Discussion Forums about Books and Reading | Did the book accurately portray the Celts?
https://www.forums.onlinephilosophyclub.com/
https://www.forums.onlinephilosophyclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=163&t=82951
I thought it odd at first, but I think the author explains it away when she introduces the curse written on the dagger foretelling his downfall at the hands of one of his children.gali wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 00:13 As far as I can tell, it seemed historically accurate. The author presented the Roman's mindset and policy perfectly. I am not so sure about the portrayal of the Celts, though. Their culture was well described, but some point bugged me.
Spoiler
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
I found it odd that two of the queen's daughters were from her lover, and that the king knew about it and accepted it just like that. One maybe, but not two, especially when the second one was born a few years after the marriage.
Yes, I know, but I still found it unbelievable.CommMayo wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 11:39I thought it odd at first, but I think the author explains it away when she introduces the curse written on the dagger foretelling his downfall at the hands of one of his children.gali wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 00:13 As far as I can tell, it seemed historically accurate. The author presented the Roman's mindset and policy perfectly. I am not so sure about the portrayal of the Celts, though. Their culture was well described, but some point bugged me.
Spoiler
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
I found it odd that two of the queen's daughters were from her lover, and that the king knew about it and accepted it just like that. One maybe, but not two, especially when the second one was born a few years after the marriage.
Kind of reminds me of part of the storyline in Outlander...gali wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 12:55Yes, I know, but I still found it unbelievable.CommMayo wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 11:39I thought it odd at first, but I think the author explains it away when she introduces the curse written on the dagger foretelling his downfall at the hands of one of his children.gali wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 00:13 As far as I can tell, it seemed historically accurate. The author presented the Roman's mindset and policy perfectly. I am not so sure about the portrayal of the Celts, though. Their culture was well described, but some point bugged me.
Spoiler
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
I found it odd that two of the queen's daughters were from her lover, and that the king knew about it and accepted it just like that. One maybe, but not two, especially when the second one was born a few years after the marriage.
Agreed. She really included a lot of interesting tidbits about life and fashions. I like how she had Marcellus remark on the fact that the warriors shaved their bodies much like the Romans did. I also liked all of the descriptions of the tattoos and dyed hair.
Haha, good point about the shapeshifters! I'll have to check out those movies. Sounds like they got the tribal aspect correct.
What? Have not read the entire book but this would sound odd to anyone out here. It does not make much sense, or is this love?gali wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 00:13 As far as I can tell, it seemed historically accurate. The author presented the Roman's mindset and policy perfectly. I am not so sure about the portrayal of the Celts, though. Their culture was well described, but some point bugged me.
Spoiler
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
I found it odd that two of the queen's daughters were from her lover, and that the king knew about it and accepted it just like that. One maybe, but not two, especially when the second one was born a few years after the marriage.
Wow, good research here. It is, therefore, almost obvious that the book depiction of the Celtics is almost true.Lil Reads wrote: ↑01 Sep 2018, 22:59 One thing to remember about Celtic history is that the Romans wrote extensively on them with a clear bias and political aim. To the Romans, many Celtic customs seemed odd. For example, Celtic women did have a more important role both inside the family and in politics than Roman women. Archaeologists have noted that Celtic images and figurines of their deities show a distinct divide into pre-Roman and post-Roman influence. Prior to Roman interaction, male and female deities were usually depicted as being of similar height and with equivalent power; post Roman, the female deities are depicted as smaller and subservient.
For a more specific example, Boudicca was written about by two main Roman historians, both after her death. Both write about her as a very physically intimidating figure and describe how brutally she attacked Roman settlements, graphically describing what the soldiers did to the Roman women and children. She even gets a grand speech before her final battle, almost like a Shakespearean soliloquy. By portraying her this way, the Romans emphasize how terrifying they perceived the Celts and made themselves look better since they took on Boudicca and won.
So in short, most of our perceptions about Celts are filtered through Roman perspectives and we are still learning more about Celtic civilization.