Back to the Iron Age calendar
These were aggressive people and tribal wars were going on most of the time, The warriors of each tribe tried to frighten their opponents by spiking
their hair, painting their faces, even blowing trumpets and some of them fought naked, painting their whole bodies in woad. Personally, I’m quite frightened at
the thought of this. By the way woad is a flowering plant and you can get a blue dye from the leaves. Each warrior would have a different pattern on their bodies
but the dye wasn’t permanent. I suppose if anyone could find a yellow dye and painted a double yellow line on their body the chiefs couldn’t park their chariots there. A typical warrior might have looked like the guy in my picture. We’re all pleased to know he has kept his clothes on
The tribes had a definite class structure. The chiefs were at the top,
then came the warriors, then the bards and finally the ordinary people. The Iron Age meant that warriors had iron swords and some had helmets of iron though others
had bronze or even leather helmets. The sword was a slashing weapon, while the warriors would also carry daggers and axes for close combat. From a distance they
would throw javelins or spears. In big battles women would also fight.
The bards would tell stories at the feasts, often after a big battle. They would boast about the achievements of their chief. If they didn’t do a good
job things could get really bard for them. Sorry.
Ordinary people worked the land and in tribal communities everything was shared though not necessarily equally. Some tribes also had religious leaders
called Druids. They probably had the most power of all because the chiefs would consult them and they would read the future and tell the chief what to do. My guess
is they made it up. It is said it took 20 years to memorise all the knowledge needed to become a Druid.
Forward to 55BC
