The Cingetes of Galatîs Litauiâs is a guild for those that wish to become more active in the protection of our community. This guild is for those who posses inner strength and who seek to further cultivate it. A Cingeð is someone who is always striving towards self-improvement and who is willing to put in the hard work to achieve their goals. To be a Cingeð, one must be like the Turcos (boar): courageous, bold, and proud; as well as the Lucos (wolf): vigilant, cunning, and collaborative.
This is not a self-help, mental health, or group therapy guild. While adequately caring for one’s health is essential and a requirement for joining this guild, we will not do the work for you. If you are struggling, you can rely on your fellow Cingetes for support, but unless you take the necessary steps to heal yourself, you will stagnate and may be removed from this guild.
Members of this guild are encouraged to engage in activism, whether that is the fight for equal rights, animal rights, environmental causes, and most importantly, defending our fellow Galatis from nonvirtuous people. This guild also has a focus on physical fitness, mental well-being, and emotional care. Cingetes are also recommended to be well-versed in philosophy because the mind is ultimately one’s greatest weapon.
The banners for each member of the Cingetes Guild:
Areuedion Aniateion – The Unmovable Banners
Below are the current goals we are working on to accomplish within the Cingetes Guild:
1. FOCUS ON THE REGENTIOI. The Regentioi are an integral part of any Galatibessus and especially of the Cingetes Guild. In order for everyone to become more familiar with the Regentioi, we have put together a page on GLs website with biographies for the important Regentioi with links to passages about their lives. Everyone should read and become familiar with the Regentioi so that we know who has come before us and the victories they achieved as well as the defeats they suffered.
2. FOCUS ON CREATING A PHILOSOPHY OF WAR. By reading relevant texts (both historical texts about Gauls and philosophical works from other cultures as well), we will fashion a Gaulish Philosophy of Warfare which pertains to the purpose of the Cingetes Guild as well as training our minds, our strongest weapon.
3. CREATING AN INITIATION RITE FOR THE GUILD. Initiation rites have been an integral part of warrior societies and warrior groups throughout history. This is true of the Gauls as well. By looking at different sources, I will create a rite for new members (as well as existing members once it is created) to go through. The rite will allow members to devote themselves to the purpose of the Guild, declare their intent in front of our Patron Dêuoi and the Ancestors, and give the Guild a sense of comradeship.
4. INSTITUTE ADOPT-A-TRIBE. As part of the focus of learning more about the Regentioi, each member will adopt a Gaulish tribe. This will entail learning as much about the tribe as one can: the history, important historical figures from the tribe, and the Dêuoi worshipped by the tribe. We will organize the information for each tribe and present it on the GL website as a resource for others to utilize.
5. ESTABLISH MONTHLY MEETING. This would be to discuss matters pertaining to the progress on whatever things the Guild is currently working on as well as provide an open forum for things members would like to see incorporated into the Guild.
6. CREATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE HEROIC ETHOS AND ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS. This will serve the purpose of giving Cingetes Guild members an understanding of concepts and ideas important to ancient Gaulish warriors. These concepts and ideas were not limited to Gaulish culture but are part of the I-E heritage and appear in other cultures as well, especially in their epic poems.
Within the Cingetes Guild, we have two Dêuoi we honor and who are our patrons. Separately, they represent the two strengths of a Cingeð – offensive and defensive. They compliment one another and together they represent the combined strengths of the Cingeð.
The first of the Dêuoi is Brigindû. She is known as Brigantiā in Britain. Both names are related to the Gaulish root brigant– meaning ‘high, elevated’ (Delamarre 2009, p. 87). The root is also found in toponyms as –briga meaning ‘hill, fortress’ (Delamarre 2009, p. 87). She is a Goddess of Protection and Victory, representing the defensive aspects of warfare. In iconography, she is depicted holding a spear and a globe of victory. She is also depicted with a Gorgon’s head on her breast. This attribute comes from the Roman Minerva and the Greek Athena. In Greek, it is called the aegis, a goat-skin shield sometimes depicted with the head of Medusa. This attribute especially personifies Brigindū’s role as the Shield (Scêton) of the Cingetes Guild. She is sometimes depicted with a bird on her helmet, which we interpret as a Falcon (Gaulish uolcos), a bird which is both protective and territorial.
The second Dēuoi is Camulos. He is attested in both Gaul and Britain. His name comes from the Gaulish word camulos ‘champion’ (Delamarre 2009, p. 101). The root is also found in toponyms such as Camulodunum (Colchester) in Britain. He is the God of Aggressive Force and Pledges. A warrior is judged by both their actions and words, and Camulos embodies these two concepts. On a coin from Camulodunum, he is represented wearing ram’s horns, which emphasize his associations with aggression and strength, which are qualities of the Ram (Gaulish moltos). This attribute personifies Camulos’ role as the Sword (Cladios) of the Cingetoi Guild. He is also slow to anger but will strike hard against those that threaten his people. Those who follow his path must be level-headed and unflinching in the face of adversity.
We must live by our Nertācoi Cingetos (Strengths of the Warrior) in addition to the Îanoi (Virtues) and the Trirextuoes (Three Laws). Our Nertācoi Cingetos are important because they are the three qualities we utilize the most and they are as follows:
Decos (Honour) is the core of the Cingetoi. To live in honour is to live by the virtues. One is honourable when they can be honest with themselves about who they truly and are able to live as their authentic self. The main difference between being honourable and saying that you are is that a true honourable person will just be, without having to justify their integrity.
Uîroironiâ (Justice) is when one stands up for their beliefs and will defend the rights of others even at their own risk. It is being fair and impartial when making decisions, no matter how small.
Ûxelliâ (Pride) is very important because it ties into one’s self-worth. Being proud of yourself and your accomplishments in a genuine way will allow one to share that joy with others so that they can be proud of themselves as well. It is not arrogance or boastfulness as these are both false pride. To be proud is to be humble because you will not seek attention but rather be content in your own satisfaction that you achieved something. As with honour, your actions will show the world more of your character than your words.
dugiomos Camulos turos
ac Brigindû segâ, daû
dêuûs moniâcûs ixoi ie
aduertomosio agnī ac
nertū uta anexomos
Uārinan anson taniābis
nāuiti etic cadios.
We honor mighty Camulos
and strong Brigindū, the two
patron Deities who indeed
we turn to for protection and
strength so that we may protect
our Uarinā in times
of need and trouble.
Recommended Reading
The recommended reading list below will give you a background to Gaulish warriors and warfare as well as the heroic ethos of Gaulish/Celtic warriors.
C. Julius Caesar
The Gallic Wars: Book VII (Vercingetorix and the Fight for Gaul)
Translated by W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn (1869)
http://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.7.7.html
T. Livius
From the Foundation of the City: Book V.34-48 (The Gauls Sack Rome)
Translated by Daniel Spillan and Cyrus Edmonds (1868)
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_5#34
Justinius
Epitome of Pompeius Trogus’ Philippic Histories: Book XXIV (The Gauls Invade Greece)
Translated by Rev. J. S. Watson (1853)
http://www.attalus.org/translate/justin3.html#24.1
The Cattle-Raid of Cualnge
(Táin Bo Cuailnge)
Translated by L. Winifred Faraday (2002)
https://www.yorku.ca/inpar/tain_faraday.pdf
Y Gododdin
Translated by Rev. John Williams (1852)
https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9842/pg9842-images.html
Gaulish Paganism 