06/03/2024
Yesterday I came across a very interesting review of my last book, "Celtic Warfare. From the Fifth Century BC to the First Century AD", by Ian Martin in the Volume 22 of "RES MILITARES - The Official Newsletter of the Society of Ancient Military Historians".
While the overall judgment seemed generally positive to me, there was a reflection that caught my attention.
Martin writes: "The thesis proposed by the work is that the Celtic approach to warfare was 'driven both by contact with Mediterranean cultures and different requirements closely related to social issues that were in constant flux'.
It is here that the issue is found with the work. This thesis presents Celtic development as occurring largely through contact and influence with Mediterranean societies.
It gives the Celts no agency of their own. In this respect, 'Celtic Warfare' harkens back to the ideas of past historians that did not think the 'other peoples' around the Mediterranean littoral could develop on their own without input from the more advanced cultures to their south."
I admit that this consideration leaves me quite perplexed.
I believe it is obvious that any evolution, in any field, benefits from encounters and even more so, conflicts with external realities different from one's own.
The confrontation with models different from one's own urges self-reflection and reimagining, with even faster results if it occurs under the pressure of military conflict, which demands transformation and adaptation to try to emerge victorious.
I regret that this fundamental concept has been flattened and misinterpreted as an adherence to old Greek/Romanocentric preconceptions and biases.
Nothing could be further from my thoughts, and I believe that the considerations related to the Celtic LTB sword and its widespread adoption by the peoples of the Italian peninsula, including the Romans, clearly demonstrate this.
For those interested, "Celtic Warfare. From the Fifth Century BC to the First Century AD" is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QYccAI
or directly on Pen and Sword website: https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Celtic-Warfare-Hardback/p/21705?fbclid=IwAR0SwTRM8T3SRLS78OLLYY-X6nWvyfB7QDq6hgvi33ZhnXWjYJKrK6z6_8w
Warfare was a crucial aspect of Celtic society, deeply linked to the spreading of their culture through all Europe. Between the fifth century BC, when…
