The Druids
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work of historical and archaeological scholarship, The Druids presents a rigorous and authoritative examination of one of antiquity's most mythologized groups, separating verifiable evidence from centuries of romantic embellishment. Stuart Piggott methodically chronicles what ancient Greek and Roman sources actually recorded about the Druids — their roles as priests, philosophers, and judges within Celtic society — while exposing how later eras, particularly the 18th-century Romantic movement, constructed elaborate and largely fictional traditions around them. Written with the precision of a seasoned archaeologist and the clarity of a gifted communicator, the work argues that the popular image of white-robed figures conducting mystical rites at Stonehenge owes far more to modern invention than to historical reality. Piggott illustrates how the Druids became a cultural mirror, reflecting each era's own spiritual and nationalistic anxieties rather than any recoverable ancient truth. The result is an indispensable, sobering, and intellectually rewarding corrective for anyone serious about understanding the ancient Celtic world.
Author: Stuart Piggott
Format: Hardback
Published: 1975, Thames and Hudson
Genre: Ancient history
Condition remarks:
Book: Good
Jacket: Worn/faded, no tears
Pages: Good
Markings: No markings
A landmark work of historical and archaeological scholarship, The Druids presents a rigorous and authoritative examination of one of antiquity's most mythologized groups, separating verifiable evidence from centuries of romantic embellishment. Stuart Piggott methodically chronicles what ancient Greek and Roman sources actually recorded about the Druids — their roles as priests, philosophers, and judges within Celtic society — while exposing how later eras, particularly the 18th-century Romantic movement, constructed elaborate and largely fictional traditions around them. Written with the precision of a seasoned archaeologist and the clarity of a gifted communicator, the work argues that the popular image of white-robed figures conducting mystical rites at Stonehenge owes far more to modern invention than to historical reality. Piggott illustrates how the Druids became a cultural mirror, reflecting each era's own spiritual and nationalistic anxieties rather than any recoverable ancient truth. The result is an indispensable, sobering, and intellectually rewarding corrective for anyone serious about understanding the ancient Celtic world.