07/10/2020
B A N D R U I A N D D R U I D S
Some of the blame for this misconception can be placed on the Roman historians who reported on Celtic culture, even as they decimated the Druids who were the intelligentsia.
The Romans tended to ignore, downplay or overlook the true status of the women of the tribes. The next groups to document Celtic society were male Christian monks who also tended to ignore and downplay the status of Celtic women while capturing the tales and oral histories in their scriptoria.
Finally as modern archaeology and scholarship focused on Celtic artifacts and history, scholars until very recently were almost all men, who downplayed or ignored the role of powerful women in ancient Celtic times.
But the evidence was always there for those who cared to find it. The word "Druid" derives from the Info-European "deru" which meaning such as truth, true, hard, enduring, resistant and tree. "Deru" elvolved into the Greek word "drus" (oak) and referred over time to all trees as well as the words "truth" and "true".
Oaks are the most balanced of tree; their roots grow as deep as the tree is high. They give the hottest fire, excepting the ash tree, and provide medicine via their leaves and bark as well as food (acorns) for humans, pigs, and deer. They attract the attention of Gods (via lightening) and survive to live up to a thousand years.
"Id" comes from "wid", "to know" related to both "wisdom" and "vision". A "Dru-id" is a truth - knower and a true - knower, one with solid and enduring wisdom, a tree-knower, and an expert and means "oak-knower".
Author : Gealach Keltoi
