Eloquence - Power of the Tongue
Eloquence is a force that moves hearts, settles disputes, and shapes destiny.
Celtic culture elevated eloquence to an art. Poets could make or break kings with their words. Druids settled disputes through oratory. The eloquent tongue was as mighty as the warrior's sword, and often more lasting in its effects.
The poet's tongue is sharper than the warrior's sword; wounds of words heal slowly.
Eloquence granted poets real political and social power in Celtic society.
Bardic Tradition
Written about in
- What Celtic tradition says about what to say and what to leave unsaid
Celtic society rated skill with words alongside skill with weapons, and put the settling of disputes in the mouths of trained speakers. Its own proverb puts the poet's tongue ahead of the warrior's sword on the grounds that wounds of words heal slowly.