This information is extracted from my posts on the Nemeton email list
for Celtic Pagans and Druids.
The vowels with backslashes after them should be vowels with fadas over
them.
Where can I get information on geilte, fiosach (sp?), etc. I don't
have the vocabulary you do, & would appreciate it if you (or anyone
else) could provide me with either a quick glossary on Celtic terms, or
point me in the direction of some good material on the subject. It's a bit
frustrating when you're an enthusiastic amateur & you can't work out
what the scholars are saying <grin>
There are a couple of good articles by Nora Chadwick, one on Geilta and
one on Imbas Forosnai (which defines imbas pretty well). The article Geilta
is found in Scottish Gaelic Studies #5, (1938?) pp 106-153, while the "Imbas
Forosnai" article is in the same journal, issue #4, 1935, pp 97-135.
You'll need to get them through interlibrary loan, or at your local university
library because they probably won't be in a public municipal library (unless
you live in a really big city).
A geilt is a crazy hermit. They are usually described as wandering naked
through the forest, avoiding human company. They are only described as eating
plants and milk, no meat. They are said to be able to fly or leap from treetop
to treetop, and run with supernatural speed. Geilta are known for their
nature poetry. They are sometimes involved in battles, although the noise
and strife of battle is often what drives them insane. Geilta share their
poetry talents in comon with the filidh.
A fili or banfhili is a sacred ecstatic poet. Filidh go through at least
8, and some sources suggest up to 20 years of training in formal schools,
just like the drui. High ranking filidh are accompanied by lower-ranking
filidh and by bards, who make music for them. Filidh compose formal poetry,
sometimes offer judgments as the brithem or brehon do, they can bless and
curse and cast other spells, called firt filed. Filidh hold a sacred enough
position in society that they had free passage across territorial boundaries,
and could confer this right on others. Filidh could take people under their
protection for a period of time according to their rank. There were seven
recorded grades of fili: foclo/c [novice], macfuirmid [son of composition?],
doss [bushy tree, shelterer?], cano [cub or whelp], cli/ or druimcli/ [ridgepole,
roof-tree], anrad or ansru/ith [great stream], and ollamh. The highest rank
of any craftsman or scholar was also called ollamh. [great high one]
Co/rrguinech are "crane magicians" who seem to be specialists
in cursing, but that may only be because we know very little about them.
Cranes, of course, are associated with Mananna/n (his craneskin bag). Co/rrguinech
probably had duties other than just cursing people.
There were illegal satirists, who cursed people without the sanction of
law. These were called ca/inte or rindile. Sometimes legal satirists were
also called ca/inte. Legal satire was usually the duty of the filidh.
A fa/ith or banfha/ith is a prophet and seer. Like the fili, the fa/ith
would use the technique of imbas forosnai and other poetic tools to induce
the visions. They may have been filidh who specialized in prophecy.
Healers and physicians were called liaig or midach. Women could be banliaig,
probably herbalists and midwives. Physicians were supposed to be skilled
in examinations, healing charms, surgery and other healing methods. The
Irish Triads say "three things confer nemed[noble]-status on a physician:
a complete cure, leaving no blemish, a painless examination." The practice
of medicine was often passed down through a family line. A few might be
a fa/ithliaig or "seer-physician."
There was an entire Old Irish law text concerning physicians and their responsibilities
called Bretha De/in Che/cht or "Judgments of Di/an Ce/cht." Kelly
says that it "deals with the obligation of a person who has inflicted
illegal injury on another to provide sick maintenance (orthus) for his victim.
It is edited and translated by Binchy in E/riu 12 (1938) 1-77."
There are apparently surviving physician's textbooks in Irish. Physicians
could do trephination (opening the skull to reduce pressure or remove brain
lesions), surgery, stitches, cesarian sections and amputations. Medicated
baths are mentioned, and sweat houses or tigh 'n alluis are still found
in the countryside. After the sweating, "the patient was then encouraged
to meditate (dercad) to achieve sitcha/in (a state of peace)." Doctors
carried a medical bag of herbs and other medications called a le/s. It could
also contain a sort of stethoscope, which was a horn called a gipne or gibne,
in Cormac's Glossary called adarc lege or physician's horn. Probes, called
fraig, are also mentioned. Healing stones, such as those found among the
country folk to this day, were a part of some physician's repertoires, and
the use of astrology for medical prognosis was known in the written records.
Along with curative herbs, poisons were also known. Queen Macha Mong Ruadh
established the first hospital in Ireland. In the 8th and 9th centuries,
Irish medical schools were famed throughout Europe. There were laws regarding
the punishment of unqualified physicians, and doctors whose patients deteriorated
under their care through negligence or ignorance were expected to pay compensation.
[Ellis, The Druids]
There are also collections of folk medicine. Irish Country Cures by Patrick
Logan is one book that collects some folk medicine traditions. He says that
the molds from which penicillin is derived were used for septic wounds,
and that scarification, hot baths and even a form of vaccination were known
and practiced. There were hundreds or perhaps thousands of verbal healing
charms in use throughout Ireland, and that such knowledge was most jealously
guarded.
Drui were, in the words of Fergus Kelly, "priest, prophet, astrologer
and teacher of the sons of nobles." I'd suggest a good read of Ellis's
book "The Druids" for an explanation of what that means. They
had formal schools and studied for up to 20 years, which brought them a
very high social status.
Blacksmiths or gobae were also believed to have magical powers. An 8th century
Irish hymn asks for protection from the magic of women, blacksmiths and
druids. Goibhniu was the divine smith of the Tuatha de Danann, and Brighid
was a woman-smith or bangobae.
A seanchai/ is a storyteller, and a keeper of ancient lore. Anyone with
sufficient wit and memory and a good storytelling style might be a seanchai/.
I'm sure that there are a number of other words for magical workers and
tradition bearers in the Celtic world. These are just some from the Irish
tradition.
Imbas is poetic inspiration, or maybe more accurately poetic ecstacy or
poetic frenzy. Imbas is describe in terms of fire, hazel nuts and salmon.
It is the single most sought-after trait in Celtic mythology, with the possible
exception of prowess in battle.