28.03.2013 Views

Pathwalkers herb gardens - Gypsey Website

Pathwalkers herb gardens - Gypsey Website

Pathwalkers herb gardens - Gypsey Website

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

PathWalkers.Net Interactive :: Helping you along your path<br />

(23 Reads) comments?<br />

General information: The Celts and Saxons: A Barbarian Conspiracy<br />

Posted by: Nyxks on Saturday, March 27, 2004 - 01:54 PM<br />

Author: Gjoll Hobkynsson<br />

Many people in Western society are familiar with the legends of king Arthur and the quest<br />

for the grail. To the Christian and Pagan peoples alike he is claimed as an icon of spiritual<br />

values. There are many opinions about his origins and the academic debate will continue<br />

for as long as there are academics to debate the ins and outs of Arthurian lore. Historical<br />

records are unfortunately not very detailed in their description of this semi-mythological warlord and<br />

theories are circulating as to who it may have been in Welsh genealogical records.<br />

Whatever the truth about king Arthur, it is difficult not to be impressed by this Celtic legend that has<br />

been incorporated into a Christian myth by Normans wanting to support any culture beside their enemies<br />

the Saxons. The Normans successfully invaded England in 1066 C.E. They were keen to undermine the<br />

Anglo-Saxon culture of the previous rulers. The Normans took the Arthurian legends to France where<br />

they were also popular among the Bretons. Brittany in Northwest France is a province taken back over by<br />

Welsh invaders and is a rare example of invading Celtic armies against the westward flow of European<br />

population pressure.<br />

The Arthurian legends are popular among the modern Druidic orders especially the Welsh and Cornish.<br />

They are Nationalistic and see king Arthur as a saviour of the Brythonic people. It has even been<br />

suggested that Arthur is a sleeping lord who is waiting to be woken by the sound of supernatural horn.<br />

Upon waking from his long sleep Arthur ride with his knights to rid Britain of the Saxon invaders. Some<br />

say Arthur resides in the fairy otherworld where he is healing his wounds. As such he nearly becomes<br />

like an avatar and there are even some people who claim to be Arthur reincarnated. Merlin is a popular<br />

role model for modern Druids as well. But both Merlin and Morgan le Fay have been borrowed without<br />

asking by modern Wicca. Celtic Wicca is an entirely modern invention, the religion of the Celts was<br />

Druidic. Wicca is an Anglo-Saxon word. Although there were wise women and female druids, they were<br />

not called Wiccans.<br />

Gawain the green knight, Lancelot, Queen Gwenhyfar and other characters are often related to other<br />

Celtic mythological archetypes that offer interesting glimpses into what Celtic religion could have been<br />

like before the influence and persecution from Christianity.<br />

Now all of this is a lot of fun unless you happen to be a Saxon. It seems that the Angles, Saxons and<br />

Jutes are viewed in this mythology as a plague. They were barbarian raiders, uncultured and outside the<br />

Roman Empire and Romano-British civilization. A fair and just king named Arthur will rise again and<br />

wipe out the Saxon plague. So what does this mean exactly? If king Arthur reincarnates and starts<br />

relocating the Saxons then where are they going to go? Their original tribe-land has been taken over by<br />

other peoples. Lets say we allow the fair and just king to commit a single case of genocide and all the<br />

Saxons are destroyed in England. (Hey didn't we just have a war err police action in Eastern Europe to<br />

stop this sort of thing?) This does not mean they will have their country back. Having wiped out the<br />

Saxons is Arthur going to also kick out those who are of African or Asian descent?<br />

It's no fun being on the losing side. True the people of lower Germany including the Anglo, Saxons, Jutes<br />

and Frisians did move into land occupied by Romans in Britain, but this was 1,500 years ago. Surely they<br />

would have naturalised by now. True the English have dominated and oppressed their Celtic neighbours<br />

but this is a different group of people than the barbarian Saxons. Modern, white English people are a<br />

mixture of European bloodstock. The Danes, Normans, French and Germans have all migrated there at<br />

some time. The Celts followed exactly the same path when they migrated to the British Isles from Gaul,<br />

Western Germany and Spain. Irish mythology tells how the Celtic Milesians invaded Ireland from Spain,<br />

subjugating the Fir Bolg natives and previous invaders the Tuatha de Danann. The Tuatha de Danann are<br />

a semi-mythological race, who are often associated with the elves and the otherworld now. Fir Bolg is<br />

used to collectively describe three races: the Fir Bolg, the Fir Dhomhnann and the Gailion. This has been<br />

related to the Belgae, Dumnonii and the Gauls suggesting that Gallic Celts had settled from the continent<br />

possibly even passing through Southern Britain as those Celtic tribes were also recorded in Cornwall,<br />

http://www.pathwalkers.net/interactive/modules....ame=News&file=index&catid=&topic=1&allstories=1 (189 of 284) [12/25/2005 12:22:22 AM]

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!