{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_XLI/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_XLI","id":"wikisource_The_Age_of_Fable_Chapter_XLI","license":"Public Domain / CC-BY-SA (see source)","rights_basis":"wikisource_site_inclusion_policy","source":"wikisource","source_url":"https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Age_of_Fable/Chapter_XLI","summary":null,"tags":["Headers_applying_DefaultSort_key","Subpages"],"text":"XLI. THE DRUIDS \u2014 IONA\n\nDRUIDS\n\nThe Druids were the priests or ministers of religion among the\nancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain, and Germany. Our\ninformation respecting them is borrowed from notices in the Greek\nand Roman writers, compared with the remains of Welsh and Gaelic\npoetry still extant.\n\nThe Druids combined the functions of the priest, the magistrate,\nthe scholar, and the physician. They stood to the people of the\nCeltic tribes in a relation closely analogous to that in which the\nBrahmans of India, the Magi of Persia, and the priests of the\nEgyptians stood to the people respectively by whom they were\nrevered.\n\nThe Druids taught the existence of one god, to whom they gave a\nname \"Be' al,\" which Celtic antiquaries tell us means \"the life of\neverything,\" or \"the source of all beings,\" and which seems to\nhave affinity with the Ph\u0153nician Baal. What renders this affinity\nmore striking is that the Druids as well as the Ph\u0153nicians\nidentified this, their supreme deity, with the Sun. Fire was\nregarded as a symbol of the divinity. The Latin writers assert\nthat the Druids also worshipped numerous inferior gods.\n\nThey used no images to represent the object of their worship, nor\ndid they meet in temples or buildings of any kind for the\nperformance of their sacred rites. A circle of stones (each stone\ngenerally of vast size), enclosing an area of from twenty feet to\nthirty yards in diameter, constituted their sacred place. The most\ncelebrated of these now remaining is Stonehenge, on Salisbury\nPlain, England.\n\nThese sacred circles were generally situated near some stream, or\nunder the shadow of a grove or wide-spreading oak. In the centre\nof the circle stood the Cromlech or altar, which was a large\nstone, placed in the manner of a table upon other stones set up on\nend. The Druids had also their high places, which were large\nstones or piles of stones on the summits of hills. These were\ncalled Cairns, and were used in the worship of the deity under the\nsymbol of the sun.\n\nThat the Druids offered sacrifices to their deity there can be no\ndoubt. But there is some uncertainty as to what they offered, and\nof the ceremonies connected with their religious services we know\nalmost nothing. The classical (Roman) writers affirm that they\noffered on great occasions human sacrifices; as for success in war\nor for relief from dangerous diseases. C\u00e6sar has given a detailed\naccount of the manner in which this was done. \"They have images of\nimmense size, the limbs of which are framed with twisted twigs and\nfilled with living persons. These being set on fire, those within\nare encompassed by the flames.\" Many attempts have been made by\nCeltic writers to shake the testimony of the Roman historians to\nthis fact, but without success.\n\nThe Druids observed two festivals in each year. The former took\nplace in the beginning of May, and was called Beltane or \"fire of\nGod.\" On this occasion a large fire was kindled on some elevated\nspot, in honor of the sun, whose returning beneficence they thus\nwelcomed after the gloom and desolation of winter. Of this custom\na trace remains in the name given to Whitsunday in parts of\nScotland to this day. Sir Walter Scott uses the word in the \"Boat\nSong\" in the \"Lady of the Lake\":\n\n\"Ours is no sapling, chance sown by the fountain,\n>\nBlooming at Beltane in winter to fade;\" etc.\n\nThe other great festival of the Druids was called \"Samh'in,\" or\n\"fire of peace,\" and was held on Halloweve (first of November),\nwhich still retains this designation in the Highlands of Scotland.\nOn this occasion the Druids assembled in solemn conclave, in the\nmost central part of the district, to discharge the judicial\nfunctions of their order. All questions, whether public or\nprivate, all crimes against person or property, were at this time\nbrought before them for adjudication. With these judicial acts\nwere combined certain superstitious usages, especially the\nkindling of the sacred fire, from which all the fires in the\ndistrict, which had been beforehand scrupulously extinguished,\nmight be relighted. This usage of kindling fires on Hallow-eve\nlingered in the British islands long after the establishment of\nChristianity.\n\nBesides these two great annual festivals, the Druids were in the\nhabit of observing the full moon, and especially the sixth day of\nthe moon. On the latter they sought the Mistletoe, which grew on\ntheir favorite oaks, and to which, as well as to the oak itself,\nthey ascribed a peculiar virtue and sacredness. The discovery of\nit was an occasion of rejoicing and solemn worship. \"They call\nit,\" says Pliny, \"by a word in their language, which means 'heal-\nall,' and having made solemn preparation for feasting and\nsacrifice under the tree, they drive thither two milk-white bulls,\nwhose horns are then for the first time bound. The priest then,\nrobed in white, ascends the tree, and cuts off the mistletoe with\na golden sickle. It is caught in a white mantle, after which they\nproceed to slay the victims, at the same time praying that God\nwould render his gift prosperous to those to whom he had given\nit.\" They drink the water in which it has been infused, and think\nit a remedy for all diseases. The mistletoe is a parasitic plant,\nand is not always nor often found on the oak, so that when it is\nfound it is the more precious.\n\nThe Druids were the teachers of morality as well as of religion.\nOf their ethical teaching a valuable specimen is preserved in the\nTriads of the Welsh Bards, and from this we may gather that their\nviews of moral rectitude were on the whole just, and that they\nheld and inculcated many very noble and valuable principles of\nconduct. They were also the men of science and learning of their\nage and people. Whether they were acquainted with letters or not\nhas been disputed, though the probability is strong that they\nwere, to some extent. But it is certain that they committed\nnothing of their doctrine, their history, or their poetry to\nwriting. Their teaching was oral, and their literature (if such a\nword may be used in such a case) was preserved solely by\ntradition. But the Roman writers admit that \"they paid much\nattention to the order and laws of nature, and investigated and\ntaught to the youth under their charge many things concerning the\nstars and their motions, the size of the world and the lands, and\nconcerning the might and power of the immortal gods.\"\n\nTheir history consisted in traditional tales, in which the heroic\ndeeds of their forefathers were celebrated. These were apparently\nin verse, and thus constituted part of the poetry as well as the\nhistory of the Druids. In the poems of Ossian we have, if not the\nactual productions of Druidical times, what may be considered\nfaithful representations of the songs of the Bards.\n\nThe Bards were an essential part of the Druidical hierarchy. One\nauthor, Pennant, says, \"The Bards were supposed to be endowed with\npowers equal to inspiration. They were the oral historians of all\npast transactions, public and private. They were also accomplished\ngenealogists,\" etc.\n\nPennant gives a minute account of the Eisteddfods or sessions of\nthe Bards and minstrels, which were held in Wales for many\ncenturies, long after the Druidical priesthood in its other\ndepartments became extinct. At these meetings none but Bards of\nmerit were suffered to rehearse their pieces, and minstrels of\nskill to perform. Judges were appointed to decide on their\nrespective abilities, and suitable degrees were conferred. In the\nearlier period the judges were appointed by the Welsh princes, and\nafter the conquest of Wales, by commission from the kings of\nEngland. Yet the tradition is that Edward I., in revenge for the\ninfluence of the Bards in animating the resistance of the people\nto his sway, persecuted them with great cruelty. This tradition\nhas furnished the poet Gray with the subject of his celebrated\node, the \"Bard.\"\n\nThere are still occasional meetings of the lovers of Welsh poetry\nand music, held under the ancient name. Among Mrs. Hemans' poems\nis one written for an Eisteddfod, or meeting of Welsh Bards, held\nin London, May 22, 1822. It begins with a description of the\nancient meeting, of which the following lines are a part:\n\n\"... midst the eternal cliffs, whose strength defied\n\nThe crested Roman in his hour of pride;\n\nAnd where the Druid's ancient cromlech frowned,\n\nAnd the oaks breathed mysterious murmurs round,\n\nThere thronged the inspired of yore! on plain or height,\n\nIn the sun's face, beneath the eye of light,\n\nAnd baring unto heaven each noble head,\n\nStood in the circle, where none else might tread.\"\n\nThe Druidical system was at its height at the time of the Roman\ninvasion under Julius Caesar. Against the Druids, as their chief\nenemies, these conquerors of the world directed their unsparing\nfury. The Druids, harassed at all points on the mainland,\nretreated to Anglesey and Iona, where for a season they found\nshelter and continued their now dishonored rites.\n\nThe Druids retained their predominance in Iona and over the\nadjacent islands and mainland until they were supplanted and their\nsuperstitions overturned by the arrival of St. Columba, the\napostle of the Highlands, by whom the inhabitants of that district\nwere first led to profess Christianity.\n\nIONA\n\nOne of the smallest of the British Isles, situated near a rugged\nand barren coast, surrounded by dangerous seas, and possessing no\nsources of internal wealth, Iona has obtained an imperishable\nplace in history as the seat of civilization and religion at a\ntime when the darkness of heathenism hung over almost the whole of\nNorthern Europe. lona or Icolmkill is situated at the extremity of\nthe island of Mull, from which it is separated by a strait of half\na mile in breadth, its distance from the mainland of Scotland\nbeing thirty-six miles.\n\nColumba was a native of Ireland, and connected by birth with the\nprinces of the land. Ireland was at that time a land of gospel\nlight, while the western and northern parts of Scotland were still\nimmersed in the darkness of heathenism. Columba with twelve\nfriends landed on the island of lona in the year of our Lord 563,\nhaving made the passage in a wicker boat covered with hides. The\nDruids who occupied the island endeavored to prevent his settling\nthere, and the savage nations on the adjoining shores incommoded\nhim with their hostility, and on several occasions endangered his\nlife by their attacks. Yet by his perseverance and zeal he\nsurmounted all opposition, procured from the king a gift of the\nisland, and established there a monastery of which he was the\nabbot. He was unwearied in his labors to disseminate a knowledge\nof the Scriptures throughout the Highlands and islands of\nScotland, and such was the reverence paid him that though not a\nbishop, but merely a presbyter and monk, the entire province with\nits bishops was subject to him and his successors. The Pictish\nmonarch was so impressed with a sense of his wisdom and worth that\nhe held him in the highest honor, and the neighboring chiefs and\nprinces sought his counsel and availed themselves of his judgment\nin settling their disputes.\n\nWhen Columba landed on lona he was attended by twelve followers\nwhom he had formed into a religious body of which he was the head.\nTo these, as occasion required, others were from time to time\nadded, so that the original number was always kept up. Their\ninstitution was called a monastery and the superior an abbot, but\nthe system had little in common with the monastic institutions of\nlater times. The name by which those who submitted to the rule\nwere known was that of Culdees, probably from the Latin \"cultores\nDei\"--worshippers of God. They were a body of religious persons\nassociated together for the purpose of aiding each other in the\ncommon work of preaching the gospel and teaching youth, as well as\nmaintaining in themselves the fervor of devotion by united\nexercises of worship. On entering the order certain vows were\ntaken by the members, but they were not those which were usually\nimposed by monastic orders, for of these, which are three,--\ncelibacy, poverty, and obedience.--the Culdees were bound to none\nexcept the third. To poverty they did not bind themselves; on the\ncontrary they seem to have labored diligently to procure for\nthemselves and those dependent on them the comforts of life.\nMarriage also was allowed them, and most of them seem to have\nentered into that state. True, their wives were not permitted to\nreside with them at the institution, but they had a residence\nassigned to them in an adjacent locality. Near lona there is an\nisland which still bears the name of \"Eilen nam ban,\" women's\nisland, where their husbands seem to have resided with them,\nexcept when duty required their presence in the school or the\nsanctuary.\n\n\u00a0\n\nCampbell, in his poem of \"Reullura,\" alludes to the married monks of Iona:\n\n\"... The pure Culdees\n\nWere Albyn's earliest priests of God,\n\nEre yet an island of her seas\n\nBy foot of Saxon monk was trod,\n\nLong ere her churchmen by bigotry\n\nWere barred from holy wedlock's tie.\n\n'Twas then that Aodh, famed afar,\n\nIn lona preached the word with power,\n\nAnd Reullura, beauty's star,\n\nWas the partner of his bower.\"\n\nIn one of his \"Irish Melodies,\" Moore gives the legend of St.\nSenanus and the lady who sought shelter on the island, but was\nrepulsed:\n\n\"O, haste and leave this sacred isle,\n\nUnholy bark, ere morning smile;\n\nFor on thy deck, though dark it be,\n\nA female form I see;\n\nAnd I have sworn this sainted sod\n\nShall ne'er by woman's foot be trod.\"\n\nIn these respects and in others the Culdees departed from the\nestablished rules of the Romish church, and consequently were\ndeemed heretical. The consequence was that as the power of the\nlatter advanced that of the Culdees was enfeebled. It was not,\nhowever, till the thirteenth century that the communities of the\nCuldees were suppressed and the members dispersed. They still\ncontinued to labor as individuals, and resisted the inroads of\nPapal usurpation as they best might till the light of the\nReformation dawned on the world.\n\nIona, from its position in the western seas, was exposed to the\nassaults of the Norwegian and Danish rovers by whom those seas\nwere infested, and by them it was repeatedly pillaged, its\ndwellings burned, and its peaceful inhabitants put to the sword.\nThese unfavorable circumstances led to its gradual decline, which\nwas expedited by the subversion of the Culdees throughout\nScotland. Under the reign of Popery the island became the seat of\na nunnery, the ruins of which are still seen. At the Reformation,\nthe nuns were allowed to remain, living in community, when the\nabbey was dismantled.\n\nIona is now chiefly resorted to by travellers on account of the\nnumerous ecclesiastical and sepulchral remains which are found\nupon it. The principal of these are the Cathedral or Abbey Church\nand the Chapel of the Nunnery. Besides these remains of\necclesiastical antiquity, there are some of an earlier date, and\npointing to the existence on the island of forms of worship and\nbelief different from those of Christianity. These are the\ncircular Cairns which are found in various parts, and which seem\nto have been of Druidical origin. It is in reference to all these\nremains of ancient religion that Johnson exclaims, \"That man is\nlittle to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the\nplains of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer amid the\nruins of lona.\"\n\n\u00a0\n\nIn the \"Lord of the Isles\" Scott beautifully contrasts the church\non lona with the cave of Staffa, opposite:\n\n\"Nature herself, it seemed, would raise\n\nA minister to her Maker's praise!\n\nNot for a meaner use ascend\n\nHer columns, or her arches bend;\n\nNor of a theme less solemn tells\n\nThat mighty surge that ebbs and swells,\n\nAnd still between each awful pause,\n\nFrom the high vault an answer draws,\n\nIn varied tone, prolonged and high,\n\nThat mocks the organ's melody;\n\nNor doth its entrance front in vain\n\nTo old Iona's holy fane,\n\nThat Nature's voice might seem to say,\n\nWell hast thou done, frail child of clay!\n\nThy humble powers that stately shrine\n\nTasked high and hard--but witness mine!\"","title":"The Age of Fable/Chapter XLI","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":2767}