What do we know concretely about the continental Celts afterlife? I see some sources say there was an Otherworld, others that have a heaven and hell parallel with no explanation, and others that just say plain reincarnation and often little to nothing to follow up on.

Ah, the great question of the Celtic afterlife!

I unfortunately do not have my books with me currently so I will have to answer you out of memory. About the continental Celts (specifically the Gallic tribes), as usual, the answer is "We're not sure actually".

To answer the three specific options you bring:

A Heaven and Hell parallel? I doubt it. Very unlikely. I have not heard of such a divided system myself, but I think I might see where it comes from - as there was, from Renaissance to the 20th century, a strong movement of "There was a proto-Christianity in Gaul". It originally came from the Renaissance authors and poets, as they enjoyed making a lot of pastoral romance and historical tales about the Gaul of old, but France Renaissance being so deeply dominated by religion, they wove in (or sincerely believed) you had "precursor signs" of future Christianity in the druidic teaching, the same way the Greek philosophers were also perceived as "precursors and heralds of Christianity".

The other two options seem much more likely.

The Otherworld option is not truly attested by any record or teaching left behind since... Well, there's none. It is deduced simply from looking at how the island Celts' beliefs, myths and religion worked. We do know that the Celts of the British Isles had this Otherworld which was as much the domain of the god as the one of the dead - why wouldn't their "cousins", the continental Celts, have a similar concept? It is also deduced from the posterior French folklore and medieval French culture - from the Arthurian texts, for example, preserving an Otherworld concept similar to the British one ; to the various legends about supernatural beings, such as how fairies in literature and folktales sometimes confuse themselves with goddesses, other time with ghosts. So it is very, very likely the people of Gaul had an Otherworld of a sort or another.

YET the common consensus is rather the reincarnation system you point out - simply because when the Romans recorded and talked about the beliefs of Gaul, they were very insistent on the fact that the people of these lands believed in reincarnation, and that the druids taught that there was always another life after death. (In fact the druids were "accused" of specifically shaping this reincarnation belief to make men less afraid of dying and more fit for savage battle).

But this is the trouble: while it is the most historically documented and attested of the three propositions, which makes it the "by default acceptation", it also must be placed under scrutinity because it entirely and fully came from the Romans... The Romans who A) while fascinated by Gallic religion also seem to have misunderstood various elements and B) who also had for a long while a "propaganda" purpose due to how they waged war, conquered, then assimilated Gaul into their empire... This is the infamous question of "Did the druids truly performed human sacrifices as the Romans claimed it?". So, the most "logical" view would be that the Romans were "right" in that the people of Gaul believed in reincarnation (after all they couldn't have come up with it all on their own and be so repetitive about it), but they might have either been lacking a lot of info about it or been exagerating/misinterpreting the "grain of truth" they had.

As usual, this is the main problem with the gods and religion of Gaul... There's almost zero absolute certainty. With Gallo-Roman religion and Gallo-Roman gods, we are fully certain, because of all the records and archeological traces left. But with the purely Gallic religion... Here it is mainly a bunch of clues, fragments and pieces that can only leave to much theorizing and questionning, until we find new clues to help us solve the mystery.

Vers 390 av. J.-C., Brennus, chef des Sénons, écrase l'armée romaine à la bataille de l'Allia avant de marcher sur Rome, qu'il met à sac. Seul le Capitole résiste plusieurs mois, jusqu'à ce que les Romains acceptent de payer une lourde rançon en or pour obtenir le départ des Gaulois.

"I had one mission- one damned objective: 'Keep her safe'..."

Echoes of the Desert Wind: A Chronicle of Arab Presence in Gaul

Whispers of Sands and Stone: Unveiling the Arab Soul of Gaul This narrative transcends mere historical recounting; it's a journey into the resilience ...

Cette image est une création numérique en 3D intitulée Diplomatic Relations par l'artiste Tarbicus. Elle illustre une rencontre tendue entre des soldats de la République romaine et un guerrier celte de Gaule, probablement inspirée de la période de la bataille de Télamon en 225 av. J.-C..

Le guerrier gaulois, à gauche, est représenté torse nu, portant uniquement des braies à motifs de carreaux et un torque autour du cou. Cette apparence correspond aux descriptions historiques des combattants d'élite appelés Gaesatae, qui allaient au combat entièrement nus ou sans armure pour afficher leur bravoure face à l'ennemi. Il tient une épée longue et un bouclier oblong à motifs celtes.

Le premier soldat romain, au centre, est un Hastatus ou un Princeps de l'armée républicaine pré-marique. Son équipement comprend une plaque de protection pectorale carrée (cardiophylax), un casque de type Montefortino surmonté de plumes et de crins, un grand bouclier ovale jaune (scutum) et un javelot lourd (pilum).

One village. One magic potion. One empire that never quite owned the story.