CHAPTER II.

The antiquity of Nottingham is further corroborated from the rites, the priesthood, and the religion here practised, this is our fourth position, and is by far the most conclusive of any to which we have referred. Whether it may be accounted for or not, and without seeking either to justify or condemn,-that every nation of antiquity had its religion, and religious hierarchy, is an indisputable fact. Amongst the various orders of the priesthood, were usually found, the highest dignitaries of the land; who, in the exercise of their ghostly authority, claimed a submissive obedience from all ranks of the people. They not only gave the laws, but interpreted and enforced them; royalty itself was a creature subject to their control and caprice; whom they would, they set up, and whom they would they pulled down; the will of the Priest was interpreted as the will of heaven; and in every nation, a species of Theocracy prevailed. The form of idolatry which obtained in this country, was that which went by the general designation of Druidism, which was the form of religion originally embraced by all the nations of the earth; (a) and from the fact of this country being one of the chief seats of this idolatry, having here its principal colleges for learning, and temples for practising its mysterious ceremonies, (b) was too hastily supposed by the Roman invaders, to have originated in Britain.(c) Various derivations have been given to the word "Druid,” some take it for the old Celtic, Drus, a magician; others contend for the Hebrew Drussim, contemplores, men devoted to meditation; but by far the greater weight of authority, is on the side of those who derive it from it from the Greek drus, an oak, under which their priests, for the most part had their dwelling; among whom, nothing was held more sacred than the mistletoe and the oak. We hope our readers will excuse us if we should be a little particular upon this subject, for what ever light it may cast upon the moral, and social condition of the people in these early times, may be considered a direct testimony and illustration of the subject before us; and, from its being admitted on all hands, that in and about the town, this ancient idolatry very extensively prevailed, therefore a somewhat particular notice is demanded at the hands of any one who professes to write the ancient, or ecclesiastical history of Nottingham.

(a) See Milnor's His. of Winchester, vol. 1, p. 7. (b) Tacit. Agric. (c) Cæs. De. Bell. Gall. &. VI

HISTORY OF THE DRUIDS.

23

CHAPTER III.

All that has been recorded of our ecclesiasticalhistory by Tacitus and others, is exceedingly brief, up to the time of Julius Cæsar, and not too charitable either. No people were more devoted to religion than the Britons though the forms had become so corrupted (a); they believed in the immortality of the soul ("), and exceedingly revered the oak and the mistletoe. (c),—the Logan, or rocking stone,-the Talman, or oracular stone. (d) They retain from the eastern patriarchs the tenet and practice of propitiatory sacrifice (e); but like the worshippers of Molech in the vale of Hinnom, they held that no sacrifice was so acceptable to their deities, or propitiatory, as man. (f) One instance of their superstition exceeded in barbarity any thing that we read of among the Ammonites, or any of the nations of the east. (g) It was their custom, on certain occasions, to construct a large wicker cage, resembling the human form, and from twenty to thirty feet in height; it was then filled with living animals and men, and combustible materials, and the whole set fire to at once. When the raging flames, the shrieking men, and the howling beasts, which were being consumed-together with the sound of their trumpets, and the Druids shouting, must have rendered the scene at once truly awful.

"The horrid King, besmeared with blood

Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears;

Though for the noise of drums, and timbrels loud,
Their children's cries unheard, that pass'd through fire
To this grim idol." (h)

(a) See Milner's Hist. of Winchester, vol. 1, p 26 (b) Cæs. c. 6.

(c) Plin. Hist. Nat. c. XXVI. (d) Cæsar c. 6. (e) Milner's Hist. of Winches. vol. 1, p. 29.

(f) Cæsar, c. 6.

(g) 2 Kings, xxiii. 10. See also Milner's History of Winchester, vol. 1, p. 30. In this, perhaps, Mr. Milner is mistaken: the Jewish Rabbies assure us, the figures of Molech were of brass, sitting on a throne of the same metal, having the head of a calf, on which there was a crown. Some of the statues had the arms bent inward, as if in the act of embracing. When any children were to be offered, the statue was heated nearly red, and the miserable victims were then placed in its fiery arms to be consumed. In others, the arms extended, inclining to the ground, so that a child put on them rolled off into a great fire below. There was yet another kind of statue, which was hollow, and divided into several compartments, which were filled with the following articles :-The first with meal, the second with turtles, the third with ewes, the fourth a ram, the fifth a calf, the sixth an ox, and the seventh a man. The statue was then heated, till all were destroyed; during which a loud noise was kept up, with drums, trumpets, and shouting, to drown the cries of the sufferers, which in substance very nearly resembles the horrid practice just referred to, which Caesar states to have been practised by the Druids in Britain alone.

(h) Milton, Par. Lost, b. 1, 1. 393.

Pliny (a) tells us, that after the embers were cool, the offerers used to taste the flesh of the human victims they had immolated, which we can hardly subscribe to. However, such sacrifices were once offered by our fathers; and the only monuments of these sad customs now remaining, are those conical hillocks we see on the tops of some of our mountains, which probably contain the ashes of these abhorred sacrifices. (b)

CHAPTER IV.

The Druidical priesthood, and their different orders, bear a striking resemblance to the Aaronic priesthood, as may be seen by a slight comparison, both in office and dress. There was the Arch-Druid and the Druids, these formed their chief order. After these, the Bards or Poets; then the Vates or Priests, and the Eubages, who studied natural philosophy; these constituted the body of the Druids, who were men of the most profound erudition, generally devoting fifteen or twenty years to close study of theology, law, mathematics, &c., preparatory to their entering on the public discharge of any of the duties of their office. It is said they did not commit any of the doctrines of their religion to writing, wishing to keep them secret; and handed them down from one to another orally in verses, committed to memory for that purpose. But that the Druids were acquainted with letters, and extensively practised the art of writing, is admitted by Cæsar, who tells us they employed the Greek character, (c)and that they wrote on the bark of trees, prepared on purpose, and on small birchwood tables, (d) which were called poet's tables.

The Bards were divided into chronologers, heralds, and comic or satirical poets. The first attended on great men, and registered

(a) See Pliny lib. xxx. c. 1. (b) Milner's History of Winchester vol. 1, p. 9.There is this remarkable custom still observed in Dunkirk and Douay, in Scotland: On the first of May, (O. S.) the young people build an immense figure of basket-work and canvass,t o the height of twenty or thirty feet, which, when properly painted and dressed, represents a huge giant, of human form. A number of young men inside, then raise the image from the ground, and move it from place to place, collecting money. The popular tradition concerning this custom is, that this figure represents a great giant, who used to eat up the inhabitants of these places, till he was killed by their patron saint. See Milner's His. Ib. A memorial of the same fact, no doubt, was originally intended in the institution of a popular custom, which is still observed in London. On the first of May, a large figure is made, covered with green cloth, decked with a profusion of ribbons, which is then carried through the principal streets of the metropolis, attended with music and danc ing. This is, no doubt, a relic of Druidism, and called dancing jack on the green; it is only observed by the sweeps. (d) Tol. p 84.

(c) Caes. c. V.

ORDERS OF THE PRIESTHOOD.

25

their genealogies and achievements in war. The second attended the army, and encouraged the soldiers to fight. The third attended the feasts and pastimes of the common people, as singers and musicians. (a) A story of one of the bards is yet extant, which shows they did not always want flattery or wit. (b) Luernius, a gallant prince, who was very rich and liberal, the father of Bittus, who was beaten by the Romans, (c) held by appointment a certain feast, and one of these poets coming too late, met the prince as he was leaving the place. The bard began to sing Luernius's praise, and extol his grandeur, but at the same time to lament his own unhappy state, in not having had that day the honour of enjoying his prince's fare. The king was so delighted with the poet's ingenuity, that he called for a purse of gold, and threw it to the bard, as he ran by the side of his chariot, when after having taken it from the ground, he began to sing again, to this purpose, that out of the tract of his chariot sprung up gold and blessings to man.

CHAPTER V.

The robes of the Priests, &c.-We have already said that the Druids were chosen out of the principal families, and the honours of their birth considered in connection with their mysterious office, procured them the highest reverence among the people. They had various kinds of dresses, according to the place they were in, and the duties they had to discharge. When officiating at their altars they were dressed in long garments, containing six different colours, while those of the nobility, the king excepted, whose robes had seven, the nobles had four, and extended no lower than the knees. They usually carried in their hands a long white rod, or staff, and a white linen surplice, thrown over their shoulders. They wore the hair quite short, and their beards long. One of the most important articles of their dress, was the Druid's "breast-plate," in imitation of the "Urim and Thummin" in that of Aaron, and vulgarly called the "Druid's egg." Pliny, who had seen one of these rare articles, gives us the following accoun tof it. The anguinum, was a cartilaginous incrustation about the size of an apple, and full of little cavities like those on the legs of a polypus, encased with gold, and worn suspended from a gold chain, round the neck. The following

(a) Tol. p 84. (b) Atheneus. Posidonius the Stoic. (c) Epod 16, v.6, Val. Max. lib 9, Flar. lib. 3 E

parabolic, and ingenious account of its formation, was given to the vulgar, by the priests. The serpent was in all countries sacred to the light and wisdom, of which it was the appointed emblem. The priests said, a great number of serpents interwoven and twined together, formed this egg, which afterwards was raised up into the air by their hissing, and caught in a clean white cloth before it fell to the ground; the person who caught it was said to be obliged to ride a swift horse with full speed across a river, which stopped the serpent that pursued him with fury. It was afterwards encased in gold, and thrown into a river; and if genuine, would swim against the stream. This insignia or badge of distinction worn by the Druids, having been produced as was said by a number of serpents, which were the emblems of light, was obviously an imitation of the breast-plate worn by the Jewish High Priest, in which were placed twelve precious stones, engraven with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and set in ouches of gold, Exod. 28, called the "Urim and Thummim," that is lights and perfections. Man being born in a state of ignorance and imperfection, therefore knowledge, however obtained, is supernatural to him, the very thing which the Druids intended, when they parabolically taught that if the egg were genuine, it would swim against the stream.

CHAPTER VI.

We now come to the sacrifices offered by the Druids, and the places chosen by them for that purpose, and in this respect we trace a conformity with all the nations of antiquity. Lambs, sheep, goats, oxen, &c. were usually offered on their altars, and the places chosen for the performance of their sacred rites, was in a grove of emblematic trees, of which the favourite was the oak, and on the top or side of a hill they erected their altars; on which, as on the Jewish altars, the fire was always kept burning; (a) there they offered their daily morning and evening sacrifice: the priests walking round their altars from east to south, in imitation of the sun, and then ascended the highest part of the hill, to offer their prayers. The poet Lucan, in his celebrated passage on the Druids and the doctrines of their religion, has not forgotten their sacred groves.

(a) Pict. His. of England, p. 62. Borlace's Cornwall, p. 67. Roland's Mona Antiqua. p. 65. Macpherson's Dissertations, s. 203. Boucher's Histoire de Provence, p. 168.