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The Classical Druids are believed to have retained their vast body of knowledge in an oral tradition. The Celts as a cultural and linguistic group, and especially the brythonic Celts, (who later became known as the Welsh, Breton, Cornish, and Manx language groups) used Greek letters to write their language in daily personal and business life. The oral tradition which contained the 'sacred lore' was written down only by later religious or historical scholars, and is necessarily incomplete and inaccurate. Scholars today are attempting to sort out what is the pure form of the history, law, science, art and religion of the Celtic peoples.
The Revival Druids lived in a time prior to the development of archeology and history as areas of rigorous scientific study, so were influenced by broad speculation. The Druids were a fascination of the popular culture of the time; over 260 authors wrote about Druids from 1514-1744 (Raoult).
Modern Druids have developed writings within the various groups which may be considered sacred texts. The Henge of Keltria's Book of Ritual may be considered sacred to the members of that group. Other contemporary Druids will refer to favorite books written about the Druids or Celts. Books by and about Druids appear in greater numbers than ever before. Following the emphasis on learning traditionally ascribed to the ancients, today's Druids often have long reading lists of respected material. Likewise, many will list books or authors they consider fraudulent or based on fantasy. (see Selected References). Some Celtic Reconstructionists are writing books or articles about material they receive as guided inspiration from their gods or other nature spirits. These works are accepted by some and not by others. Since no governing authority presides over the entire Druid movement, there is no final word on what becomes holy writ. Many Druids rely on the stories and reports which have been preserved in the form of myth or fairy tales to inform their religious belief.
A current (1999) movement in the modern neopagan community is to encourage all neopagans and occultists to enter the 2000 US Census line under religion as "pagan" in order to register a unified presence. This would remove the statistical tendency to list 'pagan', neo-pagan', 'heathen', 'wiccan', 'witch', 'druid', and 'bard' as separate and non-related categories.
Memory was especially important, as their teachings relied on an oral tradition. It is not certain that they acted as clergy to the general population, but they were spiritual leaders and advisors with status almost as great as a king. Some of the names of ancient druids survive in writings by Caesar, Strabo, etc. Scholars are still working to decipher what may have actually been their practices and beliefs, as most of the writing about the druids was done by people who were antagonistic to their ways. Some modern druids claim to be linked to these ancient druids.
Revival Druids : Druid belief and practice varied widely in the 18th and 19th centuries. Professor Ronald Hutton gives us an idea of the characterizations of the Druids made by writers of the time in his introduction to The Druid Renaissance ("Who Possesses the Past?"), Philip Carr-Gomm, ed. The Druids were variously the orthodoxy of the Anglican church, the pre-Christian prophets who foresaw the coming of Christianity before the birth of Christ, the superstitious, the barbarous or the political advocates of radical democracy. The practicing Druids of the time concentrated on community service, creating a system of mutual insurance, visiting the sick, widows and orphans, even offering loans to buy houses.
The Druid groups achieved such acceptance in society that even the Prince of Wales is said to have been a member of one of them. The Bardic tradition of Druids formed by Iolo Morganwg in 1792 did a great deal to revive the Celtic roots of the movement, though modern scholars have determined much of the material he based his group upon to have been invented by the bard himself. It is this overlay of poetic romanticism and fantasy (imagination and faith) which influences much of the belief of Druids since that time.
Modern Druids : Many contemporary Druids concentrate on learning as much as possible about the actual practices and beliefs of the ancients, in order to rebuild a Druidic religion. They will quickly point out that reviving the old ways is done thoughtfully, to avoid such horrors as human or animal sacrifice. Druidism is still strictly a fraternal order to some, not intended as a religion. Some Druids are unconcerned about authenticity, looking to the Celtic tradition of poetic romanticism inspired by Morganwg. Whether informed by fact or fantasy, the modern Druid values creativity, faith and the pursuit of knowledge equally as the basis of their practice and belief.
Here is a sample of the development of several contemporary modern Druid groups:
In 1969, Isaac Bonewits joined the RDNA. After starting several other Druid groups in an attempt to meet his need for real religious practice combined with excellence in scholarship, in 1983 he formed ADF (Ar nDraiocht Fein, A Druid Fellowship). Though it had a Celtic name, ADF was Pan-Indo-European in study and worship.
In 1985, Sable Taylor and Tony Taylor met up with ADF. After four years, they formed the Henge of Keltria in order to create a tribal setting where small groups(called groves) could work within a specifically Celtic framework and yet still interact with other clans of druids. Asked to describe the development of modern Druidism, Tony Taylor says, "Re-construction makes sense. If you are renovating an old building, you replace the old wiring, the lead pipes, you bring it up to code. In Keltria, we are taking material that makes sense and putting it in a modern context, in a form that still makes sense."
Other groups have been formed in the past few decades, some claiming ancestral lineage back to the ancient Druids, some with links to the Revival era groups. Some Druids are individuals who are simply drawn to the spiritual life centered in nature or the poetic wanderings of the romantic bard. This is a short, by no means complete, list:
For others, the practice of their faith requires them to venture forth, to act upon their beliefs by doing volunteer work in their communities, political activism or building a compost heap in their own backyard.
They tend to abhor dogma, the result being slow growth within the movement as agreements are slowly negotiated about how to conduct a ritual or what officers should represent the group. The modern Druids stress personal responsibility and education.
While no two Druids will believe exactly the same way or worship the same gods, there are some commonalities.
Many have considered themselves to be Druid for years before even realizing that other people shared some of their beliefs.
Henge of Keltria
Home page for the Henge of Keltria, Inc., an organisation formed to teach and to
worship the gods and goddesses of this Celtric tradition. Good links to other related
pages.
http://www.keltria.org/
Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids
Website for a large organization based in England. Some problems with the page design
have been reported, but are being fixed.
http://druidry.org/
Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF)
One of the better known American druidic groups, this page has good text about
the modern movement.
http://www.adf.org/
Celtic Druidism
The Druid page on the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance page. Excellent
overview of the Druid tradition.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/druid.htm
Druidism Guide
http://www.uoguelph.ca/~bmyers/druid.html
British Druid Order
http://www.druidorder.demon.co.uk/
Isaac Bonewit's Home Page
Meet the Archruid Emeritus of ADF.
http://www.neopagan.net/
The Celtic
Traditional Order of Druids
http://www.goodnet.com/~merlyn/ctodmain.htm
Night Moon Pagan Network
A very extensive set of links to all sorts of Pagan related sites.
Click here
to directly access their links to more Druid pages.
Created by: Karen Junker
For the Religious Movements Homepage
Ms. Junker was a student at the University of Washington
when this page was created.
Fall 1999
Last modified: 08/21/01