The Druids

Templa Druidum         The mazes of wild opinion [ nigh St matchlesshenge] argon more labyrinthine and intricate than the aggrieve (Mass 8). There couldnt subscribe been a break away course to perfectly sum up Stonehenges mysterious and questionable level than the way this observant visitor depict it. The take Stonehenge hatful be traced back to words meaning merry-go-round of stones, reprieve stones, or stone hinges (8). enthalpy of Huntingdon is credited with the sign cognise account of this word in its Latin image Stanenges (8-9). Henry of Huntingdon verbalise, Stanenges, where stones of wonderful size harbor been erected after the mood of doorways, so that doorway appears to save been raised upon doorway; and no one can c formerlyive how much(prenominal)(prenominal) commodious stones have been so raised aloft, or wherefore they were construct there (9). Stonehenges beautify painting contains possibly the largest accumulation of prehistoric burial mounds in the mankind (9). Stonehenges social structure is estimated to have begun just about 3100 BC to 1100 BC (10). Stonehenge was origin entirelyy sole(prenominal) a single create that consisted of walls alone n eer had a roof. It was entrustd that it was in a constant land of spin throughout its usable level (9-10). Stonehenge is located about xxx miles north of the English manoeuver and eighty miles west of capital of the United Kingdom in a county called Wiltshire (Chippindale 10). Originally, Stonehenge was constructed from an estimated 162 stone blocks of various sizes (10). The giant sandstone uprights, called sarsens, argon the n proto(prenominal) uncouthly recognized stones of the remnants of Stonehenge. They atomic number 18 thirteen and one-half ass tall, seven foot wide, and three and three-fourths foot mystic (12). The summer solstice was is a big attraction to a lot of the raft who visit Stonehenge. As Terence Meaden give tongue to, The fiction of the beliefs of th! e Stonehenge populate at the cadence of the summer solstice is compelling and dramatic: it involves the jubilance of living in a way that ein truthbody who is close to spirit and appreciates the forgiving condition can understand (Meaden 11). The question that is take all over remaining to be answered is, who could have created this great monument and why?         Druids were involved in politics, sacrificial ritual, prophecy and the control of the witchlike world. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, they were feared and venerated because they had the ear of the divine world (Green 7). Basically, the Druids were a regular structured prehistoric society, with strict spectral undertones, that kept account by word of mouth. The typical Druid was believed to wear gigantic white robes, have short curly hair, and have a short beard as markn in the figurines that have been ground that model the Druids (58). Also, the Druids wore large, golden neckl aces called torcs (58). The earliest accounts on the Druids were from the Greeks and papisticals. The main writers of these accounts were Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Julius Caesar (14). Caesar who was prescribed to the Roman Senate as governor gave some of the most footling accounts of the antediluvian patriarch Druids (10). In one of his accounts he stated that; The Druids are c at a magazinerned with the righteousness of the gods, look after open and personal sacrifice, and expound religious matters (10). The Romans and Druids had some(prenominal) altercations with each new(prenominal) delinquent to their disagreements in religious matters. In position, Caesar, of the Roman Senate, described the Druids as sinister and sadistic priests of human sacrifice (Chippindale 83). The Druids play an subservient role in the groundwork, use, and preservation of the Stonehenge monument.         It has mistakenly and pessimistically been utter that we can n cons tantly survive the righteousness of those forgotten! throngs. The ancient Britons left hand us nonentity in writing, no sagas, no k flat traditions; their period of activity was so longsighted to begin with the beginning of recorded memoir that might depend that nothing of potential use has come mickle to us. Nonetheless, the clues are there, and as one searches, so they multiply (Meaden 14). As watchn in the passage, the Druids were the first get alongn people to be in theatre of operations of Britain. How long they were there is not known because recorded hi fable does not date back that far. Therefore it is hard to confound the fact that, since the Druids were the only known habitants of this area, they undoubtedly play a cardinal role in at least the early construction of Stonehenge. legerdemain Aubrey was credited with writing the first late hold back in the 17th and 18th speed of light that formally link up the Druids to the creation and occupation of Stonehenge. The hold up was entitled the Monumenta Brit tannica, exactly the book was never completed during his brio metre. William Stukeley, Aubreys predecessor, did continue Aubreys works after his oddment (Chippindale 71). John Aubrey once said, So it is clear, that all the monuments which I have here recounted, were temples; now my presumption is, that the Druids being the most sublime priests among the Britaines¦ (Green 144). This quote shows the system of logic behind Aubreys theory behind the Druids creation of Stonehenge. His theory coincides with the thoughts of young writer Terence Meadens thoughts. Meaden said that the main vehemence of the creation of Stonehenge had to do with worship and religion (Meaden 13). Combine this with the thoughts by Aubrey of the Druids being the priests of the Britaines and the religious conflicts between the Romans and Druids, and this gives you the Druids achievable central author for building Stonehenge. An rivalry against the Druids use of Stonehenge is that it was utilize as an astrological marker device. This is very unlikely be! cause on of both explanations. The hazard of the summer solstice could have just been a coincidence as most people are surprised to know that the solstice does not perfectly queue with the Heel Stone as once believed. It is actually numerous degrees off of a perfect coincidence (99). Another possible answer to this argument is that fact that the Druids religion was believed to consist of numerous different Gods. An event such(prenominal)(prenominal) as the solstice could have been enough to incline the Druids that it was a sign of the gods and whence the Druids may have built Stonehenge in such a manner as to worship this happening.         Let us hazard what kind of a countrie this was in the time of the ancient Britons¦ a shady dismal woodwind: and the inhabitants almost as cruel as the beast whose skins were their only raiment¦ Their religion is at large described by Caesar. Their priests were Druids. Some of their temples I film to have restored, as Avebury, Stonehenge etc¦ They were two or three degrees I suppose less tempestuous than the Americans¦ The Romans subdued and civilized them (Green 140). In the aforementioned quote of John Aubreys, he tells about the Roman and Druid conflict at and around Stonehenge and other temples. Aubrey talks about the Druids as the Romans saw them. The Romans saw the Druids as pagan, cruel, sadistic people who held no morals and were essentially barbarians. The Romans in an act to divulge the Druids worship purposely destroyed numerous of the Druids temples including the fractureial death of Stonehenge (14). This proves the fact that the Druids use Stonehenge for their worship. Dr. William Stukeley, who was influenced by Aubreys Templa Druidum, last became obsessed with the travail of proving that there was a druidic connection to Stonehenge to all of the skeptics that opposed him (Chippindale 82). In his quote he stated, I cannot but suppose ?em to have been an heathen templ e of our Ancestors, peradventure in the Druids timeÂ!  (Green 144). Ever since John Aubrey, in 1649, stated in the Monumenta Brittannica that the Druids worship at Stonehenge it has been accepted by many as the rectitude (Witcombe 1). Stukeley, in the same light, reported his confusable theory in his book entitled Stonehenge, published in 1740 (Green 142). At temples such as Stonehenge there have been many accounts of finding animal(prenominal) and human remains, which were found to date back to a time near that of the Druids presence in the area (Mass 30-31). umteen Druids believe that the separate was stolen from the sight that could have solidly linked the Druids to Stonehenge, but records of the digs that may have uncovered such artifacts were in addition vague to come to any for sure conclusion (65). unsanctified Arch Druid Tim Sebastian say the Duke of Buckingham Desecrated the join of Stonehenge, where many items were delve up and stolen; they included precious coat Druidic ritual ornaments, a golden cape of an Arch Druid and a ritual silver-tipped rams bird of Minerva (65).         In modern times, the Druids remain lighten an intricate part of the Stonehenge legacy, which makes the Druidic connection to Stonehenge that much stronger. Why would a group such as this participate in the take and celebration of this great monument if they did not somehow have a common link to it? Modern sects of the Druidic culture were oftentimes found to be branches spawned from conflicts in other Druidic smart sets (Witcombe 2). The weeklong lasting and more abstruse sect, the antediluvian patriarch parliamentary law of the Druids, lasting throughout the 19th and twentieth centuries, and it boasted a reputation membership including its most famous member, Winston Churchill (2). The Ancient influence of the Druids has held there summer solstice celebration there for a long time and still to this day go to Stonehenge to notice annually (2). new(prenominal) groups often have ceremoni es at Stonehenge such as; The Order of Bards, Ovates,! and Druids (OBOD) and A Druid Fellowship (ADF) (Green 170-171). The most powerful piece of evidence for the Druids go along appointment in Stonehenge is their continued involvement in the restoration and preservation of Stonehenge. Today, due to human fundamental interaction and natural erosion, Stonehenge has been greatly altered from its once vivid state (Meaden 92). There was once a period in its history where the public was taking hammers to the stone in order to get themselves a souvenir of Stonehenge (92). In the early 1900s end of Stonehenge was so bad the owners were forced to charge admission to faded down on the destruction of the monument (Witcombe 2). Less than half of the passkey stones that built Stonehenge still stand today (Mass 74-78). The general develop and weathering, along with various graffiti, of Stonehenge has literally runged it into a ruin (74-78). In 1901, partly privately funded by authentic Druidic sects a restoration was started in hopes to p reserve Stonehenge for future generations (79-80). This shows the Druids go on dedication to the place that their ancestors once created and worshipped at.         If only the builders of Stonehenge could see it now, they would marvel, too, not at the poignancy of the beautiful ruin, but because of the invariant puzzlement it brings (Meaden 14). Only further research will ever tell the true origin of Stonehenge and the ancient culture that used it and created it. Without a doubt, the Druids, as reflected through the many first turn accounts in this paper, played a significant role in the creation, use, and preservation of Stonehenge. Stonehenge may never tell the true story that it holds inside its stones, and the human race maybe never know exactly who created Stonehenge and why it was created. Some things are better left up to ones own imagination. For the logical thinker, though, it is significantly possible that the Druids were the creators and users of Ston ehenge. 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