ShopDreamUp AI ArtDreamUp
Deviation Actions
Suggested Deviants
Suggested Collections
You Might Like…
Description
Another interesting Celtic job title is the "Echtarix" (eck-tah-rix) or "Violence King"
Being a King in a Celtic country isn't all that its cracked up to be. The king was beholden to his people, rather than the reverse and was expected to uphold the many "federal" laws as well as to generally improve the quality of life for his subjects. Celtic kings where almost universally elected in some fashion however when it became apparent that one had attained office illegally or was failing in his duties the neighboring counties would simply make it legal to kill him!
You keep what you kill.
In this stage anyone, preferably someone with credentials, could gather a posse, kill this man and his guards and replace them as kings over the very same territory. They would be given some leeway but they too where expected to uphold the various stately laws of the era and its predictable that many young men became Kings in this fashion only to realize that they had to learn and administrate federal law while simultaneously reorganizing the shattered local communities. The sword of Damocles may be of Greek origin but even for a successful Echtarix the clock is ticking. If he fails to rebuild the country he has liberated, his head will also adorn the regions dishonored throne.
As kingly titles where gradually replaced by populist political offices the job of Echtarix devolved into legal arbitration and by 48 BC there were no longer any kings in Gaul. However in the extreme north of the Celtic world regions such as Ireland and Briton continued to "employ" Echtarix well past the age of antiquity. In 700 AD the job title still existed, then known as "Aire Echta" and where regarded as a class of soldier/bounty hunter only slightly above Marauder... Which in all likelihood was also the case 1000 years earlier.
The self declared king of the Helvetii Orgetorix, may have risen to power in a manner similar to an Echtarix and his name implies such. Orgetorix (pronounced Orc-tor-rix) translates to "Kill King." However his spirit of dictatorship was not tolerated in Helvetica and he was murdered prior to 58 BC
Being a King in a Celtic country isn't all that its cracked up to be. The king was beholden to his people, rather than the reverse and was expected to uphold the many "federal" laws as well as to generally improve the quality of life for his subjects. Celtic kings where almost universally elected in some fashion however when it became apparent that one had attained office illegally or was failing in his duties the neighboring counties would simply make it legal to kill him!
You keep what you kill.
In this stage anyone, preferably someone with credentials, could gather a posse, kill this man and his guards and replace them as kings over the very same territory. They would be given some leeway but they too where expected to uphold the various stately laws of the era and its predictable that many young men became Kings in this fashion only to realize that they had to learn and administrate federal law while simultaneously reorganizing the shattered local communities. The sword of Damocles may be of Greek origin but even for a successful Echtarix the clock is ticking. If he fails to rebuild the country he has liberated, his head will also adorn the regions dishonored throne.
As kingly titles where gradually replaced by populist political offices the job of Echtarix devolved into legal arbitration and by 48 BC there were no longer any kings in Gaul. However in the extreme north of the Celtic world regions such as Ireland and Briton continued to "employ" Echtarix well past the age of antiquity. In 700 AD the job title still existed, then known as "Aire Echta" and where regarded as a class of soldier/bounty hunter only slightly above Marauder... Which in all likelihood was also the case 1000 years earlier.
The self declared king of the Helvetii Orgetorix, may have risen to power in a manner similar to an Echtarix and his name implies such. Orgetorix (pronounced Orc-tor-rix) translates to "Kill King." However his spirit of dictatorship was not tolerated in Helvetica and he was murdered prior to 58 BC
Image size
982x1200px 696.7 KB
© 2012 - 2024 Jaganshye
Comments7
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Watercolours are definitely your forte