The Celts… considered by some to be fearsome but fascinating
barbarians. They were denoted as being endowed with reckless
bravery… a group extremely fond of warfare. They were also highly
esteemed for their verbal arts.
Literate warriors one might say… not far off in concept from the
great Cyrano who would recite a poem whilst piercing your gut with
his slender blade. Ahh… to die at the hands of a bard… what
greater honor is there? Not to die perchance… for the craven
poltroons amongst us?
Choices abound with the Celts around. The Greeks and Romans
considered them uncivilized… their only unifying force stemming
from their thirst for war. Yeah… well… I digress here a tad. Find
a common enemy upon which to wage war… and you will always unify
your people. This has gone on since the onset of man. Let us no
longer fight amongst ourselves, my friends. Let us instead slaughter
our foe. We shall be one and they shall be none. This is the motto
that should fly on the standards of all nations. Or perhaps this one:
Unite and Eradicate. Eradicate and Unite.
Anyway… I’m going off on a tangent here. The Celts were also
incredible artists. Great makers of jewelry. Great Celtic artwork
flourished from the British Isles to the Iberian Peninsula to Asia
Minor. Their influence was far reaching. Their Goldsmithing was
unparalleled. When they invaded Rome the Romans called them Galli or
Gauls. When they invaded Greece they were likened to the Titans of
myth.
All this while producing gorgeous trinkets of gold. An arm band for
you… a neckband for you… and a brooch for you too.
As it turns out… I have a Celtic brooch to show you. A little
doodad from Spain… a classical view with a Celtic theme. An Iberian
warrior fights in the nude… except for his shield and his sword
belt. He battles a lion on the attack. He braces himself against the
arch of the golden brooch and prepares to do the beast in … or be
done in by the beast. The pleasure is in the fight. The joy is in the
combat. Oh elation… thy name is death. But whatever. I am here to
bring you jewelry… not philosophy. The last is just a free extra.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the left side menu till you get to the area that says
Current Tidbits… and then click on it in order to view an image of
an Iberian warrior in gold doing battle with a lion.
And there ya have it.
That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark