Customer Reviews

The Druids (Ancient Peoples and Places Series)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In "The Druids" Piggott first defines the limits of what can be known about any pre-literate people such as the Druids, and how it can be known. This is not, as so many other books on the topic turn out to be, a romantic description of an ancient people, but rather a history first of the archeological, then the contemporary historical, and finaly the historiographic records of the Druids, who they may have been, and what they may have been about.

Throughout, Piggot continuiously contrasts the three levels of historical knowledge, described as "Druids as known," "Druids as inferred," and "Druids as wished-for." The first third of the book is one of the better examples of conservative (not in a political, but an academic sense) archeological interpretation as Piggot explains the few hard facts that can be discerned from material remains, and the few inferrences which can be made from those facts. To romantics and lovers of "Druids as wished-for" this part will probably seem quite dry and lifeless, but for those interested in real archeology and it's interpretation, this may be the most interesting part of the book.

Piggott then takes us on to contemporary accounts of the Druids from their literate neighbors in the ancient world, while still mainting his contrast between what is known and what is inferred. This is the part of the book that will interest those who want to get the best possible picture of who and what the Druids really were, as these contemporary and near contemporary accounts are the closest things we have to real insight to the culture of the ancient Celts. Of course, this can be gleaned from the primary sources as well, and whether or not you read Piggott's book, Ceasars "Gallic Wars" and the Ulster Cycle of Irish legends are both well worth reading.

Finally, Piggott takes us on a history of the history of Druids, from the Renaissance through the modern era. This is almost as fascinating to me as the prior two-thirds! of the book, as this section shows how the scant historic and archeological records were interpreted in all manner of romantic, nationalistic and downright bizarre ways.

All in all, "The Druids" is a fine example of sussing out the real history of a subject that is often treated with more romance and fantasy than scholarly rigor. Unfortunately, there is little that we can truly know about the Druids because they left no written records themselves, and their neighbords had all manor of political and cultural biases when they wrote about them. But even if the Druids still remain a cypher, isn't it far more fun, and more fascinating to try to solve the cypher with what facts are available, rather than the romantic fantasies that have piled up over the years?

_The Druids_ by distinguished archeologist Stuart Piggott, published in the Ancient Peoples and Places series, is an essential source on this ancient Celtic priesthood. This book covers much material dealing with the archeological remains available from the ancient Celts, as well as material from ancient texts (mostly written by Greeks and Romans). The first section of this book covers the archeological remains of the ancient Celts, including tombs and various artifacts which are believed to be connected with the Druids. These remains are present throughout Britain and Ireland as well as in parts of Continental Europe, from France all the way to Czechoslovakia. The second section deals with ancient texts which help inform the archeological discoveries. Important writings from Posidonious, Lucan, and Caesar are explained. To the ancients, the world was believed to have fallen from a lost Golden Age, and thus the ancient barbarian tribes represented this pastoral paradise. Thus, druids were depicted as noble priests and wizards who ruled as philosophers and poets of nature as part of a soft primitivism. However, as part of a hard primitivism it was noted that druids practiced human sacrifice and engaged in ghastly rituals (often involving mistletoe as a sacred plant). Caesar and others were appalled by these cannibalistic rites and had them prohibited. The third section of this book deals with the romantic notions of the druid that sprang up later. These romantic notions again incorporated elements of soft primtivism, presenting the druids as noble savages (much as the inhabitants of the New World were perceived), or hard primitivism, presenting the savagery (especially human sacrifice) of the druids. Important writers developed the druid myth, often deriving them from the children of Noah after the flood. The druids came to play some part in the thinking of deists and nature worshippers but also in that of orthodox Christians who saw in the druids a precursor to their own faith. Early writers dealing with the druids included John Toland, William Stukeley, and William Blake. Also, the stone monuments such as Stonehenge came to be associated with the ancient druids through this romantic literature. Within the last hundred years, societies sprang up claiming druidic pedigrees for themselves. Indeed, one such druidic society included among its members Winston Churchill. Today many of these druidic societies hold rites around Stonehenge and other sacred monuments during certain times of the year. The author stresses however the distinction between druids-as-known and druids-as-wished-for. This book provides an excellent introduction to the archeology of the ancient Celts and the history of the druids.

I read the `Druids' with slightly amused rapture as I imagined the croaky voice of a pre-war colonial authority on primitive tribes. This book had been recommended to me so many times that I eventually caved in and procured it as a bargain on E-Bay. I was perhaps slightly wary of the semi-divine official status of Professor Stuart Piggot, an accepted archeological authority at Oxford University, and whilst he follows the standard principals of academic research and remains objective throughout, his style of writing provokes a `Monty-Python'esque' humor for its occasional eccentricity.

What I found immensely helpful was Prof. Piggot's approach to analysis, categorization and organization of evidence and information. This would include the use of archeological, iconographic, epigraphic, classical and vernacular sources. Whilst I groaned every time I came across the word `savage' or `barbarian,' I was also grateful for the authors introduction to the terms `hard and soft primitivism' to explain the differences between the classical Greek and Latin accounts of the Gallic tribes and the Druids.

Piggot is absolutely thorough in his approach and account of the Druids. He is prepared to examine every facet, each crumb of evidence and article of information available to him, regardless of academic opinion. I can imagine how revolutionary in format this book might have been when first published, since even today few academics are willing to explore a subject beyond their own particular specialism. For this I admire Piggot, who evidently pushed out the boat, broadened his field of enquiry and tackled the subject as a whole rather than remain in a subjective arena. And so, I found myself looking at the importance of maps, place-names, technology, science, agriculture, economy, social order, language and literacy, archeology, shrines, temples, earth-works, burial sites, votive sites, etymology, rituals, education and literacy, cosmology and religious beliefs, magic, gnomic wisdom, philosophy, and politics. In this respect, `The Druids' is definitely comprehensive, provocative and inspiring; it provided me with a wealth of topics for deeper consideration and contemplation.

The bulk of the text is conveniently divided up into four main chapters. In the latter part Piggot deals with the romantic ideal and the Druid revival. Whereas many scholars would begin perhaps in the 17th century with Tolland and Stukely, Piggot draws back to the last phase of the European Renaissance to discover the roots of paganism as we know it today. I found it interesting to learn that many early speculations on the nature of the Druids and Celts were colored by the discovery of native American Indian tribal cultures and systems. Piggot takes the reader up to the romantic revival, the `dignified nonsense' of the Welsh Gorsedd and Iolo Morganwg, the shady mysticism of dreamers and the `cosy world of lunatic linguistics' of individuals like Rowland Jones. Piggot's view of this latter modern development in `native spirituality' is one without historical or cultural foundation, a colorless and fanciful imagining, and I for one must surely agree.

In his epilogue Piggot succinctly draws his conclusions and theories together. He defines the practices of the earliest Druids as being developments of customs and rituals in Paleolithic prehistory, and proposes the possibility of syncretism with other Indo European cultures. Piggot even considers the possibility of a strain of shamanism within Druidic practice, a question which regularly appears within online discussion groups today and inspires fierce arguments.

Having absorbed the radical content of this volume I can now see how vastly it influenced the beginnings of a traditionalist Celtic Pagan movement in the latter half of the twentieth century. Piggot has created a stable foundation on which reliable research can be conducted for the implementation of traditional practices and rituals within a modern context. Perhaps his final comment reveals the most about the inherent characteristics of the Druid, that the truest modern evocation of their spirit is within the realms of scientific exploration and computer engineering than mythic reconstructionism and `role playing.'

The message I got from this book was that I should be prepared to question everything, to analyze and carefully weigh the evidence of any spiritual matter but particularly those subjects dealing with ancient concepts. Piggot provided me with the academic tools to disseminate, examine, and probe beyond careless ambiguity and imagination... and seek the core dynamic of a topic rather than peruse its exterior decoration.

David Drew:

http://360.yahoo.com/my_profile-MmJAzjEwcqTnQwamnug.dXpdDk75BA44_A--;_ylt=AkDDzLkV1EqoCGAWKAUPbW7lAOJ3?cq=1

From a scholarly standpoint, Piggott does an extremely thorough job of presenting the information in a clearly segregated fashion from purely archeological data, written documentation of the Roman and Greek authors of the time, and the romanticized/revival era later in history. He makes good points in terms of the slanted views of outside cultures that percieved the Celts as well as the gaps in vital information that modern people have in understanding this culture. That being said, he is also looking at it from a purely archeological standpoint and that needs to be taken into consideration when reading this text.

My biggest issue with his work is that he seems to side with Roman viewpoints of the Celts being barbarians and the idea of "noble savage" in his view of civilized nations vs uncivilized nations. He presents this slightly in his presentation of human sacrifice in Celtic culture while not weighing it agains Romans throwing prisoners into the ring to be mauled and killed by lions for the entertainment of the masses and in the tone of his presentation of hard veiws vs soft views of Celtic culture as presented by Nora Chadwick. He also left me with the feeling that Irish literature a few centuries later could not be as trusted for valid information and had less direct merit than the writings of Caesar, Strabo, and others during the actual time of the Celts even though he admits that Ireland was least touched by outside forces during that time. His view is that because Ireland was insular and had no outside body (Romans) to critique it, its merit is questionable. I think the book is good in terms of how it is organized and getting an understanding of secondhand accounts of the Celts as well as making the reader think about the obstacles to getting a clear understanding of Celtic culture and the religious mindset, but other scholarly sources from all sides of the spectrum, including linguistics and anthropology need to be included if someone is truely going to get a sense of the Celts or the Druids. My copy was a reprint in the 1990's but there was no indication on the copywrite page of a recent revised edition or additional information and changes since the first print in 1968.

Fusing both historical research and anthropology this talented author brings to life figures that would require a lifetime of study to partially comprehend. I would suggest this book to anyone who thinks Celtic=Wiccan or that the Irish/Celtic natural spirit is anything but Heathen. A great read for curious Wiccans and well read Indo European sons and daughters.

This book "The Druids" is somewhat of an ambiguous introduction about the life and history of a people who's culture has been ingrained in almost every walk of life in the western world. What makes the druid historical axiom so difficult to deduce is that for centuries these eclectic occultist practiced oral traditions insofar as telling their own histories and legends.

Stuart Piggott who was an Abercromby Professor of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh from 1946-1977 wrote that "Druidism, it seems, was the religion of the Celts of pre-Roman Gaul and Britain. Described by Greek and Roman writers, it fell from view with the coming of Christianity, only to be rediscovered by classical scholars of the Renaissance." So, at best the druid history is extremely sketchy. The reason for this is that there wasn't enough information or documentation about these people because in one certain case around 60-BC Julius Caesar claimed he was the "only authority for Druidic organization under a single pontiff in Gaul (France)." Caesar wasn't exactly a credible source but the war with Vercingetorix and the Gauls and his war with ancient Britannia (Britain) makes his account viable to Druidic research at large.

Piggott's book can be summed up in three parts. The first 1/3 of the book is about the archaeological artifacts discovered in Celtiberia which is now modern day Spain and Portugal as well as Gaul, the British Isles and Galatia (Asia Minor) where it is believed that the Celts migrated through the Balkans to create settlements there. And if you'd appreciate a biblical account of the Galatians then I strongly suggest reading the bible if you are a religious person.
Furthermore, this book endeavors to explore many grave-sites, ritual shafts, and ancient villages that were discovered all across the European continent.

The second 1/3 of the book covers the historical and literary significance of these people. In chapter 3 page 110 Piggott writes about the human and animal sacrifices, which took place inside a wicker cage that was shaped like a human being. This cage was called the wicker-man and the Celts paid homage to their gods and goddesses by burning people alive in these things for the interest of winning wars and hierarchal propaganda .
"The aspect of druid function that has been found most embarrassing to certain apologists is their association with human sacrifice. Animal sacrifices are involved in (historian) Pliny's description of the cutting of the mistletoe from the oak-tree," plus "(Historian) Diodorus assigns animals and human sacrifice to the seer (manteis)," while "(historian) Strabo classes the equivalent vates as interpreters of sacrifices in general, but does not specify the precise practitioners among the hierarchy who actually carried out the animal and human holocaust in wicker figures." said Piggott.
This practice was abolished during the first century AD when the Roman Empire reigned supreme over the Celtic world.
At best for a better understanding of the Gallic Wars and Caesar's other Celtic wars I suggest reading "Caesar Against The Celts" by Ramon L. Jiménez, because Piggott's historical assessment lies in his field of expertise, which is archaeology, while Jiménez introduces the subject from a much broader historical perspective.

The last 1/3 of the book delves into the romantic images of the Druids and the Druidic practices in modernity (today). Piggott discusses the Druids' embracement of the forest and environment around them, which was the very nucleus of their religious belief system.
Furthermore, Piggot addresses the overly romantic facts and theories of Stonehenge. As a matter of fact Piggott writes, "The association of the monument (Stonehenge) and the (Druid) priesthood has become so established a piece of English folklore that it is too often forgotten that its origins lie no earlier than the late seventeenth century, and that[s] when (John) Aubrey[] suggest[ed], it was merely one among several alternative views about the origins of Stonehenge."
(John Aubrey, 1626-1697 was an English antiquary and writer.)
And what makes the Druidic religion even more enchanting is that modern Druids still celebrate the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge.
It's simply amazing to think that this religion has survived virtual extinction from the ancient Roman Empire and the Vatican a.k.a the New Roman Empire.

Please beware, this book is a scholarly work, so if you're not into academia then this isn't for you because Piggot quotes many ancient historians such as Pliny, Suetonius, and Strabo. And if you're not familiar with these historical sources then you may not enjoy this book.

I do wish that Piggott discussed Freemasonry considering that Masonry borrowed a copious amount from this religion and inculcated it into their own belief system.

Overall, this book is a heavy read and it's not the most enjoyable book to state the least, but it deserves 3 stars because it's packed full of history and antiquities of pedagogical significance.
However, I do suggest reading other books on this subject especially if you want to fathom what Wicca is all about. And if you want to inquire about the Albion Lodge of the Ancient Order of the Druids at Blenheim, or York and Scottish-Rite Freemasonry in general.

For further reading I suggest reading:

"Who Were The Celts?" by Kevin Duffy. For a more ascertainable look at Celtic history.

"Celtic Magic" by D.J. Conway. For a clearer view of the Gods and Goddesses and magical rituals.

"A History of Ireland" by Peter and Fiona Somerset Fry. For a proper perspective on Irish history

"Legends of Arthur" by Richard Barber. For some Arthurian mythology since it's heavily based on Celtic and Christian allegory.

And I already recommended "Caesar Against the Celts" by Ramon L. Jiménez.

For the most part this is a decent book.

This is the one that all other books are judged by. Piggott doesn't wander off into romanticism but it also isn't just dry anthropology.

I generally think that this is the first book anyone should read about the Druids, not because it contains a lot of information about the Druids themselves, but because it discusses the issues one faces when looking at the typical sources.

This is less a book about the Druids as it is a history of the image of the druids. Thus he helps to put the writings of Posidonius, Pliny, and others into a perspective which is sorely lacking elsewhere. Yet this perspective is absolutely necessary if we are to be able to conduct proper studies of the subject.

This book does not reveal the Druids so much as it reveals the problems in approaching the subject.

A great deal of work has been done on the topic of the Druids in recent decades. Such material is of varying quality. This book helps set in place a framework for evaluating such scholarship, and I would highly recommend it to all interested in the topic.

This book debunks some of the myths of new age druid groups by the use of archealogical evidence.