The Druids and the Celtic Culture
(Former Month's Feature) - December, 2005
Some of the early Celts were buried upright, facing their enemies, ready for battle. Although their religion included human sacrifice, much as did the ancient Israelites’, the Celts were a people fond of song, talented and capable of higher learning and even their chiefs honored and obeyed the learned Druids and Bards. According to Julius Caesar, the
“Aes Dana” were believed to have originated in the Pretannic Isles, where those who wished to master their arts went to study, and spread to the continent from there. Archeological evidence, such as Newgrange and The Piper’s Stones in Ireland, show that this origin may have been as early as 3,500 BC and therefore pre-Celtic.
The Celts, along with the Israelites, were among the first cultures to evolve a doctrine of immortality. Their belief was so strong that they actually deferred settling debts until they met in the next world! The Celts taught that death was only a changing of place and that life went on with all its forms and goods in another world, a world of the dead, the fabulous
“Tir-nan-Og” (Other World, Land of the Young) and that when people died in that world, they were reborn in this world. Thus did Philostratus of Tyana (c.170-249 AD) observe that the Celts celebrated birth with mourning and death with joy. Their gravesites therefore provide us with unusual insight into Celtic culture.
The burial chamber at
“Dunchraigaig,” (Fort near the Craig) in Knapdale, was first used c.2,000 BC and was probably entered from the top. A number of burnt and unburnt human bones were found in it, along with a flint knife, stone axe, whetstone and some pottery. The chamber was sealed by the massive slab still visible. Over this, a cairn of smaller stones was heaped. Later burials, utilizing the same
“cairn,” (heap of stones) were placed in a stone lined grave known as a “
ciste,” (chest or coffin) which can no longer be seen. It contained burnt human bone and a pot. Although used over a long period beginning in the Bronze Age, very few burials occurred at this site, allowing the speculation that those interred were of a ruling or priestly class. The mound was enlarged and acted as a raised platform for the last burials it contained.
The famous
“Táin Bó Cuailnge” attributes to its hero,
“Cú Chulainn” (Hound of Culann), the oath,
“I swear by the gods my people swear by!” Like the Greeks and Romans, the Celts had many deities. 374 are known from inscriptions, but only a few occur more than twenty times.
“Bel” (Baal to the Israelites), the Sun God, whose symbol was the circle, was widely worshiped and was said by the Irish to live in
“Uaimh nam Gréine” (Cave of the Sun - Newgrange). They also worshiped the
“Dagda,” whose name meant “good for everything,” or “all competent,” the source of skills and wisdom, as well as protection of the tuath, in time of war. The name MacEachern (Son of the horse lord) is still common in Islay and Kintyre and
“Epone” was the Horse Goddess, from whom the Epidii tuath of Argyll may have taken their name.
The Celts also worshiped (at one time or another, in some part of their realm or another)
“Tarvos Taranos” (Zeus), God of Bull and Thunder (from which derive
“Torann,” the Irish word for noise and
“Toirneach,” Irish for thunder);
“Nodons” (Old Irish - Nuadu), God of Healing
; “Maponos” (Apollo), God of Eternal Youth;
“Oengus,” God of Love, whose kisses became birds;
“Ogmioc” (Hercules, Old Irish - Ogma); and
“Cernunnos,” the horned one, perhaps one of the most ancient Celtic deities, representations of whom show a human antlered head. His images have been found at several Mesolithic sites in Midlothian and Perthshire.
“Esus” (Hermes) was a principal
deity in Ireland where the common given name
“Eóghan” (Owen) means son of Esus. The river god
“Cai” may have found a place at Arthur’s Round Table as “Sir Kay,” as did the one armed war god
“Bedwyr” as “Sir Bedevere” and perhaps the Britons’ version of Hercules,
“Gwalchmai” as “Sir Gawain.”
“Mannan MacLis” ferried the soul to
“Tir-nan-Og” where
“Goibniu” (Roman - Vulcan, Greek - Hephaestus), the Divine Smith, presided over the feast of
"Fled Goibniu."
Later,
“Lug Lamfota,” or “Lug of the Long Spear and the Many Arts, Lord of the Ravens,” became important and possibly is the origin of
“An Fhitich” (the Raven) crest of MacDonell of Glengarry. In Ireland he conquered the evil creatures of the other world and was celebrated at the harvest festival of
“Lugnasadh” held on August 1.
“Lugus” was honored by numerous place names such as
"Lugdunum" (Lyons), Leon, Leiden and Liegnitz, among others, and his name was also considered synonymous with
“Esus.” "
Luguvalium" (Carlisle) meant “Strong in the God Lugus.” According to Irish tradition, Lug was the sole survivor of triplet brothers all having the same name. At least three dedications to Lugus in plural form (Lugoues), are known from the continent.
The Celtic affinity for
trinitarian forms would suggest that three gods were likewise envisaged in these dedications. Lug’s son, or rebirth, according to Irish belief, was the great Ulster hero,
“Cú Chulainn” and in the saga
“Cath Maigh Tuireadh” (The Battle of the Boastful Death Song - Moytura), Lug became the King of Tara.
The actual idol stands only some two feet tall
Although impressive in this picture,
Boa Island, Lough Erne, Co. Fermanagh
Two Headed Celtic Idol
The Dagda’s counterpart and consort was the
“Morrigan,” perhaps recalled as “Morgan le fey” in Arthurian legend, a goddess frequently referred to as “the Queen of Demons” and symbolized by the horse, as was
“Epone” (Eithne). The Morrigan was also known in
trinitarian form, as
“Macha” or
“Medb” (Maeve) and
“Bodh,” signifying birth, life and death. The three mother goddesses of war, Morrigan, Macha and Bodh, were known collectively as
“Mórrigna.” She was both fertile and destructive. Morrigan also represented sovereignty as the symbolic Queen of Tara.
Samhain (November 1), the first day of Winter, was believed to be a time of chaos and supernatural occurrences, when the dwellings of the fairies were revealed. The Morrigan’s and the Dagda’s joining on the night of the festival of Samhain restored harmony, ensured the prosperity of the tuath and protected the fertility of the crops and animals in the coming year.
There were a large number of female deities such as
“Bo Winda Banna” (White Cow Goddess), who were variously consorts of male gods, protectors of springs and rivers, or simply
“Matres” or
“Matronae” (divine mothers). Pretannic and continental Celts apparently shared the Irish belief in the sanctity of bodies of water as homes of the gods, as evidenced by the large number of precious objects found in bodies of water all over Europe and recalled in King Arthur’s “Lady of the Lake.”
“Brigit,” daughter of the Dagda and associated with the festival of
“Imbolc,” celebrated on February 1, was also believed to have powers of healing and wisdom, as well as being a fertility goddess.
One of the three important Celtic gods referred to by the Roman poet Lucan in the 1st Century was
“Teutates,” (God of the tribe), who was protector of the tuath in time of war and was identified with both the Roman god Mercury (Greek Hermes) and with Mars (Greek Ares). According to later writers, victims sacrificed to Teutates were killed by being plunged headfirst into a vat of unspecified liquid which may have been mead (ale), a favorite drink of the Celts. Ritual drowning of captured enemies was an ancient Celtic custom related to their belief in water spirits. Teutates was also known in Pretania, where his name was written Toutates. The Irish
“Tuathal Techtmar,” one of the legendary conquerors of Ireland, has a name that comes from an earlier form,
“Teuto-valos” (Ruler of the People). He may have been named for an eponymous
deity of the district which he is reputed to have conquered, but the name was probably just another manifestation of the great god Teutates. Tuathal is thought to have ruled Leinster and Meath c.160 AD.
Each tuath had a pantheon and origin legends of their own, yet all derived from a common basic theology. The eve of
Bealtaine (May 1), the first day of summer, was when cattle were purified by being driven between rowan wood bonfires. Many medieval sagas begin with a supernatural being’s appearance on Bealtaine, just before sunrise, and may have been especially significant to Celtic
“Fathi” (Priests). Although a particular
deity might be paramount in an area at a specific time, obviously the Celts were not monotheists and no god was more real to the Celt than the
“Áes Sidhe” (people of the hollow hills, fairy beings) who issued from caves or mounds to trick or treat mankind and, it is said, still do. In many places in Pretania and on the continent, ritual shafts and tunnels were dug in an apparent effort to communicate with the underworld. There was magic in the wells and streams, in places where earth spirits dwelt, in the mistletoe and in the rowan trees that were proof against the evil eye; charms for love, luck and well being. The gods had the power to take animal form and hares, fowl and geese were considered sacred and not killed or eaten. Blossoms and flowers belonged to the Spring Maiden, summer’s fruit to the Earth Mother and harvest to the Winter Hag, who also was goddess of red death and war. The Celts believed that the soul was contained in the head rather than the heart. Although the Romans found the Celtic custom of taking the heads of their slain enemies distasteful, hanging them from the manes of their horses or preserving them in cedar oil and showing them to their guests, the custom had an ancient pre-Celtic religious origin and was no more primitive than the Roman custom of executing their prisoners “en mass.”
Guarding the spirits in a 4,000 year old passage grave.
Dunchraigaig's Rowan Tree, Knapdale
"An Daire" (The Oak Tree) and
"An Caorann" (The Rowan Tree), both had religious significance to the Celts. The oak hoasted the sacred mistletoe and oak groves were considered the sanctuaries of the Druids. This was where they conducted their rites, gave guidance to the community, read oracles and supervised the holy elements of the annual festivals. With the coming of Christianity, early missionaries established their abbeys in oak groves, thus giving them an aura of sanctity in the eyes of the people. Colm Cille’s monasteries at
“Daire” (Derry) and at
"Durrow" were both set in oak groves.
The rowan, known in Celtic society as the tree of life, was sacred to the Goddess Brigit and was associated with
“Imbolc,” the great “fire festival” held in February to celebrate the quickening of the year. The Rowan was dedicated to the Medb aspect of the Morrigan and held a special place in Celtic life, religion and mythology. The Gaelic for MacCarthy is
MacCaorthann (Son of the Rowan). This tree was believed to provide protection against spells, unwanted influences and evil spirits. Fires of rowan wood were lit before battles and incantations were chanted over the flames to summon spirits to take part in the fight or to combat evil. It was used in various ways as medicine and as an amulet for healing and good luck. Rowan sticks were used as divining rods to find water, as well as metal, especially gold, and to carve rhunes. Wands of rowan were thought to promote knowledge, understanding and breadth of view and therefore were used to record ogham writing.
“Rowana,” the Tree Goddess, was patroness of the knowledge of rhunes. Sprigs of rowan were placed over doorways and on cattle sheds to protect the animals from harm. Farmers drove their sheep through hoops of rowan branches and horses and cattle thought to be bewitched were controlled with rowan switches. Rowan trees were planted in churchyards and other religious sites to watch over and protect the spirits of the dead, as well as to protect worshipers and priests. Rowan bark was used for tanning and the Druid Fathi produced a black dye from it to color their black ceremonial robes. They also built platforms of Rowan branches on which they would lie as part of a ritual to induce a trance so as to gain insight or hidden knowledge.
Vestiges of Celtic religious heritage still persist. Rag trees at Holy wells still carry petitions to the
“Sidh” in
“dreamtime.” Holly wreaths, mistletoe and a tree symbolize Christmas and it is still told by the storytellers of County Meath that a dreadful battle took place in ancient days at Tailltee, near
“Sliabh nam Bhrugh,” between the
“Tuatha Dé Danann” inhabitants of Erin and the Milesian invaders from Spain. Three Dé Danann kings, three Dé Danann queens and many warriors were lost in the conflict. The survivors fled into the hills where they gathered at
“Brugh nam Bhoinne” to decide if they could live as a conquered people. Legend has it that they decided that they could not. Instead, they dug their way into this large earth mound, fanning out from it to found their own underground kingdom all across Ireland. Using magic, they threw a veil of invisibility over themselves and have lived there ever since as fairies and their cobbler relatives, leprechauns, fiddling, dancing and guarding the gold in the earth from those who inhabit the surface.
Druidic instruction was oral and of its content only traces remain in heroic tales, poems and law tracts. The
“Táin Bó Cuailnge” incidentally said that a famous Druid, Cathbad, Arch Druid of Ulaidh in the sagas, had 100 pupils. Bardic schools existed in Ireland until the 17th Century. To hold the
“cathaoir Ollamhnachta” (chair of Ollamhship) indicated a royal appointment as court poet, judge, physician or historian and lands endowing such a post could become hereditary within a family, whose chieftain in each generation was chosen on the basis of his learning and confirmed (or not) by the king. This was generally the case in Cineal ua Dhomhnuil up until the 18th Century among the Bethune family (
l'eigh or physicians) and the MacMhurichs (
seannachaidh or historians). Fully qualified junior members of such a family were called
“adhbhar ollamhan” (eligible to be ollamh).
“Ollamh” remains the modern Irish word for professor. Druids were recruited from the aristocratic element of Celtic society, but were not a hereditary caste. Men were admitted to the
“Áes Dana” only upon completing long training in formal schools in a body of traditional lore. One became a Bard only after the successful completion of a nine to twelve year period of disciplined study, memorizing 250 prime stories, as well as 100 secondary ones. It has been said that a Bard had a long story and a short one for every day of the year. They also had to master the traditional metre and line schemes, as well as having learned to compose new poems and lays, to play musical instruments and to tell the ancient lore and riddles. The mastery of the
“clarsach” (thirty-two stringed Irish harp) was no mean feat and Irish harpers have long been famous. This course of study earned the rank or degree of
“Ollamh” (from old Irish
“oll” - great), signifying the highest of the seven grades of learning and the mastery of an art. Originally, even mastery of a martial art was included, but not the least of their skills was the art of satire, for not only could they praise the hero, they could destroy a man’s
“enech.” It was said their words could raise blisters on a victim’s face, visibly branding the mean and mannerless.
The Druids also exercised a great deal of influence by their control of the calendar. The year was divided into two halves, the light half, which was auspicious and began at
“Bealtaine,” and the dark half, which was chaotic and began at
“Samhain.” The festival of
“Imbolc” divided the dark half and
“Lugnasadh” divided the light half. The lunar months were either of thirty days (auspicious) or twenty-nine days (not auspicious), as determined by the Druids, and the lunar calendar was adjusted to the solar calendar every three years by adding a thirty day month. By this method the Druids controlled planting, harvest and most other significant events of society.
Druidic instruction was oral and of its content only traces remain in heroic tales, poems and law tracts. The
“Táin Bó Cuailnge” incidentally said that a famous Druid, Cathbad, Arch Druid of Ulaidh in the sagas, had 100 pupils. Bardic schools existed in Ireland until the 17th Century. To hold the
“cathaoir Ollamhnachta” (chair of Ollamhship) indicated a royal appointment as court poet, judge, physician or historian and lands endowing such a post could become hereditary within a family, whose chieftain in each generation was chosen on the basis of his learning and confirmed (or not) by the king. This was generally the case in Cineal ua Dhomhnuil up until the 18th Century among the Bethune family (
l'eigh or physicians) and the MacMhurichs (
seannachaidh or historians). Fully qualified junior members of such a family were called
“adhbhar ollamhan” (eligible to be ollamh).
“Ollamh” remains the modern Irish word for professor.
Rag Tree, Clonfert, Co. Galway
This Druid shrine is in the wood immediately adjacent to Clonfert Cathedral
The Druids were not merely priests, but personal and political advisors; teachers of philosophy, science, mathematics and theology. They believed in eternal life, but without elaborate views on the subject. Druids were believed to have the gift of prophesy, which has always been an important part of Irish popular culture. Because of druidic proscriptions we have no single sentence of their body of knowledge in their own language, although much physical evidence exists, such as tools, weapons, sites like Stonehenge, as well as their
“rhunaidh” (rhunes - secret writings) inscribed in their Ogham alphabet. Pliny the Elder tells us about the Druids’ use of mistletoe, which they climbed great oaks to obtain, detaching it with golden sickles. Julius Caesar described the Druids, saying:
“They have considerable knowledge of the stars, and of their motions, and of the dimensions of the Earth, and the Universe around. Also of science in general, and of the powers and spheres of influence of the immortal gods. These subjects they debate, and also teach to their young students.”
Strabo said that the Celts’ learned men consisted of “Filii” (Bards), who composed, preserved and performed music, eulogies and poetry; and “Fathi,” (Priests, Latin - Vates) who were responsible for carrying out prophesy, magic and sacrifices to the gods. There were also “Seannachaidh,” clan historians or storytellers; “Breitheimh,” brehons or brieves who were jurists and law givers; and “Druidh,” who studied natural science and philosophy. It was the “Druidh” who mastered astronomy, laid out the temples such as Stonehenge and maintained the calendar. In Scotland there may have been another order known as “DeoPhaisten” who were said to be teachers of both religion and law. The various orders may have each had an Arch Druid who had great influence, both within and without their order, but of varying scope. The Arch Druids were so powerful that they could interpose themselves between (Celtic) armies and stop battles. They were also believed to be able to divine the names of future kings, and so had a voice in the succession.
In Ireland, where Druidism was not suppressed as it was in the Roman Empire, the orders of Bards and Historians are most clearly defined. The Gael placed tremendous value on preserving their history and tradition, but they were also storytellers whose repertoire included voyages, battles, cattle raids, attacks, courtships, elopements, pursuits, slaughters, sieges, exiles, tragedies, magic, wonders and visions. The genealogies of their kings were recited orally on every important public occasion. If a Seannache made a single mistake, a hundred voices would shout him down. In social rank the Bards were second only to the king, but in sacredness of person, the king was second to the poet, because the lives of kings were frequently taken, but almost never was a poet killed. At table, the Bard was entitled to the king’s joint, the haunch. The poet’s “dire fine” (honor-price due for killing him) was seven “cumail,” the same as a king’s. Everything worth recording was put into verse to be more easily remembered and more pleasantly heard, including history, genealogy and even their laws. A major part of the art of the Bard were the facial expressions and verbal inflections that no book could record. The Bards were also highly skilled in metrical devices, including a large number of complicated verse forms unknown to modern English poetry. Diodorus tells us “. . . They sing to the accompaniment of instruments resembling lyres, sometimes a eulogy and sometimes a satire.” It is said that Patrick, too, was taken with their talent, ordering his monks to write down the tales of old soldiers “lest they be forgotten.” It was attributed to such noted continental scholars as Zeuss and Nigra that they believed that it was the ancient Irish who invented rhyme and introduced it in Latin to the countries of medieval Europe, where Irish minstrels were famous.
The order of “Breitheamh,” judges or legal scholars, was one of the highest orders of the “Áes Dana.” The Brehon laws of Ireland are the oldest surviving legal system in Europe. They were rooted in ancient Indo-European custom rather than Roman law and were in continual use until the English suppressed them in the 17th Century. These ancient laws were very sophisticated and complex and the Brehons memorized them and passed them down from one generation to the next, verbally. Under their laws, a man’s identity was defined in terms of tribe and family; outside of which he had no legal rights. A Brehon was a legal expert who devoted himself to arbitration and advising clients, usually for a fee that was about one twelfth of the amount awarded.
It is said that Patrick was responsible for the “Senchus Mhór,” a compilation of five volumes of Brehon law, citing fourteen other books of civil law and that when he had the laws codified, he had a Filií “to put a thread of poetry round them.” Even so, Patrick is said to have taken out many of the ancient “eye for an eye” doctrines that were inconsistent with Christian principles. King Cormac, in his 10th Century glossary, quotes from five law books, only one of which was among the fourteen Senchus glosses. There therefore must have been a very large number of laws written down by Irish monks, which would themselves have represented only a small percentage of the total body of Brehon law, covering almost every relationship and every fine shade of relationship, social and moral, between men and passed down from memory, generation after generation. For example, a passage from Brehon law said: “The poet (or tutor) commands his pupils. The man from whom education is received is free from the crimes of his pupils, though he feeds and clothes them, and that they pay him for their learning. He is free, even though it be a stranger he instructs, feeds, and clothes, provided it is not for pay but for God that he does it. If he feeds and instructs a stranger for pay, it is then he is accountable for his crimes.”
Among the many provisions of Brehon law was that of providing for the sick. St Fabiola is generally credited with founding the first hospital in Rome in the 4th Century AD, but it is evident that hospitals existed in Ireland long before that time. A 2nd Century Celtic grave at Obermenzingen in southern Germany yielded, in addition to normal accouterments, a probe, a retractor and a trephining saw, the tools of a surgeon. Brehon law required that hospitals should be staffed by qualified personnel, should be free from debt, should have four doors and fresh water and should be freely available to the sick, feeble, elderly and orphans. The law also provided that none of the patients were to lack food or means of livelihood. From myths and sagas, as well as from archeological evidence, we know that ancient Irish physicians were skilled in performing caesarean operations, amputations and brain surgery, as well as being competent in herbal remedies.
The Druids of Britannia fell from grace when their wisdom could not prevail against Roman arms. Tacitus’ description of the Arch Druids interposing themselves between the Celtic and Roman armies on the shores of Anglesey paints a pathetic picture. But it was the coming of Christianity that ended the supremacy of the Druids in Ireland, as they were replaced by Christian priests and monks, although Bards are still among the most venerated persons of Erin and modern Irish law still contains elements of the heritage of the Brehons. More than 160 “Dolméinn” or portal tombs and some 300 court tombs dot the landscape of Ireland, while “Slieve na Calliagh” (Hill of the Witch) in Co. Meath still posses questions for antiquarians. At one point, “Colm Cille” (St Columba) was a pupil of a Christian Bard, was admitted to their order and later, on revisiting Ireland, he eloquently defended them when they were indicted for their satires. He also acted as an “Ard Fathi” (Arch Druid, High Priest) in determining the royal succession of King Aedan mac Gabhran of Dalriada. But in a hymn ascribed to Colm he wrote,
Knowth Passage Grave, c.2500 BC, Boyne Valley, Co. Meath
One of eighteen burial mounds in this ancient Druid cemetery.
The Morrigan
“. . . My druid is Christ, the Son of God . . .”
Creevykeel Court Tomb, Co. Sligo. One of only 5 court tombs in the south of Ireland, it was 200 feet long, with 5 chambers. Grave goods included Neolithic pottery, flint arrowheads, hollow scrapers and polished stone axe heads.
Built c.1200 BC as a Druidic temple and astronomical observatory.
Stonehenge, Wiltshire
Typical of the groves which were sacred to the Druids.
Gog and Magog Oaks, Glastonbury, Somerset
Aberlemno, Angus
Known to the Alban Gael as "Kelpies"
Waterhorses Standing Stone
From 2nd or 1st Century BC Gundestrup Caldron, found in a Danish bog,
Celtic Deity Cernunnos
Dunchraigaig Passage Grave, c. 2000 BC, Knapdale
"Buaile Achadh Greine" (Enclosure of the Plain of the Sun)
The Piper's Stones, Co. Wicklow
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