The Feminine in the Culture of the Ancient Britons
The Feminine in the Culture of the Ancient Britons

Summary/Abstract: Today’s knowledge of the ancient Britons comes from three main sources, and is greatly complicated by the fact that these societies left no written material of their own, probably due to a religious prohibition. The sources available are therefore all, to a certain extent, indirect, and each needs to be approached with caution. The first source for both the European Celts and the Britons is classical: the writings of Greek and Roman travellers and historians. However, these sources, while they may provide some accurate information, have to be used with caution, as they were often written with political aims in mind. While Caesar’s rather negative portrayal of the Gauls was perhaps intended as a justification for their conquest, Tacitus uses the Britons and Germanic tribes in order to criticise the Roman leadership, by portraying them as ‘noble savages’ in contrast to the decadence of Rome (Cunliffe, 1999:9). Secondly, medieval Irish and Welsh texts such as the Ulster Cycle or the Mabinogion, presumably written versions of ancient oral epics, may provide a glimpse into the society of the Ancient Britons.

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