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The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred
XVI, 95
The ritual, known from a single passage in
The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
, cut down the mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to make an elixir to cure infertility and the effects of poison.Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
. '' Natural History'XVI, 95
The ritual, known from a single passage in
Pliny
Pliny may refer to:
People
* Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'')
* Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
's '' Natural History'', has helped shape the image of the druid in the popular imagination.Brunaux (2006), p. 47.
Account by Pliny the Elder
The only extant source for this ritual is a passage in the '' Natural History'' byRoman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
historian Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
, written in the 1st century AD. Speaking of mistletoe, he writes:
While Pliny does not indicate the source on which he based this account, French archaeologist Jean-Louis Brunaux ( fr) has argued for Posidonius
Posidonius (; grc-gre, Ποσειδώνιος , "of Poseidon") "of Apameia" (ὁ Ἀπαμεύς) or "of Rhodes" (ὁ Ῥόδιος) (), was a Greek politician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, historian, mathematician, and teacher nativ ...
of Rhodes, a polymath
A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
who flourished in the 1st century BC.
Later influence and historiography
Miranda Aldhouse-Green
Miranda Jane Aldhouse-Green, (''née'' Aldhouse; born 24 July 1947) is a British archaeologist and academic, known for her research on the Iron Age and the Celts. She was Professor of Archaeology at Cardiff University from 2006 to 2013. Unti ...
has argued that, although Pliny is the only authority to mention this ceremony, the main elements of his account are all features of Celtic religion that are confirmed elsewhere; these include oak trees, mistletoe, ritual banqueting, the moon, and bull-sacrifice.Green (2005).
Pliny's account has been considered to have contributed largely to the popular depiction of druids today, as white-clad wise men performing sacrifices in the forests and equipped with golden sickles.Brunaux (2006), p. 49.
Chateaubriand incorporated a dramatized version of Pliny's scene in his ''Les Martyrs'', in which the druidess Veleda
Veleda was seeress of the Bructeri, a Germanic people who achieved some prominence during the Batavian rebellion of AD 69–70, headed by the Romanized Batavian chieftain Gaius Julius Civilis, when she correctly predicted the initial ...
plays a part.Christian Goudineau, "Les clichés", ''in'' Goudineau (2006), pp. 13–14. In the ''Astérix
''Asterix'' or ''The Adventures of Asterix'' (french: Astérix or , "Asterix the Gaul") is a ''bande dessinée'' comic book series about a village of indomitable Gaulish warriors who adventure around the world and fight the Roman Republic, wi ...
'' comics, the druid Getafix
This is a list of characters in the ''Asterix'' comics.
Main characters
Asterix, Obelix and Dogmatix are the first characters with short descriptions usually listed at the beginning of each of the ''Asterix'' books (after the map of Gaul). They ...
is often depicted among oak trees, robed in white, and bearing a golden sickle.
The ritual is a key plot element in Silver on the Tree, the last book of Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper (born 23 May 1935) is an English author of children's books. She is best known for '' The Dark Is Rising'', a contemporary fantasy series set in England and Wales, which incorporates British mythology such as the Arthurian le ...
's The Dark is Rising Sequence
''The Dark Is Rising Sequence'' is a series of five contemporary fantasy novels for older children and young adults that were written by the British author Susan Cooper and published from 1965 to 1977. The first book in the series, ''Over Sea, ...
.
Notes
References
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ritual Of Oak And Mistletoe Druidry