DRUIDS and the largest act of HUMAN SACRIFICE in Britain

[@Crecganford]

Do you want to know more about the druids, or is there another anceint culture you'd prefer to hear more about?

[@nottydread]

Very much so, i love the idea of druids but not in the 'hippy tree hugger' way they are often perceived. Anything you can do to shed light on them and their mysterious beliefs and culture would be great

[@AmandatheHuskyMom]

Yes!! 10,000% I would like to learn more!! Thank you for this video

[@johnelkin1609]

Hi John, have you ever read the White Goddess by Robert Graves? I suspect you may have a few bones to pick with it, but I would be very interested to hear your take on his main theory of an original matriarchal goddess being defeated in a sort of religious warfare by the patriarchal gods (if I read it correctly).

[@don-eb3fj]

Yes please, Jon. Anything you can provide that can substantiate Celtic/Druidic cultures and beliefs, and others similar to and/or directly influencing or influenced by them would be very illuminating of the ways of the earliest cultures, and would help put into clearer context the evolution of humanity through societal structures. This is especially important given the fact that those which relied on oral tradition rather than written record have had little opportunity to contribute to our understanding as a result of their stories being erased and overwritten by the celebrated violence of more "civilized" invaders. This story serves as a poetically ironic illustration of this idea being understood and communicated by the intellectuals of a culture who made their point by consecrating themselves to be sacrificed for THEIR OWN beliefs rather than as sacrifices to foreign gods of conquest. I can only imagine that those Roman soldiers were struck not only by the spells of fear and superstition but also the horror of their own actions in committing massacre of unarmed men and women, and the haunting knowledge that they and their culture were indeed guilty of the very barbarism they had accused their victims of and had been used to justify their own violent beliefs and crimes. That guilt would likely be a curse they would carry for a lifetime and pass on in their own cultures, as so many of their profession who came after them have, into our modern age of "civilized" conquest of less aggressively-oriented cultures. Will we ever learn the lesson, and break the spell of our delusion? Thanks Jon, excellent work, definitely interested in more like this.

[@waynesworldofsci-tech]

Definitely. I’m also curious about what impact the PIE belief system had on Southeast Asia including Japan, Korea, Thailand, China etc. LOL. My dad was born in Northern Italy, I grew up speaking a bastard version of Friulian as a second language. It’s been over thirty years since I last used it, so I don’t remember a lot.

[@nicholassando4243]

This is one of the most affecting videos you've made. I greatly appreciate you as both an educator and a story teller. Thank you for this.

[@Crecganford]

I appreciate your kind words, thank you, they do inspire me to do even better.

[@nicholassando4243]

@@Crecganford aww shucks. No pressure. You're already doing/being so well.

[@DirtyDruid]

​@@nicholassando4243you're a good guy, Nick.

[@nicholassando4243]

@@DirtyDruid thanks mate. It's pretty easy to say it when I genuinely believe it.

[@shanegooding4839]

The Celtic gods that were adopted into the Roman Empire seem to be overwhelmingly associated with healing. This would suggest that the druids as the Celtic priests must have had a stronger role as physicians than is commonly perceived based on the only such link ever made by the Romans being Pliny's discourse on them gathering mistletoe which they called 'all-heal'.

[@RyanTucker-r5d]

Good insight!

[@user-wr4uz8pg7m]

Interesting comment ("The Celtic gods that were adopted into the Roman Empire seem to be overwhelmingly associated with healing..."). Can you provide a reference where we can read this or is it your idea? For example, Epona, Celtic and adopted by Romans is not a healing goddess. She is called "the sole Celtic divinity ultimately worshipped in Rome itself." Thanks very much!

[@samuel56551]

By the time of the syncretisation of British gods , of healing or otherwise ( such as Sulis Minerva in Bath ) , with Roman ones , the Druids were long gone as an organised priesthood .

[@davidgreen6490]

We can no longer describe any of the Insular Celtic religious class as Druids. The latest research is suggesting that Druidism was strictly a cointinental affair. There may not even have been any link at all between the religious classes of any of the insular Celtic tribes..

[@davidgreen6490]

@@samuel56551 The latest research suggests the Insular Celtic religious classes were not Druids. Druidism was strictly a continental practice. We actually can find no link between any of the British and irish religious classes. There was no continent wide priesthood..

[@KB-gt6ep]

The Druids tricking the Romans into committing psychological warfare on themselves is the one of most conniving and brilliant things I've ever heard

[@jamesmark4880]

what else they gonna do? might as well try be scary before you get killed with no effort

[@KB-gt6ep]

@@jamesmark4880 it sounds like they weren't trying to raise a spectacle. They were trying to get a double whammy of mass human sacrifice and inflicting psychic damage on the people who were killing their people

[@jamesmark4880]

@@KB-gt6ep i agree that would be their intent. still, what else could they do? don't think it was brilliant or conniving.

[@KB-gt6ep]

@@jamesmark4880 do you have a historical example of psychological warfare you found brilliant? So I can understand your perspective

[@Uncanny_Mountain]

Esus is the Celtic God of Death. It's a curse on the Romans. Pythagoras means Heart of the Serpent, he was born in Sidon, a fishing Port in Phoenicia. His mother recieved a message from the Oracle of Delphi that he would become a great Leader and Teacher. Sidon means Kingdom of the Fish, and the Essenes, who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls, worshipped Pythagoras. The Sarcophagus of Eschmun III found in Sidon names him as the Widow's Scion, aka Hiram Abiff, the Founder of Freemasonry, of which Tyre was the premier Capital (at least equal to Thebes). In 911BC Rameses II married the Queen of Sidon, home of Jezebel (Daughter or consort of Baal, basically "Queen") founding Neo Assyrian Babylon, an alliance between Egypt and Hiram, father of Jezebel and King of Assyria, and Egypt, forming the Phoenician colonies and building the first Temple of Melqart to commemorate the alliance. The Si in Sidon is the basis of the Latin Exe, or X, and is the basis of the Cross, or Chi Rho that Constantine painted on his shields. Also known as the Cross of Tyre, or Cross of Baal, being Ra-El, or Ba'El. Oddly enough irrational numbers can also be mapped using Euler's number, producing a Templar Cross in the process: a map of where Eclipses are most likely to occur. This cross can also be seen around the neck of Nimrod in Assyria, and is consistent with the Union Jack, and Solstice Calendar found in the Vatican Shiva Lingam. Shiva is the Hebrew word for 7, their culture also found its way to Japan (via the Phillipines) ultimately becoming Shintoism. It was the Phoenicians who gave their name to the Pole Star, which they used to Navigate the Oceans using the Zodiac, thats what the Antikythera mechanism was for, and with it they wrote the Byblos Baal, what we now call the Bible. The first form of the Bible was written in 325BC and called the Vaticanus Greacus, or Son of the Sacred Serpent, a reference to Sirius, the basis of the Sothic Calendar, which uses a Hexidecimal or base 60 system found in all the Megalithic sites around the world. In the second century AD astronomer Valentinus Vettori transcribed it into a Lunar chart of 13 houses, what we now call the Zodiac. Horoscope means Star Watcher, and the Phoenician word for Saturn, or El, was Israel or El, (Fruit) of Isis and Ra. Alternatively El is the Father of Ra the Sun and Consort of Isis the Earth, aka El is the Moon. El is the primary God of the Phoenicians, representing the offspring of Egypt, and his consort Astarte or Ishtar represents the Assyrian half of the alliance. It may be possible to trace lineages and alliances through the naming of gods, which can be traced all the way to Ireland and the Vikings, and to Indonesia and the Americas, even as far away as New Zealand and Australia. It denotes Sirius as Son of Orion and Pleaides, which sits at 33 degrees of the Zodiac. The basis of the Sothic (dir Seth) Calendar of the Egyptians. The New Moon in this position marks Rosh Hashanah, the Egyptian, Celtic, Phoenician, and Assyrian New Year, the first New Moon of September, which is called September because it's the 7th House of the Zodiac, when the Sun is in Ophiuchus. The Phoenix, Benben, or Bennu is the Egyptian word for Heron, a Feathered 'Serpent'. It baptised itself in frankincense and myrrh at BaalBek, and then alights atop the Pyramid, upon the Holy Grail, or Altar of Ra every 630 years to take three days off the calendar during the course of the first New Moon of Nisan, which means "Prince". The Capstone of Pyramids is even called the Benben or Bennu. The Phoenix is found in all religions, which are all Astrological Allegory for the Moon travelling through the Constellations, as a soul migrating from body to body, this is the basis of Joseph Campbell's Monomyth, or the Hero's Journey. The various planets no doubt play their own roles as portents, omens, and aspects, this astrology is the science of the Bronze age, and lasted all the way up to the 20th Century. Reincarnation was an early teaching of the Christian Church, and likely relates to the lineage of Kings (The Pan is Dead, long live Pan!) Phoenicians represent the interim step between Egypt and Greece, their artisans and culture exceeding that of the Greeks, who literally adopted the Phoenician Alphabet, which we still use to this day, sounding out words phonetically. Phoenician is aliiterated in Venetian, and Vikings, being Kings of the Sea. The Bennu is the Egyptian Phoenix, to Phoenicians the Hoyle, no different to the traditions of the Etruscans, who saw birds as sacred, just as the Celts. Hebrew and Iber as in Iberia have the same root meaning over, as in overseas, as in those who travel "over the sea." A colony called Iberia also appears on the Eastern shores of the Black Sea, where the same Dolmens and Megalithic culture originating in Ireland and Brittany appeared circa 4500BC. _Phoenician_ means Scions of the Phoenix, the first Bible: Vaticanus Greacus Son of the Sacred Serpent (Prince). Then there's the Essenes, Sons of Light, the Tuatha De Danaan, Sons of Light, Annunaki, Sons of Light, Arthur Pendragon means Arthur Son of the Dragon; Chertoff is Russian for "Son of the Devil" and Dracula also means Son of the Dragon, Masons have been known at times to call themselves the "Brotherhood of the Great White Serpent". The Ziggurat of Anu also denotes her as a great white Serpent, while New Grange and the Bru na Boinne in Ireland (4000BC) coated buildings with white quartz to denote the Moon. The Moon itself travels outside the Solar Elliptic by 5 degrees, which means it passes through specific constellations in a serpentine fashion that is always changing, but repeats every 19 years, the time it took to train a Druid or Magi, Magi meaning "Teacher" the Phoenix is also associated with this sacred number 19. The name "Pharoah" means "Great House" or "House of Light" and Cairo used to be called Babel. Pharaoh's themselves wore a hooded crown representing feathers, just as Native American Chiefs, ie the Feathered Serpent, they were also called the Commander in Chief. Aztecs also had Serpent Kings, (Canaan means Serpent Kings, and Sidon was a Son of Canaan, and Great Grandson of Noah) who were called to lead with cunning and guile, being the very virtue by which they claim the title in the first place; but to be seen in public as just and diplomatic. "As wise as Serpents, but gentle as Doves" the old Egyptian flag of an Eagle attacking a Snake is also reflected in the Modern Mexican flag, denoting the Constellations of Serpentis (13th sign of the Zodiac) and Aquila. The dimensions and 12 mathematical constants of the Great Pyramid are also expressed in New Grange, and Stonehenge, as well as in Watson Brake, (2500BC) and Teotihuacan, which correlates to the Phoenician/ Sumerian Hexidecimal system, which is what our modern systems of time are based on. In fact it unlocks a kind of fractal pattern that is reflected throughout creation. Officially no one knows who invented astrology, the zodiac, navigation by the stars, and time keeping. But whoever built the pyramids, and pioneered the 24hr clock in Egypt 5000 years ago also knew the exact dimensions of the Earth, as well as the speed of light. These calculations can all be made using these Megalithic sites as surveyors use a theodolite. Specifically Teotihuacan, which sits 180 degrees opposite Cairo, and has the exact same footprint. The ideal positions to determine the speed of light using the transit of Venus, by which one can accurately determine Longitude for navigation. Capt Cook did the same thing in 1774 when he 'discovered' Easter Island. The only culture that fits the bill was wiped out "not one stone upon the other" by the Romans in 146BC. Tyre, the capital of Phoenicia (israel) sat just offshore from Uru Salaam: City of the New Moon, or City of Peace. The root of the name Jerusalem, and was also seized by Rome in 70AD after a 13 year seige. The gap between is 216 years. Greek Dionysians built the Temple of Solomon (now called the Temple of Melqart) representing the Solar Lunar Metonic Calendar on which this system is based, they also carried mirrors, a practice associated with both the Magi and the Druids as well as Greek and Egyptian scholars, these Mirrors are Astrological charts called "Cycladian Frying Pans" and record the cycles of the planets. The first Temple of Melqart (the Phoenician form of Horus, or Hercules, or Pan, or Thor) representing the 13th Constellation of Ophiuchus or the Serpent Bearer (hence Orphic Serpent worship) had pillars of Emerald and Gold, representing Isis and Osiris. The Jerusalem Temple only took payment in "Shekels of Tyre" a currency minted during the Jewish rebellion against Rome. "Give that which is Ceasar's unto Ceasar" When Alexander sacked Tyre in 332BC they moved to Carthage meaning "New City" or New Jerusalem, where they built a second temple with Pillars of Bronze. Nebuchadnezzar also seiged Tyre for 13 years, taking the City captive in 573BC: the same time as the biblical account of the Jews. And again in 70AD after a three and a half year seige, also consistent with biblical accounts. Palaset was the name of a tribe of the Sea Peoples, Pallas Set denotes the New Moon of Ammun Ra rising in Gemini, the Pallas Constellation of the Twins that stand before Orion. This occurs due West of the Temple of Solomon in Tyre between the Western Gates of Gibraltar, Gabriel's Altar, and is the basis of the name Pallastein, or Pallas Stone. As in the Philosopher's Stone or Holy Grail, Altar of Ammun Rah, the Rising Sun. The Cross of Tyre or Ba'El ❌ represents the Lunar maximums and minimums and correlates with the Cross Quarter days of the Solstice Calendar. Align the Cross ❌ Chi Rho Christian ✝️ and Star 🔯 to the zodiac and you have a Compass and a timepiece that can be used to Circumnavigate the globe.

[@RyanTucker-r5d]

I imagine the Druids to be basically the Celtic version of the Median Magi, Indian Brahmins, Greek Philosophers etc. Masters of THE occult science which seen no religious or cultural borders. The more I study the occult and see the similarities between spiritual systems the more I realize it all came from one source in the distant past.

[@GreenTara1234]

We all have the sacred knowledge of the shining ones embedded in our DNA we all must retrieve the knowledge and wisdom from within 🙏☀️🌟⭐💥💕💖

[@Uncanny_Mountain]

The Hebrews* Esus is the Celtic God of Death and a Curse on the Romans. The Cross is the Idol of wood in Revelations 9:20 To hang on a Tree is a Curse. He is the God of Destruction, made in Man's own Image. Because Man cannot create life, nor can he ever lead. Which is why it is said: by a man's own lips alone only is he so judged; let he who lives by the word of the Law so die by the Law, for _his_ word, and to no man does the Earth belong. Therefore, let No Man speak in Thy name, for the wages of Sin is Israel; The Archangel of Most Untimely Death.

[@BMK_Magick_Explorations]

This should not be surprising considering that most historians of religion, and anthropologists have long considered the systems now collectively lumped together as shamanism as the earliest known form of spirituality, or religion. If as has been theorized the rest all gradually were developed out of this, and that magickal practices have been intertwined with spirituality/religion then it should not seem so surprising that at least on a surface level all such systems have some in common, and thus bear some resemblance to each other.

[@stevebarnes1530]

Loved the presentation. Wonderful interpretation of what the druids were Really up to. Helped me more fully understand the motivation, implications of sacrifice.

[@gaufrid1956]

An excellent video, Jon! No doubt the Roman soldiers involved in the attack on the druids in Anglesea would have suffered psychologically as a result. The problem for people these days in interpreting such events is understanding the mindset of those involved. You have done a great job in doing so.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, but I have to give a nod to Lincoln who first considered this, without him I would not have known about this interpretation.

[@The.BansheeRose]

This is a very interesting topic. I can't help but notice that, more often than not, we are drawn to the stories about people of whom we know little. Same is true in genealogy. It's usually the ancestor, who only has one or two pieces of tantalizing information, that drives our desire for more. We have just enough information about the Druids to never be quite satisfied. Fascinating video. Bravo More please ...

[@helenamcginty4920]

Once we become satisfied that something we are told is true or find out for ourselves, eg that fire burns or that putting your hand on the electric fence gives you a shock, (yes I was always a bit of a sceptic. This has led to my current atheism) we tend to store that in the box marked knowledge. We can access that at any time. But new knowledge is only found by searching/exploring. That means looking into the unknown or partly known. That's what research does. This is why channels like this help. They do a lot of the footwork and reading for us. There is such an accumulation of information no one person can research everything.

[@The.BansheeRose]

@helenamcginty4920 agree

[@chalinofalcone871]

"They [the Druids] spring up still, from time to time, and wherever they do spring up, there is likely to be trouble for the Eagles. They were the heart and soul of British resistance in the early days, and even now, when there is any sign of unrest among the tribes, you can wager your sandals there is a holy man at the bottom of it.' [The Eagle of the Ninth, Rosemary Sutcliff, 1954]

[@JonnoPlays]

This is one of my favorite channels I have ever discovered. I've been able to connect more of the dots of history and the bits that archeology leaves out by understanding the religions of the past in addition to their history and archeological evidence. This gets so much further into the minds of the ancient people not just the actions they took and the evidence of those actions. So fascinating to learn about history from this perspective.

[@mdug7224]

Thank you. This poses a thought-provoking perspective of the event. I had read years ago that druids went underground and took up roles as bards rather than actually being wiped from Roman Europe.

[@MareaSimpson]

They were intellectual and men of their times. Sacrifices were normal. What about the enormous amounts of people and animals killed in the Roman amphitheaters. History is always written by the victors.

[@jameswhyte5094]

impressive library in the background 🔥

[@Armyjay]

Wow what an incredible retelling of an event that i’ve read about many times yet never thought of it in the way you described and illuminated it. Thank you.

[@MogofWar]

So, the Druids basically ran the trolley problem on their own eradication, then decided to go out on their own terms, rather than those set by their enemies.

[@Leaves.and.Legends]

Well they never ceased existence. So they decided to no end

[@StevenSmith-w4p]

Thanks for your research and presentation. I’m so tired of bad information on KZbin. You would make an excellent Professor of History

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@christopheraliaga-kelly6254]

When the school of Eton wanted to expand their 'boating lakes' they found remains of timber platforms around a lost bend in the Thames. In the filling they found human bones, possibly of sacrificial victims, all of Iron age date. And, some of these bones had been burnt and split open for the extraction of marrow. So, Eton was a place where cannibalism had been carried out! This would explain a great deal about the Eton Old boys, such as Boria Johnson!!! Don't forget to check out some of the French 'bande dessinee" such as "Les Druides" 3 Vols, translations available!

[@timgearinjr9962]

This is an incredible channel . The research is astonishing . Thank you so much .

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@nadinefay1560]

The Druids magic lives on! I felt a shiver down my spine in the telling of this tale.

[@thomasbrown4791]

This is a very interesting subject!

[@Crecganford]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@elizabethmackay4590]

Great video! I was always told this version of the story as a child. It’s nice to hear it from someone else! Thankyou for all your hard work and wonderful videos 🙏

[@scallopohare9431]

No reason why they could not have had widely varied traits. One of the scariest humans I ever crossed paths with was smart, moderately well educated, and accomplished.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Probably a psychopath. They thrive in business and leadership roles. The reverse isn’t always true.

[@theimeditateclub]

Enjoyable. Thank you. I have always wondered whenit comes to the Druids and the idea that they over saw all aspects of sacrifice we assume that it was all human. Anything that you offer up to the Gods is technically a sacrifice. Also, there is little evidence that the wiping out of the Druids on Anglesey ever took place. But that ist the delight of the Druids is it not, a mystery that we will never really know the truth about. Thanks again, really enjoyed this.

[@epicmage82]

Never trust the words of an ignorant enemy to understand your past.

[@Arnea-j3p]

@@epicmage82 Wow, this is deep!

[@TioDeive]

Simply wonderful! Thank you again for this great video!

[@owlbeard]

Thank you!! This is great work. Thank you for making these connections to the PIE cosmogony. Peter Beresford Ellis’ book, The Druids, is a sober and well researched work that does a great job demystifying the druids. Also, *wid also led to Veda.

[@SEKreiver]

I met Ellis in Cashel in 2019. A good man and excellent Celtic scholar.

[@Bjorn_Algiz]

Ah lovely analysis and understanding on this topic! ❤

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@blake_ridarion]

If this interpretation is correct, and it very well might be, it is a massive moment in the history of Indo-European cultural and religious story. Wow!

[@Crecganford]

I know, it is a very interesting hypothesis.

[@willbass2869]

I think this was just kind of a sideshow, notable no doubt, but just a passing reference in Rome's long history. A bit like a yearly circus side show with bearded ladies and sword swallowers..... it's something that happens periodically but the performances stay the same

[@BinroWasRight]

This is brilliant. I particularly loved the way you framed the slaughter at Ynys Môn/Anglesey. The Irish (and likely the proto-Scot) druids seem to have persisted much longer.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@julesgosnell9791]

Divination from the twitching of bodies sounds very reminiscent of Etruscan Haruspicy and yet the Etruscan language is not Indo European. Maybe some sort of ancestral haruspicy arrived in the Villanova culture with Indo European influences and found its way in later changed form into a Etruscan and then Roman culture.

[@thomasbrown4791]

Very interesting!

[@Crecganford]

I haven't looked into this subject any further, but this makes me want to. Thank you for sharing this.

[@Fgway]

To my search there's some info on culture from the west. Druidic tree knowledge in Ireland is also called an atlantean index and alphabet. What it means, likely, is it's contact with west (America) by sea for both Etruscan and Irish influence. The Sea turtles are another clue as they could guide the long lost trade boats back and forth

[@RyanTucker-r5d]

I don’t think spiritual techniques know any cultural borders. The ancient world was much more connected then we are led to believe. This is why we see the same gods under different (some times VERY similar) names in IE, Semitic, East Asian etc cultures. Cults and mystery religions know no cultural boundaries. Hence why there was Brahmins getting initiated at Eleusis with a Roman King

[@a.j.crowan296]

Since you mentioned Stonehenge, I would love to hear your take on that historical site (if you haven't already covered it). Amazing video, as always!

[@Crecganford]

I have never really discussed the site, so perhaps this would make a good topic, thank you for the suggestion.

[@elizabethdavis1696]

Please make a British isles playlist!

[@Crecganford]

Ok, I'll see what I can do.

[@TreforTreforgan]

Interesting vid. I suppose the most frustrating aspect of Celtic history is its most fascinating; they left no written records. The etymology of the word Druid is no exception. The accepted word in modern Welsh is Derwydd, which is an agglutination of Der=Oak and wydd=knowledge (or sometimes presence). So an accepted explanation for the etymology of Druid is oak-knower, although other etymologies shouldn’t be discounted. Not to be ignored is the enigmatic way the Celts named (or rather didn’t name) their natural environment. The very etymology of oak in the Celtic languages deserves attention: In Welsh oak is Derw while we see the obvious cognomate of Dair in Irish. However, PIE hypothesis offers Daru as an ancient word meaning tree, the root of which can be seen in modern European languages (compare Dereva in Ukrainian, derevo in Russian). Could it be then that the ancients held the oak in such high regards that they simply called it ‘tree’? We know that there were caveats around their system of nomenclature and it’s also apparent they held philosophically mystic beliefs. We must postulate also that the name Druid might not have anything to do with oak in its etymology. In modern Welsh the word drûd means expensive or dear, but it’s original meaning differed; it carried the meaning of elite or exalted etc. we see this meaning fossilised in the name Cerrigydrudion (cerrig y drudion) in County Conwy, North Wales. The meaning is the Stones of the Exalted Ones which is pertinent as excavations of a barrow there unearthed pieces of a golden crown. So we might conclude the word Druid to mean an elite of some description. The one thing that makes the second explanation problematic is the element ‘uid’ in the word Druid, as it almost certainly carries the meaning of know or knowledge, so the Brythonic Derwydd may be the correct meaning. Who knows!

[@helenamcginty4920]

The mention of Caesar, who massacred was it 30,0000 Gauls, (a similar number to the Palestinians killed in the current round of bloodletting in Gaza) makes me consider the magnitude of the hypocracy of the Romans in calling the Celts savage.

[@shirleynoble685]

Not to mention that the Romans themselves had practiced human sacrifice in the not too distant past. And would arrange a fairly barbaric death for a vestal virgin who strayed from the path and was discovered. Of course, there was nothing barbaric about the entertainments at the Circus Maximus either.

[@however-yh2jy]

These aren't the druids you're looking for.

[@Crecganford]

Very good :)

[@benbashore8561]

Excellent presentation. Valuable.

[@MseeBMe]

I think this was my favourite video yet mate, top work!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@Mike-pg5by]

Well met. Your library caught my eye, in contrast mine has only one large set of 52, volumes and the rest a colourful combination of collectibles and one of a kinds among historical revision, reprints of philosophy and even a good condition Oahspe second edition. I hope you enjoy them often, and refer to them in context. Don't deny Ossian a carful study. I have much source material indirectly chronicling some druids post-dissolution

[@DirtyDruid]

Great video, I'm glad i found your channel! I have never heard this interpretation, but it makes a lot of sense to me given what we know and what has survived. The burning beach is a helluva image, like something from D-Day, and it occurs to me that maybe they were raising their arms to also connect to the air itself, and on a burning beach thats a liminal space for all four. This video also made me wonder about the Druids passivity, and if that was somehow connected to their belief in reincarnation, similar to how Buddhists and Jains believe in nonviolence. Great stuff, bud.

[@Crecganford]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@Hendrixes]

I'm so happy you decided to make a video about the Druids! would love to have seen Panoramix from Asterix graphic novel in it! If you make other videos about them, I wonder if the Arthurian legends could be related to druidic lore.

[@Crecganford]

I am pondering making a video about Arthur, as I know some facts about his mythology that I rarely if ever hear about, and yet which makes interesting discussion.

[@SEKreiver]

The four main artifacts of Arthuriana -- Excalibur, the Spear of Destiny, the Grail and the Siege Perilous--have direct counterparts in the Four Treasures of the Tuatha de Danaan.

[@Coffee_Is_Magic]

Fascinating video thank you!

[@wolfofossory7]

Excellent video. The Mexica (Aztec) concept of human sacrifice was very similar. It was the ultimate expression of thanks to tye cosmos. It was also not practiced as much as the Imperial Spanish asserted.

[@wordscapes5690]

Speculative? Yes. Fascinating? Absolutely! Thank you.

[@Crecganford]

It is, but it makes us think about what could have happened.

[@wordscapes5690]

@@CrecganfordAbsolutely. Really sparked my imagination. Thank you so much.

[@MythVisionPodcast]

I love this video my friend 🧡

[@Crecganford]

Thank you Derek, your opinion always means alot.

[@TheGritherr]

Wow, enlightening. Thank you for this. I like their attitude towards death and courage stemming from it. In my opinion, it is a foundation on which exceptional men will likely emerge from. Thanks again.

[@NeoCroMagnon]

Lovely video as usual, keep them coming (love all the Celtic and Druid stuff) Just one comment, Julius Caesar was never emperor, he was a general and then became Dictator. His successor was the first Emperor after the end of the Roman republic.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, good point, my mistake.

[@NCCorruption]

I came to this conclusion about 12 years ago, nice to hear it somewhere else.

[@HeAndrRoiz]

In Celt's defense, Lusitanians did dismember - or at least amputate - their sacrificial victims and apparently used their remains in acts of divination, or so do Greco-Roman sources say. There is an Iron Age lunula from central Portugal that does show a man that had his limbs amputated, and what is thought to be severed heads.

[@UnionBlue-h8e]

Reference to ancient Britain Sacrifices: The very fact that a man (if he can deserve that name) is willing to be a party in inflicting such injustice, and profiting by the woes and tears of innocence and worth, shows that he is not fit for any place of honor and trust, but ought rather, like that Athenian brute who wrung the neck of the dove which took refuge from a hawk in his bosom, to be visited with chastisement. The oppression, discouragement, destitution, and temptation experienced intermittently by all the laboring poor in consequence of the incompetency and wickedness of our slave rulers, are inflicted without intermission upon our poor colored brethren, by the combined operation of tyrannical laws and senseless and inhuman usages! Usages as senseless and brutal in principle, as the human sacrifices of ancient Britain, Carthage, or Mexico. -from the “Taking of Naboths Vineyard, A history of the Texas conspiracy” by David L. Child 1850

[@genghisgalahad8465]

Druids: Savage Intellectuals!! 🎉 🌳 🌌 🙏 🪨

[@cernunnos_lives]

I'm sure the Roman soldiers that walked away from the raid at Anglesey felt cursed afterwards. It probably promted a lifetime of magical lifting of curses.

[@peterbriers2995]

Minor point. Julius Caesar was never an emperor. When he returned to Rome after Gaul he was made Dictator for Life.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, my mistake.

[@timothydalton2788]

Wow, what an interesting video, 👏 thank you for your efforts.😊🎉

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@AnaClaudia-ni1bn]

Adorei o vídeo... já me inscrevi e estou indicando para um monte de gente aqui no Brasil!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@exponentialpotentialNow]

So Appreciated. Thank You so Much 😊😊😊 Blessings

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@ShizaruBloodrayne]

I wonder if bards would sing of the druid's sacrifice which would lure the Romans back to disposing of the rest of them for getting word out. The druids would've known that the people would spread word of their sacrifice and also the druids would simultaneously be ascended to rebirth or another realm. To them it was 2 birds with 1 stone while the Romans would be just seeing things for how it is at the time. I don't know anything, I'm just imagining a scenario.

[@kaarlimakela3413]

I'm reminded of Homer's Agamemnon, who sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Biblical scholar Doctor Joshua Bowen has spoken about human sacrifice in the bible a couple of times. He said that the practice was probably born out of desperation when all other types of sacrifice failed.

[@billyclyde5129]

When you wrote "Largest act of human sacrifice" I assumed you were going to get into the account of the wicker man. Tacitus 14:30 clearly said the Celts had a dense array of armed warriors. But then around 21:40 you give the impression that it was only druids and women on the Celtic side. The druid self sacrifice bit is a bit of a stretch. Especially in light of Tacitus 14:30 where it mentions the array of armed Celts. In spite of this issue this was one of your cooler videos. I especially appreciate you giving us the Roman sources. Giving sources is very important. All in all this was well worth watching. Good job Bro. You spoke about the Indo-european creation myth again in this. You still need to give us sources for that. How do you know what the Indo-europeans believed about creation?

[@Crecganford]

Thanks for the feedback, I have covered the IE Creation Myth in many videos, how we have confidence in the myth, and the sources we gather this information from; look for the video titled "Reconstructing the Proto Indo-European Myth of Creation"

[@kaitnip]

Very interesting, thank you for the video. It only goes to show that magic of any kind can be defeated using simple, unsophisticated implements : water, fire, dirt, wooden clubs, and iron spears. The setup of a thousand stories told across millennia :)

[@richardokeefe7410]

There's an elephant in the room, and it's black and waving a brand. The women at the battle of Anglesey seem to be a *significant* part of the Druidic system. They are not just present, they have an acknowledged role in whatever the Druids were up to. And yet, up to now, not having heard that passage of Tacitus before, whenever I've heard the word "Druid" it has conjured up the image of a *man* as indeed have your own visuals in this video.

[@Crecganford]

Yes, the women are rarely mentioned, and so their role here is somewhat ambiguous? Druids? Maybe. Something else? Maybe. A volva or seeress? More likely, but what are the differences? Well that is a matter of interpretation until we find more data.

[@AbdullahBlackthorn]

They were called Driads. There is some lore out there regarding the subject. But women were very active in Celtic life. Very.

[@user-jt3zv2jc7u]

I don't think personally that there were female Druids. Since all of our sources about them come from the Romans, the Roman writers would surely have commented about it if there were, likely in a derogatory or sneering manner. We can see numerous parallels between the Druids and the Magi and Brahmins, and neither of the latter 2 permitted females into their ranks (I would argue that all 3 cultures come from the same Indo-European source culture). Also, just the simple fact that it wouldn't be practical to educate girls for 20 years, when they were needed to provide children for the tribe as soon as they were able.

[@richardokeefe7410]

@@user-jt3zv2jc7u I didn't say "female Druids" but "part of the Druidic system", just as there are no female Catholic priests but women's religious orders are definitely an official "part of the Catholic system"

[@user-jt3zv2jc7u]

@@richardokeefe7410 Well in that case, wasn't everyone on the island part of the druidic system?

[@TheTimeshadows]

The beliefs mentioned, as well as the cave-learning sounds almost exactly like Zalmoxis teaching of immortality and so forth. If you aren't already familiar with Zalmoxis, please do a video for us, if you would. Thank you

[@Crecganford]

I thought the same thign when I first read it, and yes, I will do a video on Zalmoxis in the future and actually hope to visit some of the Dacian caves this summer.

[@TheTimeshadows]

@@Crecganford so envious! Enjoy and take lots of photos! Be well,

[@oldboy977]

The Druids sacrifice was so great and vast we're talking about it two thousand years later. Magic that allowed their spirit of defiance to survive to this day.

[@jasonford6595]

Yes!

[@GreenTara1234]

You gave me the chills of truth my friend 🙏💖

[@novicedruid8303]

There is a source that claims the Druids who survived in Ireland eventually did write but that Saint Patrick burnt their books, most likely any works from that century I think would be scrolls. If any survive where would they likely be found? The same for maybe any public religious information written in Greek by Gaulish druids if they did do it?

[@dtebel]

This ties into the King in the Mountain mythology of the Tuatha de Danaan, Finn mac Cumhail, and later King Arthur. A fighting spirit of sovereignty waiting outside of time for the day when their people and land will need them.

[@ashimaearthsky]

Morgan Llyelyn's book Druids and subsequent books pretty much sum up an idealistic idea of Druids living in peace and harmony with the earth until the roamans came and wiped them out. Interesting how Roman's destroyed druids sacred groves only to build their places of worship a top of them. Like Notre Dam. So pagans were destroyed to make way for a world wide Roman religion and way of life. Look at it now. The Druid triskal, 3 curved spokes within a circle stood for man, earth and the otherworld. (taken over by the trinity) so as we live in a romanized world, beware, for there are pagen druids everywhere. So perhaps their sacrifice worked. People who long for peace, an unpolluted natural world and a happy life. Thank you for your informative video.

[@gerhardfertl6716]

Great Video to llearn something new about a misinterpreted formmof religion. I would like to hear more from the celts.

[@rlk54]

They were still there in Ireland.

[@novicedruid8303]

Wasn't it said that "Saint Patrick" burnt their books and their lore has been lost for the most part? If any remain they are probably going to be scrolls but not sure where historians and archaeologists would find them. The Gaulish Druids would have written non-secret religious knowledge meant to be for public in Greek letters but same for those, nobody has found them yet.

[@DirtyDruid]

​@@novicedruid8303Padraig was welcomed by High King Loaghaire and they became friends, to the point that Patty had his own rath at Tara. He never converted the High King, but they apparently had lively discussions. From that, it makes me think Pat wasn't the book burning kind of guy, and couldn't have gotten away with it if he was. I think the Druids DID write their stories down, at least in part, but it wasn't for a couple hundred years and they were monks by then. Early Christian hermitages and monasteries were kind of invented in Ireland and Scotland, and by the time Charlemagne had his first child he would accept no tutor who didn't come from there. It's not the same as their own direct writings, if they had them, but between the Welsh and Irish myths, and early Christian stories, a lot has survived.

[@heathenhammerfeld148]

The women described as Furies I wonder if they have a relation to Badb in the later Irish myths

[@peoplesrecords2593]

I find it hard to believe that every Druid on Britain was on Anglesey when Rome "wiped out" the Druids.WE can assume that Druids were used throughout Britain at the time, so Druids from Scotland came down the Anglesey? If not, then the Druidic knowledge would have continued, albeit underground.

[@Dirpitz]

Yeah the notion that the romans were anything other than conquestors who destroyed every culture they came across is hilarious

[@user-jt3zv2jc7u]

Except we don't even know if there were Druids in what is now Scotland. We know the Celts came from the continent, so who's to say they didn't just settle in the south part of the island?

[@peoplesrecords2593]

@@user-jt3zv2jc7u Actually Caesar said the Druids in Gaul travel to Britain to train. Druids were common throughout Celtic cultures. It would be extremely odd for them not to exist in Scotland.

[@user-jt3zv2jc7u]

@@peoplesrecords2593 But we have several accounts of the Romans later fighting the Picts. They make it clear that they have a culture distinct from the tribes of Roman Britain and don't make a single mention of them having an elite religious class like the Druids. I'm not saying they definitely did or didn't, just that you can't just assume the entire island had a single monoculture when we already had several waves of invaders before the Romans came.

[@afternoobtea914]

Very interesting indeed.

[@hegeliandianetik2009]

Such a great channel

[@Crecganford]

Thank you, your kind words are very much appreciated.

[@judewarner1536]

Surely Tacitus would have made reference to a beach-sized pyre? IF there was a full-on beach fire it seems more likely, IMO, that it would have been through the over-use of libations of sacred oils that caught fire, or even a deliberate oil-fire defence that got out of control. Burned with their own fiery branches sounds like a Roman version of "hoist on their own petard". In any case it sounds less like a human sacrifice than either an act of mass suicide or the slaughter of the innocents in typical Roman style: decimate the leaders and woo the survivors.

[@kellydalstok8900]

I think it was Joshua Bowen who, in a video about human sacrifice in the bible, talked about how the practice probably arose at a desperate time when all other kinds of sacrifice failed. He also said there is evidence that the Israelites themselves used to sacrifice humans, and that the story about the Midianites was a way to distance themselves from their own past. Btw, there was no god called Moloch, it was the name for a certain type of sacrifice.

[@Crecganford]

I do like Josh's work, and if I mentioned Moloch it was because I was quoting a Greco-Roman source.

[@markmcarthy596]

A Druid learns and practices All that benefits the Natural Order of life while remaining spiritually connected to all of Earth’s subjects. Druid nature is fierce when anyone or anything willingly disrupts the balance that Nature provides

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

Sources please

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

Sources ?

[@markmcarthy596]

@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo - checking your profile shows you aren’t ready yet.

[@StuartAnderson-xl4bo]

@markmcarthy596 oh you mean you can't back up your false claim?

[@markmcarthy596]

@@StuartAnderson-xl4bo I know who isn’t ready

[@VijaySuryaAditya]

Excellent work!

[@Crecganford]

Many thanks!

[@quixotiq]

Nice interpretation!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@kayleighllyn8253]

Absolutly loved it!!❤

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@teyanuputorti7927]

Very interesting video and how could the Romans forget what happens at the amithreaters of Roman empire

[@erinaltstadt4234]

I would love to learn more about Boudicca

[@rupertthebusdriver8997]

I have always considered the connection between what happened in Anglesea and the icene rampage /uprising ? And as always the written accounts , are heavily monochromed , The empire rights what it likes

[@G529-l3v]

I believe that many druids left Anglesey for Ireland. Once safely accepted, they remained with the tribes there.

[@novicedruid8303]

There are accounts or stories which claim they eventually wrote books there but that they were all burnt by Patrick. Well most atleast, if so I hope some survive but not sure where they would be.

[@kilowhiskeyalpha6078]

The Druids were a branch of an ancient spiritual philosophy aligned with gnosticism, wisdom and magic are their trademarks, magic and Persian Magi are synonymous . The gnostic creed have always been vilified and persecuted to extinction by orthodox religion, the Cathars of Southern France are a good example of the capacity of orthodoxy to exterminate that which they fear. To be wise implies a divine connection better known as enlightenment as practised by monastic cultures today. Healing was a major component of their practices, the gnostic order of the Essenes were known by the Greeks as theraputai, Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme perhaps the most unrecognised as an apothecary. Initiation and secrecy also being a major component, as the sage Yeshua of the Nazarene sect declared " do not cast pearls before swine" and as for the wild claims of sacrifice by Julius Ceasar and Siculus, one can only imagine the vile nature of their God Zeus/Jupiter the demiurge raging against the noblest of humanity to the extent that they are first demonised and then slaughtered.

[@spaquaman927]

Very well said

[@boris_bulletdodger9109]

Positive comment

[@FarbotBurunetNia]

Thank you.

[@brassteeth3355]

I'd say the Romans definitely feeling a bit threatened by the druid, whatever they were. You'd have to have massive influence to be seen as such a threat. This is the first time I've heard of the back story of the word. I thought it was a mystery. Any material on Roman Brittain is much appreciated. Greetings from central Texas.

[@dayofthejackyl]

How do you know someone is from Texas? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.

[@brassteeth3355]

@@dayofthejackyl also by the fact that we're just better than you.

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@Crecganford]

I like knowing where viewers of my work are from, in interests me.

[@sirrathersplendid4825]

The druids were definitely a threat to Roman authority. They were the only force that might unite the various British tribes, who generally hated each other more than they feared the Romans.

[@deborahmagana5039]

Good work

[@Crecganford]

Thank you.

[@karinschultz5409]

Makes perfect sense. The Romans were very superstitious and were known to 'adopt' non Roman deities when facing disaster. In the 2nd century BC they brought an Asia Minor goddess, Cybele, into their pomerium. The pomerium is the religious heart of a city. This act made Cybele "Roman", the idea being that the goddess would favor Rome above all nations. I'd think the Romans would see the druid's sacrifice as a bad omen of things to come.

[@joltjolt5060]

The Roman government outlawed cybele worship because they'd cut their penises off.

[@judewarner1536]

The Romans were very superstitious and were known to adopt non-Roman deities as a policy to minimise native opposition. They did this by binding a native deity to a Roman deity with similar aspects: thus the Celtic water deity Sulis became Sulis Minerva at Aqua Sulis (modern day Bath in the county of Somerset). Once thus adopted, the foreign deity effectively became part of the Roman pantheon and might be found in Rome and in other provinces, as per your example of Cybele. Apart from Druidism, the only other priesthood the Romans actively tried to stamp out appears to be Christian and Christianity, until it was finally adopted as the monotheistic religion of Rome.

[@EugenioFilippi]

Love your work. One remark... Cesar was not the roman emperor (10:57) Augustus was the 1st. Cheers!

[@LeoniFermer-vi4dc]

This was most interesting. I had no idea the Druids and Raving women were sacrificing themselves. It makes sense though. Such a pity they did not leave written works; then reconstructionists wouldn't have needed to " make up" their own imaginary religion. I know Francis Prior has no time for them!!

[@StevenSmith-w4p]

I truly do not believe this was the end of the Druids, surely others survived elsewhere across Britannia

[@imperialhistati2348]

That’s where I draw the line regarding any worship… Human Sacrifice. Africa was guilty of this for the longest time. And we African Christians today still don’t let them off…

[@yayatheobroma929]

Yet, human sacrifice is at the heart of Christianity, and so is ritual cannibalism. "Eat, for this is my body. Drink, for this is my blood." Symbolically, yes, but it is there, every time Christians come together and unite in their faith.

[@mastergaiato]

@@imperialhistati2348 😂😂😂

[@leszeksikora5923]

The Romans practiced ritual human sacrifice. The remnants of this ritual were gladiator fights, a custom taken over from the Etruscans.

[@Crecganford]

They did, but it became less common over time as it did with most cultures.

[@kellydalstok8900]

Like people who have recently given up smoking, the people who have recently abolished the practice of human sacrifice are the most fanatically opposed to it. See the biblical story of the Midianites.

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

… or … OR - SAVAGE intellects! - Druids - feel the burn! 🔥🧙🏻‍♂🔥

[@Mountlougallops]

Thanks

[@ezramalakai9899]

Can they not be both? I would be both.

[@Crecganford]

They could be both.

[@conlethberry1236]

Norse Magic and Beliefs has a video about this also. I would also wonder what happened to the local people in Angelsey and north Wales or further afiend. Adter all these were their "dri" their "intellectuals" so how did they react to this mass sarcrifice.

[@JM-hr4xp]

Thanks!

[@Crecganford]

Thank you for your support, it is appreciated.

[@gregg7617]

Criminals were kept in the Creoc , a place of internment until the arrival of the Druid 🙏 Who would hold Trial and sentence over the person or persons held within ! Some were Teachers , Masters in specific arts , Poetry , building , farming , weapons and Warrior Training , smithing , music , warfare , Religion , Leadership , laws and customs ECT Slaves and criminals would be the sacrifices if required ! Never , able bodied men or women , That would be Stupid indeed !😌🙏😎🎱

[@helencoates3624]

I don't think that all the druids were there, my thoughts go to Iona and Eire. The Greeks reported that the Druids beloved that all 'God's were part of the 'One'. If this is so, the druids probably found that the easiest way to continue their purpose - to enable multiple tribes to live their best lives and not to fear death as it was part of the natural cycle - was to continue what they had always done, wander around helping the people whilst educating their future rulers, Christianity would in turn enable them to continue. Augustine found that the Britons were already Christian but that they worshipped God differently - in groves etc. The druids - as it would seem - only disappeared as the Roman Church muscled in. Lewin and Lewin were both taught on Iona, the Synod of Whitby ended the druids teaching in England and ensured that Britain remained a (financially contributing) part of Rome. (This is just an uneducated musing 🙂)

[@helencoates3624]

Lewin eff should read Oswin and Oswiu.

[@herbertgearing1702]

I'm no expert, but that story sounded familiar to me. Then it hit me. I think those Romans might have accidentally created the emperor of mankind. The mass self sacrifice of a large group of Shaman may have allowed their souls to gather together in the immortal dimension and coalesce into one extremely psychically powerful, immortal being. Perhaps they were looking at the stars because they knew that one day they would lead humanity back to the stars to reclaim their lost birthright to the galaxy. Also to scourge the stars of the alien, the mutant, the witch, and the heretic are clensed in the fire of the god emperors most holy inquisition! Suffer ye not the witch to live, your emperor commands it.