7 proofs that the "barbarians" Gauls were ahead of the "civilized" Romans in development

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Tribes neighboring with the Romans and entering into battles with them are usually called "barbarians" - and represent them in accordance with our modern ideas about barbarism. However, for example, the Celtic tribes, known to the Romans as "Gauls", often outstripped the Roman "pillars of culture" in the development of society and crafts.

Gauls were outstanding artisans

They made from wood, clay, iron and copper complex agricultural tools, furniture, comfortable and also complex utensils, and so on. They even knew how to work with glass. When the Gauls became part of the Roman Empire, they quickly pushed the craftsmen of many other peoples (including the Romans themselves) on the market, the origin from the Gallic workshop was an unambiguous sign of quality. In addition to functionality, convenience and durability, their products were distinguished by excellent decor - the Gauls simply adored decorating everything in the world, and their patterns became more and more complex and sophisticated. They also instantly adopted other people's techniques in decoration and crafts when they encountered them, improving their already high skill. If the experience of the wars with the Gauls was not more important to the Romans, the latter would have gone down in history rather as artisans - there were a lot of warlike peoples, and it was difficult to find so skillful in a variety of industries.

Especially the Gauls were good as blacksmiths. They forged something like steel or damask steel. And in such quantities that the Gaulish society can be compared with the pre-industrial society of Christian Europe. In the mines, where various metals were mined, there were drainage and pumping systems that were quite comparable to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The textile industry was also amazing. Due to the fact that the Gauls extracted a lot of salt, they could not only sell it, but also add it to the feed of the sheep, which improved the quality of their wool. This wool was dyed with dozens of different natural dyes that produced bright enough colors to make Gallic plaid, striped and plain fabrics snapped up in the antique market. For some flowers, it was not enough to boil a certain plant - a certain chemical reaction was needed, which, again, indicates how technologically the Gauls were developed.

Same-sex relationships weren't violence

While in ancient Rome the relationship between two men always meant that one is hierarchically superior and compels the other, same-sex relationship among the Gauls - in the class of warriors - was completely voluntary. It was this fact, and not its presence as such, that greatly outraged the Romans, for whom violence was a way to exercise their power. The principle of voluntariness, at least within certain limits, was a pure mystery for the Romans.

Gaul ships were better than the Romans

Fighting with the Gauls, Caesar was faced with the fact that naval battles with their ships were fatal for the Romans. The Gaul ships, too heavy in appearance to sail, nevertheless floated calmly and were very strong. They were made of oak planks, often fastened with iron nails, the sails were sewn from strong leather, and chains were used instead of part of the ropes. So that such a ship would not go, almost to the bottom, it had to be built by real masters of their craft - however, the Gauls had enough masters of anything. When they did not have to fight at sea, the Gauls used their heavy ships … to transport goods for money, amazing the Romans that, having made their ships even more heavy, they still did not go to the bottom.

Human casualties were not as frequent as Caesar claimed

There is no serious evidence that the Gauls constantly offered people as a sacrifice to their gods. On the contrary, it is known that such a sacrifice was special and a noble warrior could offer it so that the gods would have mercy and did not take his life in battle - that is, a man followed a man. However, the Gauls do not seem to constantly care about their lives - they were known as brave, even reckless warriors. More often, the gods were given cattle, fruits, the results of their labors, gold jewelry and coins. Archaeologists can argue this, because many excavations have shown that human bones in places of sacrifice are very rare, but animal and bird bones remain complete. As a rule, the sacrifice of very old large animals was a kind of honorable completion of their long labor for humans.

At the same time, the Romans, instead of human victims, became famous for the high rate of killing of babies. After the birth of a child, the head of the family decided whether to recognize him, and often proceeded from economic considerations - he simply sentenced all "extra" children to death. This is no better than human sacrifice.

Gaul women felt freer than Romans

The Gaul girls were well fed and allowed to move, so that the women grew tall and very strong, and sometimes they joined their husbands in battle. According to some testimonies, the Gaul did not take care of his sons until they learned how to use weapons - thus, it turns out that their mothers taught them to fight, so it is not surprising that the Gaul women knew how to handle swords, clubs and spears. In addition, their strength and explosive disposition led the Romans to believe that only his wife could handle a dispersed Gaul.

Despite the fact that the Gauls were far from equal rights and women often had more responsibilities, including labor, than men, the Gauls recognized a female mind, and women were allowed to participate in councils. It is also known that some women ruled their tribes alone - they had husbands, but these husbands were not considered kings. It was often possible to meet women judges or women mediators, resolving conflict situations. In addition, in general, women were considered more moral and more responsible than men, which was completely opposite to what the Romans said about women.

In most Gallic tribes, a woman possessed property rights, which remained for her after marriage. She could file for divorce and then left with the same prosperity with which she came into marriage. In addition, she took with her half of everything that was acquired together. She also had the right to remarry after a divorce or death of her husband - which was impossible for the Romans for a very long time.

Gauls used a more advanced monetary system

While everywhere in the ancient world a coin had weight only if it was backed by its own gold or silver, the Gauls calmly and widely used to pay with each other, conventional coins known as "potin" - made of copper and tin. Along with them were full-weight gold coins of various Gallic kings. Such parallel systems speak for the fact that, most likely, "potin" was kept on trust and was used only by the allied tribes in relation to each other, and gold was used for trade with tribes and peoples, trust relations with which had not yet been built. In addition, gold coins were used as a dowry (no matter how the political situation turns, gold is gold) and for sacrifices to the gods.

The Gauls had a very developed agriculture

Contrary to the myth that emerged in the nineteenth century, the Gauls did not live among endless forests, allotting some meadows for vegetable gardens. They cultivated the fields, and, moreover, they used not an extensive method of farming (when, in order for the harvest to be larger, you cut down forests for new fields), but an intensive one, they were looking for a way to fertilize the land so that it would preserve and increase its fertility. For example, in addition to manure, the simplest mineral fertilizers were used, crop rotation was observed, and so on. Their agricultural implements were so sophisticated and convenient that one Gaul (or even, very often, a Gaulish slave, a woman) in one day harvested as much as a detachment of Roman male slaves in a week. The yield of the fields was such that the Gauls sold part of the food to the south, to the Romans and Greeks, who were always faced with the problem of feeding densely populated cities.

Surely the Romans gave something to the Gauls

Under them, the religious ban on sculptural images of all kinds of creatures went away, which contributed to the development of Gallic art - and writing began to be used. The already quite good Gallic roads became wider and passable at any time of the year, thanks to the paving. The Gauls learned what military discipline was - from the lack of which they lost. But still, the image of highly civilized Romans who planted goodness to savages sitting in the forests is very far from reality. In many ways, the Gauls were ahead of the Romans.

You can remind yourself all the same with the help of our little guide. Gauls, Goths, and Huns: A Brief Guide to the Peoples Who Once Reshaped Europe.