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Druid |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
DruidMember of a learned class of priests, teachers, and judges among the ancient Celtic peoples. The Druids instructed young men, oversaw sacrifices, judged quarrels, and decreed penalties; they were exempt from warfare and paid no tribute. They studied ancient verse, natural philosophy, astronomy and religious lore; their principal doctrine was belief in the immortality of the soul and the transmigration of souls. They sometimes practiced human sacrifice to cure gravely ill people or protect warriors in battle. The Druids were suppressed in Gaul by the Romans in the 1st century AD and in Britain a little later. They lost their priestly functions in Ireland after the coming of Christianity but survived as poets, historians, and judges. See also Celtic religion. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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Some of these--guesses, let us call them--seem to show that there was some sort of structure there when the Romans came, therefore it must have been a place of importance in Druid times--if indeed that was the beginning. Then Cathbad the Druid, who was also at the feast, became exceeding sad. The Marchioness of Steyne was of the renowned and ancient family of the Caerlyons, Marquises of Camelot, who have preserved the old faith ever since the conversion of the venerable Druid, their first ancestor, and whose pedigree goes far beyond the date of the arrival of King Brute in these islands. |
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