Ireland and the Druids

In a follow up to a previous video on this channel, we take a deep dive into the Druids of Irish mythology, and contrast them not only with their brethren on Britain and Gaul, but with later accounts by Church writers in the early medieval period.
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#Druids #Ireland #Archaeology
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[@TheHistocrat]

Sources: General Resources: Anne Ross (1999) Druids. Tempus Publishing Ltd. Brent Miles (2011) Heroic Saga and Classical Epic in Medieval Ireland (Studies in Celtic History). D.S.Brewer. Chris Lynn (2003) Navan Fort: Archaeology and Myth. Wordwell. Clare Downham (2017) Medieval Ireland. Cambridge University Press. Daibhi O Croinin (2016) Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200. Routledge. 2nd Edition. Daniel Curley and Mike McCarthy (2018) Rathcroghan: The Guidebook. KPW Print Management. Fergus Kelly (1988; revised 2016) A Guide to Early Irish Law. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. J. P. Mallory (2015) The origins of the Irish. Thames and Hudson Ltd. J. P. Mallory (2016) In search of the Irish dreamtime: archaeology & early Irish literature. Thames and Hudson Ltd. John Waddell (2010) The Prehistoric Archaeology of Ireland. Wordwell. 2nd Edition. John Waddell (2014) Archaeology and Celtic Myth. Four Courts Press Ltd. Kim McCone (2000) Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Literature. Maynooth Monographs 3. Miranda J. Green (1997) Exploring the world of the Druids. Thames and Hudson Ltd. Philip Freeman (2001) Ireland and the Classical World. University of Texas Press. Philip Freeman (2014) The World of Saint Patrick. Oxford University Press. Ronald Hutton (2009) Blood and Mistletoe: The history of the Druids in Britain. Yale University Press. Roy Flechner and Sven Meeder (2016) The Irish in Early Medieval Europe: Identity, Culture and Religion. Palgrave. Academic Papers: A. Sherwood (2009) An Bó Bheannaithe: Cattle Symbolism in Traditional Irish Folklore, Myth, and Archaeology. PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal, 3 (1), 21. B. Raftery (1978) Excavations at Killycluggin, County Cavan. Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 3(41), 49-54. J. O’Driscoll, P. Gleeson & G. Noble (2020) Re-imagining Navan fort: New light on the evolution of a major ceremonial centre in Northern Europe. Oxford Journal of Archaeology, 39 (3), 247-273. J. Waddell (1983) Rathcroghan: A Royal Site in Connacht. The Journal of Irish Archaeology, 1, 21-46. A. T. Lucas (1972) Prehistoric Block-Wheels from Doogarymore, Co. Roscommon, and Timahoe East, Co. Kildare. The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, 102 (1), 19-48. R. Darcy & William Flynn (2008) Ptolemy's map of Ireland: a modern decoding. Irish Geography, 41 (1), 49-69, DOI: 10.1080/00750770801909375. R. Schot (2006) Uisneach Midi a medón Érenn: a prehistoric 'cult' centre and 'royal site' in Co. Westmeath. The Journal of Irish Archaeology, 15, 39-71. T. Shingurova (2018) The Story of Mog Ruith: Perceptions of the Local Myth in Seventeenth-Century Ireland. Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium, 38, 231-258. Additional Details of Irish Mythology taken from: Patricia Monaghan (2004) The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore. Facts on File Inc. celt.ucc.ie/ - Free resource for Irish history, literature and politics. BBC Interview link - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29785031

[@JohnDoe-yq9ml]

Amazing video!!! Thank you so much!!!!!! Keep up the great work! Much love from the U.S.A. 🇺🇸

[@thedirtyfecker]

This is the best video I have seen from a British perspective trying to tackle the druids. Everything else I have seen pretty much ignores Ireland as the best contemporary example of what the druids in Britain may have been like. As an Irish person with a strong interest in this period, I find much of the so called 'celtic' interpretations of historians on KZbin to be speculative at best. They seem to look strongly at the Roman accounts, but ignore the elephant in the room that is Ireland right beside them which continued it's existence in the same way for a long time after as the best example of what their own country was likely to have been like and functioned. My only real issue with your video is that although toward the end you have mentioned the best evidence for the influence of the droai on Irish society - The Brehon Laws, I don't think you acknowledged just how far back these laws go and just how much input the droai would have had in them. The Brehon Laws were written down by the Celtic Chrurch in Ireland in the 7th century and were obviously edited, expelling anything that did not agree with the church, they were by their nature ancient in origin and tell us the most about the structure of Irish society in which the droai inhabited. They were recorded orally and by their nature it is clear they were developed over a long period of time through tiral and error being altered and perfected over time. The monks merely wrote them down rather than inventing a perfect law system by which the country would now steer itself by. What I am saying is that the church gets the credit for writing them down, but certainly not composing them. From these laws we can see at least from a second hand source, just how the brehons who came from the druidic class functioned within Irish society. The droai were a broad class which included poets, musicians, judges and magicians. The laws themselves tell us a huge amount about the society in which they were consulted as go betweens during disputes. We are told it was their duty to keep record of these laws. This tells so much more practical evidence of real life influence of the droai than the mythology. It is a fascinating subject. Great video though. So much better researched than all the dross on KZbin about the subject. Your Irish language pronunciations are off in places which gave me a chuckle, but in others they are spot on and better than some I have seen :) . Well done!

[@liquidoxygen819]

Where's the art from in the thumbnail?

[@erikgilson1687]

Really good as usual, thanks!

[@irishmade8136]

Per head of cap Ireland is Number 1 in the world for charity worldwide. Just aswell yee found us pagans and Druids. We've come along way. Great video, thanks so much. 👍👍👍🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

[@Taliesin_McKnight]

At about an hour in, I would point out that myths can change in details to match the medieval period as they're retold through succeeding generations. That doesn't mean the substance or kernel can't be older. I'm not saying it's older, but we cannot dismiss it because the weapons and such used in the myths match the medieval period in which the myths are recorded

[@nuclearcowproductions5950]

I was looking for this comment

[@jamesnomos8472]

While true, the problem is that that makes it impossible to identify which bits are original and which were changed.

[@TheSilentPrince-mt5mx]

@@jamesnomos8472 I'm researching and writing some historical fiction built around some old Irish legends plus Ogham script and other stuff covered here. The Ogham script is quite interesting because although the connection with Latin is probably much more logical the association with trees and plants has a certain romance which makes literary flights of fancy more interesting. Jars a bit with my 'Historian' side but I'm learning to pick my facts to suit a narrative rather than getting bogged down in more rigorous explorations of options.

[@767wattsy]

So good to see someone citing sources and providing such detailed discussion instead of the usual glib, ill informed “documentaries” on KZbin. Thank you.

[@mairtohainle9773]

There are no unbiased sources on the FileadhDruí when we read the propaganda of pagan or christian rome...you will never find the true narrative in books and academic bibliographies , either ancient or contemporary.

[@truthseeker2033]

Wow ,there's almost the exact same culture in Iran, Daruids/Darwish with long beards and all those special clothes just wondering around and singing old stories

[@kathrinat9824]

​@@conortrotter5755wrong etymology

[@kathrinat9824]

​@@conortrotter5755what's your evidence?

[@000Dragon50000]

@@conortrotter5755 Ériu and ērān have completely different and unrelated etymologies. They sound kind of similar but that's the extent of their connection.

[@MommaLousKitchen]

Canaanites? The scots too, to my understanding. Interesting. Very.

[@SC-tl3px]

​@simulacrumreality33.0Do t Do they drink a lot of Guinness?

[@fredkelly6953]

Being a fan of the longer format, this channel fits me fine. Must respect the time and effort put into these videos, sub.

[@rorywoods2144]

I live in the North of Ireland, I recently visited a place called portmuck. There is a rock formation called the Druids Alter. Definetly worth a visit

[@sullyandmike188]

Where abouts is this? Also in northern Ireland 🖐️

[@rorywoods2144]

@Sully and Mike it's a place called druids altar, islandmagee.

[@sullyandmike188]

@@rorywoods2144 thank you, must plan a day trip there

[@rorywoods2144]

@@sullyandmike188 Not a problem. there's plenty of hidden gems around our little county

[@iknowyoureright8564]

@@rorywoods2144 also giants ring in Belfast is a good one, and if you head in County Down there’s plenty of passage tombs and cairns near, castlewellan, rostrevor, dundrum etc……a quick google will bring up tonnes of them, exactly right, could spent weeks exploring the Stone Age history of norn iron.

[@danessaviolette]

It's obvious how much effort and research you've put into your work. Thank you for your perfection!

[@Tipi_Dan]

Very comprehensive, and kept my interest. I've read Mallory's "Dreamtime". The problem of the complexity of Irish mythology compared to the paucity of Irish archeology partially originates in stories. They possess the longest, fastest, and most persistent legs from among all those traveling cultural elements. The persistence of the stories in Ireland is born of the same isolation that deprived their oral custodians of the (Gaulish) material culture the stories describe. 44:23 Harper holding harp backwards. Watch that Victorian fantasy art.

[@ChrisLawton66]

I like that when you speak of something that isn't properly sourced, that you point that out instead of simply letting conjecture run rampant. Well done video. Thank you.

[@TheHistocrat]

Oof looks like a few more video editing errors crept into this one than I'd realised when I put it up, apologies folks. Next one will be smoother.

[@plaguepug2091]

Bro you make 2 hour videos that I love sitting through every time don’t even worry ab it

[@damienkilcannonvryce]

Nonsense! Love your vids!!!

[@SlurmsMackenzie187]

Love your videos bro don’t worry about it

[@agold2125]

No issues. Cool info and presentation. No apologies necessary. Thanks for your great work.

[@samaval9920]

But other researchers find that mégaliths je n Ireland &!elsewhere were pre Celtic.

[@zainali-lm4zr]

My grandma told me about the tree, which is at the entrance of our house, she said that anyone who harms the tree, those that are not from the family, they come across harm from mysterious forces. A lady peed against the tree and she got smacked in the head and turned blind. There were other examples my grandmother gave, but they're not fresh on my mind

[@dode3614]

@Jeff Robinson r/atheism

[@koninginvictoria]

Sounds like dark witchcraft which makes sense. The Celts spilt from the other Germanic tribes when they were led astray by an evil priestess. The Oera Linda Book describes how/why this happened.

[@marryjordan6625]

Lady pee on a tree? Not as easy as said. Ridiculous story.

[@Comuniity_]

@@koninginvictoria celts never split from Germanic tribes they are both of proto indo European origin but neither split from one each other

[@jtzoltan]

@@Comuniity_ wouldn't they have split from each other during their proto-indoeuropean past? Like they became differentiated from each other from that common root... is that what is typically meant by "split from"? In this case, there was a story referenced that indicates they were mutually aware of the Germans and made a deliberate splitting off rather than something being the effect of geographical distribution and time. I imagine their could be followers that migrated from a common protoindoeuropean origin who left and eventually became the celts and settled differentially from those who became the Germanic tribes.

[@AFlamingTacos]

Absolutely love these long form documentaries of yours, thank you for making them.

[@conorbowen3360]

I wish I could go back in time and listen to a Druid tell a story from Irish mythology. I bet they were great storytellers.

[@katimurray626]

There are loads of good books to read on the Irish myths

[@hoomansawakenwoof5746]

@@katimurray626 another myth is us irish are great story tellers,most of us are disinterested morbid fuckers😝

[@mariovillarreal8647]

Still, an interesting comment and good wish.

[@solomon_doors]

​@@katimurray626 can you recommend a couple?

[@katimurray626]

@@solomon_doors Aye Thomas a good starting place would be the Ulster Cycle.

[@cyndlehick9777]

The fact you added so many accessible sources earns a subscription. Thank you for teaching.

[@ioryan8820]

Well done and thank you, this is so comprehensive and a lot of it's content brought, for the 1st time to the public arena, which puts other historians and doco makers to shame.

[@samanthaw5724]

I've only just found this channel, I'm delighted. This is the best history channel I've ever seen.

[@hesterwright3674]

It is good isnt it. History hit TV, stephan milo, and the peoples profiles are some other good history channels on KZbin.

[@hesterwright3674]

Absolute history, fall of civilisations, tasting history, medieval madness, history's forgotten people, chronicles are also great channels

[@samanthaw5724]

@@hesterwright3674 thanks. Will check them out

[@pongop]

It's interesting about the accounts of Ireland, how incomplete or inaccurate they were, yet were pronounced and I'm assuming accepted as fact in these authoritative works about the world. It makes me wonder how incomplete and/or inaccurate our modern understanding of the world and universe may be, what we're taking for granted as unequivocally true and real, as did the scholars of the ancient world? But then, how do you even know what's real anyway? Excellent documentary!!!

[@AngelsVoiceASMR]

The entire history of the world is hidden… the buildings are much older then they tell us …

[@johnnyjohnson1326]

These are why you're one of my favorite channels. Longform, indepth documentaries are interesting to me and you have perfected the art! Thank you.

[@ZyrusSmith]

I just wish these were about three times the length.

[@lydiarowe491]

Giving us so much in the detail of the historical value here in Ireland where it still remains both a strong Christian society and mystical ..always magical. Thankyou for this podcast..your hard work is appreciated...☘

[@viezeman]

Yeah its awesome , but what the narrator says. Most of the history that is recorded are myths or speculation at this point. Its to bad 12 000 Astroid hit the earth. We lost most of our history. In morroco in a cave they found a bone from a homo sapien, 300 000 years old. We lost more 90 procent of our history.

[@vallgron]

Irealnd does not have a strong christian society anymore most of us have rightly gotten that shit out of our lives

[@pyrrhusofepirus8491]

@@vallgron dunno that 80% Catholic statistic speaks otherwise mate

[@conbon7816]

@@pyrrhusofepirus8491 yeah 2016 it was its jumped all the way down to 45% in 2021

[@clarkycat9173]

@@pyrrhusofepirus8491 I think he means that the Catholic Church doesn’t have the same influence it used to have in Ireland. Back in the day it basically caused economic ruin in the 50s.

[@Restitutor-Orbis]

Been a long time coming, can't wait to watch. Congrats dude on finishing this surely awesome video

[@modernlifeisadam]

you do god's work my friend(s), I was just thinking in the past weeks of how I wished to learn more of the druids, but I thought there was nothing to learn besides Tacitus accounts of Divicacius' accounts. thank you so much for the work you do.

[@WhitePositive]

Read about the Tribes of Levi, we came from the Tribes of Israel, who were white.

[@dayofthejackyl]

@@WhitePositive such a strange comment.

[@WhitePositive]

@@dayofthejackyl Druids are the Levites across Europe.

[@mercianthane2503]

About the heroic cycles, I have no doubt that those were composed in the Iron Age, since the irish are an indo-european culture, and share many similarities in their societies and religion to their indo-european brethrens. Just as the greeks are portrayed in the Iliad, the irish would've behaved the same in open battlefield as presented in the Táin. For sure, since the tales were writen in the Middle Ages, there has to be some anachronism... that happens in the Iliad too.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

Greeks and Phoenicians (Jews/Celts) settled in Ireland and Scotland as well as the Netherlands, bringing with them their Astrological Zodiac, and worship of the Solar Lunar Calendar. That's why the myths all ring the same, even the period of training for a Druid, 19 years, ie a metonic cycle, is found in the cycle of the Phoenix, found in Egyptian, Jewish, Assyrian, and Hindu traditions. Celts, Jews, Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Assyrians all share the same new year celebration on the Fall Equinox, the Festival of Trumpets. Their traditions all recount the passage of the Moon through the Zodiac with a 13 lunar month year every second year, hence Jesus and his 12 disciples, and Arthur and his 12 Knights. Seeing as Zero was not a thing until 3BC. In fact the alignments found at the Bru na Boinne, and their associated traditions reflect those found in Egypt, Babylon, and Christianity, the Christian cross being found in Europe long before it became the Cross of Baal, the Cross of Tyre, Capital of Phoenicia, whose name means Rock, and sits just offshore from Urshu Shalom, City of Peace, or City of the New Moon. Israel too is the Phoenician's word for Saturn, or El, Fruit of Isis and Ra, otherwise known a Horus, and Hercules, Pan, and Cernunnos, Og to the Celts. The same Og is referenced in Byblos, associated with Hephaestus and Aegypticus, Khasekhemwy, first Pharoah of Egypt, a Giant associated with Orion and Taurus, and the Silver Gate, just like Osiris. Isis in turn rides atop Taurus the Bull as Pleiades, at 33 degrees. Enoch too recounts visiting a Crystal Palace, illuminated by the Full Moon every 19 years, consistent with New Grange in the Bru na Boinne

[@mercianthane2503]

@@uncannyvalley2350 Oh no, not this shit again.

[@oldomurchu4462]

Originally occupied by the Atlantians in some tales.

[@clarissawalker5210]

Irish hail Arya. They are NOT European nor are they Indo-European.

[@mercianthane2503]

@@clarissawalker5210 Oh no, another of these lunatics.

[@sanjayshah4372]

In Sanskrit, DRU means IMMENSE and VID means KNOWLEDGE. A Druid was a person with IMMENSE KNOWLEDGE. Druids possessed vast knowledge in different walks of life, that people used to consult and take advice. It took 20 years to become a Druid (It takes 12 years to become a Brahmin in India).

[@WhitePositive]

We came directly from the white Israelite tribes, we spent our entire lives in one area. The Druids were of the WHITE tribes of Israel, the Tribe of Levi.

[@sanjayshah4372]

@@WhitePositive How do you know this ? Why are Druids travelling to India, to meet with practicing Brahmins ?

[@WhitePositive]

@@sanjayshah4372 Thy didn't need your Brahmins, they walked across the land and kept going. Probably your Brahmins learnt from them, and exchanged with them, if there were Brahmins there at the time, but they did not stay, if they did, they did not stay for long. They were under guidance of where to go.

[@WhitePositive]

@@sanjayshah4372 They may have also met and talked. We do not know everything they did on their way across, we only know they went through on their way to Europe, Britain, etc. Some also went by water with Jeremiah, the prophet at the time.

[@WhitePositive]

Druids were the lineage of Levi, they were born to their calling and sometimes called of others of the Twelve Tribes, but some say they had to be 30 before they could teach. They had to have a lot of knowledge before passing on the wisdom. People generally lived (slightly?) longer in those days, too.

[@macgyversmacbook1861]

I’m a Catholic American with Irish roots and I’ve taken time to memorize old Irish stories like Cuchulain or Fionn, despite me being Catholic the fact Druids had the ability to memorize every single word of their history and stories never ceases to amaze or inspire me

[@NoOne-on4vt]

In my culture those who memorized used a plant called brahmi or bacopa monnieri (sometimes called gotu kola but careful in europe lots of bacopa are named gotu kola) . Make a tea with a teaspoon of crushed FRESH leaves (80°c water very important) brew it for 5 to 10 minutes and sip once to twice a day as you're working on memorizing stories. The effects can be seen as early as 3 weeks but a more realistic timing is 6 months. You must be consistent over the course of multiple years but it does work!! Hope this helps you because the work you are doing is important to keep your culture alive! Transmit it when you can.

[@geoffhunter7704]

Neophyte Druid recruits were carefully chosen for their talents in memory.poetry the apprenticeship being at least 10yrs of intensive tutorship and learning.

[@10hawell]

I'm so fucking hyped right now, I have fever am dehydrated and cook curry and will stay awake today listening about druids like a kid same as two years ago.

[@Rick_Cleland]

👀

[@robewing2001]

I don't think Ive ever been as excited about a youtube video as I am about Druids 2 : Irish boogagloo

[@marryjordan6625]

Get a life.

[@roloduarte3100]

A very high quality documentary, my respect to you sir. Thank you for sharing it.

[@BarukkiBooPyromancervideos]

I just found your channel today through your first druid history video. I was overjoyed to find out part 2 is already out! Thank you!

[@jeannedouglas9912]

Credit given where credit is deserved. This podcast provides as much or more information than one would receive in a doctoral program. And the voice is obviously human not robotic. 🎉

[@schrodingersgat4344]

I subbed and will watch this (in full) tomorrow. I'm only chiming in, here to mention that "Ireland and The Druids" would be a KILLER band name.

[@rozalina531]

🇮🇪 🙏🏻 🇮🇪

[@manosassassin]

Ahw hell yeah been waiting for this!! So excited to get into this tonight after a smoke! Always great content!

[@AriaIsara]

At 44:50 when you say the stories about the waves of people have no basis in reality, this is a deep misunderstanding of how folklore works. A lot of old memories are embedded in such stories. It's a known historical fact that Ireland and Europe in general were peopled with many waves of people and logically it's probably NOT a coincidence that Irish mythology mentions this. It doesn't mean it has to be taken at face value. When the legend says that giants inhabited the island it can simply be the memory of hunter gatherers, whom we know were taller than the Neolithic farmers that came later. The whole folklore shouldn't be discarded just because it contains supernatural elements.

[@jamesnomos8472]

While this was once considered a possibility, my understanding is that this hypothesis is now largely rejected, although I can't remember on what grounds.

[@AriaIsara]

@@jamesnomos8472 what hypothesis are you talking about?

[@jamesnomos8472]

@@AriaIsara That the layers of prior peoples in Irish Mythology represent a cultural memory of displaced/destroyed historical peoples.

[@AriaIsara]

@@jamesnomos8472 it's a fact that Ireland has received several waves of people. Whether folklore remembers that or not is up for interpretation, if some reject the idea it's not based on any facts but on a personal opinion only. Some people believe folklore and myth have no connection to real event, the same applies to ancient near east/biblical scholars for instance. Abraham is not, AFAWK, a historical character. Some historians consider him completely made up while others think he represents the memory of a patriarch/leader. No way to prove one or the other but personally I think naive and short sighted to think legends just came out of nowhere.

[@indiomoustafa2047]

Its the mystery of the droods. They all have an attitude.

[@symoncoy8350]

the leyendecker prints.... those are some of my favorite works, so glad to see them pop up here

[@kenterbee3191]

I am so thankful for your work on this! As an Irish Pagan myself I really appreciate the amount of detail and nuance you put in this!

[@maciejglowacki1997]

Druids was a video that made me binge every video on this channel.

[@upfry9593]

Falling to sleep while listening to these has been some of the best sleeps i've had for a while!

[@victorknezevich7281]

Yes I was falling asleep also,druids existed but they did not like writing,they preferred to keep their knowledge exclusive,in their minds,oh no I'm falling asleep again,zzzzzzzz

[@sarahhearn-vonfoerster7401]

Ireland would have been spared so much pain and destruction if its own Brehon Law and Irish form of Christianity had been maintained and the Anglo-Saxon Patrick's boat had sunk into the Irish Sea. His view of Christianity was certainly not "Saintly"..!

[@billnicks2362]

You realise that women were considered completely legally incompetent when it came to the Brehon laws right? Not to mention the massively unfair class system that made some aspects of society considered non-people? And that people of higher status could fix guilt on people of lower status?

[@PanPiperat]

dude you make legit good content and your voice is really pleasant to listen to. Keep up the good work, im most definitely staying around!

[@TSmith-yy3cc]

Outstanding as always; really appreciate your work!

[@Adino1]

The sheer amount of information in this video is impressive 1:48:30 love these kind of legends

[@fugithegreat]

I love these videos! Usually watch/listen while doing housework. Makes me feel doubly productive.

[@SpartanNat]

Hey! New video! Nice to see the second Druids video out. Keep the great content coming!

[@AgxntAqua]

My family is from southern Ireland. Cork/Waterford area. Though I do have ancestors in Dublin as well but theyre not documented. Were almost all in Canada now. Immigrated during the famine. My name roughly translates to "painted warrior priest" so I have always wondered if there were druids in my family lineage somewhere.

[@bawb450]

So happy you could find some of your family story. My family migrate in the mid 1800’s to West Virginia. We came to America and given the surname Orahood, now there’s hundreds of versions of the name from Airhud, Orchard to Orahuud variants. Best luck on your journey.

[@patriciapalmer1377]

THE SHEE both parents from Ireland, my Dad would say, the blood of Irish kings, all 1000 of them, runs in your veins, of course they lived in huts on stilts in a bog, wore animal skins, and beat the guy in the next bog to death with a club for his hut until 1922, but they could tell a fine story and make some great whiskey ! Funny, funny man.We were raised on all the old stories and myths; we all still put a tiny saucer of it to the right of the front door for the wee folk, and the Shee (on certain occasions).

[@sirNdaniel]

This is KZbin gold. So glad the algorithm brought me here!

[@a1n9t8o9]

Brilliant! I've been waiting for this! Excellent work as always!

[@missimccarthy8408]

I appreciate that you really did try to pronounce the Irish language words properly. You did a great job. Well done ❤️

[@CaptainCed]

I'm confused by this comment. I opened the comments to see if anyone had offered help on pronunciation in future, but then I see this upvoted praise for not even trying. He switches between Maeve and Meeve, come on. That's so easy even Americans can do it. Like, I can forgive mispronouncing actual Irish, but he even mispronounces "Ulster", "Munster", and "Leinster". Those are current names that google will tell you how to say. Two seconds of effort per word would be nice.

[@michaelcaffery5038]

Not that great.

[@liamrab6]

@@CaptainCed even the way he pronounced ogham lmao

[@cocalicoman]

I was so excited for this when you mentioned it on the podcast, glad it’s here already

[@marcelo_pendragon]

I love your professionalism, and it makes me sad to learn how little we know about the beliefs and legends of the Celtic people. Almost anything can be a medieval invention. Same with ancient nordic religion unfortunately.

[@cavemancaveman5190]

I consider it a blessing. We are closer to each other now

[@Kali-Yuga-Peace-Corp]

I agree, the Norse and Gaels and so on, are not the barbarians they are stereotyped to be.

[@coebaltraizure6137]

Remember that even th medieval versions of these folklore's would still have been rooted in the people's earlier beliefs. They may have changed, drifted and transformed, but don't let anyone tell you that their folklore is 100% fabricated

[@JohnDoe-yq9ml]

Amazing video!!! Thank you so much!!!!!! Keep up the great work! Much love from the U.S.A. 🇺🇸

[@stirgy4312]

I biked all through Ireland when I was younger and I remember dozens of Cairns all over the place. I would camp near them, wondering who built them.

[@devinsmith4790]

Ireland seems like a cool place to live, especially because of the ancient and medieval ruins you could see.

[@2msvalkyrie529]

Local farmers mostly .

[@ivartheboneless5969]

@@devinsmith4790 like pretty much anywhere in the eastern hemisphere.

[@mariovillarreal8647]

Thank you fir a professionally presented, narrated video. And for acknowledging credits to others who enabled its inception.

[@kurtbogle2973]

You want to understand Irish Druids. Look at Irish sports. Hurling is a brutal complex sport requiring total attention and concentration at the same time. Yes the Irish expect the impossible, and they always have. The intellectual arena was no different. The responsibilities of the Druid was everything that had to do with thought, planning, law, mathematics, science, warfare and weapons, and Intelligence. Plus anything else that needed figured out. The Roman's would have never defeated the Celts had they not murdered their Druids first.

[@MaximusOfTheMeadow]

I Thank you, this is easily one of the most informative video's about Druids, and much more. And it is just fun to watch! :)

[@WMFranksworth]

Babe wake up, new Histocrat just dropped.

[@sineadmcdonald]

Hiya :) I love your channel - fantastic content and I very much appreciate the proper sourcing! I have a teeny suggestion: I know it's an older video, but if you're ever revisiting a quick check of Irish pronunciations would help. They're not easy, and you did a great job but there were a few that made me flinch 😅

[@mrwtfwhy]

It is said that in early Drood culture scissors were revered as holy objects.

[@mrboatface4023]

fuck, man. took me way too long to get this one

[@mulder938]

Hahaha

[@probablyondryland7142]

It was the magic of the droods of course!

[@mulder938]

@@probablyondryland7142 droods*

[@probablyondryland7142]

@@mulder938 Youre right

[@geraldinehughes4490]

Thank you Sir, Druids indeed marvelous and so well done and produced, you also have a lovely voice. I adore all the glorious art work it really captures my imagination and the fragments of ancient manuscripts, text right there on the screen, heavenly. I am sure I will have interesting dreams tonight. I appreciate you, many happy trails. Geraldine

[@ronjones-6977]

Props to him for working on his rhotacism. It's a hard thing to overcome.

[@pj1909]

Hughes to Hughes

[@lukeeastwood]

Excellently researched and leaving aside much of the romantic notions of past and current views on the Druids.

[@LetsGoGetThem]

The building of churches on Irish holy sites seem to have destroyed some archeological evidence, no? Also this suggests that the Irish were much more oppositional to conversion than previously thought, at least you insinuate this in this work, however the consensus is that Ireland fell to Christianity quite quickly. Even Wikipedia notes this. The central question is what would necessitate the building of churches on Irish holy sites if they readily abandoned them for Christianity? HUNDREDS of churches was built in Ireland in this period, a ridiculous amount, and local beliefs seem to have been targeted based on oral history and extrapolation of Christian propaganda. This to me seems to suggest there was still a residue cryptologic or open affinity to the old religious beliefs in Ireland in the conversion period, the stories of the "evil druids" seem to confirm this too. Ireland must have been a tough nut to crack on this, which necessitated the complete eradication of iron age beliefs and folk tales. I always found this idea of Ireland being "quick to convert to Christianity" to be quite ridiculous myself, considering how resistant Ireland has been historically to other religions. This is the land of Insular Christianity and Catholic affinity in the face of Protestant occupation after all. At every step of history, the Irish has been extremely opposed to foreign religious influence. Yet the Christianization period sticks out as a sore thumb here, and one can only extrapolate that this is because the resistance was both stomped out and also not recorded. For some reason the Irish here were completely subservient to foreign conversions, even in ways that seem to suggest they were moreso than others. I call BS on that personally, the Irish wouldnt just both willingly leave their holy sites to the Christians and let their stories be written over by crude translations of the Illiad. There is an absence of mythology, or a mythology too inconvoinient for the powers at be to be overwritten with a Christianized mythology, which the Ulster cycles are as you say. The sources we have are almost always biased against pagans. - Everything seems to suggest there was a struggle period largely left out of the canon of Irish history, and those stories seem to suggest the historical religious rivals seem to have been druids or druid like figures who opposed Christianization.

[@hannah1943]

I guess it was hard to give up child sacrifice and slaves? that Saint Patrick ended

[@beatusqui]

@@hannah1943 There is no evidence that the Irish druids practised human sacrifice. The same can't be said for their British counterparts. Also the ancient Irish abolished slavery. St Patrick??? Hah

[@LetsGoGetThem]

Historians aren't liars, none of the things I said conflict with historian views. It extrapolate based on given facts, I am not a historian nor do I claim to be one. When I say "sources" I mean medieval sources, the stories of the druids as recorded by the Christian Church. It is my view as is the theory of many historians that the product of the Ulster Cycles and other things being as they are is a residue of a brutal prozelytizing process which is only necessitated if the Irish resisted conversion, and by that metric the Irish seem to have been very resistant to Christianization, I didn't even mention how it took a very long time for Catholicism to be introduced proper, one might even argue it never really was as even today the Irish have their own Saints among other things. A good work chronicling this is "From Paganism to Christianity: Transition of the Insular Celts As Seen Through The Archaeological Record" by Percival, Barbara which shows evidence of a "Creolization" of Christianity and Paganism in Ireland. So no claims of liars here, however I do have questions from what the facts we are given, and that is the same with a lot of people in history, a continuous process of discovery 🙂

[@billnicks2362]

@@beatusqui Except for the bog bodies of high status individuals who were killed through ritual sacrifice. And to the Irish abolishing slavery? we literally kept slaves of people the next village over. Female slaves were literally used as currency

[@beatusqui]

@@billnicks2362 What do you mean we? Nicks is an english name. On second thoughts you probably did. My ancestors were McCullough who were the gaels. From Scotia. Ancient kingdom of Dal Riada. The ancient Irish were highly civilized and cultured. Not much like the inhabitants of today. That's because most of them are the descendants of war like invaders. Myself included to a degree. Danes.

[@Knucklehead123]

Amazing historical research. Thank you.

[@n0msg4u]

Funny, she doesn't look Druish

[@courtneysmith6082]

We will give her back her old nose

[@davids4313]

Clicked on this straight away, what a pleasant surprise, thanks.

[@dottiebaker6623]

This is the longest statement of the fact that we know little to nothing about Druids in Ireland I've ever heard, illustrated with the smallest number of images.....very frustrating, because I've always had the feeling that the Druids were tremendously important for a very long time.

[@telemetriklongwalk4326]

Read the Roman and Greek sources on Germanic and Celticoid druids

[@DJFreeway-DJDeltoid-DJZales]

I am biracial Celt and New Mexican/Mexican Native and am all about pre Catholic Ireland the original Celtic religions and huemans.

[@irishopoohbrothers0317]

Brian O’Pooh & Billy O’Tigger ☘️ Amazing depiction of our ancestors

[@akrobatish]

dafuq lol

[@Embracehistoria]

Two videos in a month? What is going on?

[@tecumsehcristero]

Who else couldn't wait for this to come out?

[@blackthorne-rose]

Brilliant, inspiring scholarship, great presentation, visual, everything. Extremely impressive. I am learning so much from this video... just starting my second run-through now1 Fascinating.

[@vivianlidberg9031]

Back in the iron age they didn't write they memorized everything and passed it on as bards or druids or others like them

[@Cim]

First day of vacation and a new histocrat video? Perfect

[@addison9272]

Now this is what I subscribed for. Also, please finish the Punic wars documentaries.

[@joshlee345]

I'm beyond excited for this!

[@mithileshseth4563]

Yay. Awesome. Just finished your Medusa podcast

[@mattvdh]

So much amazing information this doc, well done!

[@joelkurowski7129]

The city of Troy and the events of The Iliad were once regarded as entirely fictional, that this story could not possibly have been passed on by illiterate people. This view has now been rejected and the content of The Iliad which doesn't directly deal with the supernatural is now being looked at as a surprisingly accurate memory of the late Bronze Age. Perhaps critics of the Matter of Ireland will one day acknowledge that these stories don't need to be 100% accurate to be able to paint for us a picture of what these people were like.

[@uncannyvalley2350]

It still is. The details of that story relate to the Zodiac, Philostetes lands on the island of Hephaestus, where he is bitten by a snake on the ankle, just as St John on Malta. He then uses the poison of that snake to lace an arrow which strikes Achilles, also in the ankle. These are both references to Eradinus, the Red River, that sprouts from the foot of Orion. Paris too is a combination of Par Bull, Taurus, and Isis, Pleiades, which sits at 33 degrees of the Zodiac

[@jessmorri7194]

And to be fair same goes for the Bible.

[@joelkurowski7129]

@@jessmorri7194 if you mean to say that the Old Testament was accurately passed down as oral tradition for centuries before it was written down, then yes

[@jackkendall6420]

1:29:05 that sheep on the right is having the time of their life

[@joanne1dreams]

Roly polies, great craic 😂🐑🐏🐩

[@riccihall9178]

This was a wonderful video. Thank you for your work

[@barretthoven]

I was actually watching the original video a few months ago! glad to see more quality content on this subject!

[@Ζήνων-ζ1ι]

It's finally here. Thank you for the hard work.

[@antseanbheanbocht4993]

Excellent. Really Really enjoyed it. Thank you .

[@jojobaba754]

Oh yes please!!!! Thank you so much!!! I’m gonna enjoy this!!! ❤️🙏

[@archenema6792]

The Cattle Raid Of Cooley and other tales of Cuchulain present the most authentic description of the Irish society of my ancestors, and the place that druids played in it, despite its warts and embellishments. Like everything good, the reality has been obscured by the boy hungry demons in gold robes and red pointy hats.

[@BaronvonMoorland]

I absolutely adore this channel! ❤

[@frekitheravenous516]

As Northern Europeans (English, Irish, Danish, German, etc.), we would have been far better off without christianity. We lost much of the ancient wisdom because it was considered "evil". We lost our soul/spirit that was native to us. What we became is NOT who we are deep down. Much Love to the Old Gods and Ancestors.

[@dr.floridaman4805]

Your government denies you liberty not Jesus.

[@mirandagoldstine8548]

We also lost the names of deities. I mean as an American of primarily German descent with Polish, Swiss and Lithuanian ancestry who is a neopagan (specifically neodruidess) I don’t really know much about the Slavic gods because so much is conjecture and what was written down about Lithuanian paganism was written with a Christian bias. And don’t get me started on figuring out what the names of the deities worshiped by the Celtic tribes of Bavaria were and the lack of information on Hunnic deities. Perhaps that’s why I tend to honor the Irish and Nordic deities such as Brighid because we have a bit more on them over the other now forgotten deities.

[@musashidanmcgrath]

Exactly, we are always told that Europe is built on the 'Judeo-Christian', but The Abrahamic cults are completely alien concepts from the Middle East/Levant, and have always been completely at odds with our natural pagan mindset. This is why the cult of christianity was built directly on top of Roman paganism and the Roman state religion. The Romans knew that in order to sell this new 'one god' cult they would have to market it as pagan with the trinity and the saints and all the angels and demons. Before the 3 Abrahamic cults, all pagan gods of all lands and people were respected and accepted by all, even the most bitter of enemies. The 3 Abrahamic cults have caused more trouble than any other ideology in history.

[@LoneWolf-wp9dn]

its funny... some christians are more or less overtly antisemitic... sometimes out of bias sometimes out of a perceived political need... but if you tell them that they are following the jewish god and customs they get quite offended

[@WhitePositive]

Druids were the Tribes of Levi. The reason they seem gone is not du to Christianity, but du to the usurption of Christianity, which is why Britain was made to be protestant instead of Catholic. Israelites are whites, all across Europe and Great Britain. We just have to rebuild and remember who we are.

[@Starskream3030]

Thank you for just being you. Idk you, but I’m sure you’re a very special little Druid. If I were you I’d be proud of myself. I had a muffin for dinner.

[@AedanTheGrey]

I would not call it "surprisingly vague" in ritual description. I'd call it "intentionally omitted" since christian scholars were very aware of how their records might preserve, reinforce, or encourage heretical and pagan actions. Something of a continued tradition from Rome. Cycles of syncretism and demonization, absorption and outlawing.

[@thedreadfulwale]

comment for the algorithm 🙏 I always look forward to new Histocrat videos, super professional and comprehensive as always!!

[@pedroavellarcosta9389]

men, love you videos, but you should put the narretion only on spotify also... love using it for a afternoon nap.

[@jbbryson8047]

Brilliantly done. God Bless The Histocrat

[@draoiui-loingsigh2340]

Grew up in the boyne valley close to Tara and Slane.

[@tecumsehcristero]

I have been waiting so long for this

[@seanypfitness]

As a Flaherty I believe our bloodline is from galamh milesius and maybe a continuation with Java scotia, our coat of arms arms also has an Egyptian boat I’m a Christian though🙏 great video

[@skintech8620]

Aye!

[@MrBazzabee]

Good stuff is this...better than the other stuff on youtube. And the stuff that crops up later doesn't have to be shorter.

[@yensid4294]

Wonderful. I think this one will require a couple re-watches to fully digest all the information presented. Lovely visuals & musical score.👍

[@profbri.02]

General query of everyone... How hard is it to change to a different voice for narration? Is it as easy as changing the voice on your phone or siri or what have you?

[@CB-sn4xh]

The Druids are still here in Sacred Ireland, Strong as Ever! 🇮🇪 🌳

[@lindanorris2455]

think of it as DIVERSITY!

[@TheRiipTide]

@@lindanorris2455 No Linda

[@alexae1367]

So the guy who said he was the last druid, was he mistaken? or attention-seeking then?😀

[@GkPhotographic]

@@alexae1367 what do you want to achieve with this ? the technology the Droai exported east was higher thought , something you will never reach

[@pj1909]

​@@GkPhotographic well there you go

[@sebastianucero7535]

A true marvel. Your videos should go to the museums displays. Thank you!

[@TheDeadmanTT]

ANOTHER VIDEO?!!? You spoil us