The DruidsWho were the Druids? The Romans viewed them as occult priests indulging in human sacrifice and forecasting the future from human entrails. Some say they were amiable sorcerers. Others portray them as the intelligentsia of ancient Celtic society. In this book, Peter Berresford Ellis sifts through the evidence, and, with reference to the latest archaeological findings and the use of etymology, he provides the reader with the first authentic account of who and what they were. The Druids emerge as the intellectual caste of ancient Celtic society. They were the doctors, the lawyers, the ambassadors, the advisers to kings. They also had a religious function. Ellis describes the special Druidic training, their philosophy, their belief in auguries, and their intriguing origins. The Roman description of the Druids, he shows, was the bellicose propaganda of an empire anxious to rob them of their power in the Celtic territories. He shows that the current 'New Age' image of them as benevolent wizards comes from a woefully inadequate interpretation of the facts. |
Contents
Identifying the Druids II | 11 |
The Celtic World | 23 |
Origins of the Druids | 37 |
Copyright | |
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According ancient Celts argued astrology astronomical bards battle became believed Book Brehon law Breton Britain British c.AD Caesar called Celtic Christian Celtic languages Celtic society Celtic world Celts century BC Chadwick chieftain Cisalpine Cisalpine Gaul claimed Colmcille concept Cúchulainn culture Dagda Danu death Dillon Diodorus divination Divitiacus Druidess Druidic Druidism Druids Dumnorix early Celtic English famous female Gaul Gaulish gods Gorsedd Greek High King Hindu human sacrifice Indo-European insular Celtic Iolo Morganwg Ireland Irish mythology knowledge language Latin law system Leabhar London Lugh magic mentioned mistletoe modern Mór mother goddess Mug Ruith myth mythology Ogham Old Irish origin Otherworld pagan Patrick Pelagius philosophy Pliny poem poet Poseidonios pre-Christian Professor Pythagoras recorded references religion religious rites ritual rôle Roman Rome sacred sagas says scholars Scotland soul Stonehenge story Strabo survived symbol Taliesin Tara texts tonsure tradition tree tribes Wales warriors Welsh women word worship writers