When did Druids exist?
Druid
The earliest known references to the druids date to the fourth century BCE and the oldest detailed description comes from Julius Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico" (50s BCE). They were also described by later Greco-Roman writers such as Cicero, Tacitus, and Pliny the Elder. Following the Roman invasion of Gaul, the druid orders were suppressed by the Roman government under the 1st century CE emperors Tiberius and Claudius, and had disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century.
Druid
Classical sources
Ancient Order of Druids
By 1877 a number of lodges existed in Adelaide: The Adelaide, The Sir James Fergusson, The Allied, The Peace Lodge, the Duke of Brunswick, the Duke of Leinster, the Prince of Wales, The Albert, The Royal and the Adelaide lodge, with a total of 862 members
Druid, Saskatchewan
Druid is a hamlet in Winslow Rural Municipality No. 319, Saskatchewan, Canada. It previously held the status of a village until December 31, 1953.
Druidry (modern)
According to the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), there are approximately 30,000 Druids in the United States. In August 2007, the AFD claimed 1177 members, spread over 61 groves. Scholar of religion Michael T. Cooper found that, among 57 ADF members, 37% had previously been Christian, and that a common theme among participants in the group was disillusionment with Christianity, a religion that they regard as an oppressive force which has subordinated women and damaged the environment.
Theories about Stonehenge
Radiocarbon dating of the site indicates that the building of the monument at the site began around the year 3100 BC and ended around the year 1600 BC. This allows the elimination of a few of the theories that have been presented. The theory that the Druids were responsible may be the most popular one; however, the Celtic society that spawned the Druid priesthood came into being only after the year 300 BC. Additionally, the Druids are unlikely to have used the site for sacrifices, since they performed the majority of their rituals in the woods or mountains, areas better suited for "earth rituals" than an open field. The fact that the Romans first came to the British Isles when Julius Caesar led an expedition in 55 BC negates the theories of Inigo Jones and others that Stonehenge was built as a Roman temple.
Chauci
The earliest mention of the Chauci is from 12 BC and suggests that they were assisting other Germanic tribes in a war against the Romans. Drusus campaigned against those Germans along the lower Rhine, and after devastating the lands west and north of the Rhine he won over (or defeated or intimidated) the Frisians. He was in the process of attacking the Chauci when his vessels were trapped by an ebb tide. Drusus gave up the attack and withdrew.
Hammered (Hearne novel)
Atticus O'Sullivan, last of the Druids, has lived for over 2,100 years, mostly by avoiding trouble. Though it appears that recently trouble has found him frequently. After dispatching a Celtic God fixated on vengeance, and preventing warring witch covens from devastating his hometown of Tempe, Arizona, Atticus hoped that he could focus on training his new initiate, the first in centuries. Instead, an old promise made to a friend leads him to band together with a werewolf, a vampire, an ancient Slavic thunder god, a Chinese Immortal, and a Finnish deity on a frantic mission to the land of Asgard. Their goal - to kill Thor.In their review of "Hammered", SFFWorld said that "Hearne and Atticus could be the logical heir to Butcher and Dresden."
Druid
The earliest record of the druids comes from two Greek texts of c. 300 BCE: one, a history of philosophy written by Sotion of Alexandria, and the other a study of magic widely attributed to Aristotle. Both texts are now lost, but were quoted in the 2nd century CE work "Vitae" by Diogenes Laërtius.
Druidry (modern)
Between 1985 and 1988, the Druid Tim Sebastion campaigned for religious access to Stonehenge, forming the Secular Order of Druids (SOD) around him. In the late 1980s, SOD's campaign was joined by another group focused on Stonehenge access, led by a Druid calling himself King Arthur Pendragon; by 1993, his group had formalised as the Loyal Arthurian Warband. In 1988, a Druid order was also established in Glastonbury, Somerset, under the leadership of Rollo Maughfling.
In the late 1970s, the former Alexandrian Wiccan high priest Philip Shallcrass established the British Druid Order (BDO) to create a more explicitly Pagan form of Druidry. Fellow Druid Emma Restall Orr became co-leader of the group in the mid-1990s. Feeling the system of Orders too limiting, in 2002 Orr created The Druid Network, which was officially launched in 2003.
Neodamodes
The date of their first apparition is uncertain. Thucydides does not explain the origin of this special category. Jean Ducat, in his book "Les Hoplites" (1990), concludes that their statute "was largely inspired by the measures dictated concerning the Brasidians", i.e. the Helots freed after taking part to the expedition of Brasidas in 424 BC.
Atlantis
The fourth-century historian Ammianus Marcellinus, relying on a lost work by Timagenes, a historian writing in the first century BC, writes that the Druids of Gaul said that part of the inhabitants of Gaul had migrated there from distant islands. Some have understood Ammianus's testimony as a claim that at the time of Atlantis's sinking into the sea, its inhabitants fled to western Europe; but Ammianus, in fact, says that "the Drasidae (Druids) recall that a part of the population is indigenous but others also migrated in from islands and lands beyond the Rhine" ("Res Gestae" 15.9), an indication that the immigrants came to Gaul from the north (Britain, the Netherlands, or Germany), not from a theorized location in the Atlantic Ocean to the south-west. Instead, the Celts who dwelled along the ocean were reported to venerate twin gods, (Dioscori), who appeared to them coming from that ocean.
Druidry (modern)
Modern Druidry derives its name from the magico-religious specialists of Iron Age Western Europe who were known as druids. There is no real historical continuity between the druids of Iron Age Europe and the modern Druids. However, some Druids nevertheless regard modern Druidry as a genuine continuation of the practices of the Iron Age druids.
Philip Shallcrass
In 1993, at the invitation of Tim Sebastion, founder of the Secular Order of Druids, Shallcrass composed a ritual to be performed at a multi-faith conference Tim had organised among the old stone circles of Avebury in Wiltshire. This resulted in the formation of the Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Abiri, which grew over the next few years to become what Ronald Hutton described as the "central event" of the New Druidry.
Druig
Druig is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a member of the Eternals, an ancient and powerful race of superhumans.
Druid
During the Middle Ages, after Ireland and Wales were Christianized, druids appeared in a number of written sources, mainly tales and stories such as the "Táin Bó Cúailnge", but also in the hagiographies of various saints. These were all written by Christian monks.
Religion in England
During the Iron Age, Celtic polytheism was the predominant religion in the area now known as England. Neo-Druidism grew out of the Celtic revival in 18th-century Romanticism. The 2011 census states there are 4,189 Druids in England and Wales. A 2012 analysis by the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids estimates that there are between 6,000 and 11,000 Druids in Britain.
Dredmund the Druid
Dredmund Cromwell was born in Caribou, Maine. As the Druid, he became a professional criminal and leader of his own druidic cult. The Druid attempted an assassination of Nick Fury, and with his followers he battled Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Druid
The best evidence of a druidic tradition in the British Isles is the independent cognate of the Celtic "*druwid-" in Insular Celtic: The Old Irish "druídecht" survives in the meaning of 'magic', and the Welsh "dryw" in the meaning of 'seer'.
Druidry (modern)
Arising from the 18th century Romanticist movement in Britain, which glorified the ancient Celtic peoples of the Iron Age, the early neo-Druids aimed to imitate the Iron Age priests who were also known as druids. At the time, little accurate information was known about these ancient priests, and the modern Druidic movement has no direct connection to them, despite contrary claims made by some modern Druids.
Druid
While the druids as a priestly caste were extinct with the Christianization of Wales, complete by the 7th century at the latest, the offices of bard and of "seer" () persisted in medieval Wales into the 13th century.
Druids (film)
In the year 60 B.C. a group of Druids, including the arch-druid Guttuart (Max von Sydow), witness the passing of a comet and interpret it as the sign of the coming of a king for their country Gaul, which has not had a king for a long time. Guttuart goes to Gergovia, the capital of the Arvernes tribe, to attend a meeting of Gallic tribal chieftains. The young boy Vercingetorix, along with his friend the young girl Eponia, sneak into a large cavern where Celtill, Vercingetorix's father and chieftain of the Arvernes, hosts the meeting of chieftains with the intention of proclaiming himself king of all Gauls. When Celtill shows off the crown once worn by the old kings of Gaul, an arrow from two Roman spies (dressed as Gauls) hits Celtill in the back. Gobanittio, Celtill's brother, places Celtill under arrest while the Roman spies flee with the crown. Vercingetorix tries to rush in to help his father, but Guttuart prevents the young boy from intervening and explains that destiny requires Celtill to meet his fate. The young Vercingetorix, while watching his uncle burn his father alive, swears revenge.
Druid
One school of thought within historical scholarship 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 legitimising the expansion of the Roman Empire into these areas.
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars have become a popular setting in modern historical fiction, especially that of France and Italy. Claude Cueni wrote a semi-historical novel, "The Caesar's Druid", about a fictional Celtic druid, servant of Caesar and recorder of Caesar's campaigns. Morgan Llewelyn also wrote a book, "Druids", about a Celtic druid who assisted Vercingetorix in his campaign against Julius Caesar. Similarly, Norman Spinrad's "The Druid King" follows the campaigns from Vercingetorix's perspective. In addition, the comic "Astérix" is set shortly after the Gallic Wars, where the titular character's village is the last holdout in Gaul against Caesar's legions.
Druid (disambiguation)
Druids can also refer to:
Druzia
Druzia is a genus of spiders in the Salticidae family. It was first described in 2013 by Ruiz & Brescovit. , it contains only one species, Druzia flavostriata, from Brazil.
Apache Druid
Druid was started in 2011 to power the analytics product of a company named Metamarkets. The project was open-sourced under the GPL license in October 2012, and moved to an Apache License in February 2015.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
Druids appeared, but not as player characters, in the original "Greyhawk" supplement from 1974. They were presented as a player character class in the "Eldritch Wizardry" supplement in 1976.
Druidry (modern)
The Druidic movement originated among the Romanticist ideas of the ancient druids that had begun to be developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. While many Early Mediaeval writers, particularly in Ireland, had demonised the ancient druids as barbarians who had practiced human sacrifice and tried to suppress the coming of Christianity, certain Late Mediaeval writers had begun to extol what they believed were the virtues of the druids, and reinvented them as national heroes, particularly in Germany, France and Scotland. It was also during this period that Conrad Celtis had begun to propagate the image of the druids as having been bearded, wise old men wearing white robes, something that would prove highly influential in future centuries.
Druidry (modern)
Rituals commonly take place at formations in the natural landscape or at prehistoric sites, among them megalithic constructions from the Neolithic and Bronze Age or earthworks from the Iron Age. Druids often believe that, even if the Iron Age druids did not build these monuments, they did use them for their rites. Performing rituals at said sites allows many Druids to feel that they are getting close to their ancestors. Druids regard them as sacred sites in part as recognition that prehistoric societies would have done the same.
Druids in various parts of Ireland and Britain have reported such sites being home to a "Spirit of the Place" residing there.
Many Druids also believe that such sites are centres of earth energy and lie along ley lines in the landscape. These are ideas that have been adopted from Earth mysteries writers like John Michell.
Druid
The 19th-century idea, gained from uncritical reading of the "Gallic Wars", that under cultural-military pressure from Rome the druids formed the core of 1st-century BCE resistance among the Gauls, was examined and dismissed before World War II, though it remains current in folk history.
Clive Culbertson
Clive Culbertson (born 28 August 1954, Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland) is the founder of The Order Of Druids In Ulster. He is a mystic, musician and healer. Culbertson trained with his friend and teacher, the late Ben McBrady, Aircinneac and Herenach of "The Old Gaelic Order"- the order that was in Ireland before the Druids came. Culbertson was given a lineage of authority from McBrady to start his own order - this work is now under construction.
Druid
During the Gallic Wars of 58 to 51 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 CE, it was the emperor Tiberius (who ruled from 14 to 37 CE), who introduced laws banning not only druid practices, but also other native soothsayers and healers, a move which Pliny applauded, believing that it would end human sacrifice in Gaul. A somewhat different account of Roman legal attacks on the druids was made by Suetonius, writing in the 2nd century CE, when he claimed that Rome's first emperor, Augustus (who had ruled from 27 BCE till 14 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 (who had ruled from 41 to 54 CE) which "thoroughly suppressed" the druids by banning their religious practices.
Druid
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) a druid made an "airbe drtiad" ("fence of protection"?) round one of the armies, but what is precisely meant by the phrase is unclear. The Irish druids seem to have had a peculiar tonsure. The word "druí" is always used to render the Latin "magus", and in one passage St Columba speaks of Christ as his druid. Similarly, a life of St Beuno states that when he died he had a vision of 'all the saints and druids'.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
Druid is one of the base character classes presented in the 3rd edition "Player's Handbook" (2000). In the 3.5 edition of Dungeons & Dragons, Druids are free to use different forms of weaponry, but they lose the ability to cast spells or change into animal form for a day if they wear metal armor. The alignment restriction now requires that druids remain neutral on at least one (but not necessarily both) alignment axis (Good vs. Evil and Law vs. Chaos). i.e., they are restricted to Chaotic Neutral, Lawful Neutral, Neutral Good, Neutral Evil, or True Neutral, to reflect belief in the balance and amoral, impartial character of the natural world. Druids have also gained the ability to have a special animal companion; other abilities have been added or modified as well. For example, they can spontaneously convert a prepared spell in order to summon an animal that will serve as a temporary but loyal ally.
Druid
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, "", was used to refer purely to prophets 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, while 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 respectively, most probably influenced by the Irish terms.)
Placerville, California
Placerville is the home of United Ancient Order of Druids of California Grove No. 1, which was reinstated in 2017-18, along with several other historical fraternal societies. Main Street Placerville features a large stone column holding a glass and metal "torch" known as "The Druid Monument", commemorating the Order's inception there 1860. The City of Placerville is currently attempting to repave the roundabout containing the monument, possible removing it permanently in the process—a proposal that has divided the community.
Doctor Druid
He starred in the miniseries "Druid" #1–4 (May–Aug. 1995) by writer Warren Ellis and artist Leonardo Manco. In "Marvel Universe" #4–7 (Sept.–Dec. 1998), he was retconned as a member of the Monster Hunters, whose adventures took place between the "Age of Monsters" and the "Age of Heroes". This theme would be picked up with his appearance in issue #2 of a subsequent flashback title, "".
Druidry (modern)
The early 1990s were—according to the historian Ronald Hutton—"boom years" for British Druidry. In 1989, the Council of British Druid Orders was established to co-ordinate the activities of different Druid groups at the national level. Further reflecting this spirit of unity, in 1992 a rite took place on London's Primrose Hill in which various Druid orders participated. That year, two new Druidic magazines began publication Shallcrass' "Druid's Voice" and Steve Wilson's "Aisling". However, arguments between different groups persisted and in 1996, the AOD, OBOD, and BDO withdrew from the Council of British Druid Orders. In the late 1990s, English Heritage relented to pressure and agreed to allow Druidic and greater public access to Stonehenge.
During the 1990s, Pagan Druidic groups were also established in Italy, with British Druids like Carr-Gomm visiting the country to give talks to the Pagan community.
Druid
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 century BCE, before the pan-Gallic confederation led by the Arverni was smashed in 121 BCE, followed by the invasions of Teutones and Cimbri, rather than on the demoralized and disunited Gaul of his own time. John Creighton has speculated that in Britain, the druidic social influence was already in decline by the mid-1st century BCE, in conflict with emergent new power structures embodied in paramount chieftains. Other scholars see the Roman conquest itself as the main reason for the decline of the druid orders. 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.
Celtic polytheism
According to a number of Greco-Roman writers such as Julius Caesar, Cicero, Tacitus and Pliny the Elder, Gaulish and British society held a group of magico-religious specialists known as the druids in high esteem. Their roles and responsibilities differed somewhat between the different accounts, but Caesar's, which was the "fullest" and "earliest original text" to describe the druids, described them as being concerned with "divine worship, the due performance of sacrifices, private or public, and the interpretation of ritual questions." He also claimed that they were responsible for officiating at human sacrifices, such as the wicker man burnings. Nonetheless, a number of historians have criticised these such accounts, believing them to be biased or inaccurate. Vernacular Irish sources also referred to the druids, portraying them not only as priests but as sorcerers who had supernatural powers that they used for cursing and divination and who opposed the coming of Christianity. Various historians and archaeologists have interpreted the druids in different ways; Peter Berresford Ellis for instance believed them to be the equivalents of the Indian Brahmin caste, while Anne Ross believed that they were essentially tribal priests, having more in common with the shamans of tribal societies than with the classical philosophers. Ronald Hutton meanwhile held a particularly sceptical attitude to many claims made about them, and he supported the view that the evidence available was of such a suspicious nature that "we can know virtually nothing of certainty about the ancient Druids, so that – although they certainly existed – they function more or less as legendary figures."
Religion in the United Kingdom
During the Iron Age, Celtic polytheism was the predominant religion in the area now known as England. Neo-Druidism grew out of the Celtic revival in 18th century Romanticism. A 2012 Druid analysis estimates that there are roughly 11,000 Druids in Britain.
The Druds
The Druds was a short-lived avant-garde noise music band that featured prominent members of the New York proto-conceptual art and minimal art community. The band's noise rock sound has been compared to that of their friend Henry Flynt and/or The Primitives, the band that featured the first collaboration of Lou Reed and John Cale, who would soon form The Velvet Underground.
Druid
Other such mythological druids were Tadg mac Nuadat of the Fenian Cycle, and Mug Ruith, a powerful blind druid of Munster.
Notebook Found in a Deserted House
After his grandmother’s death, Willie goes to live with his aunt and uncle. His ideas about strange beings inhabiting the forest are supported by the fact that his aunt and uncle always lock the doors at night and never enter the woods after dark. Even more strangely, the forest seems to be devoid of animal life. Willie thinks the answer is that a cult of Druids, possibly having come over from before the time of Columbus, lives in the woods.
HMS Druid (1825)
"Druid", the fourth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy, was ordered on 23 July 1817, laid down in August 1821 at Pembroke Dockyard, Wales, and launched on 1 July 1825. She was commissioned that same month and completed at Plymouth Dockyard on 21 December 1825.
She saw active service in the 1840-42 "Opium War" against China.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The druid is a playable character class in the "Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy role-playing game. Druids wield nature-themed magic. Unlike the cleric, druids do not have special powers against undead and, in some editions, cannot use metal armor. Druids have a unique ability that allows them to change into various animal forms, and various other qualities that assist them in natural settings.
Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids
The concept of the three roles of bards, ovates and druids originates from the writings of the ancient Greek historian and geographer Strabo, who in his "Geographica", written in the 20s CE, stated that amongst the Gauls, there were three types of honoured figures: 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". Nonetheless, Strabo's accuracy has been called into question, as he was not actually well acquainted with Gaul and was likely relying on earlier sources whose accuracy is also disputed.
Ancient Order of Druids
Despite the decentralization of the U.A.O.D. as a national organization, the United Ancient Order of Druids of California (or simply "Druids of California")--founded in Placerville, CA by Fredrick Sieg in the nineteenth century--continues to exist. It is governed by a "Grand Grove" with coordinated 13 subsidiary Groves and numerous Circles spread across the state. California Grove No. 1 was officially reinstated in Placerville, CA in 2017-18 and continues to enjoy a modest membership as of 2019. The stated mission of the Druids of California is "to promote knowledge, unity, and peace".
Druid
A druid (; ; ) was a member of the high-ranking professional class in ancient Celtic cultures. While perhaps best remembered as religious leaders, they were also legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals, and political advisors. While the druids are reported to have been literate, they are believed to have been prevented by doctrine from recording their knowledge in written form, thus they left no written accounts of themselves. They are however attested in some detail by their contemporaries from other cultures, such as the Romans and the Greeks.
Druid
The earliest extant text that describes the druids in detail is Julius Caesar's "Commentarii de Bello Gallico", book VI, written in the 50s or 40s BCE. A military 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 claimed that 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. He claimed that they 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 also remarked that they met annually at a sacred place in the region occupied by the Carnute tribe in Gaul, while they viewed Britain as the centre of druidic study; and that they were not found amongst 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 claimed their main teaching was "the souls do not perish, but after death pass from one to another". They were also 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 also held that they were "administrators" during rituals of human sacrifice, for which criminals were usually used, and that the method was through burning in a wicker man.
Druidry (modern)
Bonewits still felt that many in the RDNA were hostile towards him, believing that he had infiltrated their group, and so in 1985 he founded a new, explicitly Neopagan Druidic group, Ár nDraíocht Féin (Our Own Druidism; a.k.a. ADF) and began publishing a journal, "The Druid's Progress". Arguing that it should draw from pan-European sources, rather than just those that were considered "Celtic", he placed an emphasis on academic and scholarly accuracy, taking a stand against what he perceived as the prevalent pseudo-historical ideas of many Neopagans and Druids.
In 1986, several members of Ár nDraíocht Féin openly criticized Bonewits for his pan-European approach, wishing modern Druidism to be inspired purely by Celtic sources, and so they splintered off to form a group called the Henge of Keltria.
Druid
In Irish-language literature, the druids — "draoithe", plural of "draoi"— are sorcerers with supernatural powers, who are respected in society, particularly for their ability to perform divination. The Dictionary of the Irish Language defines "druí" (which has numerous variant forms, including "draoi") as 'magician, wizard or diviner'. In the literature the druids cast spells and turn people into animals or stones, or curse peoples’ crops to be blighted.
HMS Druid (1783)
"Druid" sailed to the Mediterranean in 1801 to support operations in Egypt. Because "Druid" served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp "Egypt" to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants.
Druid
Another Welshman, William Price (4 March 1800 – 23 January 1893), a physician known for his support of Welsh nationalism, Chartism, and his involvement with the Neo-Druidic religious movement, has been recognised as a significant figures of 19th-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 1902 cremation act.
Gaul
Perhaps the most intriguing facet of Gallic religion is the practice of the Druids. The druids presided over human or animal sacrifices that were made in wooded groves or crude temples. They also appear to have held the responsibility for preserving the annual agricultural calendar and instigating seasonal festivals which corresponded to key points of the lunar-solar calendar. The religious practices of druids were syncretic and borrowed from earlier pagan traditions, with probably indo-European roots. Julius Caesar mentions in his Gallic Wars that those Celts who wanted to make a close study of druidism went to Britain to do so. In a little over a century later, Gnaeus Julius Agricola mentions Roman armies attacking a large druid sanctuary in Anglesey in Wales. There is no certainty concerning the origin of the druids, but it is clear that they vehemently guarded the secrets of their order and held sway over the people of Gaul. Indeed, they claimed the right to determine questions of war and peace, and thereby held an "international" status. In addition, the Druids monitored the religion of ordinary Gauls and were in charge of educating the aristocracy. They also practiced a form of excommunication from the assembly of worshippers, which in ancient Gaul meant a separation from secular society as well. Thus the Druids were an important part of Gallic society. The nearly complete and mysterious disappearance of the Celtic language from most of the territorial lands of ancient Gaul, with the exception of Brittany France, can be attributed to the fact that Celtic druids refused to allow the Celtic oral literature or traditional wisdom to be committed to the written letter.
A Converted British Family Sheltering a Christian Missionary from the Persecution of the Druids
The presence of the druid presumably locates the intended period of the scene before the Roman conquest of Britain in the mid-1st century, making the missionaries very early ones indeed, although the vestment-like clothes that they wear would, even to the well-informed Victorian, suggest a much later period.
Mythology of Teen Wolf
Druids act as advisors, emissaries, to the werewolf packs. This connection formed in ancient Greece after King Lycaon and his sons were turned into wolves by the God Zeus. The Druids had shapeshifting abilities and, while they could not undo the curse, they taught Lycaon how to shift back and forth between human and wolf.
Neopaganism in the United States
Druidry is also known as Druidism and Neodruidism. The Ancient Order of Druids in America was founded in 1912 as the American branch of the Ancient and Archaeological Order of Druids. Coming from the Druid cultural revivals in the UK in the 18th and 19th centuries, Neodruidry in the U.S. has a long history.
Reformed Druids of North America
After extended discussion with the Druids, the college recognized that its position was untenable, and, in part because of the challenge from the Druids, the religious requirement was dropped in June, 1964. But in creating an effective vehicle to challenge the requirement, the founders had unwittingly fostered an environment for spiritual exploration that many found rewarding. For many Druids the movement had come to represent a valuable part of their spiritual lives, and the founders were stunned to discover that the demand for Druid services continued even after the college requirement disappeared.
The Druid Network
The Druid Network was created to act as an internet framework making tangible the spirit-web that is the global community of the Druid tradition and other natural philosophies and Paganisms. Like a sacred well, the Network aims to offer a blend of inspiration and information, yet not only from words presented as articles and ideas. In the spirit of the oral tradition of our ancestors and our heritage, the power of the Druid Network is in the encounters it enables between individuals, soul to soul, mind to mind : people walking together upon the same road.
Thyrsa Amos
In the early 1920s, Dean Thyrsa Amos saw the need for a society for outstanding sophomore women, as the University of Pittsburgh had recently started the Society of Druids for sophomore men. On 7 November 1922, twelve sophomore women responded to invitations and met at Heinz House, electing to found a society to sponsor activities for all freshmen and sophomore women and to "select for membership in the spring those freshman women who displayed the finest Pitt spirit, showed good scholarship and expressed interest in activities through fine participation in them". The society was named Cwens, from the word "cwēn", meaning "lady" or "queen" in Anglo-Saxon. The emblem selected was a golden crown resting upon a sceptre.
Druid (band)
Druid were a 1970s progressive rock band from England, and initially came to public attention by winning a 1974 unsigned band contest by "Melody Maker" magazine. The band went on to perform on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and to record two albums. Their sound was notably influenced by Yes.
Superstition
The term "superstitio", or "superstitio vana" "vain superstition", was applied in the 1st century to those religious cults in the Roman Empire which were officially outlawed. This concerned the religion of the druids in particular, which was described as a "superstitio vana" by Tacitus, and Early Christianity, outlawed as a "superstitio Iudaica" in AD 80 by Domitian.
Druidry (modern)
The historian Ronald Hutton estimated that, in 1996, there were approximately 6000 members of Druid groups in England, two-thirds of whom were OBOD members. The 2001 UK Census, 30,569 individuals described themselves as "Druids" and 508 as "Celtic Druids".
In September 2010, the Charity Commission for England and Wales agreed to register The Druid Network as a charity, effectively giving it official recognition as a religion.
A study of 75 members of the UK-based Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids found "a clear preference for introversion (61%) over extraversion (39%), a clear preference for intuition (64%) over sensing (36%), a clear preference for feeling (56%) over thinking (44%), and a clear preference for judging (68%) over perceiving (32%)."
Standing Stones of Yoxie
The site seems to have been occupied for a long period of time.
There is a local belief that the stones were used for ceremonies by Druid priests who lived at Benie Hoose
– or even that druids still live there.
However, the ruins are 4,000 years old. 
There is no written mention of Druids before around 200 BC, and no reliable sources even from later periods.
Despite this the excavator, C.S.T. Calder, interpreted Yoxie as the remains of a temple, and Benie Hoose as a house that may have been used by the priests.
He felt there were indications that this structure, and another similar one at Stanydale on Mainland, Shetland, were used for religious purposes.
If so, they would have been the first known temples in the British Isles.
The placement and layout of the Benie Hoose and Yoxie seem very close to records of temples and priestly dwellings in Malta.
The Druid Order
Ronald Hutton in his book The Druids writes that the Druid Order in its current form started around 1909 or 1912 when George Watson MacGregor Reid (1862?-1946) led the group, influenced by universalists. When Thomas Maughan (1901–1976), who practised homeopathy, was elected chief in 1964, some senior members and the Order's Maenarch (Chairman) Ross Nichols (1902–1975) left to form the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids. Ross Nichols in 'The Book of Druidry' wrote that MacGregor Reid told of a history in which John Toland, on the day of the Autumn Equinox 1716 at Primrose Hill, (where began the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards), called for Druids to meet at the Apple Tree Tavern, Covent Garden, London a year and a day later, and that the meeting which formed An Druidh Uileach Braithreachas i.e. The Druid Circle of the Universal Bond took place on 22 September 1717 with representatives from London, York, Oxford, Wales, Cornwall, The Isle of Man, Scotland, Anglesey, Ireland and Brittany. It was also claimed that John Aubrey, the eighteenth-century antiquarian, revitalised the Mount Haemus Grove, founded in Oxford in 1245. The claim of Toland and Aubrey as members of any druid order is thought now to be unlikely from a historical perspective. Ronald Hutton, in his book 'Blood and Mistletoe: A History of the Druids in Britain,' takes the lineage prior to George Watson Reid to be merely part of the legend of the order's origins.
Dru Drury
Dru Drury (4 February 1724 – 15 December 1803) was a British entomologist.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The Druid was introduced to Fourth Edition with Player's Handbook 2. The newest incarnation of the class has the Primal power source and the Controller role. They are proficient in simple weapons and light armor, use staves and totems as implements, generally use Wisdom for power attack and damage rolls and, like all primal classes, their powers are called evocations.
Druid
Subsequent Greek and Roman texts from the third century BCE refer to "barbarian philosophers", possibly in reference to the Gaulish druids.
Dun Ailline Druid Brotherhood
The first revival of Druidism came from the hand of John Aubrey and John Toland. The September 21, 1716, day of the autumn equinox, the Druidic group of which John Toland was one of the members, was commissioned to proclaim symbolically at the top of Primrose Hill, and "facing the eye of light" (the sun), the call, for all Druids that may exist around the world, the assembly that was to take place on September 22, 1717 in London in the Apple Tree Tavern, Charles st., Coven garden. At the same time calls were sent by messengers to the various 'Bosquets or Groves' that were known to still exist. The delegates of the Druidic bardic circles and represented at the meeting of September 22, 1717 came from bosquets, groves or circles so far as London, York, Oxford, Wales, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Anglesey, Scotland, Ireland and Armorica in France, especially of the town of Nantes.
Drúedain
The Drúedain are a fictional race of Men which were counted amongst the Edain, who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves. They are part of the Middle-earth legendarium created by J. R. R. Tolkien.
Druid (disambiguation)
A druid was a member of the learned class in ancient Celtic cultures. Some were priests, but the title was also used for doctors, law-speakers, and other high-ranking professionals.
Dildo, Newfoundland and Labrador
The Dildo area has a long history, going as far back as 2000 BC when Maritime Archaic aboriginal people resided at Anderson's Cove. By 700 AD, people of the Dorset culture inhabited Dildo Island. In 1613, Henry Crout, whilst sailing up Dildo Arm, came in contact with the Beothuks, who were residing on Dildo Island at this time. He traded with them and left gifts. In 1711 the inhabitants of Trinity Bay were ordered by Governor Crow to leave their homes during the winter, to defend themselves against the French, who burned their houses. Dildo Island was one of the places designated for this purpose. The town of Dildo was founded in the late 18th century and settled to exploit the abundance of marine resources such as fish (mostly cod), whales and seals.
Francis Wilford
During the 1790s, for some years, rumours circulated about Wilford's discoveries evincing the relationship among Hindu traditions, Bible, and the ancient British antiquities in Orientalist and antiquarian circles in Bengal. In an article on "Hindu Mathematics" published by Ruben Burrow for "Asiatic Researches", Ruben announced the Wilford's work
as the "first true representation of scriptural and Hindu geography." Ruben even deduced from Wilford's evidence saying "the Druids of Britain were Brahmins is beyond the least shadow of doubt."
Dryad (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The dryad was one of the first monsters introduced in the earliest edition of the game, in the "Dungeons & Dragons" "white box" set (1974), where they were described as beautiful tree sprites, each a part of their own respective tree.
Ancient Order of Druids
By 1785, the AOD had six lodges in London, with a further one located in Ipswich, and by 1791 there was a string of them across southern England. However, in 1794, with the French revolution causing a panic amongst many in the British government, who feared a revolutionary movement at home, great suspicion was cast upon secretive societies, and due to this a number of the lodges shut down, including that in Westminster. Nonetheless, by the start of the nineteenth century, twenty-two lodges remained open. By 1831 this had risen to 193 lodges, and the Order’s membership itself had risen to over 200,000.
The Mystery of the Druids
"The Mystery of the Druids" begins with a dark ceremony at Stonehenge in 1000 AD, where all but a few of the druids are enveloped in a supernatural glow before being consumed by fire.
Keith Henson
Henson was known at the University of Arizona as one of the founders of the Druid Student Center, where a campus humor newspaper, "The Frumious Bandersnatch" was published in the late 1960s. He later cited an incident that occurred in his student days as a good example of memetic replication. When asked to fill in a form that required him to disclose his religious affiliations he wrote "Druid". His prank was soon noticed by other students and before long almost 20% of the student body had registered themselves as Reform Druids, Orthodox Druids, Members of the Church of the "n"th Druid, Zen Druids, Latter-Day Druids and so on. The university was forced to remove the religious affiliation question, breaking the chain of replication and variation.
The Mystery of the Druids
The story takes place in Britain, where Detective Brent Halligan, an inspector at Scotland Yard, investigates a brutal series of murders committed in England. The investigation leads Detective Halligan into a mystery surrounding the demise of the British Order of Druids and eventually takes him on a trip through time itself.
Druids United F.C.
The once successful Druids F.C., who formed in 1869 as Plasmadoc F.C., fell on hard times after reforming following the events of the Great War. Playing on the Church Field in Rhosymedre the former Giants of Welsh football, Druids F.C. felt that the only way to survive as a competitive team was to merge with another local club Acrefair United F.C. Joining the Welsh National League (North) and playing from the Church Field, the team failed to provide a strong competition in the short lived league.
The Sword of Shannara
A thousand years before "The Sword of Shannara", an Elf named Galaphile gathers all of the people who still had some knowledge of the old world to Paranor to try to bring peace and order to all of the races. They name themselves the First Druid Council. Brona, a rogue Druid, and his followers leave, taking the Ildatch with them; this magical tome controls their minds. 250 years later, Brona begins the First War of the Races when he convinces all Men to attack the other races. He almost succeeds in seizing rule of the Four Lands, but the tide turns, and the war ends with his defeat and disappearance. The Druids divide the Four Lands among the races and become reclusive, withdrawing to Paranor because of their shame at the betrayal by one of their own members.
Druid
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." The druids then also appear in some of the medieval tales from Christianized Ireland like the "Táin Bó Cúailnge", where they are largely portrayed as sorcerers who opposed the coming of Christianity. In the wake of the Celtic revival during the 18th and 19th centuries, fraternal and neopagan groups were founded based on ideas about the ancient druids, a movement known as Neo-Druidism. Many popular notions about druids, based on misconceptions of 18th century scholars, have been largely superseded by more recent study.
Druid
There is archaeological evidence from western Europe that has been widely used to back up the idea that human sacrifice was performed by the Iron Age Celts.
Mass graves found in a ritual context dating from this period have been unearthed in Gaul, at both Gournay-sur-Aronde and Ribemont-sur-Ancre in what was the region of the Belgae chiefdom. The excavator of these sites, Jean-Louis Brunaux, interpreted them as areas of human sacrifice in devotion to a war god, although this view was criticized by another archaeologist, Martin Brown, who believed that the corpses might be those of honoured warriors buried in the sanctuary rather than sacrifices.
Some historians have questioned whether the Greco-Roman writers were accurate in their claims. J. Rives remarked that it was "ambiguous" whether the 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.
Dryad (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The dryad was one of the earliest creatures introduced in the D&D game.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The druid was one of the standard character classes available in the original "Player's Handbook", and appeared as a sub-class of cleric. The druid was one of five subclasses presented in the original "Players Handbook". Originally, druids were very limited in their choice of weapons and armor (not able to wear any metal armor, and only permitted a few weapons, though that did include the scimitar and crossbow), and were of True Neutral alignment, but were able to cast spells more times per day than the magic-user and at a faster speed than clerics; they also had access to both healing and attack spells (albeit at different levels). Essentially, they were in many ways in between the cleric and the magic-user in function and use, with different special abilities. There were also a set of societal rules governing druidic life as well as higher-level abilities. In order to reach some of the higher levels, players had to defeat a higher-level druid in combat; after accomplishing this, they earned different titles (such as Archdruid) and gained lower-level druids as followers. The later-published Unearthed Arcana featured several higher-level abilities for druids, including the ability to summon various elementals and para-elementals, the ability to enter and survive in various planes (such as the elemental planes and the Plane of Shadow), and so on.
Ancient Order of Druids
The origins of the Ancient Order of Druids are still largely mysterious, because much of the original source material from the time of its foundation has been lost. However, it is known that it was founded in 1781 in London, and it arose at a time when the idea of voluntary societies and clubs was becoming particularly popular in the country, with the historian Peter Clark stating that around 130 different types of club had come into existence. The historian Ronald Hutton noted that two pre-existing Welsh clubs, the Druid Society, which was based on Anglesey, and the Society of the Druids of Cardigan, had already been founded in the previous decades, basing their names and some of their iconography upon what was then believed about the ancient druids.
Druid
Irish mythology has a number of female druids as well, 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 the Táin Bó Cúailnge; Bodhmall, featured in the Fenian Cycle, and one of Fionn mac Cumhaill's childhood caretakers; and Tlachtga, the 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.
British Iron Age
Caesar's texts tell us that the priests of Britain were Druids, a religious elite with considerable holy and secular powers. Great Britain appears to have been the seat of the Druidic religion and Tacitus' account of the later raid on Anglesey led by Suetonius Paulinus gives some indication of its nature. No archaeological evidence survives of Druidry, although a number of burials made with ritual trappings and found in Kent may suggest a religious character to the subjects.
Druid
Phillip Freeman, a classics professor, discusses a later reference to 'dryades', which he translates as 'druidesses', writing that "The fourth century A.D. 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 — but in any case they do show that the druidic function of prophesy continued among the natives in Roman Gaul." However, the Historia Augusta is frequently interpreted by scholars as a largely satirical work, and such details might have been introduced in a humorous fashion. Additionally, female druids are mentioned in later Irish mythology, including the legend of Fionn mac Cumhaill, who, according to the 12th century "The Boyhood Deeds of Fionn", is raised by the woman druid Bodhmall and her companion, another wise-woman.
The Druid Order
The Druid Order is a contemporary druidry fraternal order, founded in 1909 by George MacGregor-Reid in the United Kingdom. At various times it has also been known as The Ancient Druid Order, An Druidh Uileach Braithreachas and The British Circle of the Universal Bond. Initiated members are called companions.
Ancient Order of Druids
By the 1920s, two different stories were circling amongst members of the Order regarding its foundation. The first held that it was created by a group of friends who were merchants and artisans who liked to regularly meet at the King's Arms tavern just off Oxford Street in the West End of London. To keep out unwanted intruders, they became a formal society, and chose to adopt the name of the druids at the suggestion of one of their members, a Mr Hurle, who had a particular interest in the ancient druids. The second story held that the group of friends who met at the King's Arms decided, after the death of one of their number, to form an organisation to honour his memory by raising a fund to provide his bereaved mother with enough money to live. The historian Ronald Hutton noted that the second account was "of course, perfectly compatible with the first" but that he believed it to be less likely for there was no known source for it prior to the 1920s.
Holy places
Stonehenge is a site of religious significance in Neo-Druidism. Druids perform pilgrimage there, The first modern Druids to make ceremonies at this site is the Ancient Order of Druids.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The second edition Player's Handbook changed druids somewhat, making them more similar to the cleric in terms of spellcasting (druids now learned spells at the same rate and level as clerics, as long as the spells were available to them; casting times were also the same). Certain higher level abilities as introduced in Unearthed Arcana were also removed (or ignored), such as the ability to enter the Plane of Shadow. "The Complete Druid's Handbook", published in 1994, provided more details on the druid class, including druidic society, magic groves, class kits and herbal lore.
Druid (Dungeons &amp; Dragons)
The druid was available as a character class in the game's "Basic" edition, introduced in the "Companion Set". Druids were clerics who adhered to a special code of conduct, maintaining a Neutral alignment; in exchange they gained some special powers and additional spells.
Druid
Arguably the greatest of these mythological druids was Amergin Glúingel, a bard and judge for the Milesians featured in the Mythological Cycle. The Milesians were seeking to overrun the Tuatha De 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" and, eventually (after successfully making landfall), aiding and dividing the land between his royal brothers in the conquest of Ireland, earning the title Chief Ollam of Ireland.
Druid
From the 18th century, England and Wales experienced a revival of interest in the druids. John Aubrey (1626–1697) had been the first modern writer to (incorrectly) connect Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments with the druids; since Aubrey's views were confined to his notebooks, the first wide audience for this idea were readers of William Stukeley (1687–1765). 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. 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 to 1827, without corroboration in Blake's numerous writings or among modern Blake scholars. Blake's bardic mysticism derives instead from the pseudo-Ossianic 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. 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 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.
Druidry (modern)
Everything presently known about the Iron Age druids derives from archaeological evidence and Greco-Roman textual sources, rather than material produced by these druids themselves. Due to the scarcity of knowledge about the Iron Age druids, their belief system cannot be accurately reconstructed. Some Druids incorporate everything that is known about Iron Age druids into their practices. However, as noted by scholar of religion Jenny Butler, the historical realities of Iron Age religion are often overlooked by Druids in favour of "a highly romanticised version".
Druid Theatre Company
As of 2013, a permanent Druid Ensemble exists to work alongside artistic director Garry Hynes to further the artistic programme of the company and share a commitment to “investigate new creative possibilities.” This ensemble is composed of seven actors who have performed in numerous Druid productions over the last thirty years. Alongside founding member Marie Mullen, the Druid ensemble are, Marty Rea, Rory Nolan, Aaron Monaghan, Aisling O’Sullivan, Garrett Lombard and Derbhle Crotty.
This is extensive list of the key productions which have been produced and performed by the Druid Theatre Company over the span of forty four years. However, some productions have been omitted. All information can be found at the Druid website Archive.
Ronald Hutton
After studying the history of Wicca, Hutton went on to look at the history of Druidry, both the historical and the contemporary. His first book on the subject, "The Druids", was published in 2007. Part of this material was given as the first lecture of the Mount Haemus Award series. Hutton's next book, which was also about Druidry, was entitled "Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain", and released in May 2009.
Godfrey Higgins
I came to a resolution to devote six hours a day to this pursuit for ten years. Instead of six hours daily for ten years, I believe I have, upon the average, applied myself to it for nearly ten hours daily for almost twenty years. In the first ten years of my search I may fairly say, I found nothing which I sought for; in the latter part of the twenty, the quantity of matter has so crowded in upon me, that I scarcely know how to dispose of it.
A keen antiquarian, Higgins was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. According to Ross Nichols, Higgins was also a "Chosen Chief" of the Order of Druids, founded by John Toland in 1717. Higgins was claimed a member of An Uileach Druidh Braithreaches (The Druid Order), an ancient Druid order that predates the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn; however, these claims are unsubstantiated. Regardless, Higgins demonstrated extensive knowledge and familiarity with the traditions of Druid orders in his work, "The Celtic Druids".