Druid Question

WriteMinded · Jun 6, 2011

I fear I may have been suffering from a misconception that will force a great deal of editing. However, I wanted to check with better minds than mine before I err over my errors. In my WIP I've referred to followers of druidism as Druids and their leaders as Druid priests. Recently I read that Druids were the priests. If this is the correct terminology then I have troubles. What do you say??

Deleted member 42 · Jun 6, 2011

Druids performed priestly functions, yes.

Go read this: What are Druids, Fili and Bards?

WriteMinded · Jun 6, 2011

Medievalist said:
Druids performed priestly functions, yes.

Go read this: What are Druids, Fili and Bards?

OK. Seems I have troubles to fix.

Thank you so much. You are a true treasure. :heart:

dreamcatcher · Jun 9, 2011

Late reply, but you could just call them elders.

areteus · Jun 9, 2011

Yep, the druids were the leaders of the religion whereas there was no real name for the people who followed it. Also, be careful of confusing pre-Roman druidism with the practises of the modern Druids - there is little or no relation between them (according to some ancient history geek pagans I know) and you are as likely to get a link to the modern version as you are the ancient version in any internet search.

Deleted member 42 · Jun 9, 2011

areteus said:
Also, be careful of confusing pre-Roman druidism with the practises of the modern Druids - there is little or no relation between them (according to some ancient history geek pagans I know) and you are as likely to get a link to the modern version as you are the ancient version in any internet search.

Not from my site

Seriously, my information is absolutely solid. This is my field.

areteus · Jun 9, 2011

I am sure your site is in the 50 % that are talking about the ancient druids rather than the wierd, made up Victorian romanticised version

Mainly making sure the OP is aware of the difference as there are many who are not.

Karen Junker · Jun 9, 2011

Is your story set in modern or ancient times, or in the past 150 years or so?

In modern Druidry, you'll find a wide variety of practices. I've been to Druid ritual where an Archdruid led the observances. Some of it depends on the beliefs and practices of the particular group--whether they are Celtic reconstructionists or follow some other flavor of practice, like Norse or even Greek. There are quite a few modern Druid organizations, like the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) or Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF)
Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship

There are others, too.

WriteMinded · Jun 10, 2011

areteus said:
Yep, the druids were the leaders of the religion whereas there was no real name for the people who followed it. Also, be careful of confusing pre-Roman druidism with the practises of the modern Druids - there is little or no relation between them (according to some ancient history geek pagans I know) and you are as likely to get a link to the modern version as you are the ancient version in any internet search.

Damn them for not having a name. I hate having to be creative. Yes, I did figure out the differences.

Medievalist said:
Not from my site

Seriously, my information is absolutely solid. This is my field.

I'm sure of that. When I posted my question, I hoped you'd show up and answer.

Karen Junker said:
Is your story set in modern or ancient times, or in the past 150 years or so?

500 A.D., or thereabouts.

Karen Junker said:
In modern Druidry, you'll find a wide variety of practices. I've been to Druid ritual where an Archdruid led the observances. Some of it depends on the beliefs and practices of the particular group--whether they are Celtic reconstructionists or follow some other flavor of practice, like Norse or even Greek. There are quite a few modern Druid organizations, like the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids (OBOD) or Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF)
Ár nDraíocht Féin: A Druid Fellowship

There are others, too.

If I could go back to the time of my WIP, I'm sure I'd find variations of druidism then, too. Because I can't, and neither can you, I've taken some liberties in my little fantasy tale - because I can. One human sacrifice.

Deleted member 42 · Jun 10, 2011

WriteMinded said:
Damn them for not having a name. I hate having to be creative. Yes, I did figure out the differences.

What sort of a name were you seeking? There were class names, for instance, for the non-Druid classes. There are names for the collective--to the point where we have Old Irish phrases like "I swear by the Gods my people swear by."

WriteMinded said:
If I could go back to the time of my WIP, I'm sure I'd find variations of druidism then, too. Because I can't, and neither can you, I've taken some liberties in my little fantasy tale - because I can. One human sacrifice.

The Celts did in fact engage in human sacrifice, and there are some indications that the druids presided.

WriteMinded · Jun 11, 2011

Medievalist said:
What sort of a name were you seeking? There were class names, for instance, for the non-Druid classes. There are names for the collective--to the point where we have Old Irish phrases like "I swear by the Gods my people swear by."

The equivalent of Christians. Here's an example: ". . . Christians, Druids, and followers of the Romans' gods have come together . . ." I changed that to: “Christians, the druid faithful, those who follow the Roman gods, ‘n all manner of deities unknown to me have come together in Lerbenshire. . ."

Not sure if the druid faithful works. Awkward? Incorrect?

Medievalist said:
The Celts did in fact engage in human sacrifice, and there are some indications that the druids presided.

I'm so glad to hear it!

areteus · Jun 11, 2011

Several of the pagan gods the Druids worshipped were also merged in to the Roman traditions. For example the Briton goddess Sulis was merged with Minerva to become Sulis Minerva... so saying the 'people of the Roman gods and the Druid faithful' may be redundant by that point in history as they may have all been the same anyway. I think religion was more of a complicated mess even than it is now...

You are basically looking for a collective noun? Not sure there really ever was one that works. Even the Roman gods were split along cult lines. Yes, there was one pantheon but you would have had the worshippers of Mithras, the worshippers of Jupiter and so on. I suspect (purely guess work, I am sure someone more expert will confirm or deny this...) the Briton cults were similarly split and probably intermingled with the Romans anyway (this being the post Roman period).

DeleyanLee · Jun 11, 2011

I don't think there was a name for them because if you lived in that culture, that was the religion. With Christianity, there's a choice of religions, so there's a word for it. That's my take, at least. Generally, people don't make up words for things that they don't need words for.

Is it important to single out the Celts/Druids in that speech? Why not simply say "Christians and followers of gods, Roman and Celt and all manner of others, have come together" or something like that? Just wondering.

Deleted member 42 · Jun 11, 2011

WriteMinded said:
The equivalent of Christians. Here's an example: ". . . Christians, Druids, and followers of the Romans' gods have come together . . ." I changed that to: “Christians, the druid faithful, those who follow the Roman gods, ‘n all manner of deities unknown to me have come together in Lerbenshire. . ."

Not sure if the druid faithful works. Awkward? Incorrect?

I'm so glad to hear it!

Tuath, in Irish. There are related words in Welsh and the Continental languages. It means the collective people as a whole; the tribe.

It was used by the Celts (in various languages) to distinguish themselves from the Romans, the Greeks, and the Norse.

WriteMinded · Jun 14, 2011

Thanks for the additional information. Sorry it took a while to get back. I was actually writing.

areteus said:
You are basically looking for a collective noun? Not sure there really ever was one that works.

Yes. Exactly what I was looking for. Guess I'll be doing without.

DeleyanLee said:
Is it important to single out the Celts/Druids in that speech? Why not simply say "Christians and followers of gods, Roman and Celt and all manner of others, have come together" or something like that? Just wondering.

Yes, I've reworded it to something very similar.

Medievalist said:
Tuath, in Irish. There are related words in Welsh and the Continental languages. It means the collective people as a whole; the tribe.

It was used by the Celts (in various languages) to distinguish themselves from the Romans, the Greeks, and the Norse.

Oh no! Once again you have kindly complicated my life. I've been using túath as Old Irish for clan holdings or land. I got the information by posting on an Irish translation site. These are my notes on the word: According to Online Irish, it means land BUT it may mean the tribe holdings. Be careful using it. Guess I wasn't careful enough. Yes, my guys are Irish, not Welsh.

Deleted member 42 · Jun 14, 2011

WriteMinded said:
Oh no! Once again you have kindly complicated my life. I've been using túath as Old Irish for clan holdings or land. I got the information by posting on an Irish translation site. These are my notes on the word: According to Online Irish, it means land BUT it may mean the tribe holdings. Be careful using it. Guess I wasn't careful enough. Yes, my guys are Irish, not Welsh.

First, you can't really use a modern Irish dictionary for Old Irish.

Second, I have an otherwise largely useless Ph.D. with an emphasis on medieval Celtic languages and literatures; feel free to ask. Most of my books are in storage, but I should be able to at least give you a pointer.

Third, it's a novel; don't sweat it. There are fewer than a 100 people who will notice or care, and only about 25 with serious professional scholarly expertise.

WriteMinded · Jun 15, 2011

Medievalist said:
First, you can't really use a modern Irish dictionary for Old Irish.

I was using this site: http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/ Now that I review the answer they gave me, I think they used a dictionary.

Medievalist said:
Second, I have an otherwise largely useless Ph.D. with an emphasis on medieval Celtic languages and literatures; feel free to ask. Most of my books are in storage, but I should be able to at least give you a pointer.

Third, it's a novel; don't sweat it. There are fewer than a 100 people who will notice or care, and only about 25 with serious professional scholarly expertise.

Wow! I don't suppose that exclusive club will be my target audience. Not wanting that Ph.D. to go awasting another minute, I've Pm'd you with two more Irish Gaelic questions.

Thank you.

Druid Question

WriteMinded

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Deleted member 42

WriteMinded

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dreamcatcher

areteus

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areteus

Karen Junker

Live a little. Write a lot.

WriteMinded

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WriteMinded

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areteus

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

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WriteMinded

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WriteMinded

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