The Druids... a new journey for me!

[oldbadger]

It doesn't matter how old you are, starting out on new journeys can be interesting, exciting, and even providential. I've often been impressed about the way that Pagan members have written and responded to the posts of others........ and only last week, there I was, scurrying off to ebay to buy a book about ...... The Druids.

So far I don't know anything about them, apart from learning at school that Romans liked killing them. That's it.
I know more about the Egyptians than the ancient peoples who walked over my country for thousands of years, even before the blooming Pyramids were built.

So.......... The first book on the ebay list (search lowest prices) was the one shown below, for £2.94 with free delivery. I thought it would be tatty 2nd hand discard, or even a thin pamphlet, but it arrived in brilliant, new, never been opened condition. Amazing........ it's almost as if fate wants me to read this.

First job.......... have a butchers at the author, Peter Berresford Ellis. My goodness! A lifetime of research, literary success, academic recognition and more..... have a look for yourselves:-
Peter Berresford Ellis
He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East London in 2006 in recognition of his work.
He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1996) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1998). He was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd (1987) for his work on the history of the Cornish language – The Cornish Language and its Literature (published in 1974). He received an Irish Post Award (1989) for his work on Celtic history, and the French Prix Historia (2010) for best historical crime novel of 2010.
He was made Honorary Life President of the Scottish 1820 Society (1989),[14] and Honorary Life Member of the Irish Literary Society (2002).

............ so he's going to know something about the Druids!
D'you know what? I actually feel excited about this, I do.
And many thanks to @The Hammer

 

[RestlessSoul]

If you’re in London in the next few months, you might want to visit this exhibit;

https://www.britishmuseum.org/stonehenge-resources

 

[Sirona]

I bought a book about druids that started with the statement that most knowledge about them is actually lost because it was transmitted orally, and that what we have now about the "Druids" is an invention of 19th / early 20th century occult movements, not unlike Wicca, which also claims to date back to before Christianity. But if we rationalize everything to death, there won't be any magic left ... so have fun studying the druids in any case.

 

[Polymath257]

I would also recommend the book 'Druids, a very short introduction' by Barry Cunliffe. He discusses the source material we have about the ancient druids, its reliability, and how many stories were completely invented in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Cunliffe is a reasonably well-known archeologist of prehistoric Europe.

 

[The Hammer]

I would also recommend the book 'Druids, a very short introduction' by Barry Cunliffe. He discusses the source material we have about the ancient druids, its reliability, and how many stories were completely invented in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Cunliffe is a reasonably well-known archeologist of prehistoric Europe.

I'm going to get this. I'm curious. I hope it's not ill-placed (removing the magic from my tradition via over rationalization as @Sirona said)

 

[The Hammer]

It doesn't matter how old you are, starting out on new journeys can be interesting, exciting, and even providential. I've often been impressed about the way that Pagan members have written and responded to the posts of others........ and only last week, there I was, scurrying off to ebay to buy a book about ...... The Druids.

So far I don't know anything about them, apart from learning at school that Romans liked killing them. That's it.
I know more about the Egyptians than the ancient peoples who walked over my country for thousands of years, even before the blooming Pyramids were built.

So.......... The first book on the ebay list (search lowest prices) was the one shown below, for £2.94 with free delivery. I thought it would be tatty 2nd hand discard, or even a thin pamphlet, but it arrived in brilliant, new, never been opened condition. Amazing........ it's almost as if fate wants me to read this.

First job.......... have a butchers at the author, Peter Berresford Ellis. My goodness! A lifetime of research, literary success, academic recognition and more..... have a look for yourselves:-
Peter Berresford Ellis
He was given an Honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East London in 2006 in recognition of his work.
He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (1996) and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1998). He was made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd (1987) for his work on the history of the Cornish language – The Cornish Language and its Literature (published in 1974). He received an Irish Post Award (1989) for his work on Celtic history, and the French Prix Historia (2010) for best historical crime novel of 2010.
He was made Honorary Life President of the Scottish 1820 Society (1989),[14] and Honorary Life Member of the Irish Literary Society (2002).

............ so he's going to know something about the Druids!
D'you know what? I actually feel excited about this, I do.
And many thanks to @The Hammer

View attachment 60888

I am honored to know that I may have been a positive influence on your view of Paganism and Druidry. Meant to post this last night, but it was late when I saw this.