Tuesday...

Not much actual writing since Friday, but a good bit of looking at maps and reference books and thinking. Conclusions: we know very little about Britain in this period (other than what Tacitus has to say); we know even less about British Druids (i.e. they may have existed, and if so were probably on Anglesey at some point in the 1st century AD, but we have no idea what they were doing there); and we know rather less about Ireland and Irish Druids (if any). Ireland was where it is today; there was some sort of (probably complex) "Celtic" society there, speaking (probably) a Godelic language; there were probably religious / magical specialists of some kind (who may or may not have called themselves Druids) in that society at the time in question; there is a possibility (supported to some extent by archaeological discoveries of Roman material) that Agricola may have sent some sort of military expedition to Ireland, most probably in late 81 AD, with outcome unknown; if he did send such an expedition, they most probably crossed from the vicinity of Galloway (Scotland), as he was operating in that area at that time with the required manpower and naval support; Agricola (according to Tacitus) had in his entourage at that time an exiled Irish noble of some sort who could have served as a focal point for such an expedition. What any Druids (if they existed and were interested) might have had to do this is entirely conjecture.

It's a good thing I'm writing fiction.

-GRG

Thursday...

Well, for the last week I've been busy -- first with writing, then over the weekend with Beltane celebrations; after that, with a new time sink called ancestry.com, and finally with gardening. Hopefully I can get some writing done today!

For Beltane we had two celebrations: first, our private one on Friday night, and then the public ADF celebration on Saturday in Cheeseman Park with SBGH. Chilly weather for both - Friday night we actually had a little sleet and snow, so the warmth of the leaping fire was very welcome. Saturday was dry but cold. I took my camp stove to provide hot tea and mulled wine for the potluck that follows the ceremony, and was very popular as a result!

Still getting frost most nights, though the next three days will be warmer. Time to till the tomato beds...

-GRG

... and Friday

A fine autumn day here in Denver, and still warm. Tomorrow we will be joining the local ADF group for their Samhain observance, which should be fun. So tonight I'm grilling pork loin for the potluck feast that follows. Glad it's not snowing!

Druids obviously are something which has been much on my mind this year. There isn't really much information about the original ones, and all the (scanty) sources come from writers with their own agendas (agendae?). What does seem fairly certain is that there was a priesthood by this name in Britain when the Romans arrived (i.e., 1st century CE) which was then suppressed, and that there was a related group in Ireland at the time Patrick arrived (5th century CE?) which was still around to some extent and in some form in Gwernin's time (mid 6th century CE). It seems highly unlikely that their beliefs and practices, as described by the classical observers in 1st century BCE Gaul, would not have undergone some degree of change in that period. Add to that the fact that the few bits we know (or think we know) about the Irish Druids were reported by their religious opponents, and you can see that searching for particular grains of sand in a tub of mud in thick fog on a moonless midnight is a simple task in comparison to searching for the truth about the 6th century Irish Druids...



I'll just have to see where the awen takes me.

-GRG