Bardobessus.

Bardobessus, or the custom and practice of Bardos (Gaulish bard), is a focus of mine, and below is an introduction to Bardobessus I have written. I will go over the etymology of the word, the primary sources, the secondary sources and synthesising that together to give the roles and practises of Bardoi in the current time.

Etymology:

Bardos means ‘praise-poet’ or ‘praise-maker’.

The word bard or proto-Celtic *bardos, is analysed as an old compound going back to Indo-European word “*gwrh2-dhh1-o-“ which means ‘praise-maker’.

Primary sources, mainly writings from Romans and Greeks:

“Among them are also to be found lyric poets whom they call Bards. These men sing to the accompaniment of instruments which are like lyres, and their songs may be either of praise or of obloquy… Nor is it only in the exigencies of peace, but in their wars as well, that they obey, before all others, these men and their chanting poets, and such obedience is observed not only by their friends but also by their enemies; many times, for instance, when two armies approach each other in battle with swords drawn and spears thrust forward, these men step forth between them and cause them to cease, as though having cast a spell over certain kinds of wild beasts. In this way, even among the wildest barbarians, does passion give place before wisdom, and Ares stands in awe of the Muses…” Diod. 5. 31.

“Throughout these regions men gradually grew civilised and the study of the liberal arts flourished, initiated by the Bards, the Euhages and the Druids. Now, the Bards sang to the sweet strains of the lyre the valorous deeds of famous men composed in heroic verse…” Amm. 15.9.8.

“And you, ye Bards,
Whose martial lays send down to distant times
The fame of valorous deeds in battle done,
Pour forth in safety more abundant song.” Luc. 1. 449-453.

And Posidonius of Apamea, in the twenty-third book of his Histories, says: “The Celts, even when they make war, take about with them companions to dine with them, whom they call parasites. And these men celebrate their praises before large companies assembled together, and also to private individuals who are willing to listen to them: they have also a description of people called Bards; who make them music; and these are poets, who recite their praises with songs.” Ath. 6. 49.

“Amongst [the Gauls] there are generally three divisions of men especially reverenced, the Bards, the Vates, and the Druids. The Bards composed and chanted hymns…” Strab. 4.4.4.

The ‘Bard of Paule’ is dated to the 2nd Century BCE. It was found in an aristocratic compound with what seem to be other ancestral statues and is, therefore, evidence of ancestor worship of Bardoi and the high status that the Bardoi had in society. The compound was in Armorica (modern-day Brittany), which has been trading with the Mediterranean since 600BCE. The aristocratic family would have contact and have been influenced by the Mediterranean civilisations. The Bardoi could have Greek influence; for example, their Lyre may have been modelled off the Greek Lyre, which they then made their own.

Indo-European secondary studies show us the broad trends in related cultures. They can give context and information for the development of Bardobessus, which is very important as there is very little left by the Gauls on this topic. There are two key texts in this regard, both of which I will go over below.

How to Kill a Dragon, by Calvert Watkins:

Watkins explores a shared IE formula of poetics, which expresses the serpent/dragon-slaying myth. He speaks about the social function of the IE poet: “..to be the custodian and transmitter of this [IE] tradition.” They have the role of remembering and recalling knowledge, such as knowing the genealogies and histories of their society, for “maintaining cosmic truth, combating chaos and fighting entropy.” IE poets would cultivate reciprocal relationships with their patron, be they mortal or immortal.

Watkins gives a multitude of poetic techniques of the IE poet. Below, I provide three examples, with the rest to be explored in a future article.

‘Ring composition’ ends a poem or section with a similar phrase or word that started the poem. This is used to isolate parts of a poem within itself or to end a poem. For example, a poem beginning with ‘the red robin said’ and ending with ‘so said the red robin’.

‘Bipartite noun-phrases’ are two-part noun-phrases that are a common feature in all IE traditions. Examples are “horses of the sea”, “safe and sound”, true and not false”, “gods above and below”, and “gods spoken and unspoken”.

‘Echo’ is using a pair of words linked by a strong phonetic figure. This is to call attention to the words, express a relationship between the words, and act as a mnemonic device. For example, “fast water falling.”

The second key text is ‘Indo European Poetry and Myth’ by M. L. West. He follows much the same route as Watkins but focuses on slightly different topics. First, he gives a history of the Indo-European poet as a hereditary profession that required years of teaching, in some cases over 20 years. They had reciprocal patron relationships that afforded them security and standing, with master poets equivalent to kings in status.

IE poets viewed poetry as a way to recall, which comes from the root IE word *men (think of, call to mind). They conceived of poetry as being ‘constructed’ or ‘made’, as being ‘weaved’, or ‘carved’ and ‘fashioned’ like wood through carpentry. Poems and songs were seen as ‘ships of song’, ‘chariots of song’ and that poems take off, travel and fly.

West also gives extensive phrases and figures that IE poets used, including many poetic devices and techniques. I will provide a shortlist here, with the rest included in an upcoming article. All of the below phrases and figures are common today in the West, and all had important uses.

Kennings: a two-part phrase that is used instead of a proper name. i.e. ‘iron shower’ for a lot of thrown spears or arrows.

Idioms: a group of words meaning something not described by the meaning of the words. ‘As long as the sun shall cross the sky’ meaning forever or without end.

Similes: a phrase that compares two things by highlighting the similarities. i.e. ‘Swift as thought.’

Polar expressions or merisms: a pairing of contrasting terms. ‘Gods and men’ means all intelligent beings, “creatures two-footed and four-footed”, being humans and livestock.

A relevant journal article is Stifter (2016), who analyses several Gaulish inscriptions as metrical texts and does a comparative study of Bard's in Celtic areas to give an idea of Gaulish poetic devices.  For example, he states that the Celts described poetry as something breathed into individuals. A list of techniques he found in Gaulish inscriptions are alliterative pairs, trochaic or dactylic dimeter, end rhyme and octosyllabic, heptasyllabic and hexasyllabic meters.

What does all this information mean?

The Gauls gave Bardoi a high status in society, likely to reflect the vital role of "maintaining cosmic order" and fighting the forces of chaos and entropy. They had strong patron relationships. It was a family/hereditary profession. They gave praise through poems that were often sung with accompanying Lyre. The Lyre may have come to Gaul from Greece and could be indicative of other cultural loans.

I have started working on a Gaulish poetic form which I have called ‘Brixtu’. Brixtu means an octosyllabic meter. This form utilises alliteration, and Trochaic and Dactylics. It can be any number of lines, but eight would fit well. It can be constructed in any way that works, so long as it uses the mentioned techniques.

Note: Octosyllabic meter means that each line is made up on 8 syllables.

Note: Alliteration is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. E.g., silly sausage.

Note: Trochaic is a stressed syllable, followed by an unstressed syllable (alternatively, long and short syllables). Dactylic is one stresses syllable, followed by two unstressed syllables.

Huntress under the starry sky

Swift shooting faster than thought

Seeking scoundrel sacrifices

To create a living and deep practice in Bardobessus to serve the needs of Galatis, a Gaulish terminology will be needed for Bardobessus, below is a start.

Commenman: to remember, to recall. From the root *men meaning to remember.

Rextus: law, rule and straightness. From the root *h₃reǵ- meaning to straighten.

Brixtu: octosyllabic meter, incantation, spell.

Dugnâ: poem.

Bardoi commenman to maintain rextus, using Brixtu and Dugnâ. (Watkins purpose of poets).

As Bardobessus is but a part of Galatibessus (Gaulish polytheism/religion) which Dewoi can we call to help us in this endeavour? Below is a short and not exhaustive list.

Ogmios is the Dewoi of eloquence, spoken word and the power of writing.

Lugus is the Dewoi of crafts and skills, and potentially poetry.

Brixta is a Dewoi of magic potentially, with her name relating to the word Brixtu (octosyllabic meter, incantation and spell). She likely had something to do with writing and the power of words.

Taranis is the Dewoi of thunder and the cosmic order, and so may be an appropriate Dewoi for bardoi.

Apollo and the Muses were worshipped in Gaul, and have obvious associations with poetry. The Muses name comes from the root *men.

Maponos was often syncretised with Apollo, and as he has a special relationship with Dubnos (the Underworld) he could act as a conduit for us to connect with the Bardos regentia (Bardic ancestors).

The role of Bardos within Galatibessus (the practice and custom of Gauls, religion of the Gauls):

Maintaining cosmic truth and law (rextus) by fighting entropy through remembering (Commenman). They will achieve this through poetry and myth for the Dewoi and other Galatis. Knowing and teaching the history of the Senogalatis and Nouiogalatis. Archiving knowledge, both creative and objective (to remember) and learning and transmitting Gaulish.

Stay tuned for more articles to come!

Bibliography:

Stifter, D., 2016. Metrical systems of Celtic traditions. NOWELE. North-Western European Language Evolution, 69(1), pp.38-94.

Watkins, C., 1995. How to kill a dragon: aspects of Indo-European poetics. Oxford University Press on Demand.

West, M.L., 2007. Indo-European poetry and myth. Oxford university press.