The word Galatis is often encountered in ancient sources. At first glance, it might seem like a simple ethnonym—something the Greeks and Romans used to label a people. Yet, when we turn it within our hands and look at it from different angles, much like a polished stone, we begin to see new meanings reflected back at us. For us within Bessus Nouiogalation (BNG) and outside into the greater community, Galatis is not bound to ethnicity or bloodline, but to spirit, to virtue, and to a deeper metaphysical truth.
The word Galatis (Greek: Γαλάτης, pl. Galatai Γαλάται) was the Hellenic name for the Gauls — Celtic-speaking peoples of continental Europe who entered the Greek historical imagination during the 3rd century BCE. The term was used broadly by Greek authors for the Celts they encountered both west of the Alps and in the Balkans.
- Polybius (Histories 2.17.8) refers to the Galatai in his account of Celtic migrations into the Balkans and Italy.
- Pausanias (Description of Greece 1.4.1, 10.19.4) uses Galatai when describing the invasions of Greece, especially the famous assault on Delphi (279 BCE).
- Appian (Mithridatic Wars 12.62) later refers to Galatai when describing the tribes settled in Asia Minor.
In Asia Minor, the name Galatai became fixed for the Celts who settled there after the invasions, giving rise to the region called Galatia (Γαλατία), known in later Roman times as the home of the “Galatians” mentioned in the New Testament. The Latin writers, by contrast, used the term Galli (singular Gallus) to describe these same peoples. Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico famously preserves the Roman perspective, but Greek authors writing of the same tribes consistently used Galatai.
Where does the word itself come from?
Scholars such as suggest it derives from the Proto-Celtic root gal- or galā- meaning “power, vigor, fury, might” (compare Old Irish gal “valor, fury, battle-might,” Welsh galw “to call, summon”).
Kim McCone suggests that the Greek suffix –atai in Galatai may derive from Proto-Celtic galatis, interpreted as “ferocious” or “fierce.” He indicates this term likely described young warrior bands or potent individuals rather than serving as a general ethnic identity (We can throw any notion of ethnicity out into the Pit). McCone posits that if the Gauls’ initial impact on the Mediterranean world was primarily military, involving fierce young galatīs, it would have been natural for the Greeks to apply this name to the type of Celts they most frequently encountered.
Stefan Schumacher, in his work Die keltischen Primärverben (2004), reconstructs the Proto-Celtic verb gal-nV-, meaning “to be able” or “to gain control of.” He suggests that the ethnonym Galatis (Greek: Γαλάτης) reflects both strength and capability. Schumacher posits that the term Galatis may have originally described a potent individual, such as a warrior or leader, rather than serving as a general ethnic identity. This interpretation aligns with the idea that the name was an exonym, potentially carrying a pejorative connotation, applied by outsiders to describe the Celts’ martial prowess. This reconstruction is supported by the work of Helmut Rix and colleagues in the Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben, which traces the Proto-Indo-European root gelH-, meaning “to acquire power over,” as the basis for the Celtic gal-nV-. This root is also reflected in the Latin Gallus and the Greek Galatai, both terms used to denote the Gauls.
Xavier Delamarre, in Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise (2003), identifies the Gaulish stem galā- as meaning “strength, power, capacity.” He reconstructs it as a Proto-Celtic root reflected in various Gaulish personal and tribal names, suggesting a semantic range connected to vitality, ability, and force. This aligns neatly with the interpretation of Galatis as a name emphasizing strength and capability, whether in individual warriors or groups, and provides a direct linguistic link between the Gaulish word and the Greek ethnonym.
Thus, Galatis may literally mean “one of strength” or “one who carries galā.” From this, Galatis can be interpreted not only as “the strong ones” but also as “those who are able” — those who carry within them Galā. This would place Galatis not merely as a tribal label, but as a bearer of a spiritual quality — a person suffused with the force of Galā.
Below is a table of all the linguistics I could find for Gala
| Scholar | Proposed Meaning of galā- / Gala | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Xavier Delamarre | galā- = “strength, power, capacity.” | Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 2nd ed. (2003), p. 177 |
| Ranko Matasović | galā- = “strength, power” → PIE root gʷelH- “to be strong, vigorous.” | Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (2009), p. 156 |
| Julius Pokorny | Celtic gal- = “kraft, Macht, Stärke; Kampfeslust” (“strength, power, combativeness”). | Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch (1959), p. 420 |
| Stefan Schumacher | Reconstructs Proto-Celtic verb gal-nV- “to be able, to gain control of,” related to galā- (capacity, ability). | Die keltischen Primärverben (2004), p. 262 |
| Kim McCone | Sees Galatai (from galatis) as derived from galā-, possibly denoting “ferocious, furious” young warrior bands rather than just ethnicity. | The Early Irish Verb (1994), discussion on ethnonyms (p. 44–45) |
| Pierre-Yves Lambert | galā- = “force, puissance, valeur.” Notes its presence in Gaulish personal names and ethnonyms. | La langue gauloise (1994), p. 179 |
| Alfred Holder | Lists Galatis and related names under gal- “Kraft, Stärke, Wut.” | Alt-celtischer Sprachschatz (1896–1907), vol. 1, col. 1714–1715 |
Sources:
- Matasović, Ranko. Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill, 2009.
- Schumacher, Stefan. Die keltischen Primärverben. 2004.
- McCone, Kim. The ‘Celts’: Questions of Nomenclature and Identity. 2013
- Delamarre, Xavier. Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 2nd ed. Errance, 2003.
Galā as Virtue
Among the virtues we cultivate in our path, Galā holds a special place. One of the many ways we interpret it is as bravery which is often misunderstood. It is not rashness, nor is it blind fearlessness. Bravery is choosing the right action even when the wrong one would be easier. Bravery is admitting when we are wrong, standing in the fire of consequence, and emerging forged. Bravery is holding to virtue when all others disregard it. Thus, Galā as a virtue is lived daily. It is lived in small choices as much as in great ones. It is your ardor and resolve. It is the will that keeps us upright when the winds of the world would see us fall. It is the courage that burns, not because fear is absent, but because fear has been faced and transformed. So in BNG Galā is your sacred inner flame the burning force of vitality.
Yet Galā is not only an outer action, it is also an inner mystery. We say that every soul carries Galā, the flame within. Just as every hearth fire must be fed to burn brightly, so too must our inner flame be tended. In our Gaulish thought, the soul (anatiom) is breathed, living, and moving—it is the breath that feeds the fire. Without breath, fire dies. Without fire, breath grows cold. Together they create the living mystery of being. To cultivate Galā is therefore not simply to be brave in a worldly sense, but to tend the sacred flame of the self. It is a word that carries weight, heat, and intensity.
Galā and the Flowing Force
If we follow this line of thought, then Galatis becomes not a narrow ethnic marker but a title of spiritual identity: one whose soul carries Galā.
What is Galā? It is that inner current, that vital essence, that both empowers and inspires. The Gaulish word belongs to a family of ideas across cultures — concepts that each point to a similar immanent force that pervades the world and animates the soul. Different cultures found words for this ineffable truth: that existence is bound together by a living current, and that to live well is to live in accord with it.
- In Greek thought, pneuma — the breath or soul, understood as air and fire, the force of motion and order in the cosmos.
- In Hindu philosophy, prāna — the breath of life, vitality itself.
- Among the Germanic peoples, mægen — the inner might, force, or virtue that underlies action.
- In the Welsh tradition, Awen — the breath of inspiration that flows through poet, priest, and mystic alike.
- In Irish tradition, Imbas Forosnai — the fire of inspiration and illumination that descends upon the seer.
- In Roman thought, numen — the divine presence or will, the potency that animates all things.
- In the Vedic hymns, Agni — the living fire that is both the sacrificial flame and the divine messenger.
Like these concepts, Galā is immanent — it flows within every being, ready to be kindled by virtuous action and mindful practice. It is fed by the Anation, the breath-soul of a Galatis, and can be focused, cultivated, and expressed through right action, devotion, and clarity of mind.
- Anatlā = breath, life-force (root *an- “to breathe”) → the vital energy that sustains.
- Anation = the soul/self (that which breath animates and gives being to).
- Galā (per Delamarre, Schumacher, Matasović, Lambert, etc.) = “strength, capacity, ability, power” — but also connected to force, fire, animating vigor.
- Thus: when the soul (anation) is fed by breath (anatlā), it naturally generates galā (strength/ability/fire).
This is consistent with both the linguistic evidence (galā = capacity, vigor, power) and our mystical interpretation (a fiery, animate potency produced by the breathing soul). It ties neatly into our Gaulish cosmology: fire + breath as creative forces, and the soul as the vessel of transformation.
Who, then, is a Galatis?
If Galā is the flame, then a Galatis is one who carries it. A Galatis is not simply “a Gaul” as the Greeks once imagined, but one whose soul carries Galā. It is a spiritual designation, not an ethnic one. A Galatis is a flame-bearer. This understanding frees the word from the narrow frame of bloodline or geography. It makes of it a calling. To be a Galatis is to recognize the fire within, to live in such a way that the flame does not dim, and to pass it on in warmth, in courage, and in right action.
Thus, to be a Galatis today is not simply to claim descent from the Gauls of old. It is to take on a mantle — to be one whose soul is open to Galā, who seeks to shape life around this flowing force of might, inspiration, and divine presence. It becomes less about where one comes from, and more about what one carries. A Galatis is not only heir to the past, but participant in the eternal present of Galā.
You are a Galatis……………..
A Galatis is one whose soul carries Galâ — the inner fire of resolve, courage, and vitality. It flows through all things, animate and inanimate, yet shines brightest in those who cultivate virtue and live rightly. It is a living, immanent force in the cosmos, one that sustains, empowers, and inspires. Your Anation, your breath-soul, feeds that flame in its pursuit of uissus (wisdom).
Your deeds shape its light. Your rituals keep it alive. Your lanolabā (right speech) directs its heat—toward truth, toward clarity, toward harmony.
Shout out to Dian, Cunolugus, and the community for these insights.
Bessus Nouiogalation 