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History tends to focus on prominent men in past societies, often ignoring or superficially passing over the role that women played, and how this role changed over time. Historians have long debated exactly what the role of women was in Celtic societies. Some argue that they were given higher status and had much greater freedoms in a much more progressive society than that of the dominant contemporary cultures of the Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Normans, becoming warriors, teachers, judges and leaders. However, others argue that society was still male dominated, that despite women having increased marital rights, they generally did not have the same level of freedom that other historians attribute to the society and that the women that became powerful were the exception, rather than the rule. Regardless of the answer, looking closely at the lives of women in Celtic society can give a fascinating, and slightly different, perspective of this period in history.