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Relationship Between the Romans and the Druids
in the Era of Apollo’s Raven
Julius Caesar’s Accounts
Most of the information about the Druids came from the accounts of Julius Caesar (100 BC – 44 BC), who had personal dealings with Celts in his conquest of Gaul. There were three classes: the intellectuals (Druids), the military caste (Equites), and the common people (Plebs). Druids officiated at the worship of the gods, regulated public and private sacrifices, and gave rulings on all religious questions. Young people sought their instruction, as they were held in great honor by all of the people. The druids were the intelligentsia of the Celtic tribe who could have more power than kings in making decisions.
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| Julius Caesar |
The Druids ruled under one head in whom they held in the highest respect. On his death, another outstanding individual replaced him if there was a consensus. If not, an election would be held to select the head or the final choice would be left to the winner of a final fight. Druids served as judges in most disputes, whether between tribes or between individuals, and adjudicated any compensation to be paid in final judgments. Their decisions were final in all public and private matters. Anyone failing to accept their decision was banned from taking part in any sacrifice—the heaviest punishment that could be inflicted.
Caesar asserted druid doctrine was exported from Britain into Gaul. The druids believed their religion forbade them to commit their teachings to writings as these could be made public. Students had to memorize volumes of verse—many of them spending twenty years at their studies. It should be noted the Celts maintained written public and private accounts by using the Greek and Latin alphabets.
The most profound philosophy that Caesar highlighted about the Druids was their belief that the soul does not perish, but passes from one body to another after death. According to Caesar the bravery of the Celts sprang from their lack of fear of death—the result of their belief that the soul does not die but is reincarnated after death. The druids believed the head served as the dwelling place for the immortal soul. Images of the human head are prevalent at cult sites in virtually all regions inhabited by the Celts. The human head was venerated above all else since the head was considered by the Celts to be the temple of the soul — the center of emotions as well as of life itself, and a symbol of divinity and the powers of the world of the spirits. To possess the enemy’s head was to possess his soul. As with so many aspects of the warrior’s life, the taking of an opponent’s head in battle, preferably in single combat, had a mystical significance. But the gruesome practice appalled the Romans who believed beheading desecrated the bodies.
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| Dying Gaul [Wikepedia] |
Other Roman Accounts
Diodorus Siculus wrote: “When their enemies fall, they cut off their heads and fasten them to the bridles of their horses; and handing over to their retainers the arms of their opponents all covered with blood, they carry them off as booty, singing a song of victory. These first fruits of victory they nail to the sides of their houses just as men do in certain kinds of hunting with the heads of wild beasts they have killed. They embalm the heads of their most distinguished foes in cedar oil and carefully preserve them. They show them to visitors, proudly stating that they had refused a large sum of money for them.”
It can be concluded from this account that, apart from the tangible proof of the warrior’s courage and prowess, the fallen enemy’s head was an important prestige object. The care in its preservation, the pride in its exhibition, and the fact that it was considered of great value not only to the warrior who had taken it but also to others, reveals a deeply felt bond between the victor and the vanquished. The importance and extent of the cult of the severed head among the Celts is demonstrated by their display in shrines, either mounted in stonework at La Roquepertuse in southern Gaul, or on wooden poles at the Bredon Hill Fort in western Britain. It is interesting to note that in both instances the heads were set up at the entrances. Perhaps the souls of these unfortunate warriors were now being used for symbolic protection of their enemies’ strongholds.
Power of Magic
Pliny the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD), who came from a family of Roman colonists in Gaul, described the Druids as natural scientists, doctors of medicine, and magicians. He refers to the Druids as the magi and says, “Even today Britain is still spellbound by magic, and performs its rites with so much ritual that seemed to be a source of Persian customs.”
Perhaps it was Pliny’s fascination with magic that he recounted the anguinam, the ‘Druid’s eggs’ or ‘serpent’s eggs’. He said he possessed one of these eggs that looked like a crystal about the size of a moderately sized apple. The eggs were reportedly made by hissing snakes put together, the foam from their mouths producing a viscous slime which became a ball when tossed in the air and caught by a Druid who then used it to counteract incantations. The egg is a powerful image used in Celtic and other mythology.
Destruction of Druidic Priesthood
Although Rome had precedence for tolerating religions in their conquered regions, Pliny the Elder (23 AD - 79 AD) wrote, that under Tiberius, the Druids were suppressed—along with diviners and physicians—by a decree of the Senate. Claudius forbade their rites completely in AD 54. Druids were alleged to have performed human sacrifice—a practice abhorrent to the Romans. Pliny the Elder also writes: "It is beyond calculation how great is the debt owed to the Romans, who swept away the monstrous rites, in which to kill a man was the highest religious duty and for him to be eaten a passport to health.”
The more likely reason for Rome’s intolerance of the druids were their influence on various tribes to organize revolts and to foster cultural beliefs contradictory to the monolithic structure of the patriarchal empire. In AD 61, the newly appointed Governor Gaius Suetonius Paulinus made an assault on the island of Mona (Anglesey), a refuge for British fugitives and a stronghold of the druids. He resolved to destroy the druidic priesthood who exerted their power over the tribes occupying Wales.
The druids were an important political factor for unifying the Britons, for they held the secrets of the gods and the power of magic. Druids used psychological tactics such as screeching, dancing wildly, and pulling at their faces, frightening the Romans enough to hold them off for a time. Nonetheless, the Romans eventually slaughtered the Britons and leveled their religious groves and shrines to the ground. As Paulinus was arranging security for the island, he received intelligence that a rebellion led by Iceni warrior queen Boudicca had broken out on the mainland of Britannia.
Despite Roman efforts to destroy the influence of the druids, Celtic spiritual beliefs thrived in oral traditions that were later written down by monks in the form of mythical tales of chivalry, magic, and a pantheon of gods and goddesses that showed the Celtic connection to nature.
References
Peter Berresford Ellis, The Druids; 1995; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI.
Julius Caesar, translated by F. P. Long, 2005.
The Conquest of Gaul; United States: Barnes & Noble, Inc.
John Davies, The Celts: Prehistory to Present Day; 2005; United States: Sterling Publishing Co., New York.
Description by Tacitus of the Rebellion of Boudica (AD 60-61) [from the Annual by Tacitus (AD110-120, Box XIV]; Athena Review Vol. 1, No. 1.
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| About the Book |
Apollo’s Raven (Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 1)
By Linnea Tanner
Audio Narrated by Kristin James
A Celtic warrior princess is torn between her forbidden love for the enemy and duty to her people.
AWARD-WINNING APOLLO’S RAVEN sweeps you into an epic Celtic tale of forbid-den love, mythological adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. In 24 AD British kings hand-picked by Rome to rule are fighting each other for power. King Amren’s former queen, a powerful Druid, has cast a curse that Blood Wolf and the Raven will rise and destroy him. The king’s daughter, Catrin, learns to her dismay that she is the Raven and her banished half-brother is Blood Wolf. Trained as a warrior, Catrin must find a way to break the curse, but she is torn between her forbidden love for her father’s enemy, Marcellus, and loyalty to her people. She must summon the magic of the Ancient Druids to alter the dark prophecy that threatens the fates of everyone in her kingdom.
Will Catrin overcome and eradicate the ancient curse. Will she be able to embrace her for-bidden love for Marcellus? Will she cease the war between Blood Wolf and King Amren and save her kingdom?
Trigger Warnings:
Sex, Violence, Sacrificial Rituals
Buy Links:
Apollo’s Raven:
Amazon (Universal Link): https://books2read.com/u/4DKGMg
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0848QHHK4/
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0848QHHK4/
Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0848QHHK4/
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0848QHHK4/
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/apollos-raven-linnea-d-tanner/1125792731?ean=2940161846049
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Booktopia:
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Series Links:
Apollo’s Raven (Book 1): https://books2read.com/u/mVRR0J
Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2): https://books2read.com/u/bxQQro
Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3): https://books2read.com/u/mdddX5
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| About the Author |
Award-winning author, Linnea Tanner, weaves Celtic tales of love, magical adventure, and political intrigue in Ancient Rome and Britannia. Since childhood, she has passionately read about ancient civilizations and mythology. Of particular interest are the enigmatic Celts, who were reputed as fierce warriors and mystical Druids.
Linnea has extensively researched ancient and medieval history, mythology, and archaeology and has traveled to sites described within each of her books in the Curse of Clansmen and Kings series. Books released in her series include Apollo’s Raven (Book 1), Dagger’s Destiny (Book 2), and Amulet’s Rapture (Book 3). Skull’s Vengeance (Book 4 Curse of Clansmen and Kings) is anticipated to be released in late October 2022.
A Colorado native, Linnea attended the University of Colorado and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry. She lives in Fort Collins with her husband and has two children and six grandchildren.
Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.linneatanner.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/linneatanner
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/linnea.tanner
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/linneatanner/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Linnea-Tanner/e/B01N6YEM04
Follow the Tour:
Book Title: Apollo’s Raven
Series: (Curse of Clansmen and Kings, Book 1)
Author: Linnea Tanner
Publication Date: 20th January 2020 (3rd Edition)
Publisher: Apollo Raven Publisher, LLC
Page Length: 394 Pages
Genre: Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction
Twitter Handles: @linneatanner @maryanneyarde
Instagram Handles: @linneatanner @coffeepotbookclub
Hashtags: #HistoricalFantasy #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #AncientBritannia #ApollosRaven #BlogTour #CoffeePotBookClub
Tour Schedule Page: https://maryanneyarde.blogspot.com/2022/01/blog-tour-apollos-raven-curse-of.html
note: Helen has not yet read this title - it is on her TBR list though!
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