Who were the Druids?

Question

Explain these people and their religion.
How did their power decline?
How did the Druids religionious beleifs differ from the Germanic tribes (Saxons, Angles, Jutes)?

Answer 1

a religious organisation of celtic association

Answer 2

Druids were the "third tier" of Celtic culture (the other two being the farming/crafting tier, and the warrior/leadership tier.) They were priests, along with judges, scholar, scientists, doctors - in short, the intelligencia.

Their beliefs were polytheistic and animistic, dealing with local spirits, ancestors, and the gods. The cosmology centered around the interactions between our world and the Otherworld(s), and the being that existed therein. It should be noted that the religion of the Druids was the religion of the Celts, as they were part of Celtic society. Claiming that the Druids held a different religion would be akin to saying that the Pope holds a different religion than that of Catholics.

There's a number of similarities between their beliefs and the Germanic beliefs - Odin shares a few characteristics with Lugh, for example. There's no direct analog between the two, but you can draw some comparisons between the two without being too much of a stretch. However, the Druids seem to be far more organized than the Germanic Gothi (priests).

There's some speculation that the Druids started to wane in power prior to the coming of Christianization - a significant blow came from the Roman invasion into most of the Celtic areas, as the Romans viewed the Druids as being a threat. This was eventually followed by Christianization, which spelled the end of Druids. A number of Druidic practices and beliefs may have survived through folklore and Celtic culture, especially in Ireland, where monks documented a lot, but little to nothing survived totally intact.

Answer 3

Well, the Druids were Celtic priests as well as influential politicians of that time, scholars and conservators of Celtic culture.Their power declined because Christianity appealed to people more without violence and human sacrifice.I really don't know how they differed from Germanic tribes...actually i think they were pretty much alike: "Druidic practices were part of the culture of all the tribal peoples called Keltoi and Galatai by Greeks and Celtae and Galli by Romans, which evolved into modern English "Celtic" and "Gaulish". Ohm and mistletoe was a holy plant...you could find more in wikipedia or something.

Answer 4

There is a lot of information about Druids in Wikipedia. Here is a bit of the explanantion:

'In Celtic polytheism the word druid denotes the priestly class in ancient Celtic societies, which existed through much of Western Europe north of the Alps and in the British Isles until they were supplanted by Roman government and, later, Christianity. Druidic practices were part of the culture of all the tribal peoples called "Keltoi" and "Galatai" by Greeks and "Celtae" and "Galli" by Romans, which evolved into modern English "Celtic" and "Gaulish". They combined the duties of priest, arbitrator, healer, scholar, and magistrate.

'The Druids were polytheists, but also deified elements of nature[1], such as the sun, the moon, and the stars, looking to them for "signs and seasons". They also venerated other natural elements, such as the oak, certain groves, tops of hills, streams, lakes and even plants, especially mistletoe and holly. Fire was regarded as a symbol of several divinities and was associated with the sun and cleansing.'

Check out more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid

Answer 5

Howard, the only information we know about the Druids actually comes from the Romans and their information is heavily biased in what they want you to know about them. As I understand it the Druids hadn't any written language and anything passed down was all word of mouth.
So you can read all you want, but the reality is we know very little and don't let any one else tell you otherwise.
Their last stronghold according to the Romans was the Island of Anglesy in North Wales where they were finally destroyed and their knowledge went with them (it's a great shame as they were obviously quite a mysterious priesthood). The Romans hated them and wiped them out.

Answer 6

Excerpts from the source. More details can be had from; the source:
Name : Druids; also known as Druidry, Celtic Pagans, Neopagan Druidism, Celtic Reconstructionists, Christian Druids, Pagan Druids, Bards.

Founder : No single founder is responsible for Druidism. It might be helpful to look at Druids in three categories in order to get a sense of the diversity within the group. The categories are divided roughly into time periods and the terms used within the movement to describe them will vary, but for this discussion we will call them:


Classical Druids - the druids of ancient times.
Revival Druids - members of groups formed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Modern Druids - druids who have begun practice since around the 1930's.

Date and Place of Birth : As there is no actual founder of Druidism, there is no date or place of birth.
Classical Druids : The prototypes for classical druidry probably originated in the early Celtic peoples of the neolithic Hallstadt/La Tene cultures of the lakes regions of modern Austria.

Revival Druids : various groups and individuals of the romantic ethnic reconstruction movements of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The Druid Circle of the Universal Bond (An Druidh Uileach Braithreachas) was formed in London in 1717 by John Toland. The Ancient Order of Druids was formed in London in 1781 by Henry Hurle. The Welsh Druids, Maen Gorsedd, formed in London in 1792 by Iolo Morganwg (Edward Williams). These and many similar groups formed and dissolved at a fairly rapid rate. The Commentatio De Druidis Occidentalum Populorum Philosophis, published in 1744 in Ulm by Jean Frickius showed in the bibliography 261 authors who wrote about druids between 1514 CE and 1744 CE.

Modern Druids : There have been a large number of "Here today, gone tomorrow" modern druidic groups. The Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (a descendant of the Universal Bond group) formed in 1964 under the direction of Nuinn Ross-Nicholls in London. In 1963 David Fisher and friends formed the Reformed Druids of North America in Northfield, Minnesota. In 1983 Isaac (PEI) Bonewits left the RDNA and formed Ar nDraiocht Fein (Our Druidry) in Berkeley, California. In 1989 Sable and Tony Taylor left ADF after four years and formed the Henge of Keltria. In 1992-93 Erynn Laurie and Lorax formed the Inis Glas Hedge School. There were many other small groups formed, dissolved, and re- formed- modern druids rarely formalize their practices to the extent of registering their group with the government or publishing their books.
In 1963, David Fisher and some other students at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota decided to come up with an alternative to attendance at religious services required by the college. They formed the Reformed Druids of North America, which exists to this day as a philosophical group at the college. The RDNA was found by the college to fulfill the church attendance requirement. In 1964, the requirement was lifted, but students continue to meet as Druids.
VR

Answer 7

How much homework? Follow the link below and that will be a starting point.

Answer 8

the leadrs of cletic britian and sacreficed humans to thier gods

Answer 9

donno dude
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