Post originally by Remi C. at 2003-05-30 17:01:49
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I'm not an expert on the Celts, but I do know:

The Picts (who lived in Scotland) were recorded by Romans as painting themselves blue and running naked into battle. Of course, if you ever read Caesar's letters to the Romans about Germany, you'll know just how bad some Romans could lie.

At any rate, I've never heard the notion of naked combat ever challenged by any of my professors overall during my stay at college (some courses discussing the Celts in some depth), and aside from any socio-religious significance it might have, it worked with the way they fought, as others have suggested.

The traditional Celtic battle tactic was to grab a heavy iron sword, line up, and sprint yelling and screaming at the enemy, finally ending with that all important first strike. The aim was to make the enemy wet its collective pants and run the other way immediately, and if the spread of the Celts is any evidence, it worked beautifully.

The Romans, after almost getting wiped out by the Celts, developed two things that let them gobble up practically all the Celts. First, the javelin, which was absolutely merciless against lightly armored opponents due to its weight, and second, discipline.

The Romans noticed that whenever the Celts won, they seemed to clinch victory with the first charge. They figured rightly that if they could withstand the initial assault that they could then beat their poorer equipped opponents (besides lack of armor, there are lots of reports of Celts bending their swords in half on the first strike and having to bend it back into shape before chasing the enemy).

And, indeed, more often than not, combats went like this: Romans soften up the charge with a javelin volley, brace against the impact, then fight until the Celts lose their nerve and start breaking away. After that, the slaughter began.

One of my professors actually mentioned that Celtic women, though they almost always assumed the role of a mother, could choose to be a warrior instead . . . and that the naked fighting rule held for them, too. Now, I've read things that said the Celtic women were much rowdier than the typical women of that time in Europe were, but nothing about women warriors. I know some cultures permitted female warriors, but was the Celtic culture one of them?

Anyway, if a long line of naked blue men and women were screaming, charging at me, and holding a weapon in a menacing position, I'd sure be tempted to throw myself in the nearest river . . .