A Review of Peter Ellis' The Druids
by Jack Crowley, Cedar Light Grove
This brief essay was written as part of my Dedicant’s program in ADF. It is a review of Peter Ellis’ book, The Druids.
I have procrastinated with writing this review of Peter Ellis’ The Druids, not because I didn’t enjoy it or had heavy criticism but rather because of its width and breadth in dealing with the Druid topic, it is most difficult to summarize. In describing books to others, it is often advantageous to give a pithy synopsis of the work, something that can be captured in a few concise paragraphs. This really cannot be done with Ellis’ book.
I read The Druids for the first time, two summers ago. My first experience with it, was not overly positive. I was new to neo-paganism and to druidry. I did not have a lot of prior knowledge to hook the concepts of the book onto. Ellis is a good writer, but this book is so chocked full of information that it could easily be overwhelming to the novice.
I reread the book last summer. I got far more out of it than I did during the previous read. One year of collaborating on rituals, talking paganesque over cups of coffee at Rites of Caffeina, and being involved in a few neo-pagan communities gave me a steadier foundation to understand much that Ellis described. The year gave me greater background and knowledge of Celtic history.
Celtic history is exactly what Ellis focuses on in The Druids. Actually, he includes much on myth and culture as well. Although the druids, with their varied roles as judge, priest, diplomat, scholar, teacher, healer, and magician, are the focal point of this work, they cannot be fully understood without understanding the culture itself.
Ellis looks at the druid (and Celtic culture) through Roman eyes, pagan eyes, and modern eyes. He shares misconceptions as well as what he would assess as true conceptions. He examines erroneous ideas about the ancient Celts as well as faulty perceptions and practices of “modern druids”. He takes on the subject from all angles.
Ellis examines the roles of the druid within three frameworks: ritual, religion, and wisdom. The largest chapter in the book focuses on the wisdom of the druids. It looks at the non-religious role of the druidic class in such areas as medicine, research, and law. These druidic roles are examined from the earliest times well into the Christian era. Ellis examines how the druids adapted to and changed the Christian society around them.
One theme that comes up again and again in this book is a comparison to the Brahmin class of India. Both groups came out of the Indo-European migration. Both groups have numerous details in common. Such details relate to such topics as astrology (p. 237), medicine (p. 214), music (p. 212), law (p. 198), ethics (p.180), sacrifice (p. 179), concepts of truth (p. 169), human sacrifice (p.149), fasting (p. 141), horse sacrifice (p.138), veneration of wells and rivers (p.135), sovereignty (p. 111), tonsures (p.80), poetry (p. 71), culture (p.49), language (p. 44), honoring of trees (p. 40), myth (p.38), class structure (p. 29), and warriors (p.28). In fact, with hindsight being 20/20, I would suggest that this concept was the theme of Ellis’ book. It is carefully weaved into every chapter.
The Druids is not light reading. It also is not laborious. It is packed full of information on every aspect of druid life and history. It does not have footnotes or endnotes, but it has a very complete bibliography. It also often sites page numbers of where given information was found. It is a book that deserves multiple readings from the student of Celtic lore. I would recommend it to all on the Dedicants’ list who are seeking to learn about their spiritual and historic past.
Ellis, Peter Berresford. The Druids, Carroll&Graf Publishers, New York, 2002.
