Druids v Romans

As the historian Tacitus would later put it:

By the shore stood an opposing battle-line, thick with men and weapons, woman running between them, like the Furies in their funereal clothes, their hair flowing, carrying torches; and Druids among them, pouring out frightful curses with their hands raised high to the heavens, our soldiers being so scared by the unfamiliar sight that their limbs were paralyzed, and they stood motionless and exposed to be wounded.

It only took the Roman soldiers a few minutes to regain their wits and courage. Embarrassed by their earlier case of willies, they set about slaughtering the Druids and raising their sacred groves.

http://www.rodneyanonymous.com/2007/02/romans_vs_druids_best_war_ever.html


In simple terms the Druids were the priests of the Celtic tribes in Britain. But to state that fact does not convey the breadth of their influence in Celtic society. The Druids were a sort of super-class of priests, political advisors, teachers, healers, and arbitrators among the Celtic tribes.

They had their own universities, where traditional knowledge was passed on by rote (i.e. memorized). Druids had the right to speak ahead of the king in council, and may in some situations have held more authority than the king. They acted as ambassadors in time of war, they composed verse and upheld the law. They were a sort of glue holding together Celtic culture.

http://www.britainexpress.com/History/prehistory/druids.htm