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The druids were considered wise people, and we know that they acted as the priests, teachers, judges, and advisors of the Celtic tribes.
In order to appease the gods and guarantee the well-being of their people, the druids practiced rituals and sacrifices that they considered essential.
The druids were an important group of people who played a fascinating role in the life of ancient Celtic cultures. The Celts existed in Europe between 600 BCE and 40 CE, from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age.
The druids left no written accounts, so the information we do have about them was gathered by the Romans, who were hostile towards the Celtic tribe that threatened their expansion.
There are a number of female druids in Irish mythology. Such women were referred to as bandruí ("woman-druid"), and held prominent cultural roles alongside their male counterparts.
The druids are a well-known feature of Celtic history and tradition. However, they remain shrouded in mystery, thanks to the lack of records available about them. Much of the legend and lore from that time was passed down through a tradition of oral storytelling, limiting what we can uncover about them. What we do know is that these figures were embedded in Celtic society, and were highly influential as spiritual and cultural leaders. So influential, in fact, that the Roman Empire saw them as a threat and set out to quash them. Ironically, Roman records are some of the only surviving ones about this ancient class of priests.
Intrigued? Click on the gallery to learn more about the druids.
The word is also associated with the Old Irish druí, which translates to "sorcerer," and the Old Cornish druw and Middle Welsh dryw, which meant "seer or wren," also linking to the wren bird.
Druids play a prominent role in Irish folklore. They usually appear to serve lords and kings as high-ranking priest-counselors. The gift of prophecy and other mystical abilities are usually attributed to them.
These beliefs made them fearless about death and encouraged them to seek wisdom in life. They taught young men subjects like natural philosophy, astronomy, poetry, and theology for up to 20 years.
Roman emperor Caesar encountered the Celts in his invasion of Gaul (present-day France) in the 1st century BCE. According to him, they were a highly influential and respected class in Celtic society.
Among other things, the druids exercised political authority. They could intervene in wars and negotiate peace treaties between different tribes.
The druids experienced privileges other people didn't. For example, they did not have to serve in the military or pay taxes, and they were exempt from capital punishment.
Carnutes was considered to be the center of all Gaul, where there is a large forest (located close to present-day Orléans). Once a year, all the druids met at a secret, sacred place here to elect the chief druid, by vote or by force.
The druids' wise counsel was sought-after and they acted as judges and arbitrators in all kinds of disputes. The decisions they made were final and binding.
The mysterious druids studied the art of nature and revered the animistic forces of nature in ancient forest groves and ceremonial stone circles across what is today Ireland, France, and the UK.
For the druids, after death the soul would pass into another body. This body could either be human or animal, and a cycle would continue until the soul reached a state of perfection.
They were also said to be privy to secret knowledge that was not revealed to ordinary people. They believed in immortality and the "transmigration" of the soul.
The druids used divination methods to make predictions, sometimes derived from observing the flight of birds or examining the entrails of animals.
The word "druid" comes from the Latin druides, which was derived from a Celtic word. That Celtic word may have meant "oak-knower" or "oak-seer," so it's fair to say this tree was of utmost importance to the druids.
The druids were revered for their wealth of knowledge. They were associated with oak trees, as these were where they performed their ceremonies and rituals.
Some Roman writers recount the druids' fixation with blood and gore. The truth of these accounts is up for debate, but they report human sacrifice was accepted as an offering to the gods. Archaeological evidence does indeed support the practice of human sacrifice by Celtic societies.
Druidic rites were held in clearings in the forest in the early period. Under Roman influence, sacred buildings were later used.
Following Gaul's defeat to the Romans, Tiberius banned the practice of druidry, as well as other native healing and divination, according to the records of Pliny the Elder. Pliny believed this would end the practice of human sacrifice.
The druids were suppressed in Gaul by the Roman emperor Tiberius, who reigned from 14–37 CE. In Britain, it's likely to have happened a little later.
The arrival of Christianity in Ireland spelled the end of the priestly druidic tradition there. However, druids survived as poets, historians, and judges.
Many scholars believe the Hindu brahman in the East and the Celtic druid in the West were the survivors of an ancient Indo-European priesthood that spread laterally across the world.
The Welsh druids' stronghold, where many if not most of them lived, was at Anglesey. Around 61 CE, the Romans planned a massacre to wipe them out.
When Wales and Ireland had been Christianized in the Middle Ages, druids appeared in stories and tales written by Christian monks.
The pagan practitioners presented an existential threat to the Romans. They feared the druid's power over the Celtic communities that Rome had conquered.
Interest in druids surged occasionally, notably during the Romantic period in the 19th century. Considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature, Chateaubriand's novel 'Les Martyrs' (1809) narrated the doomed love of a druid priestess and a Roman soldier.
Sources: (Britannica) (History Skills) (National Geographic) (Live Science)
See also: The Celtic tradition—Europe before the Roman Empire
Who were the druids, and what did they do?
There are many questions remaining about this mysterious, priestly social class
LIFESTYLE History
The druids are a well-known feature of Celtic history and tradition. However, they remain shrouded in mystery, thanks to the lack of records available about them. Much of the legend and lore from that time was passed down through a tradition of oral storytelling, limiting what we can uncover about them. What we do know is that these figures were embedded in Celtic society, and were highly influential as spiritual and cultural leaders. So influential, in fact, that the Roman Empire saw them as a threat and set out to quash them. Ironically, Roman records are some of the only surviving ones about this ancient class of priests.
Intrigued? Click on the gallery to learn more about the druids.