Druidical books

The ancient Druids were said by J. Caesar to take up to 21 years to train one of their number. It is reasonable to suppose that this training included the basic literacy and numeracy which, until recently, was taken for granted in higher students.

It is fair to say that Druidical books are few, perhaps reflecting the Celtic oral culture, perhaps also demonstrating that Druids tend to reject dogma. It would be quite wrong to suggest that any book on Druidry is fully authoritative, there being controversy among scholars on numerous points.

Because many of the Druidical sources are long out of copyright, they are often available online. The Celtic section of sacred-texts.com includes most of the valuable ones, such as the Barddas and the unsettling prophecies of the Brahan Seer. More links are given in Reference Links.

More recently published works (some regrettably out of print) likely to be of interest include:

Paterson, J.M.: Tree wisdom (Thorsons, 1996; ISBN 0722534086)

Strongly recommended; a definitive work on tree-lore. An abridged field version, A tree in your pocket (Thorsons, 1998; ISBN 0722537786), is also available.

Graves, R.: The white goddess (Faber, 1948; 1999 p/b ISBN 0571174256)

Essential reading but difficult, controversial and more than 500 pages long, this is Graves' personal interpretation of European mythology, and includes a version of the tree-Ogham which differs from that commonly used.

Nichols, R.: The book of Druidry (Aquarian, 1990; ISBN 085030900X)

Regrettably difficult to obtain, this is an important work but in many ways as personal an interpretation as that of Graves, some of Nichols' theoretical conclusions being not uncontroversial.

Matthews, J.: The Druid source book (Blandford, 1996; ISBN 0713725729)

A fine and comprehensive work, concentrating to some extent on the co-existence of Druidism and early Christianity. Recommended.

Carr-Gomm, P.: The rebirth of Druidry (Element, 2003; ISBN 0007156650)

A fascinating and scholarly history of the development of the modern Druid movement, by a major contributor to it.

Sutton, M.M. and Mann, N.: Druid magic (Llewellyn, 2000; ISBN 1567184812)

Transatlantic in style (despite Nick Mann being based in Glastonbury), this Druidry DIY book contains a number of magickal procedures which have been found startlingly effective.

Joyce, J.: Finnegans Wake (Faber, 1939; Penguin ISBN 0140185569)

Not a book about Druidry but the final masterpiece of a great Celtic word-wizard. The ultimate expression of the labyrinthine complexity of the Celtic mind.

"Here words are not the polite contortions of twentieth-century printer's ink. They are alive." Beckett

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