The Celtic World (Routledge Worlds)

• Chapter Six -

THE SOURCES OF SOCIAL POWER

Celtic society was based on status and honour, and status was based partly on birth
and partly on individual achievement. Kinship and descent were vitally important;
early Irish literature contains a vast mass of genealogies designed to celebrate the
nobility of the present and legitimate their claims to power by an appeal to their
distinguished ancestry in the past. Kingship passed within a closely defined lineage,
and the lower grades of noble and free status were likewise hereditary. The special
skills of poets, musicians and craftsmen, as well as any equipment needed, may also
have been passed from one generation to the next in a family.
Status was not immutably fixed at birth, however, and it was possible to rise
or fall in society by virtue of one's acts. The early Irish law tracts provide examples
of such social mobility. A king who failed in battle would lose the respect of his
people, as well as having perhaps to accept the domination of his conqueror; a noble
who acted unbecomingly or failed to meet the obligations of his rank would similarly
have his honour-price reduced. Failure to meet one's debts could result in slavery. On
the other hand, conspicuous success in farming or in the accumulation of wealth
could result in an ordinary free man acquiring greater authority and even aspiring to
the status of a noble; after three generations his grandson could achieve a noble
status.
The most important social institution which structured the relationship between
individuals of different status in Celtic society was that of clientship. It is known
in the prehistoric period from the evidence of the classical authors, and in more
detail from the early Irish laws (Kelly 1988: 29-33)' and was probably to be found
throughout the Celtic world. It was a relationship which embraced social, military,
political and economic obligations, and can be seen as lying at the heart of the power
of the Celtic nobility as well as conferring benefits on the client.
Although there were obligations on both sides, the relationship was a funda-
mentally unequal one. The patron provided his clients with legal support, political
protection and the possibility of sharing in the fruits of his success, for instance in
raiding and looting; he also supplied his clients with a fief comprising the essentials
for farming, especially livestock, but also tools and equipment, and sometimes land.
In return, the client paid to the patron an annual food-rent based on the size of the
fief, as well as manual labour, political support and military service. The early Irish
laws contain details of different types of clientship, but the basic principles of the
relationship are clear.
Clientship was fundamental to Celtic society, and a patron's status was measured
by the number of his clients. It structured all levels of Celtic society. A noble could
be a patron of his own clients, and in turn be a client to another more powerful
noble; even a king could be a client to another king. It provided an opportunity for
economic success in farming to be put to use in the promotion of social standing, and
was the most important mechanism for the exercise of power by one person over
another. Its political importance is demonstrated by Caesar's account of Orgetorix of
the Helvetii; when brought to court on a charge of murder, he turned up with 10,000
of his household and followers, and was acquitted (De Bello Gallico I.2-4).
Another important factor in the acquisition and enjoyment of social status was

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