Caesar, in De Bello Gallico, Book VI, says that there were three classes in Gaul- the intellectuals called Druids (Druides), the military caste (Equites) (Dargaron note: I'm pretty sure Caesar was just using the latin term for the elite) and the people (Plebs), Here, Caesar accords the Druids their proper caste designationbut goes on, in effect, to describe a religious priesthood without naming them as such.
Of the Druids, Caesar says:
The Druids officiate at the worship of the gods, regulate public and private sacrifices, and give rulings on all religious questions. Large numbers of young men flock tothem for instruction, and they are held in great honor by the people. They act as judges in practically all disputes, whether between tribes or between individuals; when any crime is committed or a murder takes place, or a dispute arises about an inheritance or boundary, it is they who adjudicate the matter and appoint the compensation to be paid and received by the parties concerned. Any individual or tribe failing to accept their award is banned from taking part in sacrifice-the heaviest punishment that can be inflicted on any Gaul. Those who are under such a ban are regarded as impious criminals. Everyone shuns them and avoids going near or speaking to them, for fear of taking some harm by contact with what is unclean; if they appear as plaintiffs, justice is denied them, and they are excluded from a share in any honor.
He also describes how the Druids in Gaul were organized.
Dargaron note: If anyone wants this section typed in, I’ll edit my post. I’m not using this part for my point. Yet.
We shall later discuss references in Irish texts to a similar institution in Ireland.
Dargaron note: If anyone wants this section typed in, I’ll edit my post. I’m not using this part for my point. Yet.
References to Druidic collages or schools are also found in Irish tradition and this will be a subject for further discussion.
As to the social status of Druids, Caesar informs us that:
The Druids are exempt from military service and do not pay taxes like other citizens. (Dargaron note: there was a tax structure in Gaul, seems promising.) These important privileges are naturally attractive; many present themselves of their own accord to become students of Druidism, and others are sent by their parents and relatives. It is said that these people must remember a great number of verses – so many that some spend twenty years at their study. (Dargaron note: Impressive…)
One of the most important points which Caesar notes is the fact that:
The Druids believe that their religion forbids them to commit their teachings to writing, although for other purposes, such as public and private accounts, (Dargaron note: Public accounts? Like tax records and such? Seems promising.)the Gauls use the Greek alphabet. But I imagine that this rule was originally established for other reason – because they did not want their doctrine to become private property, and in order to prevent their pupils from relying on the written word and neglecting to train their memory; for it is usually found that when people have the help of texts, they are less diligent in learning by heart, and their memories rust.
A superficial interpretation and a misreading of Caesar’s comments has led many to claim that the ancient Celts were illiterate. However, examples of Gaulish, written in Greek and sometimes Latin alphabets survive in several areas and date back to the third century BC (Dargaron note: EB’s timeframe. Unfortunately, I probably can’t find translations of these texts on the internet, so I can’t tell you what they say.) Inscriptions in Cisalpine Gaul, such as the Todi, Briona and Saignon stones have now been carefully studied. For a long while, the intricate Calendar of Coligny, dating from the first century BC, was claimed as the earliest surviving extensive text in a Celtic language until the discovery of a leaden tablet in 1983 at La Vassiere, now called the Larzac Inscription, which was written in Latin cursive and was then acknowledged as the “longest known Gaulish text to date”, ascribed to the second or first centuries BC. Then in 1992 came yet another discovery, in northern Spain, of a Celtic text written on a bronze tablet. Modern scholars’ perception of the extent to which the Celts were literate has been changing rapidly and we shall return to this theme in a discussion on “Druidic Books”.