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A Druid (; (ウェールズ語:derwydd)) was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples of Gaul, Britain, Ireland, and possibly elsewhere during the Iron Age. The Druid class included law-speakers, poets and doctors, among other learned professions, although the best known among the Druids were the religious leaders. Very little is known about the ancient Druids. They left no written accounts of themselves, and the only evidence are a few descriptions left by Greek, Roman, and various scattered authors and artists, as well as stories created by later medieval Irish writers.〔Hutton 2009. p. 01.〕 While archaeological evidence has been uncovered pertaining to the religious practices of the Iron Age people, "not one single artefact or image has been unearthed that can undoubtedly be connected with the ancient Druids."〔Hutton 2009. p. 23.〕 Various recurring themes emerge in a number of the Greco-Roman accounts of the Druids, including that they performed animal and even human sacrifice, believed in a form of reincarnation, and held a high position in Gaulish society. Next to nothing is known for certain about their cultic practice, except for the ritual of oak and mistletoe as described by Pliny the Elder. The earliest known reference to the Druids dates to 200 BCE, although the oldest actual description comes from the Roman military general Julius Caesar in his ''Commentarii de Bello Gallico'' (50s BCE). Later Greco-Roman writers also described the Druids, including Cicero,〔Cicero 44. I.XVI.90.〕 Tacitus〔Tacitus. XIV.30.〕 and Pliny the Elder.〔Pliny c.78. XVI.249.〕 Following the Roman invasion of Gaul, Druidism was suppressed by the Roman government under the 1st century CE emperors Tiberius and Claudius, and it had disappeared from the written record by the 2nd century. In about 750 CE the word ''Druid'' appears in a poem by Blathmac, who wrote about Jesus, saying that he was "... better than a prophet, more knowledgeable than every Druid, a king who was a bishop and a complete sage."〔Mac Mathúna, Liam (1999) ("Irish Perceptions of the Cosmos" ) ''Celtica,'' vol. 23 (1999), 174–187 (p. 181).〕 The Druids then also appear in some of the medieval tales from Christianized Ireland like the "Táin Bó Cúailnge", where they are largely portrayed as sorcerers who opposed the coming of Christianity.〔Hutton 2009. pp. 32–37.〕 In the wake of the Celtic revival during the 18th and 19th centuries, fraternal and neopagan groups were founded based on ideas about the ancient Druids, a movement known as Neo-Druidism. Many popular modern notions about Druids have no connection to the Druids of the Iron Age and are largely based on much later inventions or misconceptions.〔("The Druids" ), ''The British Museum''〕 == Etymology == The modern English word ''Druid'' derives from the Latin ''Druides'' (pronounced (:druˈides)), which was considered by ancient Roman writers to come from the native Celtic Gaulish word for these figures.〔Piggott 1968. p. 89.〕〔(Druides ), Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, ''A Latin Dictionary'', on Perseus project.〕〔Caroline aan de Wiel, "Druids () the word", in ''Celtic Culture''.〕 Other Roman texts also employ the form ''Druidae'', while the same term was used by Greek ethnographers as (''Druidēs'').〔(Δρουίδης ), Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus.〕〔Pokorny's ''Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch'', see also ''American Heritage Dictionary'' (4th ed.), (Δρυίδης ).〕 Although no extant Romano-Celtic inscription is known to contain the form,〔 the word is cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish ''druí'' ‘druid, sorcerer’, Old Cornish ''druw'', Middle Welsh ''dryw'' ‘seer; wren’.〔 Based on all available forms, the hypothetical proto-Celtic word may then be reconstructed as *''dru-wid-s'' (pl. *''druwides'') meaning "oak-knower". The two elements go back to the Proto-Indo-European roots '' *deru-''〔Proto-IE * *weid-'' "to see".〔''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'': Fourth Edition, 2000 (Indo-European Roots: weid- ).〕 The sense of "oak-knower" (or "oak-seer") is supported by Pliny the Elder,〔 who in his ''Natural History'' considered the word to contain the Greek noun ''drýs'' (δρύς), "oak-tree"〔(δρῦς ), Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', on Perseus project.〕 and the Greek suffix ''-idēs'' (-ιδης).〔(List of ancient Greek words ending in -ιδης ), on Perseus.〕 The modern Irish word for Oak is ''Dair'', which occurs in anglicized placenames like Derry – Doire, and Kildare – Cill Dara (literally the "church of oak"). There are many stories about saints, heroes, and oak trees, and also many local stories and superstitions (called pishogues) about trees in general, which still survive in rural Ireland. Both Old Irish ''druí'' and Middle Welsh ''dryw'' could also refer to the wren,〔 possibly connected with an association of that bird with augury in Irish and Welsh tradition (see also Wren Day).〔〔See further Brian Ó Cuív, "Some Gaelic traditions about the wren". ''Éigse'' 18 (1980): pp. 43–66.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Druid」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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