19th-century Welsh nationalists claimed Druids practiced the true original religion of Britain, linking them to Joseph of Arimathea & Glastonbury—while the English divided, many darkening the Druid image. Modern scholarship traces how Druid identity was largely constructed in the 16th-17th centuries, with French antiquarians promoting Druids after German scholars claimed them as ancestors, and Scottish students in Paris bringing these concepts north by the 1520s-1530s.
Scots pioneered Druid-megalith connection in 1520s through French scholarship
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Key facts
- By the 1520s, Scots had developed a tradition that prehistoric stone rings were pagan temples
- This connection came through Scottish students studying in Paris in the 15th and 16th centuries
- Around 1500, the French began promoting Druids after the Germans claimed them as ancestors
- In 1525, Scottish students returning from Paris brought the Druid concept to Scotland
- Hector Boisey at University of Aberdeen linked recumbent stone circles to Druids by the 1530s
- Scots continued making this connection for the next 200 years
Site mentioned
Sources
Prehistoric Wales (part two) - The Celts and Druids - BBCbbc.co.uk
A guide to the Celts and the Druids in Wales written by historian Dr John Davies.
Part I. Irish Druids: Welsh Or British Druidism - Sacred Textssacred-texts.com
Druidism has been of late years so persistently appropriated by the Welsh, that English, Scotch, and Irish have seemed to have no part in the property.
Were the Celtic Druids Pagan Israelite Priests? | ArmstrongInstitute.orgarmstronginstitute.org
The Druid religion directly parallels in many ways that of the ancient pagan Israelite priests: from types of sacrifices to clothing to ritual locations.
Ancient druids of Wales - Amgueddfa Cymru | Museum Walesmuseum.wales
Druids, the ancient priests of Britain and Ireland, have long intrigued and kindled the imagination of large popular audiences.
Who were the Druids? - Historic UKhistoric-uk.com
Druidism is thought to have been a part of Celtic and Gaulish culture in Europe, with the first classical reference to them in the 2nd century BC. Their ...
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