The Druid Source Book: From Earliest Times to the Present Day (Hardcover)

by John Matthews (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
There have been many questions surrounding druidism, yet no one place to look for answers-- until now! Journey through a world of sacred springs and holy wells, stone circles and majestic mountains; the beauty of the natural world was the inspiration for the druids. Read classical accounts from Julius Caesar, then examine the druidic revival in the 18th and 19th centuries, with its essays on everything from moral doctrines to charts and magic. Learn what the sacred geometry of megalithic sights has to do with cosmology. Unveil the secrets of druidic initiation ceremonies and priesthood. These historical stories and essays will dispel some of the wilder theories still circulating, but also prove fertile soil upon which a fascination with the mystical world of druidism will grow and flourish.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Blandford Pr (August 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713725729
• ISBN-13: 978-0713725728
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #359,802 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #40 in	Books > Religion & Spirituality > Earth-Based Religions > Druidism
  #75 in	Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Celtic & British Isles

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An informative study, June 22, 2005

By	Hakuyu "Ikeda" (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews

Much work has gone into this study and it deserves to be read. Some reviewers have faulted this book because it draws on 'dated' sources - but, the author explains why he has chosen those sources. They may be 'dated' but that could be seen as a virtue, rather than a drawback. Quite rightly, one reviewer has noted that - traditionally, the key elements of Druidic teaching have been transmitted orally. Thus, whatever may be found in written sources, needs to be fleshed out with reference to the oral tradition. The sources Matthews has drawn on were put together by people able to assess that side of the tradition, far more accurately than than we are today. Druidic Studies suffer from a twofold bane - the speculations of Neo-Druids - who, for want of an informed background, have almost been forced to re-invent the tradition, introducing arbitrary notions of their own. Then we have the sceptical voice of modern scholarship (e.g. Stuart Piggot, who devotes his time and energy to de-bunking Druidism). For the most part, the material Matthews has put together avoids these extremes.Hence the interest of this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well presented book, April 7, 2003

By	"peloen" (Iowa, USA) - See all my reviews

I believe the previous review is somewhat "misguided" in representing this interesting book. Yes, it does contain "outdated" and "antiquarian" sources, but the author/editor clearly states why he is using these sources and leaves it up to the reader to dwell on what is said but more importantly what is NOT being said to draw their own conclusions if there are to be any. Since there is no written source(s) from the actual time of the Druids (as far as we "know" it was all oral, passed from teacher to student), all we have to go by is what has been written or passed down, but this information and more is already in all of us if we wish to see. No book can really tell you anything absolute about any subject matter, but it can be a guide.
I would recommend this as well as any book by the author of the Foreward, Philip Carr-Gomm, and his late mentor, Ross Nichols.

3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Outdated Scholarship, Misleading Information, April 6, 2002

By	Francine Nicholson (New England) - See all my reviews

John Matthews presents this as a source book for those wishing to be druids today. He gives the impression that this book will give you accurate information about what the druids were like. However, what he has collected is a number of essays and excerpts that tell you what antiquarians and occultists from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries *thought* druids were like. The scholarship is outdated, though it may be of interest to those studying the druidic revival as a sociological or historical event. If you are interested in learning what is truly known about the druids, rather than an imaginative depiction, I recommend Piggott's _The Druids_ or Miranda Green's _World of the Druids_. Those books provide all the essential information and direct you to other sources for further reading. For an insightful study of the image of druids through the ages, see Leslie Ellen Jones' _Druid, Shaman, Priest._