from middle and upper classes and they were the ones who did the fighting while they made use of the free poor classes to drive their chariots.Celtic warriors lived for war. Boasting about their victories in gory detail was part of a warriors' rituals. It was also not unusual for warriors to fight amongst themselves, and in fact regarded this as an important part of their lives.
The Celts were renowned for bringing home trophies, in particular the heads of their enemies which earned them the title of head-hunters. After battle these heads were displayed at the entrance their places of worship, many also dedicated their enemy's weapons to the Gods by throwing them into a river or lake after battle. Today thousands of weapons have been dredged from the Lake of Neuchatel at La Tene.
Celtic chiefs together with the wealthiest Celts of the day wore armour and would ride out before battle in full view of their army, clashing their weapons on their shields while loudly proclaiming their great deeds. This practice was also designed to challenge their enemies at a single bout of combat. They must have been a frightening sight dressed in skins and decorated in blue tattoos. It was also not uncommon for warriors to go to battle wearing nothing but blue dye, covered with Celtic art work, naked as the day they were born.
Evolution of Celtic Weapons
Celtic warriors are known to be great swords-men and wielded them above their heads in battle, swirling and slashing from side to side, then downwards onto their enemies as easy as if they were chopping a piece of wood. Using their daggers and swords in this way absolutely terrified their enemies and gained them the reputation of being formidable opponents in war.
Dagger
To understand the dagger it should first be explained how the Bronze Age influenced the weapons of that age. Celtic swords were primarily the weapon of choice during this era which indicated that perhaps warfare was fought on a small scale between elite groups of warriors. The Iron Age influenced the classic Celtic long swords with their characteristic leaf blade design.
The longsword fell out of favor with the Celts with changing patterns of warfare and short thrusting daggers made their appearance, evident by the great number of them found in the graves of those warriors were buried in high status burials.
The long swords became shorter, had only a single edge and lacked the sharp pointed thrusting point so common in swords. These daggers were designed primarily to cut, although some were used to slash. Swords in Britain and Ireland became shorter and thinner and with increasing Celtic populations, changing warfare and larger armies, the spearman began gaining importance resulting in a decline in dagger and sword functionality.
