also to be displayed and used. It could be in the form of gold or silver, especially for personal adornment, but also in more utilitarian products of skilled craftsmen. Success in agriculture and in obtaining material goods came together in the activity of feasting; lavish entertainment was a favoured means of demonstrating and reinforcing social status. Throughout the first millennium BC the archaeological record is marked by a recurring theme of prestige goods comprising buckets and cauldrons, cups and jugs, spits, firedogs and other hearth furniture, all associated with the entertaining of guests and the serving of food and drink.
World History
