Ritual of oak and mistletoe explained

The ritual of oak and mistletoe is a Celtic religious ceremony, in which white-clad druids climbed a sacred oak, cut down the mistletoe growing on it, sacrificed two white bulls and used the mistletoe to make an elixir to cure infertility and the effects of poison.[1] The ritual, known from a single passage in Pliny's Natural History, has helped shape the image of the druid in the popular imagination.[2]

Account by Pliny the Elder

The only extant source for this ritual is a passage in the Natural History by Roman historian Pliny the Elder, written in the 1st century AD. Speaking of mistletoe, he writes:

While Pliny does not indicate the source on which he based this account, French archaeologist Jean-Louis Brunaux (fr) has argued for Posidonius of Rhodes, a polymath who flourished in the 1st century BC.[3]

Later influence and historiography

Miranda Aldhouse-Green has argued that, although Pliny is the only authority to mention this ceremony, the main elements of his account are all features of Celtic religion that are confirmed elsewhere; these include oak trees, mistletoe, ritual banqueting, the moon, and bull-sacrifice.[4]

Pliny's account has largely contributed to the popular depiction of druids today, as white-clad wise men performing sacrifices in the forests and equipped with golden sickles.[5]

Chateaubriand incorporated a dramatized version of Pliny's scene in his Les Martyrs, in which the druidess Veleda plays a part.[6] In the Astérix comics, the druid Getafix is often depicted among oak trees, robed in white, and bearing a golden sickle.[6]

The ritual is a key plot element in Silver on the Tree, the last book in The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper.

References

. Miranda J. Green. Miranda Aldhouse-Green. 2005. Exploring the World of the Druids. London. Thames & Hudson. 978-0-500-28571-8.

Notes and References

  1. [Pliny the Elder]
  2. Brunaux (2006), p. 47.
  3. Brunaux (2006), p. 48.
  4. Green (2005).
  5. Brunaux (2006), p. 49.
  6. Christian Goudineau, "Les clichés", in Goudineau (2006), pp. 13–14.