Druid - Druid (English spelling)

The priestly class of the Celts originated around the Rhine River in the 10th century BC and spread to Ireland. There are almost no documents about them other than Caesar's "Commentaries on the Gallic Wars," and they are still shrouded in mystery, but they are said to have believed in the immortality of the soul and made political and legal decisions through divination. The priests in charge of sacrifices wove wicker baskets in the shape of animals and burned them with humans placed in their legs, while poets composed songs and sang them at banquets to encourage warriors, and above them were sacred druids who retired deep into the forest to contemplate the mysteries of nature. In other words, the druids were wise men who were well versed in the gods, the afterlife, the movements of the celestial sphere, the future, and so on. However, this wisdom was only passed on orally to the best young men of the race, so we don't know what it was like.

Druids did not build temples, but instead chose places deep in the forest where celestial bodies could be clearly seen as altars. Among trees, oak trees, which grow to be giants with spreading branches, were considered sacred. It is said that sacred groves were irrigated by consecrated springs and rivers, surrounded by moats and banks, and had a group of megaliths in the center. The plant that the Druids considered most sacred was mistletoe, which they believed to be a cure for all ailments, and which they reverently collected on the days of the winter and summer solstices. Mistletoe grew on oak trees and was picked with bare hands or with a gold knife. It is said that the practice of decorating with mistletoe at Christmas is a relic of this tradition. In Ireland after it was Christianized, the Druids came to be viewed as mere sorcerers and shamans and were viewed with hostility.

[Hideo Funato]

"Illustrated Druids" by Miranda J. Green, supervised by Kimie Imura and translated by Takeshi Ode (2000, Tokyo Shoseki) " "Celtic Tour" by Hayao Kawai (2004, Japan Broadcasting Publishing Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

紀元前10世紀ごろライン川付近に発し、アイルランドにまで及んだケルト民族の祭司階級。カエサルの『ガリア戦記』以外にほとんど資料を欠き、いまだ謎(なぞ)に包まれているが、霊魂の不滅を信じ、占卜(せんぼく)により政治的・法的決定をなしたといわれる。犠牲(いけにえ)をつかさどる祭司は、小枝細工の動物をかたどった籠(かご)を編み、その脚部に人間を入れて燃やし、詩人は歌をつくり、それを宴席で歌って戦士を鼓舞し、その上にいる神聖なドルイドは森の奥に隠棲(いんせい)して自然の秘奥を観照する。つまりドルイドは神、来世、天球の動き、未来などに通暁する賢者であった。しかしこの知恵は種族の優れた若者に限って口伝されたため、どのようなものであったか、かいもくわからない。

　ドルイドは神殿を構えず、森の奥の、しかも天体のよく見える地を選んで祭壇とした。樹木のなかではとくに枝を張り巨木となるオークを神聖視した。聖なる森は聖別された泉や川により灌漑(かんがい)され、堀や土手に囲繞(いじょう)されて、中央には巨石群があったともいわれる。ドルイドがもっとも神聖視したのはヤドリギで、万病の薬と考えられ、冬至と夏至の日に恭しく採取されたという。ヤドリギはオークの木に生え、素手または金の小刀によってとられた。クリスマスにヤドリギが飾られるのはこの遺風ともいわれる。キリスト教化された後のアイルランドにおいては、ドルイドは単なる妖術(ようじゅつ)使い、巫術(ふじゅつ)使いとして敵視されるようになった。

［船戸英夫］

『ミランダ・J・グリーン著、井村君江監訳、大出健訳『図説ドルイド』（2000・東京書籍）』▽『河合隼雄著『ケルト巡り』（2004・日本放送出版協会）』

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