Description
Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.
As far as the Celts were concerned, the best way to kill a man was in hand-to-hand combat. The Celts thought there was great value in personal bravery and there was no honour in killing from a distance. Even so, slingers, javelinmen and archers still had their place on the battlefield. It was often the only way that some Celts could go to war: Celtic warriors paid for their own equipment, so only the wealthy could afford, or had the right to carry, fine armour and weapons. Skirmishers were usually the poor: freemen who served as clients to the noble class. While they could never hope to achieve the same status as their noble masters, they could still prove their worth in the cut and thrust of battle.
