- Power, Politics and Status -
wealth, and the two main sources of wealth were cattle and treasure. The early Irish
laws preserve three methods of counting the value of anything, in which the units
of value were respectively a female slave, a cow and an ounce of silver. Cattle were
central to the economy of early medieval Ireland (Lucas 1989), and may have had a
similar importance in prehistory, at least in some parts of western Europe. Treasure
was accumulated not just to be hoarded, but also to be displayed and used. It could
be in the form of gold or silver, especially for personal adornment, but also in more
utilitarian products of skilled craftsmen. Success in agriculture and in obtaining
material goods came together in the activity of feasting; lavish entertainment was a
favoured means of demonstrating and reinforcing social status. Throughout the first
millennium BC the archaeological record is marked by a recurring theme of prestige
goods comprising buckets and cauldrons, cups and jugs, spits, firedogs and other
hearth furniture, all associated with the entertaining of guests and the serving of food
and drink.
THE COMPETITION FOR STATUS
It would be wrong to think in terms of a sphere of political activity in Celtic society
clearly separate from economic or social concerns, but in a social structure charac-
terized to such an extent by a concern for status, social relationships were focused
on attempts to maintain or enhance it. Where supreme power was in the hands of
a king, succession to this office was confined to the royal lineage, but without a
rule of primogeniture. Within the royal line succession was open to any suitable
adult male; often a brother or nephew succeeded, but where there was more than one
suitable contender, a struggle could ensue.
Caesar records a different political structure which had emerged in Switzerland
and central France by the middle of the first century BC. Though the institution of
kingship still survived in other regions of France, here it had been eclipsed by the
adoption of a system based on a council and magistrates elected according to known
laws, not unlike the consuls and senate of Rome (Nash 1978b). Political conflict
revolved around factions which were trying to maintain the new structures and those
which sought to restore the kingship; among the Aedui, for instance, the noble
brothers Dumnorix and Diviciacus were the rival leaders, respectively for and against
restoration of the kingship.
Political relationships between groups were likewise characterized by competition
for power. Depending on the particular circumstances, this could be achieved either
by hostile or by amicable means. Armed warfare could be aimed at the defeat and
subjugation of other polities; by accepting an inferior status, they would augment the
authority and power of the victor. Such an arrangement could also be symbolized
by payment of tribute, and the offering of hostages by the defeated. Alternatively,
raiding could be intended for the acquisition of booty; early Irish history records
many such raids, sometimes to avenge a wrong, but often just for loot. Cattle were
often the target, since they were a prime source of wealth, and could easily be driven
off to the victor's home (Lucas 1989: 125-99); in the Christian period, monasteries
were also a target, as a source of valuable treasure.
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