Our Impressions of the Druids

They were thought to have originated from Britain and spread to Gaul.

The Druids are very important in Gaulish society. They have the ability to banish people form sacrifices if they do not obey the Druids decisions.

They seem very superior in society as they sorted out 'almost all public and private matters.

Seem to be very respected as young men flock to learn from them and their opinion of people was shared among all

Their rule of life was discovered in Britain

The Druids were very important in Celtic society - they decided the rewards and punishments.

The Druids settled any matters about murder or Inheritance and if anyone did not obey their decision , they ban them from sacrifices

They made important desicions , and were
efficient and obviously had lots of respect and power as they resolved serious matters about murder,land etc.

They had the power to ban people from sacrifices.B

The Druids were held in very high honour by all community members.

very respected- could be a threat to Roman leaders

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They have a lot of authority and power this is shown by the many matters they take care of.

extremely decisive as they are able to settle a broad range of matters (inheritance, land, murder, crime) (..."de heriditate, de finibus controversia")

They were sophisticated and civilised, however were harsh with their punishments.

Not a lot is known about them but people travel to different countries to learn about them 'diligentius'

, ordered; ' suffragio druidum'

The role of chief Druid seemed to be very important as they were willing to fight and possibly kill one another for it

Voting shows they where sophisticated, but the fighting shows the opposite end of the spectrum, showing they have a military side too.

They are taken very seriously and their punishments are harsh but effective. They do not forgive easily and even if sinners wish to repent, they are not allowed to rejoin sacrifices

People were dedicated to becoming Druids as they travelled far to train, showing what high honour they were held in.

maybe were not part of a large society or an important one since there are few records of their way of life and existence

The chief of the Druid has absolute power as there was only one .

They had 'one' in charge of all the Druids - shows the Druids had a clear hierarchy and structure.

The druids are highly respected among others, and large numbers of young men flock to them for the sake of learning , " ad hos Magnus numerus adulescentium disxendi causa concurrit, magnoque hi sunt paid eos honore

Caesar seems to write about their honour and dignity, this might suggest they have similar values to Romans.

cared a lot about their power and their postition as we can see from the measures they will go to to become the leader of the Druids - willing even to fight ("nonnumquam etiam armis)

They have a lot of power as the phrase 'praemia poenasque constituunt' suggests. The juxtaposition of both punishments and rewards suggests they have a voice in society and decide many important things.

Caesar wrote that the druids had simllar ideas about what was important to the romans

Brutal in punishments, if anyone just disobeyed them, they'd be shunned by society. Earlier it said if murder or crime had been done, there would be rewards or punishment but when describing the ban it only includes those who disobey them

haec poena erat gravissima (superlative adjective at the end of a sentence)

Thank .

The Druids 'settle' all kinds of matters - shows that their methods were productive and efficient.

This shows the vast number of areas they influenced as well as the range of topics.

'Druides rem decernunt ' they were ordered and had lots of influence.

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