Irish Druids and old Irish religions / by James Bonwick.

  • James Bonwick
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Irish Druids and old Irish religions / by James Bonwick. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    30/344 (page 18)
    bear cups. Torques are often spiral. BuIIce are amulets of lead covered with thin gold. Circular gold plates are very thin and rude. Pastoral staffs, like pagan ones, have serpents twisted round them, as seen on the Cashel pastoral staff. Prof O'Curry says— Some of our old glossarists explain the name Druid by doctus, learned ; and Fill, a poet, as a lover of learning.” But Cormac MacCullinan, in his glossary, derives the word Fili from Fi, venom, and Li, brightness ; meaning, that the poet’s satire was venomous, and his praise bright or beautiful. The Druid, in his simple character, does not appear to have been ambulatory, but stationary. He is not entitled to any privileges or im- munities such as the poets and Brehons or judges enjoyed. He considers the Druids’ wand was of yew, and that they . made use of ogham writing. He names Tuath Druids ; as, Brian, Tuchar Tucharba, Bodhbh, Macha and Mor Rigan , Cesarn Gnathach and Ingnathach, among Firbolgs ; Uar, Eithear and Amergin, as Milesians. For an illustration of Irish Druidism, reference may be made to the translation, by Hancock and O Mahoney, of the Senchus Mor. Some of the ideas developed in that Christian work were supposed traditional notions of earlier and Druidical times. Thus, we learn that there were eight Winds ; the colours of which were white and purple, pale grey and green, yellow and red, black and grey, speckled and dark, the dark brown and the pale. From the east blows the purple wind ; from the south, the white ; from the north, the black ; from the west, the pale ; the red and the yellow are between the white wind and the purple, &c. The thick- ness of the earth is measured by the space from the earth to the firmament. The seven divisions from the firma- ment to the earth are Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury. Mars, Sol, Luna, Venus. From the moon to the sun is 244 miles;