Helen Susan Swift

Marcellinius claimed that 'a whole troop of foreigners would not be able to withstand a single Gaul if he called his wife to his assistance.'

Marriage among the Celts was easy, and divorce so simple that weddings may have been an annual event.

ten different forms of marriage in the Celtic world, from a conveniently casual sexual bond to permanent union.

A woman of might and assertion was an equal partner in life's adventures.

her husband had slept with another woman, a Celtic wife could legally kill her love rival provided she committed the deed in hot blood.

says the 8th century saga of Etain, the most attractive woman in Ireland.

both genders accepted and joyed in the differences of the other. Women enjoyed equal legal standing with men; they possessed property and in widowhood they became owners of their husband's goods. Women could lead the tribe as Queen or even war leader.

goddesses such as the Morrigan, or Great Queen, and Danann, the queen of other gods were at the apex of the Celtic pantheon.

The original Saint Brigit was a Gaelic goddess, daughter of the Dagda, patroness of poets. Legend says that Brigit was also the goddess of fire, and only women of noble birth could attend the holy fires at her temples. These women were known as the 'daughters of fire.'

it is always better not to anger a Scotswoman. It was no real wonder that Eigg was also known as the 'island of the big women.'