Ireland's OWN: Myths & Magic Head-Hunting* (Ulster Cycle) Much attention has been devoted to the Celts' inters in head-hunting. Several Classical authors remarked on the subject with ill-concealed fascination. Strabo, for example, reported: "There is that custom, barbarous and exotic, that is common to many of the northern tribes...that when they depart from battle they hang the heads of their enemies from the necks of their horses and, having brought them home, nail the spectacle to the entrance of their houses." Another Classical writer, Diodorus Siculus, went into even greater detail: "The heads of the most illustrious enemies, they embalm in cedar oil and preserve in a chest. These they show off to strangers, solemnly maintaining that either they or one of their ancestors had refused to part with it, even when offered a large sum of money in exchange. Some of them, we are told, boast that they have refused its weight in gold, thereby displaying a barbarous sort of greatness; for not to sell the proofs of one's valour is a noble thing." These accounts accord well with the archaeological evidence, which has come to light at Entremont and Roquepertuse, two Celtic shrines in southern France. Careful reconstruction has shown that severed heads were ritually displayed in these environments. They were nailed into a series of hollow niches, set in a range of porticoes. Fragments of a spearhead have been found in one of the skulls, reinforcing the argument that these were the heads of young warriors, carried off n battle. Elsewhere, there are indications that severed heads were placed on poles outside a stronghold, or offered up at the shrine of a god. In some instances, the skulls themselves were actually used as cult vessels. Livy records how the Boii, a Celtic tribe from Northern Italy, cleaned out the head of a Roman general, gilded it, then used it in their rites. There have been no comparable finds in Ireland, but the legends offer ample evidence of head-hunting.1 The Ulster Cycle, in particular, features many passages where Cú Chulainn decapitates his foes and proudly displays their severed heads on the side of his chariot. All of this was governed by a complex code of honour. In one episode of the Táin, for example, Cú Chulainn deals his enemy a deadly blow. The victim, though morally wounded, praises his conqueror and makes a dying request. He wishes to return to his camp to bid farewell to his sons, but promises to return so that Cú Chulainn can behead him. Anecdotes of this kind emphasise that the capture of a severed head was more than act of mere vainglory: it was a source of strength and prestige. In some cases this power was exploited on the battlefield. Chroniclers relate how Ulster warriors would use brain-balls (brains hardened with lime) as slingshots, believing these war weapons were filled with the spirits of their defeated enemies. For the Celts, the head was of immense value, because it housed the soul and could have talismanic properties. Irish, Welsh and Breton storytellers all gave accounts of 'living' heads, that could speak, eat and drink, even when they had been severed from their bodies. See Also: Bran's Head: A Talisman The Celts Note 1An archeological finding at Navan Fort (near Armagh) reveals the warrior culture of the people at this time, and indicates that they retained some of their headhunting practices. From Irish Legends by Iain Zaczek. Gill & McMillan, Ltd. Dublin: 1998.   Page last updated 30 Mar 2008 Website Design and Myths & Magic logo by Míchealín Daugherty Copyright © 2008 Ireland's OWN All Rights Reserved.