Read complete books and articles on: Druids

Druids - drooˈĭdz, priests of ancient Celtic Britain, Ireland, and Gaul and probably of all ancient Celtic peoples, known to have existed at least since the 3d cent. BC. Information about them is derived almost exclusively from the testimony of Roman authors, notably Julius Caesar, and from Old Irish sagas, supplemented to some extent by archaeological evidence. The druids constituted a priestly upper class in command of a highly ritualistic religion, which apparently centered on the worship of a pantheon of nature deities. Druids were also responsible for the education of the young and generally for the intellectual life of the community; although apparently literate, they taught by oral transmission, and their courses are said to have lasted as long as 20 years. The druids believed in immortality of the soul in a nonjudgmental world of the dead. Their religious ceremonies seem to have been performed chiefly in tree groves (the oak and the mistletoe that grows on the oak were held sacred) and at river sources and lakes. The druids performed animal and human sacrifices and practiced divination and other forms of magic. Tacitus mentions a Celtic tribe, the Bructeri, that was led by a prophetess, and Irish legend confirms that there were women druids, although their precise role is not known. According to Caesar, the druids in Gaul were organized into a federation or brotherhood that extended across tribal divisions and was headed by an archdruid; they met once a year, probably on the site of Chartres, to arbitrate private and intertribal disputes. They thus wielded great political power and were an important cohesive force among the Celtic tribes. The druids in Gaul were the core of the rebellions against Rome. Their power, although broken by the Romans, finally yielded only to Christianity. In the late 18th and 19th cent., interest in the druids was spurred by archaeological discoveries and by the romantic movement. The megalithic monuments of France and Great Britain, notably those at Carnac and Stonehenge, were once ascribed to them, but these are now known to predate Celtic culture.

See S. Piggott, The Druids (1968, repr. 1985); A. Ross, Druids, Gods, and Heroes (1986); W. Rutherford, The Druids: Magicians of the West (1986).

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10 of the Best Books and Articles on: Druids

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts » Read Now
by Paul R. Lonigan. 144 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, History, Entire Library

This comprehensive study of the Druids offers a fresh look at the enigmatic and often controversial question of the role of these priests in Celtic society. The religion of Druidism is examined as an inheritance of Indo-European tradition, with intriguing analogies made between Irish and Roman...
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This comprehensive study of the Druids offers a fresh look at the enigmatic and often controversial question of the role of these priests in Celtic society. The religion of Druidism is examined as an inheritance of Indo-European tradition, with intriguing analogies made between Irish and Roman cultic practices. The author identifies the functions of the ancient priests, providing an inventory of their duties and services. Druids are also defined in terms of their connections with other branches of Eurasian mysticism. This study will be of particular interest to scholars of Irish culture, Celtic culture, and comparative religion.
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2.

Celts and the Classical World (Chap. 14 "Religion and the Druids") » Read Now
by David Rankin. 328 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

To observe the Celts through the eyes of the Greeks and Romans is the first aim of this book.
3.

Belief, Legend and Perceptions of the Sacred in Contemporary Bath, in Folklore » Read Now
by Marion Bowman. 7 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
4.

"In the Eye of the Light": Ancient Druids and International Influences, in Wordsworth Circle » Read Now
by Shawna Thorp Lichtenwalner. 2 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Literature, Entire Library
5.

Architecture as Experience: Radical Changes in Spatial Practice ("Druids" begins on p. 18) » Read Now
by Dana Arnold, Andrew Ballantyne. 300 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Architecture as Experience investigates the perception and appropriation of places across intervals of time and culture. The particular concern of the volume is to bring together fresh empirical research and animate it through contact with theoretical sophistication, without overwhelming the...
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Architecture as Experience investigates the perception and appropriation of places across intervals of time and culture. The particular concern of the volume is to bring together fresh empirical research and animate it through contact with theoretical sophistication, without overwhelming the material.The chapters establish the continuity of a particular physical object and show it in at least two alternative historical perspectives, in which recognisable features are shown in different lights. The results are often surprising, inverting the common idea of a historic place as having an enduring meaning. This book shows the insight that can be gained from learning about earlier constructions of meaning which have been derived from the same buildings that stand before us today.
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6.

The Making of Stonehenge ("Stonehenge as a Druid Temple" begins on p. 14 and "The Druids" begins on p. 238) » Read Now
by Rodney Castleden. 306 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

Every generation has created its own interpretation of Stonehenge, but rarely do these relate to the physical realities of the monument. Rodney Castleden begins with those elements which made possible the building of this vast stone circle: the site, the materials and the society that undertook the...
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Every generation has created its own interpretation of Stonehenge, but rarely do these relate to the physical realities of the monument. Rodney Castleden begins with those elements which made possible the building of this vast stone circle: the site, the materials and the society that undertook the enormous task of transporting and raising the great vertical stones, then capping them, all to a carefully contrived plan.What emerges from this detailed examination is a much fuller sense of Stonehenge, both in relation to all the similar sites close by, and in terms of the uses to which it was put. Castleden suggests that there is no one 'meaning' or 'purpose' for Stonehenge, that from its very beginning it has filled a variety of needs. The Romans saw it as a centre of resistance; the antiquaries who 'rediscovered' it in the seventeenth century saw a long line of continuity leading back into the nation's past. The archaeologists see it as a subject for rational, scientific investigation; The National Trust and English Heritage view it as an unfailing magnet for visitors; UNESCO has declared it a World Heritage Site, the cultural property of the whole of humanity. Lost to view amid competing interests over the millenia are the uses it has served for those who live within its penumbra, for whom Stonehenge has never been 'lost' or 'rediscovered'. It exists in local myth and legend, stretching back beyond history.
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7.

Shamans/Neo-Shamans: Contested Ecstasies, Alternative Archaeologies, and Contemporary Pagans (Discussion of the Druids begins on p. 83) » Read Now
by Robert J. Wallis. 318 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

In popular culture, such diverse characters as occultist Aleister Crowley, Doors musician Jim Morrison, and performance artist Joseph Beuys have been called shamans. In anthropology, on the other hand, shamanism has associations with sorcery, witchcraft and healing, and archaeologists have suggested...
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In popular culture, such diverse characters as occultist Aleister Crowley, Doors musician Jim Morrison, and performance artist Joseph Beuys have been called shamans. In anthropology, on the other hand, shamanism has associations with sorcery, witchcraft and healing, and archaeologists have suggested the meaning of prehistoric cave art lies with shamans and altered consciousness. Robert J. Wallis explores the interface between 'new' and prehistoric shamans. The book draws on interviews with a variety of practitioners, particularly contemporary pagans in Britain and north America. Wallis looks at historical and archaeological sources to explore contemporary pagan engagements with prehistoric sacred sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury, and discusses the controversial use by neo-Shamans of indigenous (particularly native American) shamanism.
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8.

British Identities before Nationalism: Ethnicity and Nationhood in the Atlantic World, 1600-1800 (Discussion of the Druids begins on p. 205) » Read Now
by Colin Kidd. 302 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library

This book examines the status and uses of ethnicity in political debate during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the era that immediately preceded the onset of modern racialist and nationalist thinking. Ranging widely across the political cultures of England, Scotland, Ireland and...
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This book examines the status and uses of ethnicity in political debate during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the era that immediately preceded the onset of modern racialist and nationalist thinking. Ranging widely across the political cultures of England, Scotland, Ireland and revolutionary America, it also considers European influences and comparisons as well as engaging historically with current debates over nationalism and identity.
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9.

Ancient Britain and the Invasions of Julius Caesar (Discussion of the Druids begins on p. 289) » Read Now
by T. Rice Holmes. 782 pgs.

Collections: History, Entire Library
10.

Visions of the Fantastic: Selected Essays from the Fifteenth International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (Discussion of the Druids begins on p. 72) » Read Now
by Allienne R. Becker. 212 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This exciting collection of essays explores the fantastic in world literature, art, theater, film, and popular culture. Highlights include artwork by Edward Carlos and the essay Staging the Phantasmagorical: The Theatrical Challenges and Rewards of William Butler Yeats by internationally acclaimed...
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This exciting collection of essays explores the fantastic in world literature, art, theater, film, and popular culture. Highlights include artwork by Edward Carlos and the essay Staging the Phantasmagorical: The Theatrical Challenges and Rewards of William Butler Yeats by internationally acclaimed Yeats scholar James W. Flannery. Readers will be delighted by the wit of British author Brian Aldiss in his essay If Hamlet's Uncle Had Been a Nicer Guy. From new insights into the connections between Dracula and Frankenstein to a discussion of the Internet, the lively volume offers a diverse look at fantasy and science fiction.
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