Noble Savages Or Vengeful Cultists : How the Romantic Period Still Influences Celtic Representation Today

A new year might have rolled around the corner, but we history enthusiasts are always looking back to the past. And this blog is no different! Get ready for a blog where I delve into the prolonged history of druidic imagery & ideals in the Assassin’s Creed DLC, Wrath of the Druids!

One of my biggest interests lies in the ways modern media visually depict history. So when I saw the marketing images for the AC Valhalla DLC, Wrath of the Druids, pop up, I got very excited. Those interested in the game immediately see images of men and women dressed in impressive attire. As in, it’s impressive how long the image of wild and savage Celts has lasted. The designers mask the enemies of WotD with skulls and further adorn them with giant antlers, furs, feathers, and the like. The character design is gorgeous, I’ll admit. And it definitely made me excited to play the game. But it got me thinking. About the term “noble savage,” to be more specific. So… Did the Celtic Revival from the Romantic Period (c.1750-c. 1850) perhaps have something to do with the character design and how the developers portray druids in the game?

But, back to the Children of Danu and their look. Their “uniforms” clearly emphasise the tribal and ritualistic nature of their identity and the cause they stand for. By connecting them with the title of Druids, Ubisoft invokes the idea of the Celtic religions and Druidism itself being dark, eerie and wild. I would like to add, however, that Ubisoft put a lot of effort into researching the time period the game takes place in, but that they still used a lot of creative freedom when it comes to the magical and fictional side of things. From their website, it becomes clear that they did not mean to insinuate that the “wild” look is true for all of Ireland, but is a unique characteristic of this (fictional) extreme cultist group. The druids’ outfits do give a nice contrast to the rest of Irish society in the game, though.

The DLC puts a unified “well-behaved” society of Christians up against a group of wild and “ill-behaved” pagans, evident from their clothes alone. As I mentioned earlier, the Romantic Period probably influenced both this “primitive” idea and the representation of druids. During this period, the concept of the noble savage and the “Druidic Revival” came to life.

Idealising A Racist Stereotype

By definition, the noble savage is an “uncivilised” man (or woman) who remains uncorrupted by modern civilisation (remaining untouched).  This is, of course, a very problematic and racist concept based on colonial thought that was present during the Romantic Period. Still, unfortunately, this way of thinking has consciously or unconsciously persisted even in today’s time and is therefore important to discuss. The Children of Danu are undoubtedly in opposition to the “civilised” Christian Ireland from the game, taking up the position of the noble savage. Their portrayal seems “primitive,” and this brings a lot of negative connotations with it. Whether Ubisoft intended to portray this cultist group this way or not, I do think it is worth pointing out that these views of “primitive” and “civilised” people are still present. Although in the eyes of The Children of Danu, they are fighting back to retain their history, religion, and culture (which is a noble cause, in a sense), they are depicted as doing so with “evil” and “savage” ways, using dark magic, rituals, necromancy, and human sacrifice. Practices that the pacifistic historical druids would have found unthinkable.

And of course, this game is a purely fictional work, magic and werewolves… yes, you heard me, werewolves, are not real. Nonetheless, AC is occasionally pretty good at incorporating historical realism in their games, and I believe their portrayal of druids deserves closer examination and attention. The game dramatises the mysticism and magic a bit to make the game more enjoyable, but from what we consider to know now, Celtic druids were considerably different.

Who were the real druids?

Resuscitation Of The Past, In The Past

In the Romantic Period, you also had the Celtic or Druidic Revival. During this time, along with the noble savage, Celtic culture and nature-based religions had a bit of a life surge thanks to men like James Macpherson, Iolo Morganwg and many more. Antiquarians and poets alike romanticised the druids into being wise and venerable people. (As a sidenote, I’d like to add that using the Cetic Revival for nationalist purposes was not out of the question for many of these men.)

The reason that druids are so popular in modern media nowadays might be due to the popularisation of them during the Romantic Period and the (inaccurate and potentially harmful) “idea” they created around these mystical people back in the day. When looking at The Children of Danu in WotD, we see elements of both the real historical druids and the fictionalised druids that were created during the 1700-1800’s. The Children of Danu, extreme and fearsome druids, do take up political positions in the game, infusing the druids with a bit of historical accuracy. But this is in combination with the “savage” look and narrative drive Ubisoft gave the antagonists.

As I hope to have revealed, the noble savage trope and Druidic Revival might very well have inspired some of the choices Ubisoft made regarding the druids in the game. But then again. Maybe they didn’t make the choice consciously. It might also be that the Romantic concepts are so absorbed in our collective memory that it was an unconscious decision. Regardless, I’m certain Ubisoft also used a lot of other historical and fictional influences to create the antagonists for this DLC. The Greeks and Romans also saw the Celts and Germanic tribes as savages and barbarians, so at least the “wild” foreigner concept has existed for a much longer time than the Romantic Period. Still, it is fascinating how all these factors: real history, “idealised” history, and creative freedom, came together to form the antagonists’ looks and narrative drive in this DLC.