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The drum carvings

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Branwen B
Branwen Sep 25, 2009 18:26:25
Replying to tiompan

tiompan wrote:
it fascinationg that these druids are arrogant enough to pretend to know what the symbols represent.
No more arrogant than anyone else having a theory as to what the symbols mean. If you look again, I didn't say their beliefs were ancient, or that they claim it to be ancient knowledge. Not a lot is really known about ancient druids. Modern druids are reconstructionists. i.e. A lot of Druid groups do scholarly research, and then make up their own minds when trying to reconstruct the past, just like anybody else.

Probably why its called "celtic reconstructionism".

My comparison was in the idea that symbols can be giving topographical information, and not just symbolic or religious in nature.

H Hob
Hob Sep 25, 2009 19:02:52
Replying to Branwen

Branwen wrote:
My comparison was in the idea that symbols can be giving topographical information, and not just symbolic or religious in nature.
I know it's not directly comparable, but the word 'polysemic' is often thrown about these days to indicate that there are very likely layers of meaning/multiple meanings to abstracted motifs, such as CnRs and passage grave art. The carvings on the drums could mean absolutely anything. If it were ten years ago, I'd be saying they were entoptic representations. But that's pure conjecture.

T tiompan
tiompan Sep 25, 2009 19:18:39
Replying to Branwen

Branwen wrote:
tiompan wrote:
it fascinationg that these druids are arrogant enough to pretend to know what the symbols represent.
No more arrogant than anyone else having a theory as to what the symbols mean. If you look again, I didn't say their beliefs were ancient, or that they claim it to be ancient knowledge. Not a lot is really known about ancient druids. Modern druids are reconstructionists. i.e. A lot of Druid groups do scholarly research, and then make up their own minds when trying to reconstruct the past, just like anybody else.

Probably why its called "celtic reconstructionism".

My comparison was in the idea that symbols can be giving topographical information, and not just symbolic or religious in nature.

I didn't think you thought their beliefs were ancient .The arrogance is not only applicable to druids who claim to know what symbols from a hugely different culture and separated by millenia "mean" . We are on slightly firmer ground with pictish art in that it is at least representational and farly recent .