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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[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.

[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.

[wattsy]

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

[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

[truthseeker]

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

[fredkelly]

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

[rorywoods]

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

[danessaviolette]

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

[AFlamingTacos]

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

[conorbowen]

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.

[ioryan]

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.

[Restitutor-Orbis]

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

[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.

[samanthaw]

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

[ChrisLawton]

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.

[robewing]

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

[zainali-lmzr]

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

[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.

[johnnyjohnson]

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.

[SpartanNat]

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