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{{Short description|Priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures}}
{{Other uses}}
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[[File:Two Druids.PNG|thumb|''Two Druids'', 19th-century engraving based on a 1719 illustration by [[Bernard de Montfaucon]], who said that he was reproducing a bas-relief found at [[Autun]], Burgundy<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Bernard de Montfaucon |first=Bernard |last=de&nbsp;Montfaucon |title=Antiquitas explanatione et schematibus illustrata |at=vol.&nbsp;ii, part&nbsp;ii, book&nbsp;V. p.&nbsp;436}}</ref>]]
{{Celtic mythology}}
A '''druid''' was a member of the high-ranking [[Priestly caste|priestly class]] in ancient [[Celts|Celtic]] cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. While they were reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form. Their beliefs and practices are attested in some detail by their contemporaries from other cultures, such as the Romans and the Greeks.

The earliest known references to the druids date to the 4th century BCE. The oldest detailed description comes from [[Julius Caesar]]'s ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'' (50s&nbsp;BCE). They were described by other Roman writers such as [[Cicero]],<ref name="ReferenceB">[[#Cic44|Cicero (44)]] I.XVI.90.</ref> [[Tacitus]],<ref>[[#Tac|Tacitus]] XIV.30.</ref> and [[Pliny the Elder]].<ref>[[#Pli78|Pliny (c.&nbsp;78)]] XVI.249.</ref> Following the Roman invasion of [[Gaul]], the druid orders were suppressed by the Roman government under the 1st-century&nbsp;CE emperors [[Tiberius]] and [[Claudius]], and had disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century.

In about 750 CE, the word ''druid'' appears in a poem by [[Blathmac]], who wrote about [[Jesus]], saying that he was "better than a prophet, more knowledgeable than every druid, a king who was a bishop and a complete sage."<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mac Mathúna, Liam |year=1999 |url=http://www.celt.dias.ie/publications/celtica/c23/c23-174.pdf |title=Irish Perceptions of the Cosmos |journal=Celtica |volume=23 |pages=174–187, esp.&nbsp;181}}</ref> The druids often appear in both the tales from [[Irish mythology]] first written down by monks and nuns of the [[Celtic Church]] like the "[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]" (12th century), but also in later Christian legends where they are largely portrayed as [[Magician (paranormal)|sorcerers]] who opposed the introduction of Christianity by missionaries.<ref>[[#Hut09|Hutton (2009)]] pp.&nbsp;32–37.</ref> In the wake of the [[Celtic revival]] during the 18th and 19th&nbsp;centuries, fraternal and [[Neopaganism|neopagan]] groups were founded based on ideas about the ancient druids, a movement known as [[Druidry (modern)|Neo-Druidism]]. Many popular notions about druids, based on misconceptions of 18th-century scholars, have been largely superseded by more recent study.<ref name="BMD">{{cite web |title=The Druids |publisher=The British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/d/the_Druids.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225173345/http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/d/the_druids.aspx |archive-date=2015-02-25 |access-date=2016-02-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The English word ''druid'' derives from the Latin word ''druidēs'' (plural), which was considered by ancient Roman writers to come from the native [[Gaulish]] word for these figures.<ref name="Piggott 1968 Page 89">[[#Pig68|Piggott (1968)]] p.&nbsp;89.</ref><ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DDruides |article=Druides |editor1=Lewis, Charlton T. |editor2=Short, Charles |dictionary=A Latin Dictionary |via=Perseus project}}</ref><ref name="Wiel">Caroline aan de Wiel, "Druids [3] the word", in ''Celtic Culture''.{{full citation needed|date=August 2019}}</ref> Other Roman texts employ the form ''druidae'', while the same term was used by Greek ethnographers as {{lang|grc|δρυΐδης}} (''druidēs'').<ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*droui%2Fdhs |article=Δρουίδης |editor1=Liddell, Henry George |editor2=Scott, Robert |dictionary=A Greek-English Lexicon |via=Perseus project}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor=Pokorny, Julius |editor-link=Julius Pokorny |title=Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2328470 |chapter=Δρυίδης |via=Perseus project|title-link=Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch }}</ref> Although no extant Romano-Celtic inscription is known to contain the form,<ref name="Piggott 1968 Page 89" /> the word is cognate with the later insular Celtic words: [[Old Irish]] ''druí'' 'druid, sorcerer'; [[Old Cornish]] ''druw''; and [[Middle Welsh]] ''dryw'' '[[Prophet|seer]]; [[wren]]'.<ref name="Wiel" /> Based on all available forms, the hypothetical proto-Celtic word may be reconstructed as *''dru-wid-s'' (pl. *''druwides''), whose original meaning is traditionally taken to be "[[oak]]-knower", based upon the association of druids' beliefs with oak trees, which was made by [[Pliny the Elder]], who also suggested that the word is borrowed from the Greek word {{lang|grc|δρῦς}} (''drỹs'') 'oak tree'<ref>{{cite book |author=Pliny the Elder |title=Naturalis Historia |trans-title=The Natural History |translator-first1=John |translator-last1=Bostock |translator-first2=H.T. |translator-last2=Riley |location=London |publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=1855 |orig-date=c. CE 77–79 |chapter=16.95 |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=16:chapter=95 |via=Perseus project}}</ref><ref name="Wiel" /><ref>{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Ddru%3Ds |article=δρῦς |editor1=Liddell, Henry George |editor2=Scott, Robert |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |via=Perseus project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gwerin (www.gwerin.com) |title=What is oak in Welsh? What is the Welsh word for oak? {{!}} Gweiadur |url=https://www.gweiadur.com/welsh-dictionary/%24oak |access-date=2023-09-19 |website=www.gweiadur.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Speight |first=Harry |url=http://archive.org/details/chroniclesstorie00speiiala |title=Chronicles and stories of old Bingley. A full account of the history, antiquities, natural productions, scenery, customs and folklore of the ancient town and parish of Bingley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire |date=1898 |location=London |publisher=Elliot Stock}}</ref> but nowadays it is more often understood as originally meaning 'one with firm knowledge' (i.e. 'a great sage'),<ref>{{cite book |author-first=Bruce |author-last=Lincoln |year=1991 |title=Death, War, and Sacrifice: Studies in Ideology and Practice |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |pages=176, 185 |chapter=The Druids and Human Sacrifice |isbn=0-226-48200-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author-first=Christian-J. |author-last=Guyonvarc'h |title=Notes d'étymologie et de lexicographie gauloises et celtiques (5), no. 16: Les noms celtiques du 'chêne', du 'druide' et du 'roitelet' |journal=Ogam |volume=12 |year=1960 |pages=49–58}}</ref> as Pliny is the only ancient author drawing the association between oaks and druids<ref>{{cite book |author-first=Ronald |author-last=Hutton |year=2009 |title=Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain |pages=16–17 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15979-0}}</ref> and the intensifying modifier sense of the first element fits better with other similar compounds attested in Old Irish ({{lang|sga|suí}} 'sage, wise man' < ''*su-wid-s'' 'good knower', {{lang|sga|duí}} 'idiot, fool' < ''*du-wid-s'' 'bad knower', {{lang|sga|ainb}} 'ignorant' < ''*an-wid-s'' 'not-knower'). The two elements go back to the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] roots ''*deru-''<ref>{{cite dictionary |quote=Proto-IE <nowiki>*</nowiki>''deru-'', a cognate to English ''tree'', is the word for "oak", though the root has a wider array of meanings related to "to be firm, solid, steadfast" (whence e.g. English ''[[truth|true]]''). |dictionary=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=Fourth |year=2000 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE87.html |series=Indo-European Roots |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726143746/http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE87.html |archive-date=2008-07-26 |article=deru-}}</ref> and ''*weid-'' "to see".<ref>{{cite dictionary |dictionary=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=Fourth |year=2000 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE556.html |series=Indo-European Roots |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726143746/http://www.bartleby.com/61/roots/IE556.html |archive-date=2008-07-26 |article=weid-}}</ref> Both Old Irish ''druí'' and Middle Welsh ''dryw'' could refer to the [[Eurasian wren|wren]],<ref name="Wiel" /> possibly connected with an association of that bird with [[augury]] in Irish and Welsh tradition (see also [[Wren Day]]).<ref name="Wiel" /><ref>{{cite journal |first=Brian |date=1980–1981 |last=Ó Cuív |title=Some Gaelic traditions about the wren |url=https://codecs.vanhamel.nl/%C3%93_Cu%C3%ADv_1980b |journal=[[Éigse]] |volume=18 |pages=43–66}}</ref>

== Practices and doctrines ==
Sources by ancient and medieval writers provide an idea of the religious duties and social roles involved in being a druid.

=== Societal role and training ===
[[File:An Arch Druid in His Judicial Habit.jpg|thumb| Imaginative illustration of 'An Arch Druid in His Judicial Habit', from ''The Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Islands'' by S.R. Meyrick and C.H. Smith (1815), the gold [[gorget]] collar copying Irish [[Bronze Age]] examples.<ref>{{cite book |quote=There are nine surviving gorget collars, seven in the [[National Museum of Ireland]], all dating from the late Bronze Age, 800–700&nbsp;BCE. |editor1=Wallace, Patrick F. |editor2=O'Floinn, Raghnall |title=Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities |year=2002 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |location=Dublin |isbn=0-7171-2829-6 |pages=88–89, 100–101}}</ref>]] The Greco-Roman and the vernacular Irish sources agree that the druids played an important part in pagan Celtic society. In his description, [[Julius Caesar]] wrote that they were one of the two most important social groups in the region (alongside the ''equites'', or nobles) and were responsible for organizing worship and sacrifices, divination, and judicial procedure in Gallic, British, and Irish societies.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Julius Caesar|Caesar, Julius]]. ''De bello gallico''. VI.13–18.</ref>{{failed verification|reason=At least at http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/caesar/gallic_e6.html there is no apparent reference to Irish society and Britain is only mentioned once, Caesar quoting a rumour.|date=February 2018}} He wrote that they were exempt from [[Military of ancient Rome|military service]] and from paying [[Taxation in ancient Rome|taxes]], and had the power to [[Excommunication|excommunicate]] people from religious festivals, making them social outcasts.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Two other classical writers, [[Diodorus Siculus]] and [[Strabo]], wrote about the role of druids in Gallic society, stating that the druids were held in such respect that if they intervened between two armies they could stop the battle.<ref>[[#Hut07|Hutton (2007)]] pp. 44–45.</ref> 

Diodorus writes of the Druids that they were "philosophers" and "men learned in religious affairs" who are honored.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Melrose |first1=Robin |title=Religion in Britain from the Megaliths to Arthur An Archaeological and Mythological Exploration |date=2016 |publisher=McFarland |page=10}}</ref> Strabo mentions that their domain was both [[natural philosophy]] and [[moral philosophy]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Morritt |first1=Robert D. |title=Echoes from the Greek Bronze Age An Anthology of Greek Thought in the Classical Age |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publisher |page=16}}</ref> while [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] lists them as investigators of "obscure and profound subjects".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bendix |first1=Regina |title=Diverging Paths in the Scientific Search for Authenticity |journal=[[Journal of Folklore Research]] |date=1992 |volume=29 |issue=2 |pages=103–132}}</ref>

[[Pomponius Mela]] was the first author to say that the druids' instruction was secret and took place in caves and forests.<ref>Pomponius Mela iii.2.18–19.</ref> Cicero said that he knew a Gaulish druid who "claimed to have that knowledge of nature which the Greeks call physiologia, and he used to make predictions, sometimes by means of [[augury]] and sometimes by means of conjecture".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ó hÓgáin |first1=Dáithí |title=The Sacred Isle Belief and Religion in Pre-Christian Ireland |date=1999 |publisher=Boydell Press |page=88}}</ref>

Druidic lore consisted of a large number of memorized verses, and Caesar remarked that it could take up to twenty years to complete the course of study. What was taught to druid novices anywhere is conjecture: of the druids' [[oral literature]], not one certifiably ancient verse is known to have survived, even in translation. All instruction was communicated orally, but for ordinary purposes, Caesar reports,<ref>Caesar, ''Gallic Wars'' vi.14.3.</ref> the Gauls had a written language in which they used Greek letters. In this he probably draws on earlier writers; by the time of Caesar, [[Gaulish]] inscriptions had moved from Greek script to Latin script.

Caesar believed that this practice of [[Oral tradition|oral transmission of knowledge]] and opposition to recording their ideas had dual motivations: wanting to keep druidic knowledge from becoming common, and improving the druids' faculties of memory.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Gallic War |date=2012 |publisher=Dover Publications |page=103}}</ref> Caesar writes that of the Druids "a large number of the young men resort for the purpose of instruction".<ref>Julius Caesar, 'Commentaries on the Gallic War', Book 6 Chapter 13</ref> Due to the privileges afforded to the druids he tells us that "many embrace this profession of their own accord", whereas many others are sent to become druids by their families.<ref>Julius Caesar, 'Commentaries on the Gallic War', Book 6 Chapter 14</ref>

=== Sacrifice ===
{{Further|Celts and human sacrifice|Threefold death|Ritual of oak and mistletoe}}
[[File:The Wicker Man of the Druids crop.jpg|thumb|An 18th&nbsp;century illustration of a [[wicker man]], the form of execution that Caesar wrote the druids used for human sacrifice. From the "Duncan Caesar", Tonson, Draper, and Dodsley edition of the ''Commentaries of Caesar'' translated by [[William Duncan (philosopher)|William Duncan]] and published in London in 1753.<!-- Having written that I'm suddenly not so sure, it's similar to Duncan Caesar but might be later imitation. -->]]

Greek and Roman writers frequently made reference to the druids as practitioners of [[human sacrifice]].<ref>Reports of druids performing human sacrifice are found in the works of [[Marcus Annaeus Lucanus|Lucan]], ''Pharsalia'' i.450–458; Caesar, ''Gallic Wars'' vi.16, 17.3–5; Suetonius, ''Claudius'' 25; [[Cicero]], ''Pro Font.'' 31; Cicero, ''De Rep.'' 9 (15); cited after Norman J. DeWitt, "The Druids and Romanization" ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association'' '''69''' (1938:319–332) p.&nbsp;321, note&nbsp;4.</ref> Caesar says those who had been found guilty of theft or other criminal offences were considered preferable for use as sacrificial victims, but when criminals were in short supply, innocents would be acceptable. A form of sacrifice recorded by Caesar was the burning alive of victims in a large wooden [[effigy]], now often known as a [[wicker man]]. A differing account came from the 10th-century ''[[Commenta Bernensia]]'', which stated that sacrifices to the deities [[Teutates]], [[Esus]], and [[Taranis]] were by drowning, hanging, and burning, respectively (see [[threefold death]]).

[[Diodorus Siculus]] asserts that a sacrifice acceptable to the [[Celtic deities|Celtic gods]] had to be attended by a druid, for they were the intermediaries between the people and the divinities. He remarked upon the importance of prophets in druidic ritual:

{{Quote|These men predict the future by observing the flight and calls of birds and by the sacrifice of holy animals: all orders of society are in their power ... and in very important matters they prepare a human victim, plunging a dagger into his chest; by observing the way his limbs convulse as he falls and the gushing of his blood, they are able to read the future.}}

Archaeological evidence from western Europe has been widely used to support the theory that Iron Age Celts practiced human sacrifice. Mass graves that were found in a ritual context, which date from this period, have been unearthed in Gaul, at both [[Gournay-sur-Aronde]] and [[Ribemont-sur-Ancre]] in the region of the Belgae chiefdom. Jean-Louis Brunaux, the excavator of these sites, interpreted them as areas of human sacrifice in devotion to a war god,<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Brunaux, Jean-Louis |year=2001 |title=Gallic Blood Rites |magazine=Archaeology |at=54.2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Brunaux, Jean-Louis |year=2002 |title=Le Santuaire gaulois de Gournay-sur-Aronde |journal=Bulletin of the Archaeological and Historical Company of Boulounge-Conchy-Hainvillers |volume=56}}</ref> although this conclusion was criticized by archaeologist Martin Brown, who believed that the corpses might be those of honoured warriors who were buried in the sanctuary, rather than sacrifices.<ref>{{cite book |author=Hutton, Ronald |title=The Druids |location=London |publisher=Hambledon Continuum |year=2007 |pages=133–134}}</ref> Some historians have questioned whether the Greco-Roman writers were accurate in their claims. J. Rives remarked that it was "ambiguous" whether druids ever performed such sacrifices, for the Romans and Greeks were known to project what they saw as barbarian traits onto foreign peoples including not only druids but Jews and Christians as well, thereby confirming their own "cultural superiority" in their own minds.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rives, J. |year=1995 |title=Human sacrifice among pagans and Christians |journal=Journal of Roman Studies |at=85 |volume= 85|doi=10.2307/301058 |jstor=301058 |s2cid=162727470 }}{{Full citation needed|date=August 2019}}</ref>

[[Nora Chadwick]], an expert in medieval Welsh and Irish literature who believed the druids to be great philosophers, has also supported the idea that they had not been involved in human sacrifice, and that such accusations were imperialist Roman propaganda.<ref>[[#Cha66|Chadwick (1966)]], pp.&nbsp;xviii, 28, 91.</ref>

=== Philosophy ===
[[Alexander Cornelius Polyhistor]] referred to the druids as philosophers, and called their doctrine of the immortality of the soul and [[metempsychosis]] (reincarnation), "[[Pythagoreanism|Pythagorean]]":
{{Quote|The Pythagorean doctrine prevails among the Gauls' teaching that the souls of men are immortal, and that after a fixed number of years they will enter into another body}}

Caesar made similar observations:

{{Quote|With regard to their actual course of studies, the main object of all education is, in their opinion, to imbue their scholars with a firm belief in the indestructibility of the human soul, which, according to their belief, merely passes at death from one tenement to another; for by such doctrine alone, they say, which robs death of all its terrors, can the highest form of human courage be developed. Subsidiary to the teachings of this main principle, they hold various lectures and discussions on the stars and their movement, on the extent and geographical distribution of the earth, on the different branches of natural philosophy, and on many problems connected with religion.|Julius Caesar, ''De Bello Gallico'', VI, 14}}

[[Diodorus Siculus]], writing in 36 BCE, described how the druids followed "the Pythagorean doctrine", that human souls "are immortal, and after a prescribed number of years they commence a new life in a new body".<ref name="ReferenceC">[[Diodorus Siculus]]. ''Bibliotheca historicae''. V.21–22.</ref> In 1928, the folklorist [[Donald Alexander Mackenzie|Donald A. Mackenzie]] speculated that Buddhist missionaries had been sent by the Indian king [[Ashoka]].<ref>Donald A.Mackenzie, ''Buddhism in pre-Christian Britain'' (1928:21).</ref> Caesar noted the druidic doctrine that the original ancestor of the tribe was the god that he referred to as "[[Dispater]]", which means "Father Dis".

[[Diogenes Laertius]], in the 3rd century CE, wrote that "Druids make their pronouncements by means of riddles and dark sayings, teaching that the gods must be worshipped, and no evil done, and manly behavior maintained".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kendrick |first1=T.D. |title=The Druids A Study in Celtic Prehistory |date=2013 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |page=75}}</ref>

==Druids in mythology==
Druids play a prominent role in [[Irish folklore]], generally serving lords and kings as high ranking priest-counselors with the gift of prophecy and other assorted mystical abilities{{snd}}the best example of these possibly being [[Cathbad]]. The chief druid in the court of King [[Conchobar mac Nessa]] of [[Ulster]], Cathbad features in several tales, most of which detail his ability to foretell the future. In the tale of [[Deirdre|Deirdre of the Sorrows]]{{snd}}the foremost [[tragic heroine]] of the [[Ulster Cycle]]{{snd}}the druid prophesied before the court of Conchobar that Deirdre would grow up to be very beautiful, and that kings and lords would go to war over her, much blood would be shed because of her, and Ulster's three greatest warriors would be forced into exile for her sake. This prophecy, ignored by the king, came true.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/hroi/hroiv1.htm |title=Heroic Romances of Ireland|volume= I |publisher=Sacred-texts.com |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref>

The greatest of these mythological druids was [[Amergin Glúingel]],<ref>Also spelled Amairgin, Amorgen, Aimhirghin</ref> a [[bard]] and judge for the [[Milesians (Irish)|Milesians]] featured in the [[Mythological Cycle]]. The Milesians were seeking to overrun the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]] and win the land of Ireland but, as they approached, the druids of the Tuatha Dé Danann raised a magical storm to bar their ships from making landfall. Thus Amergin called upon the spirit of Ireland itself, chanting a powerful incantation that has come to be known as ''The Song of Amergin''<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/gafm/gafm09.htm |title = Gods and Fighting Men: Part I: Part I Book III: The Landing}}</ref> and, eventually (after successfully making landfall), aiding and dividing the land between his royal brothers in the conquest of Ireland,<ref>''[[Lebor Gabála Érenn]]'' [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor5.html §65-95] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706222251/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/lebor5.html |date=2010-07-06 }}</ref><ref>Maighréad C. Ní Dobs, [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/tochomlad-e.html "Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023005644/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/tochomlad-e.html |date=2007-10-23 }} ''Études Celtiques'' v.II, Paris: Librairie E. Droz, 1937</ref><ref>[[Geoffrey Keating]], ''Foas Feasa ar Éirinn'' [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text031.html 1.21], [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text032.html 22], [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100054/text033.html 23]</ref> earning the title [[Chief Ollam of Ireland]].

Other such mythological druids were [[Tadg mac Nuadat]] of the [[Fenian Cycle]], and [[Mug Ruith]], a powerful blind druid of [[Munster]].

==Female druids==
[[File:Alexandre Cabanel - Druidesse.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|''The Druidess'', oil on canvas, by French painter [[Alexandre Cabanel]] (1823–1890)]]

===Irish mythology===
[[Irish mythology]] has a number of female druids, often sharing similar prominent cultural and religious roles with their male counterparts. The Irish have several words for female druids, such as ''bandruí'' ("woman-druid"), found in tales such as ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'';<ref name=DILbandrui>{{cite web |title=Drui |url=http://edil.qub.ac.uk/advanced_search?q=bandr%C3%BAid&search_in=citation#search_results |website=[[Dictionary of the Irish Language]] (eDIL) |publisher=[[Royal Irish Academy]] (RIA)|access-date=11 February 2016}} 1c: "dialt feminine declension, Auraic. 1830. bandruí druidess; female skilled in magic arts: tri ferdruid ┐ tri bandrúid, TBC 2402 = dī (leg. tri) drúid insin ┐ a teóra mná, TBC² 1767."</ref> [[Bodhmall]], featured in the [[Fenian Cycle]], and one of [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]]'s childhood caretakers;<ref name="Parkes 2004 pp. 587">Parkes, "Fosterage, Kinship, & Legend", Cambridge University Press, Comparative Studies in Society and History (2004), 46: pp. 587–615.</ref> and [[Tlachtga]],<ref name="maryjones.us">Jones, Mary. [http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/f02.html "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn mac Cumhaill"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180406220016/http://www.maryjones.us/ctexts/f02.html |date=2018-04-06 }}. From maryjones.us. Retrieved July 22, 2008.</ref> daughter of the druid [[Mug Ruith]] who, according to Irish tradition, is associated with the [[Hill of Ward]], site of prominent festivals held in Tlachtga's honour during the [[Middle Ages]].<ref name=MacKillop>MacKillop, James (1998). ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. London: Oxford. {{ISBN|0-19-860967-1}}. *page numbers needed*</ref>

[[Biróg]], another ''bandruí'' of the [[Tuatha Dé Danann]], plays a key role in an [[Irish folklore|Irish folktale]] where the [[Fomorians|Fomorian]] warrior [[Balor]] attempts to thwart a prophecy foretelling that he would be killed by his own grandson by imprisoning his only daughter [[Ethniu|Eithne]] in the tower of [[Tory Island]], away from any contact with men.<ref name="O'Donovan">[[John O'Donovan (scholar)|O'Donovan, John]] (ed. & trans.), ''Annala Rioghachta Éireann: Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters'' Vol. 1, 1856, pp. 18–21, footnote ''S''</ref><ref name=Rolleston>T. W. Rolleston, ''Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race'', 1911, pp. 109–112.</ref> [[Bé Chuille]] (daughter of the woodland goddess [[Flidais]], and sometimes described as a sorceress rather than a bandruí) features in a tale from the [[Metrical Dindshenchas]], where she joins three other of the Tuatha Dé to defeat the evil [[Greece|Greek]] witch [[Carman]].<ref name=MacKillop/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T106500C/index.html|title=The Metrical Dindshenchas|website=celt.ucc.ie}}</ref> Other bandrúi include Relbeo– a Nemedian druid who appears in [[The Book of Invasions]], where she is described as the daughter of the king of Greece, and the mother of Fergus Lethderg<ref name=MacKillop/> and Alma One-Tooth.<ref name=oboyle>O'Boyle, p. 150.</ref> Dornoll was a bandrúi in Scotland, who normally trained heroes in warfare, particularly [[Laegaire]] and [[Conall Cernach|Conall]]; she was the daughter of Domnall Mildemail.<ref name=MacKillop/>

===The ''Gallizenae''===
[[File:Chausseedesein.png|thumb|upright=1.8|Location of Île de Sein in the Atlantic Ocean]]
According to classical authors, the Gallizenae (or Gallisenae) were virgin priestesses of the [[Île de Sein]] off Pointe du Raz, [[Finistère]], western [[Brittany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095841445 |title=Gallizenae - oi |department=OxfordIndex |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> Their existence was first mentioned by the Greek geographer [[Artemidorus Ephesius]] and later by the Greek historian [[Strabo]], who wrote that their island was forbidden to men, but the women came to the mainland to meet their husbands. Which deities they honored is unknown.<ref>{{cite book |author=MacCulloch, J.A. |title=The Religion of the Ancient Celts |location=Auckland, N.Z. |publisher=Floating Press |year=2009 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B6slu3qt_5YC&pg=PA405 |via=Google Books |page=405|isbn=9781775414018 }}</ref> According to Pomponius Mela, the Gallizenae acted as both councilors and practitioners of the healing arts:

{{Quote|Sena, in the Britannic Sea, opposite the coast of the Osismi, is famous for its oracle of a Gaulish god, whose priestesses, living in the holiness of perpetual virginity, are said to be nine in number. They call them Gallizenae, and they believe them to be endowed with extraordinary gifts to rouse the sea and the wind by their incantations, to turn themselves into whatsoever animal form they may choose, to cure diseases which among others are incurable, to know what is to come and to foretell it. They are, however, devoted to the service of voyagers only who have set out on no other errand than to consult them.<ref>{{cite book |author=Pomponius Mela |title=De Chorographia |editor=Parthey |at=iii, chap.&nbsp;6, p.&nbsp;72}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Courthope, William John |title=A History of English Poetry |location=London, U.K. |publisher=Macmillan |year=1897 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7AIIAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA116 |page=116 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Rhys, John |title=Celtic Folklore, Welsh and Manx |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1901 |chapter-url=http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/rhys1901/chap5.htm |chapter=Chapter&nbsp;V: The Fenodyree and his Friends}}</ref>}}

===Druidesses in Gaul===
According to the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'', [[Alexander Severus]] received a prophecy about his death from a Gallic druidess (''druiada'').<ref>''Historia Augusta'', Vita Alex. Sev. 60.6</ref> The work also has [[Aurelian]] questioning druidesses about the fate of his descendants, to which they answered in favor of [[Claudius II]].<ref>''Historia Augusta'', Vit. Aurel. 44,3</ref> [[Flavius Vopiscus]] is also quoted as recalling a prophecy received by [[Diocletian]] from a druidess of the [[Tungri]].<ref>''Historia Augusta''. Vita Car. Numer. Carin. 14</ref>

== Sources on druid beliefs and practices ==

=== Greek and Roman records ===
[[File:Druids Inciting the Britons to Oppose the Landing of the Romans.jpg|thumb|[[Édouard François Zier|Édouard Zier]], "Druids Inciting the Britons to Oppose the Landing of the Romans"{{snd}}from [[John Cassell|Cassell]]'s ''History of England'', Vol.&nbsp;I]]

The earliest surviving literary evidence of druids emerges from the classical world of Greece and Rome. Archaeologist [[Stuart Piggott]] compared the attitude of the Classical authors toward the druids as being similar to the relationship that had existed in the 15th and 18th centuries between Europeans and the societies that they were just encountering in other parts of the world, such as the Americas and the South Sea Islands. He highlighted the attitude of "[[primitivism]]" in both Early Modern Europeans and Classical authors, owing to their perception that these newly encountered societies had less technological development and were backward in socio-political development.<ref>[[#Pig75|Piggott (1975)]] p.&nbsp;91.</ref>

Historian [[Nora Chadwick]], in a categorization subsequently adopted by Piggott, divided the Classical accounts of the druids into two groups, distinguished by their approach to the subject as well as their chronological contexts. She calls the first of these groups the "Posidonian" tradition after one of its primary exponents, Posidonious, and notes that it takes a largely critical attitude towards the Iron Age societies of Western Europe that emphasizes their "barbaric" qualities. The second of these two groups is termed the "Alexandrian" group, being centred on the scholastic traditions of [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]]; she notes that it took a more sympathetic and idealized attitude toward these foreign peoples.<ref>[[#Pig75|Piggott (1975)]] pp.&nbsp;91–92.</ref> Piggott drew parallels between this categorisation and the ideas of "hard primitivism" and "soft primitivism" identified by [[history of ideas|historians of ideas]] [[Arthur Oncken Lovejoy|A. O. Lovejoy]] and [[Franz Boas]].<ref>[[#Pig75|Piggott (1975)]] p.&nbsp;92.</ref>

One school of thought has suggested that all of these accounts are inherently unreliable, and might be entirely fictional. They have suggested that the idea of the druid might have been a fiction created by Classical writers to reinforce the idea of the barbaric "other" who existed beyond the civilized Greco-Roman world, thereby legitimizing the expansion of the Roman Empire into these areas.<ref name="auto">[[#Ald10|Aldhouse-Green (2010)]] p.&nbsp;xv.</ref>

The earliest record of the druids comes from two Greek texts of c.&nbsp;300&nbsp;BCE: a history of philosophy written by [[Sotion]] of Alexandria, and a study of magic widely attributed to [[Aristotle]]. Both texts are now lost, but are quoted in the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;CE work ''Vitae'' by [[Diogenes Laërtius]].<ref>Diogenes Laërtius. ''Vitae''. Introduction, section 1.</ref>
{{Quote
|Some say that the study of philosophy originated with the barbarians. In that among the Persians there existed the Magi, and among the Babylonians or Assyrians the Chaldaei, among the Indians the Gymnosophistae, and among the Celts and Gauls men who were called druids and semnothei, as Aristotle relates in his book on magic, and Sotion in the twenty-third book of his ''Succession of Philosophers''.
|[[Diogenes Laërtius]]
|Vitae, Introduction, Section 1<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlintro.htm |title=Diogenes Laërtius Lives of the Philosophers: Thales, translated by C. D. Yonge |work=classicpersuasion.org |access-date=2012-08-24 |archive-date=2012-07-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730093059/http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlintro.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>}}
Subsequent Greek and Roman texts from the 3rd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE refer to "[[barbarian]] philosophers",<ref>{{cite journal |author=Webster, Jane |title=At the end of the world: Druidic and other revitalization movements in post-conquest Gaul and Britain |journal=Britannia |volume=30 |year=1999 |pages=1–20, 2–4|doi=10.2307/526671 |jstor=526671 |s2cid=162214983 }} Twenty references are presented in tabular form.</ref> possibly in reference to the Gaulish druids.

==== Julius Caesar ====
[[File:Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC).JPG|thumb|upright|Julius Caesar, the Roman general and later [[Roman dictator|dictator]], who wrote the most important source for the Druids in Britain]]

The earliest extant text that describes druids in detail is [[Julius Caesar]]'s ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico]]'', book VI, written in the 50s or 40s&nbsp;BCE. A general who was intent on conquering Gaul and Britain, Caesar described the druids as being concerned with "divine worship, the due performance of sacrifices, private or public, and the interpretation of ritual questions". He said they played an important part in Gaulish society, being one of the two respected classes along with the ''equites'' (in Rome the name for members of a privileged class above the common people, but also "horsemen") and that they performed the function of judges.

Caesar wrote that the druids recognized the authority of a single leader, who would rule until his death, when a successor would be chosen by vote or through conflict. He remarked that to settle disputes between tribes, they met annually at a sacred place at the borders of the [[Carnutes|Carnute]] territory, which is said to be the centre of Gaul. They viewed Britain as the centre of druidic study; and that they were not found among the German tribes to the east of the [[Rhine]]. According to Caesar, many young men were trained to be druids, during which time they had to learn all the associated lore by heart. He also said that their main teaching was "the souls do not perish, but after death pass from one to another". They were concerned with "the stars and their movements, the size of the cosmos and the earth, the world of nature, and the power and might of the immortal gods", indicating they were involved with not only such common aspects of religion as [[theology]] and [[cosmology]], but also [[astronomy]]. Caesar held that they were "administrators" during rituals of [[human sacrifice]], for which criminals were usually used, and that the method was by burning in a [[wicker man]].<ref name="ReferenceA" />

Though he had first-hand experience of Gaulish people, and therefore likely druids, Caesar's account has been widely criticized by modern historians as inaccurate. One issue raised by such historians as [[Fustel de Coulanges]]<ref>{{cite book |author=de&nbsp;Coulanges, Fustel |author-link=Fustel de Coulanges |year=1891 |title=La Gaule romaine |publisher=Librairie Hachette et Cie |location=Paris |page=3}}</ref> was that while Caesar described the druids as a significant power within Gaulish society, he did not mention them even once in his accounts of his Gaulish conquests. Nor did [[Aulus Hirtius]], who continued Caesar's account of the Gallic Wars after Caesar's death. Hutton believed that Caesar had manipulated the idea of the druids so they would appear both civilized (being learned and pious) and barbaric (performing human sacrifice) to Roman readers, thereby representing both "a society worth including in the [[Roman Empire]]" and one that required civilizing with Roman rule and values, thus justifying his wars of conquest.<ref>[[#Hut09|Hutton (2009)]] pp.&nbsp;04–05.</ref> Sean Dunham suggested that Caesar had simply taken the Roman religious functions of senators and applied them to the druids.<ref>{{cite book |author=Dunham, Sean B. |year=1995 |article=Caesar's perception of Gallic social structures |title=Celtic Chiefdom, Celtic State |editor1=Arnold, Bettina |editor2=Gibson, D. Blair |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Maier, Bernhard |year=2003 |title=The Celts |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |pages=65–66}}</ref> Daphne Nash believed it "not unlikely" that he "greatly exaggerates" both the centralized system of druidic leadership and its connection to Britain.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Nash, Daphne |year=1976 |title=Reconstructing Posidonius's Celtic ethnography |journal=Britannia |volume=7 |page=126|doi=10.2307/525767 |jstor=525767 |s2cid=162816167 }}</ref>

Other historians have accepted that Caesar's account might be more accurate. Norman J. DeWitt surmised that Caesar's description of the role of druids in Gaulish society may report an idealized tradition, based on the society of the 2nd&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, before the pan-Gallic confederation led by the [[Arverni]] was smashed in 121&nbsp;BCE, followed by the invasions of [[Teutones]] and [[Cimbri]], rather than on the demoralized and disunited Gaul of his own time.<ref>DeWitt (1938) p&nbsp;324&nbsp;ff.</ref> John Creighton has speculated that in Britain, the druidic social influence was already in decline by the mid-1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE, in conflict with emergent new power structures embodied in paramount chieftains.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Creighton |title=Visions of power: Imagery and symbols in Late Iron Age Britain |journal=Britannia |volume=26 |year=1995 |pages=285–301; especially 296ff|doi=10.2307/526880 |jstor=526880 |s2cid=154772745 }}</ref> Other scholars see the Roman conquest itself as the main reason for the decline of the druid orders.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Webster, Jane |title=At the end of the world: Druidic and other revitalization movements in post-conquest Gaul and Britain |journal=Britannia |volume=30 |year=1999 |pages=1–20|doi=10.2307/526671 |jstor=526671 |s2cid=162214983 }} with full bibliography.</ref> Archaeologist [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green]] (2010) asserted that Caesar offered both "our richest textual source" regarding the druids, and "one of the most reliable". She defended the accuracy of his accounts by highlighting that while he may have embellished some of his accounts to justify Roman imperial conquest, it was "inherently unlikely" that he constructed a fictional class system for Gaul and Britain, particularly considering that he was accompanied by a number of other Roman senators who would have also been sending reports on the conquest to Rome, and who would have challenged his inclusion of serious falsifications.<ref name="auto" />

==== Cicero, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and Tacitus ====
[[File:Romans murdering Druids and burning their groves cropped.jpg|thumb|Roman soldiers killing druids and burning their groves on [[Anglesey]], as described by [[Tacitus]]]]
Other classical writers also commented on the druids and their practices. Caesar's contemporary, [[Cicero]], noted that he had met a Gallic druid, [[Diviciacus (Aedui)|Divitiacus]], of the Aedui tribe. Divitiacus supposedly knew much about the natural world and performed divination through [[augury]].<ref name="ReferenceB" /> Whether Diviaticus was genuinely a druid can however be disputed, for Caesar also knew this figure, and wrote about him, calling him by the more Gaulish-sounding (and thereby presumably the more authentic) Diviciacus, but never referred to him as a druid and indeed presented him as a political and military leader.<ref>[[#Hut09|Hutton (2009)]] p.&nbsp;5.</ref>

Another classical writer to take up describing the druids not too long afterward was [[Diodorus Siculus]], who published this description in his ''Bibliotheca historicae'' in 36&nbsp;BCE. Alongside the druids, or as he called them, ''drouidas'', who he believed to be philosophers and theologians, he remarked how there were poets and singers in Celtic society, who he called ''bardous'', or [[bard]]s.<ref name="ReferenceC" /> Such an idea was expanded upon by [[Strabo]], writing in the 20s&nbsp;CE, who declared that amongst the Gauls, there were three types of honoured figures:<ref>{{cite book |author=Strabo |author-link=Strabo |title=Geographica |at=IV.4.4–5}}</ref> 
* the poets and singers known as ''bardoi'',
* the diviners and specialists in the natural world known as ''o'vateis'', and
* those who studied "moral philosophy", the ''druidai''.

The Roman writer [[Tacitus]], who was himself a senator and historian, described how when the Roman army, led by [[Suetonius Paulinus]], attacked the island of Mona ([[Anglesey]]; [[Welsh language|Welsh]]: ''Ynys Môn''), the legionaries were awestruck on landing, by the appearance of a band of druids, who, with hands uplifted to the sky, poured forth terrible imprecations on the heads of the invaders. He says these "terrified our soldiers who had never seen such a thing before". The courage of the Romans, however, soon overcame such fears, according to the Roman historian; the Britons were put to flight, and the [[sacred grove]]s of Mona were cut down.<ref>[[#Tac|Tacitus]] 14.30.</ref> Tacitus is also the only primary source that gives accounts of druids in Britain, but portrays them negatively, as ignorant savages.<ref>[[#Rut78|Rutherford (1978)]] p.&nbsp;45.</ref>

=== Irish and Welsh records ===
In the Middle Ages, after Ireland and Wales were [[Christianization|Christianized]], druids appear in a number of written sources, mainly tales and stories such as ''[[Táin Bó Cúailnge]]'', and in the [[hagiography|hagiographies]] of various saints. These were all written by Christian monks.

==== Irish literature and law codes ====
In Irish-language literature, druids (''draoithe'', plural of ''draoi'') are [[magician (paranormal)|sorcerers]] with [[supernatural]] powers, who are respected in society, particularly for their ability to do [[divination]]. ''[[Dictionary of the Irish Language]]'' defines a ''druí'' (which has numerous variant forms, including ''draoi'') as a magician, wizard, or diviner.<ref name="eDILdrui">{{cite web |title=Drui |url=http://edil.qub.ac.uk/advanced_search?q=dru%C3%AD&search_in=headword#search_results |website=[[Dictionary of the Irish Language]] (eDIL) |publisher=[[Royal Irish Academy]] (RIA)|access-date=11 February 2016}}</ref> In the literature, the druids cast spells and turn people into animals or stones, or curse peoples' crops to be blighted.<ref>{{Cite web|title=An Encyclopædia of Architecture: Historical, Theoretical, and Practical : Joseph Gwilt : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming|url=https://archive.org/details/anencyclopdiaar00gwilgoog|access-date=2020-08-27|website=Internet Archive|language=en}}</ref>

When druids are portrayed in early Irish sagas and in saints' lives that are set in pre-Christian Ireland, they are usually given high social status. The evidence of the law-texts, which were first written-down in the 600s and 700s CE, suggests that with the coming of Christianity, the role of the druid in Irish society was rapidly reduced to that of a sorcerer who could be consulted to cast spells or do healing magic, and that his standing declined accordingly.<ref>Kelly, ''A Guide to Early Irish Law'', pp. 59–60.</ref> According to the early legal tract ''[[Bretha Crólige]]'', the sick-maintenance due to a druid, satirist, and brigand (''díberg'') is no more than that which is due to a ''[[bóaire]]'' (an ordinary freeman). Another law-text, ''[[Uraicecht Becc]]'' ('small primer'), gives the druid a place among the ''dóer-nemed'', or professional classes, which depend upon a patron for their status, along with wrights, blacksmiths, and entertainers, as opposed to the ''[[fili]]'', who alone enjoyed free ''nemed''-status.<ref>Kelly, ''A Guide to Early Irish Law'', p. 60.</ref>

==== Welsh literature ====
While druids featured prominently in many medieval Irish sources, they were far rarer in their Welsh counterparts. Unlike the Irish texts, the Welsh term commonly seen as referring to the druids, ''{{lang|cy|dryw}}'', was used to refer purely to [[prophet]]s and not to sorcerers or pagan priests. Historian [[Ronald Hutton]] noted that there were two explanations for the use of the term in Wales: the first was that it was a survival from the pre-Christian era, when ''dryw'' had been ancient priests; the second was that the Welsh had borrowed the term from the Irish, as had the English (who used the terms ''dry'' and ''drycraeft'' to refer to magicians and [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] respectively, most probably influenced by the Irish terms).<ref>[[#Hut09|Hutton (2009)]] p.&nbsp;47.</ref>

==Archaeology==
{{multiple image
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| footer =  A pair of 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE(?) "spoons" from England. It is speculated that they were used for [[divination]]. Eleven of such pairs have been found.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-penbryn-spoons-the-ashmolean-museum-oxford/_gFsYnELoO-xGQ|title=The Penbryn Spoons - The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford|website=Google Arts & Culture}}</ref> Miranda Green believes that a liquid was put into the spoon with the hole, and allowed to drip into the other spoon below, and then the drip-pattern was interpreted.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=829014&partId=1 |website=British Museum |department=collection database |title=spoon |id=1856,0701.1369}}</ref>
}}
As the historian Jane Webster stated, "individual druids ... are unlikely to be identified archaeologically".<ref>Webster (1999) p&nbsp;6.</ref> A. P. Fitzpatrick, in examining what he believed to be astral symbolism on late Iron Age swords, has expressed difficulties in relating any material culture, even the [[Coligny calendar]], with druidic culture.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Fitzpatrick, A. P. |year=1996 |title=Night and Day: The symbolism of astral signs on Late Iron Age anthropomorphic short swords |journal=Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society |volume=62 |pages=373–398 |doi=10.1017/s0079497x0000284x|s2cid=193073394 }}</ref>

Nonetheless, some archaeologists have attempted to link certain discoveries with written accounts of the druids. The archaeologist [[Anne Ross (scholar)|Anne Ross]] linked what she believed to be evidence of [[human sacrifice]] in Celtic pagan society (such as the [[Lindow Man]] bog body) to the Greco-Roman accounts of human sacrifice being officiated-over by the druids.<ref>{{cite book |first=Anne |last=Ross |year=1986 |chapter=[[Lindow Man]] and the Celtic tradition |title=Lindow Man; The Body in the Bog |editor1=Stead, I. M. |editor2=Bourke, J. B. |editor3=Brothwell, D. |pages=162–169}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first1=Anne |last1=Ross |first2=Don |last2=Robins |year=1989 |title=The Life and Death of a Druid Prince|isbn=9780671695361 |url=https://archive.org/details/lifedeathofdruid00anne |url-access=registration }}{{full citation needed|date=August 2019}}</ref> [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green]]– a professor of archaeology at Cardiff University, has noted that Suetonius's army would have passed very near the site while travelling to deal with [[Boudicca]], and postulates that the sacrifice may have been connected.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mqq94 |title=The Druids |date=20 September 2012 |publisher=BBC |department=programmes}}</ref> A 1996 discovery of a skeleton that was buried with advanced medical and possibly divinatory equipment has, however, been nicknamed the "[[Druid of Colchester]]".

[[File:Deal crownSCF6586.jpg|thumb|left|Headdress of the "[[Deal Warrior]]", possibly worn by druids, 200–150&nbsp;BCE, [[British Museum]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/s/skull__crown_of_deal_warrior.aspx |title=Skull and crown of the 'Deal Warrior' |publisher=[[British Museum]]}}</ref>]]
An excavated burial in [[Deal, Kent]] discovered the "[[Deal Warrior]]"– a man who was buried at around 200–150&nbsp;BCE with a sword and shield, and wearing an almost unique head-band, which is too thin to be part of a leather helmet. The crown is bronze with a broad band around the head, and a thin strip that crosses the top of the head horizontally. Since traces of hair were left on the metal, it must have been worn without any padding beneath it. The form of the headdress resembles depictions of Romano-British priests from several centuries later, leading to speculation among archaeologists that the man might have been a religious official– a druid.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/skull-and-crown-of-the-deal-warrior/2QEkL6eclOrqpw |series=British Museum Highlights |title=Skull and crown of the 'Deal Warrior'}}</ref>
{{Clear left}}

== History of reception ==

=== Prohibition and decline under Roman rule ===
In the [[Gallic Wars]] of 58–51&nbsp;BCE, the Roman army, led by [[Julius Caesar]], conquered the many tribal chiefdoms of Gaul, and annexed it as a part of the [[Roman Republic]]. According to accounts produced in the following centuries, the new rulers of [[Roman Gaul]] subsequently introduced measures to wipe-out the druids from that country. According to [[Pliny the Elder]], writing in the 70s&nbsp;CE, it was the emperor [[Tiberius]] (ruled 14–37&nbsp;CE) who introduced laws which banned not only druidic practices, but also other native soothsayers and healers– a move which Pliny applauded, believing that it would end human sacrifice in Gaul.<ref>[[#Pli|Pliny]] XXX.13.</ref> A somewhat different account of Roman legal attacks upon the druids was made by [[Suetonius]], writing in the 2nd century CE, when he stated that Rome's first emperor, [[Augustus]] (ruled 27&nbsp;BCE–14&nbsp;CE), had decreed that no-one could be both a druid and a Roman citizen, and that this was followed by a law passed by the later emperor [[Claudius]] (ruled 41–54&nbsp;CE) which "thoroughly suppressed" the druids by banning their religious practices.<ref>{{cite book |author=Suetonius |author-link=Suetonius |title=Claudius |at=XXV.5}}</ref>

=== Possible late survival of Insular druid orders ===
{{Further|Christianization of Ireland|Christianization of Wales|Taliesin}}
The best evidence of a druidic tradition in the [[British Isles]] is the independent cognate of the [[proto-Celtic language|Celtic]] ''*druwid-'' in [[Insular Celtic]]: The Old Irish ''druídecht'' survives in the meaning of 'magic', and the Welsh ''dryw'' in the meaning of 'seer'.

While the druids as a priestly caste were extinct with the [[Christianization of Wales]], complete by the 7th&nbsp;century at the latest, the offices of [[bard]] and of "seer" ({{langx|cy|dryw}}) persisted in [[Wales in the High Middle Ages|medieval Wales]] into the 13th century.

Minister Macauley (1764) reported the existence of five druidic altars, including a large circle of stones fixed perpendicularly in the ground near the Stallir House on [[Boreray, St Kilda|Boreray]] near the westernmost settlement of the UK [[St Kilda, Scotland|St, Kilda]].<ref>{{cite book |author1=Macaulay, Kenneth |title=The history of St. Kilda |date=1764 |pages=53–58 |url=https://archive.org/details/bim_eighteenth-century_the-history-of-st-kilda_macaulay-kenneth_1764/mode/2up}}</ref>

Classics professor Phillip Freeman discusses a later reference to 'dryades', which he translates as 'druidesses', writing, "The fourth century&nbsp;CE collection of imperial biographies known as the ''[[Historia Augusta]]'' contains three short passages involving Gaulish women called 'dryades' ('druidesses'). He points out that "In all of these, the women may not be direct heirs of the druids who were supposedly extinguished by the Romans{{snd}}but in any case they do show that the druidic function of prophecy continued among the natives in Roman Gaul."<ref>{{cite book |author=Freeman, Phillip |title=War, Women & Druids: Eyewitness reports and early accounts |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-72545-4 |pages=49–50|date=October 2002 }}</ref> Additionally, female druids are mentioned in later Irish mythology, including the legend of [[Fionn mac Cumhaill]], who, according to the 12th&nbsp;century ''[[The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn]]'', is raised by the woman druid [[Bodhmall]] and her companion, another wise-woman.<ref name="maryjones.us"/><ref name="Parkes 2004 pp. 587"/>

=== Christian historiography and hagiography ===
The story of [[Vortigern]], as reported by [[Nennius]], gives one of the very few glimpses of possible druidic survival in Britain after the Roman arrival. He wrote that after being excommunicated by [[Germanus of Auxerre]], the British leader Vortigern invited twelve druids to help him.

In the lives of saints and martyrs, the druids are represented as magicians and diviners. In [[Adamnan]]'s ''vita'' of Columba, two of them act as tutors to the daughters of [[Lóegaire mac Néill]], the [[High King of Ireland]], at the coming of [[Saint Patrick]]. They are represented as endeavouring to prevent the progress of Patrick and [[Saint Columba]] by raising clouds and mist. Before the battle of Culdremne (561&nbsp;CE), a druid made an ''airbe drtiad'' ("fence of protection"?) around one of the armies, but what is precisely meant by that phrase is unclear. The Irish druids seem to have had a peculiar tonsure. The word ''druí'' is always used to render the [[Latin]] word ''magus'', and in one passage, St Columba speaks of Jesus as his druid. Similarly, a life of Saint [[Beuno]] states that when he died, he had a vision of "all the saints and druids".

[[Sulpicius Severus]]' ''vita'' of [[Martin of Tours]] relates how Martin encountered a peasant funeral, carrying the body in a winding sheet, which Martin mistook for some druidic rites of [[sacrifice]], "because it was the custom of the Gallic rustics in their wretched folly to carry about through the fields the images of [[demon]]s veiled with a white covering". So Martin halted the procession by raising his pectoral cross: "Upon this, the miserable creatures might have been seen at first to become stiff like rocks. Next, as they endeavoured, with every possible effort, to move forward, but were not able to take a step farther, they began to whirl themselves about in the most ridiculous fashion, until, not able any longer to sustain the weight, they set down the dead body." Then discovering his error, Martin raised his hand again to let them proceed: "Thus", the hagiographer points out, "he both compelled them to stand when he pleased, and permitted them to depart when he thought good."<ref name="Hagiogr">{{cite web |url=http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/npnf2-11/sulpitiu/lifeofst.html#tp |title=Hagiography |author=Knuth, E. |website=csbsju.edu |access-date=2005-07-04 |archive-date=2006-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909225230/http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~eknuth/npnf2-11/sulpitiu/lifeofst.html#tp |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Later revivals ===
{{Main|Celtic revival|Neo-Druidism}}
[[File:Croome Park Worcs HeSn Druid statue 2.jpg|thumb|right|Druid statue in [[Croome Court]], [[Malvern Hills District|Malvern Hills]], [[Worcestershire]]]]
From the 18th&nbsp;century, England and Wales saw a revival of interest in the druids. [[John Aubrey]] (1626–1697) had been the first modern writer to (incorrectly) connect [[Stonehenge]] and other [[megalith]]ic monuments with the druids. Since Aubrey's theory was confined to his notebooks, the first wide audience for this idea were readers of [[William Stukeley]] (1687–1765).<ref>The modern career of this imagined connection of druids and Stonehenge was traced and dispelled in [[T. D. Kendrick]], ''The Druids: A Study in Keltic Prehistory'' (London: Methuen) 1927.</ref> It is incorrectly believed that [[John Toland]] (1670–1722) founded the [[Ancient Druid Order]]; however, the research of historian [[Ronald Hutton]] has revealed that the ADO was founded by George Watson MacGregor Reid in 1909.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parker Pearson |first1=Michael |author1-link=Mike Parker Pearson |title=Stonehenge: a brief history |date=2023 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |location=London |isbn=9781350192232 |page=136}}</ref> The order never used (and still does not use) the title "Archdruid" for any member, but falsely credited [[William Blake]] as having been its "Chosen Chief" from 1799–1827, without corroboration in Blake's numerous writings or among modern Blake scholars. Blake's bardic mysticism derives instead from the pseudo-[[Ossian]]ic epics of Macpherson; his friend Frederick Tatham's depiction of Blake's imagination, "clothing itself in the dark stole of moral sanctity"— in the precincts of Westminster Abbey— "it dwelt amid the druid terrors", is generic rather than specifically neo-druidic.<ref>Tatham is quoted by C. H. Collins Baker, "William Blake, Painter", ''The Huntington Library Bulletin'', No.&nbsp;10 (October 1936, pp&nbsp;135–148) p.&nbsp;139.</ref> [[John Toland]] was fascinated by Aubrey's Stonehenge theories, and wrote his own book about the monument without crediting Aubrey. The roles of [[bards]] in 10th&nbsp;century Wales had been established by [[Hywel Dda]] and it was during the 18th century that the idea arose that druids had been their predecessors.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/1937/ |title=Ancient Druids of Wales |website=National Museum of Wales |access-date=2011-09-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117120901/http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/en/rhagor/article/1937/ |archive-date=2012-01-17 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 19th&nbsp;century idea, gained from uncritical reading of the ''[[Commentarii de Bello Gallico|Gallic Wars]]'', that under cultural-military pressure from Rome the druids formed the core of 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BCE resistance among the [[Gauls]], was examined and dismissed before World War&nbsp;II,<ref>{{cite journal |author=DeWitt, Norman J. |title=The Druids and Romanization |journal=Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association |volume=69 |year=1938 |pages=319–332 |quote=Few historians now believe that the Druids, as a corporation, constituted an effective anti-Roman element during the period of Caesar's conquests and in the period of early [[Roman Gaul]]&nbsp;...|doi=10.2307/283182 |jstor=283182 }} His inspection of the seemingly contradictory literary sources reinforced the stated conclusion.</ref> though it remains current in folk history.

Druids began to figure widely in popular culture with the first advent of [[Romanticism]]. [[François-René de Chateaubriand|Chateaubriand]]'s novel ''Les Martyrs'' (1809) narrated the doomed love of a druid priestess and a Roman soldier; though Chateaubriand's theme was the triumph of Christianity over pagan druids, the setting was to continue to bear fruit. [[Opera]] provides a barometer of well-informed popular European culture in the early 19th&nbsp;century: In 1817 [[Giovanni Pacini]] brought druids to the stage in [[Trieste]] with an opera to a libretto by [[Felice Romani]] about a druid priestess, ''La Sacerdotessa d'Irminsul'' ("The Priestess of [[Irminsul]]"). [[Vincenzo Bellini]]'s druidic opera, ''[[Norma (opera)|Norma]]'' was a fiasco at [[La Scala]], when it premiered the day after Christmas, 1831; but in 1833 it was a hit in London. For its libretto, [[Felice Romani]] reused some of the pseudo-druidical background of ''La Sacerdotessa'' to provide colour to a standard theatrical conflict of love and duty. The story was similar to that of [[Medea]], as it had recently been recast for a popular Parisian play by [[Alexandre Soumet]]: the chaste goddess (''casta diva'') addressed in ''Norma''{{'}}s hit aria is the moon goddess, worshipped in the "grove of the [[Irminenschaft|Irmin]] statue".

[[File:Iolomorganwg.jpg|thumb|Edward Williams, known for his bardic name, "Iolo Morganwg"]]
A central figure in 19th&nbsp;century Romanticist, Neo-druid revival, is Welshman Edward Williams, better known as [[Iolo Morganwg]]. His writings, published posthumously as ''The Iolo Manuscripts'' (1849) and ''Barddas'' (1862), are not considered credible by contemporary scholars. Williams said that he had collected ancient knowledge in a "[[Gorsedd]] of Bards of the Isles of Britain" he had organized. While bits and pieces of the ''Barddas'' still turn up in some "[[Neo-Druidism|Neo-Druidic]]" works, the documents are not considered relevant to ancient practice by most scholars.

Another Welshman, [[William Price (physician)|William Price]] (4&nbsp;March 1800{{snd}}23&nbsp;January 1893), a physician known for his support of [[Welsh nationalism]], [[Chartism]], and his involvement with the Neo-Druidic religious movement, has been recognized as a significant figure of 19th&nbsp;century Wales. He was arrested for cremating his deceased son, a practice he believed to be a druid ritual, but won his case; this in turn led to the [[Cremation Act 1902]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=1&coll_id=669&expand= |title=Price, William, Dr., (Llantrisant), papers |access-date=2006-09-27 |date=May 2003 |publisher=Archives Network Wales |archive-date=2020-05-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200523123214/https://www.archivesnetworkwales.info/cgi-bin/anw/fulldesc_nofr?inst_id=1&coll_id=669&expand= |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Powell 2005. p. 03">[[#Pow05|Powell (2005)]] p.&nbsp;3.</ref><ref name="Hutton 2009. p. 253">[[#Hut09|Hutton (2009)]] p.&nbsp;253.</ref>

In 1927 [[T. D. Kendrick]] sought to dispel the pseudo-historical aura that had accrued to druids,<ref>{{cite book |author-link=T. D. Kendrick |author=Kendrick, T. D. |title=The Druids: A study in Keltic prehistory |location=London, U.K. |publisher=Methuen |year=1927}}</ref> asserting, "a prodigious amount of rubbish has been written about Druidism";<ref>Kendrick 1927:viii.</ref> Neo-druidism has nevertheless continued to shape public perceptions of the historical druids.

Some strands of contemporary Neo-Druidism are a continuation of the 18th&nbsp;century revival and thus are built largely around writings produced in the 18th&nbsp;century and after by second-hand sources and theorists. Some are [[monotheism|monotheistic]]. Others, such as the largest druid group in the world, the [[Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids]], draw on a wide range of sources for their teachings. Members of such Neo-Druid groups may be [[Neopaganism|Neopagan]], [[occultist]], Christian or non-specifically spiritual.

=== Modern scholarship ===
[[File:Druids on Primrose Hill Autumn Equinox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Druidic ceremony for the Autumn Equinox on top of [[Primrose Hill]] in London]]
In the 20th&nbsp;century, as new forms of textual criticism and archaeological methods were developed, allowing for greater accuracy in understanding the past, various historians and archaeologists published books on the subject of the druids, and came to their own conclusions. Archaeologist [[Stuart Piggott]], the author of ''The Druids'' (1968), accepted the Greco-Roman accounts, and considered the druids to be a barbaric and savage priesthood who performed human sacrifices.<ref>[[#Pig68|Piggott (1968)]] pp.&nbsp;92–98.</ref> This conclusion was largely supported by another archaeologist, Anne Ross, the author of ''Pagan Celtic Britain'' (1967) and ''The Life and Death of a Druid Prince'' (1989), though she believed that they were essentially tribal priests, having more in common with the [[shamans]] of tribal societies than with the classical philosophers.<ref>[[#Ros67|Ross (1967)]] pp.&nbsp;52–56.</ref> Ross' conclusion was largely accepted by two other prominent archaeologists to write on the subject: [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green]],<ref>[[#Ald97|Aldhouse-Green (1997)]] pp.&nbsp;31–33.</ref> the author of ''The Gods of the Celts'' (1986), ''Exploring the World of the Druids'' (1997), and ''Caesar's Druids: Story of an Ancient Priesthood'' (2010); and [[Barry Cunliffe]], the author of ''Iron Age Communities in Britain'' (1991) and ''The Ancient Celts'' (1997).<ref>[[#Cun05|Cunliffe (2005)]] pp.&nbsp;518–520.</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of druids and neo-druids]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
'''Classical sources'''
* Caesar, Gallic Wars, book 6 ch 13-18.
* {{cite book |title= De Divinatione |last= [[Cicero]]   |others= 44 CE |ref=Cic44|title-link= De Divinatione }}
* {{cite book |title= Naturalis Historia |last= [[Pliny the Elder]]   |others= c.78 CE |ref=Pli78|title-link= Natural History (Pliny) }}
* {{cite book |title= Annales |last= [[Tacitus]]   |others= Second century CE |ref=Tac|title-link= Annals (Tacitus) }} book 14 ch 30.

'''Bibliography—other sources'''
* {{cite book |title= Exploring the World of the Druids |url= https://archive.org/details/exploringworldof00aldh |url-access= registration |last= [[Miranda Aldhouse-Green|Aldhouse-Green, Miranda]]   |year= 1997 |publisher= Thames and Hudson |location= London |isbn= 9780500050835 |ref=Ald97}}
* {{cite book |title= The Druids |last= [[Nora K. Chadwick|Chadwick, Nora]]   |year= 1966 |publisher= University of Wales Press |location= Cardiff|ref=Chad66}}
* {{cite book |title= Iron Age Communities in Britain: An account of England, Scotland and Wales from the seventh century BCE until the Roman Conquest ''(Fourth Edition)'' |last= [[Barry Cunliffe|Cunliffe, Barry]]   |year= 2005 |publisher= Routledge |location= London and New York |isbn=978-0-415-56292-8 |ref=Cun05}}
* {{cite book |title= The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy |url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780631172888 |url-access= registration |last= [[Ronald Hutton|Hutton, Ronald]]   |year= 1991 |publisher= Blackwell |location= Oxford |isbn=0-631-18946-7 |ref=Hut91}}
* {{cite book |title= The Druids |last= [[Ronald Hutton|Hutton, Ronald]]   |year= 2007 |publisher= Hambledon Continuum |location= London|ref=Hut07}}
* {{cite book |title= Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain |last= [[Ronald Hutton|Hutton, Ronald]]   |year= 2009|publisher= Yale University Press|location= New Haven, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-300-14485-7 |ref=Hut09}}
* {{cite book |title= The Druids and their Heritage |last= Rutherford, Ward   |year= 1978 |publisher= Gordon & Cremonesi |location= London|isbn=978-0-86033-067-7 |ref=Rut78}}
* {{cite book |title= Pagan Celtic Britain |last= Ross, Anne   |year= 1967 |publisher= Routledge |location= London|ref=Ros67}}
* {{cite book |title= The Druids |last= [[Stuart Piggott|Piggott, Stuart]]   |year= 1968 |publisher= Thames and Hudson |location= London|ref=Pig68}}
{{Refend|2}}

==External links==
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{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.worldhistory.org/druid/ World History Encyclopedia - Druid]
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Druidism |volume=8 |pages=597–598 |first=Edmund Crosby |last=Quiggin |short=1}}

{{Religion topics|ancient}}
{{Paganism}}
{{Celtic pagan practices}}
{{Celts}}
{{Gallic peoples}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Druidry| ]]
[[Category:History of magic]]
[[Category:Indigenous spirituality]]
[[Category:Religious occupations]]