Celtic Social Structure | Ancient Civilizations

The composition of society and how it’s managed is something that affects everyone in every day whether we take the time to acknowledge it or not. Throughout time there have been many ways a civilization has been organized, be it socialism, capitalism, a republic, democracy, etc. It is a subject of debate even these days as we continually try to find the best possible way to manage a society. There are many similarities between today’s societies and that of previous time in history.

One thing that is standard in all cultures is the hierarchy. All have a ruler, upper and middle classes, and a lower class. A person’s profession and wealth was, and still is, often the determining factor upon which class that person is classified in. There are a set number of laws, either written or understood, and a common religion is often attached to the culture and can even have influence over the governmental aspects. The Romans may be the most well known ancient culture that is closest to our own modern American government. They had elected officials, collected taxes that funded public works, and were the superpower of the ancient world. But although the Romans had what could be seen as an advanced culture compared to the political systems that came after it, there are other societies that were sophisticated in their own right and should probably be applied today. I feel that the social structure of the Celts is one of those societies.

Unlike the Romans, and most other cultures, the Celts gave equal rights and made fair provisions for the women of their population far before the women’s liberation movement of the 1800s in America. Celtic women would shared the same rights as men and would even take part in war and. Even though it wasn’t common, they could become rulers and retain their own property.

Aside from equal rights between genders, it seemed as though the Celtic people had an answer for everything and judged individual issues with the guidance of their laws. Unlike today in the US, people of superior status in the Celtic world were held to a higher standard. If they broke the law, they would be reprimanded more than a person of a lower status because they were supposed to be setting the example for the rest of the population. Unfortunately, this is not what it is like today, but perhaps it should be. Too often are our “superiors” allowed to get away with breaking the law when average citizens cannot.

These are only a few examples of how the laws and the social order of Celts were more sophisticated and reasonable than not only almost every other culture in history, but in some instances even ours. The regulations of the Brehons, written down my Christian monks, are complex and fascinating.

If you would like to know more about the basic community organization of the ancient Celts, read the Celtic Social Structure article on the Celtic Encyclopedia.