Druids: Human Savages or Powerful Minds?

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Legend of sorcery has been long lost in current day and age. Some opinionate it never existed, that it was forged purely for reasons of entertainment. However, many believe that this ancient power coursed through past civilizations. Druids were thought to be capable of this power, they were shamans, high ranking religious figures in a society. They were said to have the ability to see into the future, the power to heal, the power to destroy, and the power to communicate with animals and spirits not from this world. Druids lived in forests of tall oak trees, where under these magnificent oaks they laid homage. The oak tree was very sacred to these people, therefore they worshiped in sacred groves that were under the trees themselves. The precise meaning of the word, druid, is unclear to many historians. There are ancient Celtic words that are similar which mean “knowledge” and “oak”, they can be interpreted as “knowledge of the oak” or “great oak”. Due to their “so-called”rare abilities, druids were looked down upon and persecuted by Romans and Christians. As they didn’t want their scriptures to fall into unkindly hands, they were opposed to writing down these sacred matters. They were rumored to also perform human sacrifice with unlawful prisoners and convicts. Druids were thought to be barbaric savages but undoubtedly were creatures of advanced intellectual ability.
The meaning of the word druid is not clarified throughout historic text. Interpretations of the word consist of “knowledge of the oak” or “profound knowledge” (Green 9). The word “…deru- implies being firm or steadfast and is related to the Celtic words for “oak.” This root is linked to the root wid-, “to know” (Cunliffe 190). Little can actually be confirmed about d...

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...them. They were feared by these people because they were thought to be barbaric creatures who did nothing but worship trees and perform human sacrifices. Though they did perform human sacrifice the druids were a group of people who worshiped the beauty of nature, wisdom, love, creativity, and intuition. Those traits of which have been long lost in the “civilized” societies they lived in.

Works Cited

Brockman, Norbert C. “Sacred Groves.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.
Green, Miranda. The World of Druids. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc, 1997. Print.
Jestice, Phyllis. “Druids.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2013.Web. 13 Sept. 2013.
‘Shamanism.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2013. Web. Sept. 2013.

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