Prowess in horsemanship is difficult to evoke from the archaeological record alone; certainly bridle bits and harness fittings show a love of finery and display. Spurs are shown on the Gundestrup Cauldron. It Is as horsemen that Celtic warriors made their greatest impression on classical authors. ‘The whole race of Gauls is madly fond of war,’ writes Strabo {Geography IV.4.2). ‘Although they are all fighters by nature, they are better as cavalry than as infantry. ... The best of the Roman cavalry Is recruited from among them.’ Another tribute comes from Plutarch: ‘The Gauls are particularly formidable at fighting on horse-back and they are reputed to be excellent in this arm above any other’ {Marcellus 6).
According to Pausanlas there was at the time of the Celtic invasion of Greece a certain cavalry exercise called trimarcisia {marca is the Celtic word for a horse). It involved three horsemen, a chieftain and two grooms. The grooms would stay behind ready to supply their master with a fresh horse if his were wounded; one groom would take his place if he were Injured or killed, and the other would take him back to camp if he were wounded. The Idea behind this was to keep the number of their horsemen complete (279 BC) (Pausanias, Guide to Greece X.19).
At the battle of Ticinus the Roman javelin-throwers fled, terrified by the approaching charge and of being trampled underfoot by the horsemen. The cavalry forces met head-on and soon so many had dismounted that it became a mixed action of cavalry
Figure 4.3 The warrior panoply of burial 169, Novo mesto, Slovenia. (Drawn by Andre Rapin.)
And infantry. At Cannae there was none of the usual advance and withdrawal: as soon as the two forces met they dismounted and fought on foot, man to man (Polybius, Histories III.65 and 115). Such actions were forced upon the opposing units because of lack of space for any outflanking or skirmishing manoeuvres (Livy, History XXII.47).
The German cavalry used to dismount and fight on foot; they had trained their horses to remain on the spot so that they could return to them quickly in case of need. The Celtiberians had a similar manoeuvre, but they had a small peg attached to their reins which they fixed to the ground when they dismounted to keep the horses on that spot until they returned (Polybius, Fragment 21). Other warrior bands clearly fought from horseback rather than dismounting; a skilful horseman armed with a stout lance as well as a sword, shield and perhaps a helmet would have been an effective member of any charge. The use of spears by mounted warriors is attested by representations on coins and on the Gundestrup Cauldron.
When Caesar crossed the Rhine, he discovered that the Germans thought it rather shameful to use saddles and that they dared to engage with any number of saddled horsemen regardless of how many they were outnumbered by (Caesar, De Bello Gallico IV.2).
The Roman and Celtic squadrons had horses which were bridled (frenati) and saddled {instrati). When the Numidian cavalry came on the scene they were always referred to as unbridled {sine frenis). Neither the Romans nor the Celts had knowledge of stirrups. The fullest appreciation of the Celtic skills in horsemanship is provided by Arrian writing in AD 136 in a manual of cavalry training. ‘The Romans have adopted the exercises of the Celtic horsemen who, in their opinion, had the highest reputation in battle.’ He describes fully how these were used in a special cavalry school whose patron was the Emperor Hadrian (Arrian, Res Tactica 33-4).
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