Celtic Fleet

[Lacertus]

I look for any information about Celtic fleet. I know they didn't use rowing boats and steered with sails only. Anyone know about it more?

[Favonius Cornelius]

All I have ever read says they had some simple boats for river navigation, but that's it. Hardly a 'navy.'

[Primus Pilus]

The Veneti had a considerable fleet in northern Gaul. Their defeat to the Roman fleet under the command of Brutus paved the way for Caesar's invasion of Britain. Its described in De Bello Gallico, book 3, up to about chapter 20 or so.

[Pantagathus]

The Veneti had a considerable fleet in northern Gaul... ...Its described in De Bello Gallico, book 3, up to about chapter 20 or so.

It is an absolute shame that Ceasar's account is not more well known. I've read that even in the days where folks had to read De Bello Gallico in 'prep' school, Book 3 was skipped...

 

The account is absolutely compelling and will change all preconceptions of ancient mariners being scared of mighty Oceanus. In fact the mental picture that Ceasar paints evokes a sense of Viking longship (which came ~1000 years later) on steriods.

 

Alas, the Veneti ships were built to do battle with the ocean in the pursuit of trade and not to do battle with oared Triremes full of Roman marines. Once the romans clipped their rigging they couldn't manouver.

 

A tidbit:

"For their ships were built and equipped after this manner. The keels were somewhat flatter than those of our ships, whereby they could more easily encounter the shallows and the ebbing of the tide: the prows were raised very high, and, in like manner the sterns were adapted to the force of the waves and storms [which they were formed to sustain]. The ships were built wholly of oak, and designed to endure any force and violence whatever; the benches which were made of planks a foot in breadth, were fastened by iron spikes of the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables, and for sails they used skins and thin dressed leather. These [were used] either through their want of canvas and their ignorance of its application, or for this reason, which is more probable, that they thought that such storms of the ocean, and such violent gales of wind could not be resisted by sails, nor ships of such great burden be conveniently enough managed by them. The encounter of our fleet with these ships' was of such a nature that our fleet excelled in speed alone, and the plying of the oars; other things, considering the nature of the place [and] the violence of the storms, were more suitable and better adapted on their side; for neither could our ships injure theirs with their beaks (so great was their strength), nor on account of their height was a weapon easily cast up to them; and for the same reason they were less readily locked in by rocks. To this was added, that whenever a storm began to rage and they ran before the wind, they both could weather the storm more easily and heave to securely in the shallows, and when left by the tide feared nothing from rocks and shelves: the risk of all which things was much to be dreaded by our ships.

[Favonius Cornelius]

Oh ya! I totally forgot about them. Didn't Caesar have to island hop almost to capture each of their cities? I thought I remember reading that. Has there been much archaeological work on the Veneti?

[Pantagathus]

Oh ya! I totally forgot about them. Didn't Caesar have to island hop almost to capture each of their cities? I thought I remember reading that. Has there been much archaeological work on the Veneti?

He had a tough time of it but he was determined to met out vengence on them for hacking up a few of his embassadors...

 

As to archeological work, I would first point you in the direction of Barry Cunliffe (Especially in his book 'Facing the Ocean')

 

Unfortunately, the minute they appeared in historical record is the same instant they disappeared. Ceasar completely obliterated them without any care for what they may have been able to offer in the way of naval engineering. Of those he left alive, ~60,000 were immediately sold into slavery.

[Lacertus]

Thanks! Of course I read Di Bello Gallico and remember about Veneti fleet. As far as I know this was only one record about Celtic fleet. But I sure not only Veneti had the fleet. The Britain and Irish Celts had some boats too. But I cannot find any description of their boats.

[Pantagathus]

The Britain and Irish Celts had some boats too. But I cannot find any description of their boats.

 

 

Seems like all any other source gives them ('Celts' in general) credit for is coracles... Which, given the account of the Veneti ships and the archeological evidence pointing to massive Atlantic sea trade from as far back as the Bell-Beaker culture, I find this hard to believe.

 

However, to explore this in an effort to hit less dead ends, I would venture to say one needs to look more to the Q-Celtic peoples (Spain & Brittany) for evidence of nautical legacy & innovation. The P-Celts (from Gaul & central Europe) though they were second to 'invade' the Brittish Isles were for the most part landlubbers (& probably did only use coracles)

 

It seems to have been proven finally with DNA testing that there is a dense, Iberian (spanish) genetic heritage in the modern Irish population & I doubt they made that migration in coracles... It seems likely that most Iberians (Celts & non-Celts alike) would have picked up a decent bit of maritime know how from the Phoenicians who traded extensively with them.