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The Epic Interactive Encyclopedia 1997
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1992-09-02
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Religion of the Celtic peoples of the
pre-Christian British Isles and Gaul. The
word is derived from Greek drus `oak'. The
Druids regarded this tree as sacred; one of
their chief rites was the cutting of
mistletoe from it with a golden sickle. They
taught the immortality of the soul and a
reincarnation doctrine, and were expert in
astronomy. The Druids are thought to have
offered human sacrifices. Druidism was
stamped out in Gaul after the Roman conquest.
In Britain their stronghold was Anglesey,
Wales, where they were extirpated by the
Roman governor Agricola. They also existed in
Scotland and Ireland until the coming of the
Christian missionaries. What are often termed
Druidic monuments - cromlechs and stone
circles - are of New Stone Age (Neolithic)
origin, though they may later have been used
for religious purposes by the Druids. A
possible example of a human sacrifice by
Druids is Lindow Man, whose body was found in
a bog in Cheshire 1984.