Clues for today’s lesson…

1. Clues for today’s lesson… • They were nature magicians… • They still exist in a way... • Merlin was supposed to be one... • They had ceremonies like ours... • They might have built Stonehenge…

2. The Druids Who WERE they, anyway?

3. Quote of the Day “They know much about the stars and celestial motions, and about the size of the earth and the universe, and about the essential nature of things.” ??? (to be announced…)

4. Guiding Questions Who were the Druids? What group of people were they a part of? What do we really know about them?

5. The People of Britain At the time that the Druids came into being, the people of Britain were Celts. The Celts had arrived around 2000 BC, according to evidence we have now. What famous monument do we know was built by the Celts around that time?

6. Stonehenge It was built by the Celts, and it was used by the Druids. It is a testament to the connection to nature they had: a giant, open-air temple.

7. Celts: Who were they? The Celts, although an early group of settlers, were an advanced society. 1) They maintained land to be worked for the priests, the poor and sick, and the chieftain: all other land was given to farmers to work for themselves.

8. 2) Leaders were men or women. 3) Annual meetings helped regulate problems in the community.

9. In fact, they were so successful that many of the old Celtic sites became contemporary British farms today. The farms were so successful back then that one famous emperor commented on how developed they were. Any idea who the visiting emperor may have been in 55 A.D.?

10. Et tu, Brute? Julius Caesar. Remember, the Romans arrived in Britain in 43 A.D., and continued until 410 A.D.

11. Even though the Celts were one group of people, they had within them many tribes. The question is, how was harmony maintained between all of these tribes, and knowledge passed down? The answer is, by the Druids.

12. The Druids were like priests and lawmakers. They maintained the laws, history, culture, religion and science of the Celts. They were more important than the chieftains themselves, and could move wherever they wanted, regardless of who the land belonged to. Why would that help settle disputes among Celts?

13. When there was a problem, the Druids could just visit the other chieftains and discuss the issue, before war became necessary. Nobody stopped them due to their importance and respected positions.

14. Becoming a Druid Becoming a Druid was no easy task. They had set up colleges all over Britain, and to study was a lifelong commitment. Any guesses how long it took to become a Druid?

15. University…FOREVER. There was a twenty-year period of oral instruction before a pupil was admitted into the order of the Druids. Minstrels and bards were also educated there.

16. How do we know about them? We only know about Druids because of the writings of the time, including the writing of Julius Caesar. We have no surviving records of the Druids themselves. They were compared to other famous priestly orders: the Brahmins, the Pythagoreans, and the Chaldeans. Where were THEY from?

17. India Greece Babylon

18. The Druids, as an order, dealt with the natural cycle of life, the heavens, and death. They believed in reincarnation of the soul. What is reincarnation?

19. It is a cycle where the soul, when someone dies, continues, and is reborn in a new body in the next life. The Druids sometimes allowed for debts in one life to be passed on to the next one.

20. Holy Places Since there is no documentation from the time of the Druids, we do not have a list of holy places. We do, however, know that certain forests had sacred groves in them, since the Romans and Christians were quick to cut them down and burn the wood. Why would they do that?

21. Conflict of Religion In order to spread their own religions, they had to try and destroy the religion of Britain which already existed.

22. Shady Practices There were also rumors, although they are impossible to confirm, of one terrible practice done by the druids. It involved something terrible that the Romans had always said they would never do. What was it?

23. Human Sacrifice The Romans claimed that Druids used human sacrifice to please the gods of Britain. There is no proof of this. Why would they spread this story?

24. Propaganda By spreadingrumors about the Druids, theywerelessening the power theyheld, and increasingtheirown. Usingsomething as violent as human sacrifice was a way to try and get an emotionalresponsefrom people: thisiscalledpropaganda.

25. Sacred Items While the Druids respected all natural things, they held two plants in particular respect: the oak tree and the mistletoe plant. When the mistletoe plant was found, it was cut with a golden knife by a priest in a white robe. What do we do with mistletoe nowadays?

26. Mistletoe

27. The Magic Of course, there are also tales of magic, like those in the story of King Arthur. There is also the account of Tacitus, a Roman historian, of the attack on Mona. Mona, or Anglesey as we know it today, was a Druid college, and the Druids defended it with magic against the Roman invaders. The Romans, of course, won.

28. Isle of Mona - Anglesey

29. Druids Abroad Druids were not only British. There are tales of them in Ireland as well. In the stories of the Irish mythological cycles, especially the Ulster cycle, Druids advised and served the kings of Ireland.

30. Druids Today Druidism has been revived today, in neo-druidism, which means ‘new order of druids’. They hold rituals and celebrate old traditions, but mostly based on things that have been written in the last few hundred years, and some older Roman accounts.

31. Druid Festivals These new Druids are allowed access to Stonehenge on special occasions, like the midsummer, to celebrate their rituals.

32. Pop Culture Druids persist as characters in games, as well. Many role-playing games like World of Warcraft use Druids as one of their character choices.

33. Trivia What is the main holiday we take from Celtic traditions? How many people came to Stonehenge in 2011 for the annual midsummer festival of the Druids? Who is the current leader of the Druids in Britain?

34. We celebrate Hallowe’en, which comes from the Celtic traditional festival, Samhain. 18,000 people attended the ceremony. Arthur Pendragon is the Chief Druid in Britain.

35. Key points about the lesson VOCABULARY celestial – to do with heaven testament – evidence of something revived – brought back to life or popularity contemporary – in modern time attend – to go to, to visit

36. A few clips… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFVDEM3UKbY Druid priest explains Stonehenge

37. Final question…. Why do you think people are still interested in Druids? What kind of jobs do we have that replace druids today?