The Carnyx - The Famous Celtic war horn no one has ever heard of...
Okay, this is a presentation that I did on May 19,2013 at the Phoenix Tribal Gathering, please forgive spelling and grammar errors, because since I was talking I didn't proof read very hard.
How many of you have heard of the Carnyx?
What is it?
Simply it is the famous Celtic war horn. A more detailed account would be that it is a large bronze trumpet held vertically with a bell styled in the shape of a boar’s head typically, but not always.
The word “carnyx” is derived from root “carn-“ or “cern-” meaning “anter” or “horn” you may also see the same root in the gods name “Cernunnos.” This is of course what the Romans called the instrument. We do not know what the Gaulish/Celtic word for this instrument would have been. (Dictionnaire de la language gauloise by Delmarre Xavier)
The Carnyx was in use by the “Celtic” people about 2000 years ago during the Celtic Iron Age (300BC and 200AD). When I say “Celtic” I mean all of the peoples we today commonly think of as “Celts”, not just the mainland Gauls.
What the Celts contemporaries said about it
If you saw my previous presentation, you might recognize the name Diodorus Siculus, he wrote that the Gaulish trumpets are also of a peculiar and barbaric kind which produced a harsh reverberating sound suitable to the confusion of battle. Our good buddy Caesar faced pissed off Gauls with Carnyx when he invaded Gaul and Claudius encountered pissed off Celts with Carnyx when he invaded Britain.
Artistic representations (such as the gunderstrup cauldron and coins)
Interestingly enough the depiction of the Carnyx on the Gunderstrup Cauldron is the only place where we see it in use as an instrument of war.
The Carnyx are known by many illustrations on Gallo-Roman monuments, and coins.
After Caesar vanquished the Gaulish tribes the Carnyx most often became associated with grisly war trophies and a symbol for the defeated Gauls . In the Acoustics 2012 paper {from a 2012 conference} it is said (there were four authors so it’s hard to cite which one said this AND it was originally in French) “…after the conquest the Carnyx is most often associated with the warrior trophy erected in memory of victory. The trophy consists of elements taken from the enemy (tunics, flags, weapons etc) and arranged strictly on top of a mast, where prisoners namely Gauls were attached.”
Where was it found
Fragments of Carnyxes have been found all across Europe in England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, even all the way to India. It is believed that the Celtic mercenaries brought these instruments with them.
Just to squirrel a minute here, when I went to pipe school two of my instructors were from the British military. I was surprised to find out that they actually brought their pipes with them, even into recent battles. I had thought that the military would not have allowed that, maybe that is just the British military I dunno.
The most well known Carnyxes were found in Tintignac (Naves, Correze district of France) in 2004. The reason these are the most famous is because these were the most complete specimens that had ever been found to date.
There were five well preserved Tintignac Carnyxes four had boar’s heads and the fifth had the head of a serpent.
Something that makes the Tintignac Carnyxes interesting is that they were found in a Gallo-Roman Fanum. A Faunum being a plot of consecrated ground, a sanctuary, but it may also be a traditional sacred space such as a grove.
Before 2004 there was a fairly well preserved Carnyx found on a farm in Deskford in Banffshire in Scotland in 1816. We have had physical evidence of this instrument for nearly 200 years. As with the Tintignac Canrnyxes, the Banffshire Carnyx, bassed upon it’s location would have had a peaceful ceremonial life, and hadn’t been used in warfare.
Construction
The average Carnyx was (5’9”) 1.8m long and weighed (4.4 lbs) 2kg , it had a tongue that would flap increasing the noise produced by the instrument. It might have also worked like a reed in some fashion. The carnyx also had ears that are believed mildly enhance the sound of the instrument, and certainly gives it a more intimidating appearance. I believe the great height of the Carnyx was important so that the sound of the instrument would be heard of the din of battle.
The Carnyx was believed to have five octaves.
The Carnyx is made of bronze (copper and tin) and it was typically made of sheet metal. It has along cylindrical tube that gradually increases in size, from the mouth piece to the bell.
There is some debate between archaeologists whether the Carnyx had a curve in the mouth piece or if it was straight. Unfortunately this is the one part of the instrument that has not been recovered yet. All representations save for the ones on the Gunderstrup Cauldron show the Carnyx with a straight mouthpiece with the player looking upwards to play the instrument.
From a wind instrument perspective this would allow the player to us the diaphragm un-obstructed to get the greatest amount of air through the instrument, thus creating a bigger sound.
Potential uses based on similar instruments (war horns?)
I theorize that the what we think of as the war horn was probably originally used for ritual purposes, rites of passage and funerals which may explain why the well preserved Carnyx we know of came from ritual sites and could possibly have been sacrifices. So far there has not been a bashed up one found from a battle field.
Playing these trumpets and horns at funerals may have led to them being used on the battle field. What better way to signal your troops or the war gods?
Specimens of war horns/trumpets such as the Carnax have been found or documented in nearly every culture including the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Israelites, Greeks Etruscans, Romans Teutons, Asians not to mention the our pals Celts.
The Irish, specifically had an instrument called the dord is a bronze horn, with excavated examples dating back as far as 1000 BC, during the Bronze Age, perhaps this was the Carnyx prototype. 104 original dords are known to exist, although replicas have been built since the late 20th century. The longest known Dord specimen is 7 1/2 fee long!
Even the Scandinavians had an similar war horn called the Lur. The name lur is particularly given to two distinct types of ancient wind instruments. The more recent type is made of wood and was in use in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages. The older type, named after the more recent type, is made of bronze, dates to the Bronze Age and was often found in pairs, deposited in bogs, mainly in Denmark and Germany. It consists of a mouthpiece and several pieces and/or pipes. Its length was comparable to the Carnyx. Lurs has been found in Norway, Denmark, South Sweden, and Northern Germany. Illustrations of lurs have also been found on several rock paintings in Scandinavia.
The Greeks included trumpet playing in their early Olympic games. Instead of musicality or musicianship, these trumpeters were more likely judged on volume and endurance.
Trumpeters were used as an integral part of the military. We first see documented uses in the Roman Legions, thought I believe that most cultures utilized trumpeters or signal musicians of some kind. The Roman signal musicians were called the aenatores, and they utilized many different instruments. There were 43 documented signals in the Roman army by 200AD. While this fell out of favor in Rome after it ceased it’s obsession with conquest, we also see applications of music in warfare during the Crusades (11th,12th and 13th Century).
By the 5th Century, the fife and drum had become the mainstay of the foot soldier. Signal musicians were elevated above the common soldiers and often served as commander’s aides and emissaries and sometimes even battlefield negotiators.
To squirrel a little when you hear of the bagpipe “tattoo’s” being a regiment etc, what that was originally “tap to” and the drum core was sent out to recall the troops from the pubs. Pipers were added later… once they came out of the pubs.
Functional Replicas
Early war horns and trumpets probably made one or two crude pitches that were produced by the player’s lips.
The Deskford Carnyx was reconstructed at the direction of Dr. John Purser and this was funded jointly by the Glenfiddich Living Scotland Award and the National Museum of Scotland. The replica of the Deskford Carnyx was unveiled at the national Museum of Scotland in April 1993. Of course the people who made the replica weren't skilled musicians so they enlisted a trombonist by the name of John Kenny to lend his musical expertise. In 1993 the voice of the Carnyx once again was heard in Scotland.
Any of you dying to hear what the Carnyx sounds like? (http://youtu.be/hVAWwWi0DbE)
Any conclusions?
Hearing the replica Carnyx played gives me chills! Just the fact that the instrument was silent for 2000 years and now it's alive again!
Regarding the design of the instrument, I think it is strange for the instrument to be straight, this would effectively immobilize the player. I think that it would have had to have the curve in the moth piece. Now this does make me wonder if there were two types of Carnyx? Perhaps one that was more suited for the military and one that was used for ritual purposes.
I am also a little concerned that this it seems that this instrument was very widely spread however we only have a few specimens? What about this big victory caches of them? I would have thought by now we would have found a big cache.
Sources
Acoustics 2012 Nantes Conference in France - Acoustical evaluation of the Carnyx of Tintignac
Musical Instruments of Antiquity as Illustrated in the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/03-Carnyx.html
The Middle Horn http://www.middlehornleader.com (Evolution of the Bugle article)
Carnyx & Co http://www.carnyxscotland.co.uk
How many of you have heard of the Carnyx?
What is it?
Simply it is the famous Celtic war horn. A more detailed account would be that it is a large bronze trumpet held vertically with a bell styled in the shape of a boar’s head typically, but not always.
The word “carnyx” is derived from root “carn-“ or “cern-” meaning “anter” or “horn” you may also see the same root in the gods name “Cernunnos.” This is of course what the Romans called the instrument. We do not know what the Gaulish/Celtic word for this instrument would have been. (Dictionnaire de la language gauloise by Delmarre Xavier)
The Carnyx was in use by the “Celtic” people about 2000 years ago during the Celtic Iron Age (300BC and 200AD). When I say “Celtic” I mean all of the peoples we today commonly think of as “Celts”, not just the mainland Gauls.
What the Celts contemporaries said about it
If you saw my previous presentation, you might recognize the name Diodorus Siculus, he wrote that the Gaulish trumpets are also of a peculiar and barbaric kind which produced a harsh reverberating sound suitable to the confusion of battle. Our good buddy Caesar faced pissed off Gauls with Carnyx when he invaded Gaul and Claudius encountered pissed off Celts with Carnyx when he invaded Britain.
Artistic representations (such as the gunderstrup cauldron and coins)
Interestingly enough the depiction of the Carnyx on the Gunderstrup Cauldron is the only place where we see it in use as an instrument of war.
The Carnyx are known by many illustrations on Gallo-Roman monuments, and coins.
After Caesar vanquished the Gaulish tribes the Carnyx most often became associated with grisly war trophies and a symbol for the defeated Gauls . In the Acoustics 2012 paper {from a 2012 conference} it is said (there were four authors so it’s hard to cite which one said this AND it was originally in French) “…after the conquest the Carnyx is most often associated with the warrior trophy erected in memory of victory. The trophy consists of elements taken from the enemy (tunics, flags, weapons etc) and arranged strictly on top of a mast, where prisoners namely Gauls were attached.”
Where was it found
Fragments of Carnyxes have been found all across Europe in England, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, even all the way to India. It is believed that the Celtic mercenaries brought these instruments with them.
Just to squirrel a minute here, when I went to pipe school two of my instructors were from the British military. I was surprised to find out that they actually brought their pipes with them, even into recent battles. I had thought that the military would not have allowed that, maybe that is just the British military I dunno.
The most well known Carnyxes were found in Tintignac (Naves, Correze district of France) in 2004. The reason these are the most famous is because these were the most complete specimens that had ever been found to date.
There were five well preserved Tintignac Carnyxes four had boar’s heads and the fifth had the head of a serpent.
Something that makes the Tintignac Carnyxes interesting is that they were found in a Gallo-Roman Fanum. A Faunum being a plot of consecrated ground, a sanctuary, but it may also be a traditional sacred space such as a grove.
Before 2004 there was a fairly well preserved Carnyx found on a farm in Deskford in Banffshire in Scotland in 1816. We have had physical evidence of this instrument for nearly 200 years. As with the Tintignac Canrnyxes, the Banffshire Carnyx, bassed upon it’s location would have had a peaceful ceremonial life, and hadn’t been used in warfare.
Construction
The average Carnyx was (5’9”) 1.8m long and weighed (4.4 lbs) 2kg , it had a tongue that would flap increasing the noise produced by the instrument. It might have also worked like a reed in some fashion. The carnyx also had ears that are believed mildly enhance the sound of the instrument, and certainly gives it a more intimidating appearance. I believe the great height of the Carnyx was important so that the sound of the instrument would be heard of the din of battle.
The Carnyx was believed to have five octaves.
The Carnyx is made of bronze (copper and tin) and it was typically made of sheet metal. It has along cylindrical tube that gradually increases in size, from the mouth piece to the bell.
There is some debate between archaeologists whether the Carnyx had a curve in the mouth piece or if it was straight. Unfortunately this is the one part of the instrument that has not been recovered yet. All representations save for the ones on the Gunderstrup Cauldron show the Carnyx with a straight mouthpiece with the player looking upwards to play the instrument.
From a wind instrument perspective this would allow the player to us the diaphragm un-obstructed to get the greatest amount of air through the instrument, thus creating a bigger sound.
Potential uses based on similar instruments (war horns?)
I theorize that the what we think of as the war horn was probably originally used for ritual purposes, rites of passage and funerals which may explain why the well preserved Carnyx we know of came from ritual sites and could possibly have been sacrifices. So far there has not been a bashed up one found from a battle field.
Playing these trumpets and horns at funerals may have led to them being used on the battle field. What better way to signal your troops or the war gods?
Specimens of war horns/trumpets such as the Carnax have been found or documented in nearly every culture including the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Israelites, Greeks Etruscans, Romans Teutons, Asians not to mention the our pals Celts.
The Irish, specifically had an instrument called the dord is a bronze horn, with excavated examples dating back as far as 1000 BC, during the Bronze Age, perhaps this was the Carnyx prototype. 104 original dords are known to exist, although replicas have been built since the late 20th century. The longest known Dord specimen is 7 1/2 fee long!
Even the Scandinavians had an similar war horn called the Lur. The name lur is particularly given to two distinct types of ancient wind instruments. The more recent type is made of wood and was in use in Scandinavia during the Middle Ages. The older type, named after the more recent type, is made of bronze, dates to the Bronze Age and was often found in pairs, deposited in bogs, mainly in Denmark and Germany. It consists of a mouthpiece and several pieces and/or pipes. Its length was comparable to the Carnyx. Lurs has been found in Norway, Denmark, South Sweden, and Northern Germany. Illustrations of lurs have also been found on several rock paintings in Scandinavia.
The Greeks included trumpet playing in their early Olympic games. Instead of musicality or musicianship, these trumpeters were more likely judged on volume and endurance.
Trumpeters were used as an integral part of the military. We first see documented uses in the Roman Legions, thought I believe that most cultures utilized trumpeters or signal musicians of some kind. The Roman signal musicians were called the aenatores, and they utilized many different instruments. There were 43 documented signals in the Roman army by 200AD. While this fell out of favor in Rome after it ceased it’s obsession with conquest, we also see applications of music in warfare during the Crusades (11th,12th and 13th Century).
By the 5th Century, the fife and drum had become the mainstay of the foot soldier. Signal musicians were elevated above the common soldiers and often served as commander’s aides and emissaries and sometimes even battlefield negotiators.
To squirrel a little when you hear of the bagpipe “tattoo’s” being a regiment etc, what that was originally “tap to” and the drum core was sent out to recall the troops from the pubs. Pipers were added later… once they came out of the pubs.
Functional Replicas
Early war horns and trumpets probably made one or two crude pitches that were produced by the player’s lips.
The Deskford Carnyx was reconstructed at the direction of Dr. John Purser and this was funded jointly by the Glenfiddich Living Scotland Award and the National Museum of Scotland. The replica of the Deskford Carnyx was unveiled at the national Museum of Scotland in April 1993. Of course the people who made the replica weren't skilled musicians so they enlisted a trombonist by the name of John Kenny to lend his musical expertise. In 1993 the voice of the Carnyx once again was heard in Scotland.
Any of you dying to hear what the Carnyx sounds like? (http://youtu.be/hVAWwWi0DbE)
Any conclusions?
Hearing the replica Carnyx played gives me chills! Just the fact that the instrument was silent for 2000 years and now it's alive again!
Regarding the design of the instrument, I think it is strange for the instrument to be straight, this would effectively immobilize the player. I think that it would have had to have the curve in the moth piece. Now this does make me wonder if there were two types of Carnyx? Perhaps one that was more suited for the military and one that was used for ritual purposes.
I am also a little concerned that this it seems that this instrument was very widely spread however we only have a few specimens? What about this big victory caches of them? I would have thought by now we would have found a big cache.
Sources
Acoustics 2012 Nantes Conference in France - Acoustical evaluation of the Carnyx of Tintignac
Musical Instruments of Antiquity as Illustrated in the Adventures of Asterix the Gaul http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/Asterix/03-Carnyx.html
The Middle Horn http://www.middlehornleader.com (Evolution of the Bugle article)
Carnyx & Co http://www.carnyxscotland.co.uk