The United Ancient Order of Druids (UAOD) is a

fraternal organisation A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...

founded in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, in 1833 after a scission with the

Ancient Order of Druids The Ancient Order of Druids (AOD) is the senior neo-druid order in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. It was formed in London, England, in 1781. It is represented in England, Wales, Scotland and the Commonwealth of Nations. Its ...

. Its motto is ''United to assist''.

History

The creation in 1833 of the United Ancient Order of Druids was the result of a split in the

; a significant part of the members decided to create a druidic order more open to different social classes, structured as a benefit society and registered by government. During the first decades, the UAOD kept the same emblem as the AOD (a shield with three oaks surrounded by a Celtic warrior and a druid), changing the motto to ''united to assist''. Very soon, the UAOD proved to be a great success and many of its members travelling abroad created new lodges in

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

(1839),

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(1851),

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, and

German empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

(1872). In 1858, the UAOD separated itself in two parts, and a new

fraternal society A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, "wiktionary:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal ...

, the

Order of Druids The Order of Druids (OD) is a fraternal and benefit organisation founded in England, in 1858 after a schism with the United Ancient Order of Druids. Its motto is ''integritas pro rupe nobis''. History The order's emblem is a Druid with a harp an ...

was created. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the organisation faded, as the generalisation of the

welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...

provided people with all that was its purpose. Its last Lodge in England, "Caracus", closed in 1999 but the UAOD still remains in several countries as the United States, Australia,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other g ...

an countries.

United States

The George Washington Lodge #1, the first lodge in the United States, was established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1839. By 1979 the group was apparently defunct as a national organization. Despite the decentralization of the U.A.O.D. as a national organization, the United Ancient Order of Druids of California (or simply "Druids of California")--founded in Placerville, CA by Fredrick Sieg in the nineteenth century—continues to exist. It is governed by a "Grand Grove" with coordinated 13 subsidiary Groves and numerous Circles spread across the state. California Grove No. 1 was officially reinstated in Placerville, CA in 2017-18 and continues to enjoy a modest membership as of 2019. The stated mission of the Druids of California is "to promote knowledge, unity, and peace".

Australia and New Zealand

A Druids Lodge was established in Melbourne in 1851. By 1877 a number of lodges existed in Adelaide: The Adelaide, The Sir James Fergusson, The Allied, The Peace Lodge, the Duke of Brunswick, the Duke of Leinster, the Prince of Wales, The Albert, The Royal and the Adelaide lodge, with a total of 862 members. A Druids Lodge was established in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

in 1879 as the Excelsior Lodge. Its members were drawn from many sectors of

society and the Wellington Grand Lodge, known as Druids’ Chambers, was their headquarters. Despite diminishing influence and a reduced membership in later years the society remained a significant organisation until wound up in 1995."Druids’ Chambers", "Wellington Heritage - Wellington City Council",12 Aug 2016

Germany

In 1872, American Druids undertook the task to bring Druidism to the

. Joseph Hafky was in charge of charter several Lodges in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...

and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland

As the implantation of druidic lodges in the German empire was a success, inspiring some northern European countries to create their own UAOD Grand Lodges:

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(1906),

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

(1924),

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

(1935) and more recently

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(1996).

Switzerland

In 1976, the first UAOD lodge was created in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Notable members

*Frederick Sieg (1815-1888), founder of the UAOD in California. * Byron B. Brainard (1894-1940), city council member, Los Angeles, California.

Bibliography

*Peter Clark, ''British Clubs and Societies 1580-1680'', New York, Oxford University Press, 2000. *Ronald Hutton, ''Blood and Mistletoe: The History of the Druids in Britain'', New Haven, Yale University Press, 2009. *Wilhelm North, ''Who Was Henry Hurle, the Founder of the A.O.D.?'', London 1932. *Victoria Solt Dennis, ''Friendly and Fraternal Societies: their badges and regalia'', London, 2008.

External links

Druids of California United Ancient Order of Druids - Germany United Ancient Order of Druids - Sweden United Ancient Order of Druids - Denmark United Ancient Order of Druids - Norway United Ancient Order of Druids - Switzerland United Ancient Order of Druids - Iceland International Grand Lodge of Druidism
Fraternal orders Friendly societies of the United Kingdom Neo-druid orders Secret societies Secret societies in Germany Secret societies in the United Kingdom Secret societies in the United States