This is my last post. Thank you to the readers leaving comments and to CTR for having me as a guest for the Celtic themed blog party. I enjoyed reading some of the other posts by Celtic authors. Slainte!

Spring. For everyone, it had a different meaning. This is one of the themes prevalent in my latest release, Beltaine’s Song. In the second book of my Dark Goddess trilogy, I explore the connection between spring and new beginnings, and spring and the harsh sound of the battle horn. In Dark Age time periods and other ancient time periods, spring was celebrated as the time of the return of the sun, when cows swelled with milk and fields thawed for the plow. But spring was also the time when clans battled one another. The harsh sound of the battle horn could be heard rolling off the freshly plowed fields.

Why did the clans battle more often in the spring? One reason could be that harsh winter weather and snow packed mountain passes made it difficult to engage in military campaigns. I can imagine it would be hard to grip a heavy weapon with frozen fingers. Food was also scarce during winter and feeding an army would take more sustenance. Due to the winter climate and the food shortage, battles usually occurred during spring and summer months. Most warriors were also farmers so they would plow and plant their fields before going off to fight. They would return to gather the harvest at the end of summer and sometimes continue fighting until winter. I would suppose that these ancient people needed a time of rest so winter would be that time for them.

Kelley Heckart

‘Timeless tales of romance, conflict & magic’

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