Folkish France

Ancient stone walls & dams have been discovered 9 metres underwater off the coast of Île de Sein in Brittany, France, dating to roughly 5950–3650 BCE & marking a key Mesolithic–Neolithic transition. These granite structures likely served as large fish traps & possibly as protective sea walls, implying organised, semi-sedentary coastal communities long before many famous megaliths on land. Research suggests that rising sea levels gradually drowned these installations & that later Breton legends of a drowned city may preserve a distant memory of this lost shoreline. The tale of the sunken city of Ys is the most famous one, believed to lie a few kilometres east of the wall's location. The undersea wall shows advanced stone-working skills being passed from older Mesolithic hunter-gatherers to incoming Neolithic farmers around 5500–5000 BCE. Its monoliths are about 500 years older than land equivalents, implying shared techniques for quarrying, cutting, & moving stone across a shift from foraging to farming.

Many versions (mostly French) of the story of Tristan and Iseult are known, likely derived from a Welsh original. It’s possible that parts of that original tale can be reconstructed from various Welsh texts, particularly the Triads. “Drystan, son of Tallwch” is mentioned in several collections of Triads: The Twenty-Four Knights of Arthur’s Court (15th century) claims that he was one of Arthur’s retainers and a shapeshifting sorcerer like Arthur’s father Uthyr Pendragon. But the bit about shapeshifting is not found in other manuscripts and seems to be a late accretion. The Triads in the Red Book of Hergest call Drystan one of the three “diademed men” and one of the three “enemy subduers” of the island of Britain. The Peniarth 54 manuscript claims he was a seer or prophet, as well as one of the three “front-line leaders of battle” of the island of Britain. It also contains a tale repeated in other manuscripts: That Drystan tended the herds of pigs belonging to king Mark of Cornwall, while the original swineherd (rather than Drystan himself) travelled —apparently to Ireland— to fetch Esyllt (i.e. Isolde/Iseult). Arthur made several attempts to steal the pigs, using either stealth or trickery, but Drystan hindered him each time, sending him away empty-handed. The rest of the original tale might be told in a 16th century Welsh manuscript called Ystorya Trystan. It tells of how the two lovers —outlawed— fled to Scotland, to hide in the Caledonian Forest. King Mark (“March, son of Meirchion” in Welsh) requests help from Arthur, and the latter leads a band of soldiers to Scotland to track the pair down. Arthur finds them, but Drystan walks fearlessly among the soldiers and no violence takes place. Drystan’s good friend Gwalchmai (later “Sir Gawain”) persuades him to negotiate, whereupon Arthur mediates between Drystan and Mark, decreeing that Esyllt will live with one man while the trees have leaves, then with the other while the trees are bare, allowing Mark his choice between summer and winter. Mark chooses the latter, since winter nights are longer. But Esyllt cleverly notes that three trees, holly, ivy and yew, never lose their leaves, and based on that, she’ll be with Drystan for as long as he lives. Image: Tristan et Iseult en forêt; 1911 painting by Gaston Bussière. Celtic Europe - channel link: https://t.me/CelticEurope

Excerpt from "What Makes You Pagan" by CE "Animism is the foundation of Paganism. Fundamentally, first and foremost, we are animals living on Earth among other animals. Everything else is downstream from there. Our freedom to identify as unique ethnic groups, right to protect and preserve our identities, our shared genetics, and the cultural practice that bond us together are next on the pyramid of hierarchies. Foundationally, the heinous cruelty to nature is one important ethical distinguishing characteristic of Abrahamism which Pagans should instinctively resist and actively oppose from our very core. Those who don’t feel this on a visceral level are enacting some kind of performative LARP of a religion under a Pagan costume." Follow @oakwisebecoming Full PDF for subs: www.subscribestar.com/OakwiseBecoming FB www.facebook.com/oakwisebecoming/ IG www.instagram.com/oakwisebecoming/

Le Collectif de la Roche Aux Fées (for which I recorded my song « Revenir aux Pierres » 🧚), created in 2022 to protect one of the biggest dolmens of Europe from a touristic destruction (desacralisation) project, just informed me that the entire project has been given up for good after 3 years of fighting against it. 🗿⚡️take that in the ass with your compass Jean Luc 😆🙌🏻🔥🔥🔥

Maps showing (1) The peoples of Novempopulania, and (2) The Roman provincial divisions of Gaul, with Gallia Aquitania shown in bluish green. ⚜️🇫🇷🏳️ As Caesar tells is, the region of Gaul consisted of three divisions: Gaul proper, or “Celtic Gaul”, Belgic Gaul, and Aquitaine. In the case of Aquitaine, it took its name from a non-Celtic, non-Indo-European people who’d been native to western Europe since remote prehistory. The Aquitani were essentially identical to the Basque people of Spain. For this reason, the area they inhabited —roughly between the Pyrenees and the river Garonne— later came to be known as “Gascony”, from a French word for Basque people; “Gascons”. By the time (1st century B.C.) the Romans documented them, the Aquitanians were confined to this small region called Novempopulania (Latin: “Country of the Nine Peoples”). But early in the 1st century AD, emperor Augustus reorganised the provinces of Gaul and vastly expanded Aquitaine, all the way to the river Loire and the Cévennes mountains. This may have been based on a long lost memory that the territory of the Aquitani had once been much greater, but that they’d been greatly encroached upon by the Celts, the latter having conquered most of the former’s ancient homeland and pushed them beyond the Garonne. Some Celtic peoples, like the Bituriges Vivisci, Volcae, and Nitiobroges had even occupied lands beyond the Garonne, further encroaching upon the natives; although the name of the Nitiobroges (Gaulish for “natives”) implies that they were perhaps originally Aquitanians who simply became assimilated to Gaulish culture. In any case, the archaeological record seems indeed to reflect this narrative: That Celtic peoples (Tumulus Culture, Urnfield Culture, La Tène Culture) expanded gradually westward across France —from an original homeland centered in the German Rhineland and Upper Danube— absorbing and intermarrying with an indigenous culture of megalith-builders. The Aquitanians and Basques would thus seem to represent the remnant of the megalithic cultures of pre-Celtic Europe. Oddly, however, they’ve been shown to have so much Celtic DNA (and vice-versa) as to be hardly at all distinguishable. Intermarriage and assimilation between the two peoples was protracted and thorough, yet somehow the two communities retained different languages, customs, and identities. Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/CelticEurope

Archaeologists from INRAP have discovered a new funerary area from the Middle La Tène period (2nd Iron Age, 3rd-2nd centuries BCE) in Bobigny, France, less than 160 metres away from the largest known Gaulish necropolis excavated in 2002-2003 within the grounds of Avicenne Hospital. This newly uncovered site contains at least 26 burials for 27 individuals in about 145 m², making it the 2nd largest satellite funerary group in Bobigny. The burials are mostly oriented north-south, some showing wooden coffins or shrouds, & 1/3 of the deceased had their heads elevated. Grave goods include iron & copper-alloy fibulæ, jewellery (torques, bracelets, rings), pottery & in one case a warrior's equipment (shield boss, sword, spear). Both adults & many young children were buried there, including one case of a double burial of children. The findings suggest funeral practices similar to the main necropolis. Ongoing analyses aim to clarify the chronology & relationship to nearby settlements & the local environment. Source

Archaeological excavations at the former Porte Madeleine hospital site in Orléans, France, have uncovered 21 curse tablets dating back to the late 1st century CE, with some inscriptions in Gaulish. This discovery provides insights into ancient Gaulish culture & practices, particularly regarding curses & rituals associated with the dead. The lead tablets, about 20 centimetres long, were found in excellent condition. They were typically placed alongside the deceased, serving as prayers or curses directed at living individuals, invoking underground deities. The Gaulish inscriptions add complexity to the study, as written records in this extinct language are rare. Archaeologists are using X-ray tomography to analyze the tablets without damaging them, allowing for "virtual unrolling" to read the inscriptions. Deciphering the texts will likely take years due to the challenges posed by the Gaulish language. The excavation has revealed over 80 graves − a necropolis that could be linked to a specific group. Source

Electrum stater of the Andes/Andecavi tribe of Gaul, found somewhere near Angers, France; 1st century B.C. 🏳️ The Gallic state of the Andes re-emerged in medieval times with its same tribal name, as the French County of Anjou. It retained it’s old capital…

Electrum stater of the Andes/Andecavi tribe of Gaul, found somewhere near Angers, France; 1st century B.C. 🏳️ The Gallic state of the Andes re-emerged in medieval times with its same tribal name, as the French County of Anjou. It retained it’s old capital of Iuliomagus Andecavorum, now Angers. By then however, the Angevin people were fully Romanized and retained no memory or semblance of their Gallic roots. The original counts seem to have been of native extraction, although they later intermarried with other nobles, mostly from Normandy and Maine. Eventually, count Geoffrey V Plantagenet of Anjou (whose paternal lineage was Norman) married Matilda, the daughter of king Henry I of England, and their son Henry II would inherit both the Kingdom of England and the county of Anjou, forming what would come to be known as the Angevin Empire. Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/CelticEurope

🇫🇷 Girls in a garden in France, 1907, early autochrome colour photo by Auguste Lumière 🌷🌼🌹

"A grove there was, untouched by men's hands from ancient times, whose interlacing boughs enclosed a space of darkness and cold shade, and banished the sunlight from above.... On those boughs - if antiquity, reverential of the gods, deserves any credit - birds feared to perch; in these coverts wild beasts would not lie down; no wind ever bore down upon that wood, nor thunderbolt hurled from the black clouds; the trees, even when they spread their leaves to no breeze, rustled of themselves. Water, also, fell there in abundance from dark springs. The images of the gods, grim and rude, were uncouth blocks formed from felled tree trunks." - from the Pharsalia by Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (39 C.E. – 65 C.E.), talking about a sacred grove that was destroyed by Gaius Iulius Caesar near modern day Marseille, France (Image: Mondscheinlandschaft, Carl Gustav Carus, 1859) @oakwhispers

Marble portrait of a Gaul, found at an uncertain location in Egypt; 1st century B.C. 🇪🇬 Displayed at The Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Celtic Europe - channel link (please share!): https://t.me/CelticEurope