Real Druids — Did they really exist and when?

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woosh W
woosh Jul 20, 2013 16:27:23
Replying to scubi63

We should be careful of names and labels and even more so of preconceived notions and images layed down in our minds from the fictional world as unhelpful fantasies. Imo any diverse society like such as that of the celts would have certainly had a central group of religious leaders, storytellers, teachers and healers- these we call the druids, this name translates as 'oak' , I dont find anything overly fanciful or doubtful about who this group were, just only find it amazing !. They probably used alchemy and what we would describe today as trickery, to shock and awe the people .. some things never change !

M MartinRS
MartinRS Aug 14, 2013 17:43:26
Replying to woosh

Druids - Did they really exist and when? It is without doubt that across Europe, from the South of Germany, Switzerland, through central France, the Atlantic coast of Spain and as far West as Ireland a Proto-Celtic class priestly astronomers certainly existed long before Caesar's campaign. He came across their descendants and put a name to them. Their knowledge of the 19-year cycle metonic cycles is demonstrated in their head-gear.

On Jul 17, 2013 thesweetcheat wrote, "Someone needs to find a big pit on Ynys Mon filled with golden sickles and improbably-preserved robes!" We have something much better than that, although it dates from an earlier period. See

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_hat

I don't know where the modern cultural representation of a wizard, with his conical hat embellished with lunar crescents and stars comes from. Perhaps it is a cultural legacy of these golden hat wearing priest-astronomers of antiquity?