Druidlands
A Pilgrimage to a Sacred Past
Miranda Aldhouse-GreenAn exhilarating investigation of the mysterious world of the Druids
The Druids – mystical, spiritual leaders of Britain and Europe during the last centuries BC – are a people shrouded in mystery. Miranda Aldhouse-Green’s Druidlands is an illuminating, thrilling guidebook that throws light on this most enigmatic, arcane caste.
Druids flourished as the theocrats of their day – employing sacrifice, shamanism and magic – until the Romans forced them underground, condemning them as hostile religious insurrectionistswho threatened the conquerors’ supremacy. But Druidism endured: traditions were preserved, while in subtle ways, new composite beliefs were carved out alongside Roman paganism. Drawing on classical literary sources and a wealth of archaeological material, much of it recently unearthed, Druidlands points to a rich and complex native religion in the heartlands of Britain and Gaul.
Prologue: Moon, Mistletoe and Mystics
Chapter 1 The Silence of the Druids
Chapter 2 Sacred Hierarchies: Enter Gaius Verius Sedatus
Chapter 3 Exploring Sacrifice
Chapter 4 Tools of the Sacred Trade
Chapter 5 Spells and Sorcery: A Tale of Curses
Chapter 6 Cauldrons of the Gods
Chapter 7 Time Lords and Stargazers
Chapter 8 Smoke and Mirrors: Secret Art, Sacred Art
Chapter 9 Where the Shadows Lie: Dealing with Death and Imagining Rebirth
Chapter 10 Out of This World: Oracles, Shamans and Dream Doctors
Epilogue: Whispering Voices from a Spirit-Rich World
Further Reading
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
Miranda Aldhouse-Green is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University and a former president of the Prehistoric Society. She has published more than twenty books on Iron Age and Romano-British religion and ritual, including Sacred Britannia (2023) and Bog Bodies Uncovered (2016), winner of the Archaeological Institute of America’s Felicia Holton Book Award.