Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/280

 THE ANCIENT TEUTONIC PRIESTHOOD.

BY H. MUNRO CHADWICK, B.A.

{Read at Meeting of May \Qth, 1900.)

I. The Priesthood of the Ancient Germans. C^SAR in his account of the Germans [B. G., vi., 21) makes the statement that they had no Druids. This statement has given rise to much controversy ; for it is not clear whether he meant to say that the Germans had no priests at all, or merely that they had no priesthood similar tothatof the Gauls. In Tacitus' account of the Germans, a hundred and fifty years later, the priesthood constitutes an important element in their society, and is characterised by features which it is difficult to reconcile with the supposition that it was then a new institution. As a matter of fact, a German priest is said to have been present at the triumph of Germanicus (A.D. 14)}

In order to comprehend Caesar's meaning, it is necessary first to examine briefly his account of the Druids. Accord- ing to his account {B. G. vi., 13 ff.), the Druids had the entire control of religion, and the direction of both public and private sacrifices. Their organisation extended over the whole of Gaul, and they were presided over by an Arch- druid, who was elected for life. They met annually in a consecrated place within the territories of the Carnutes, a district which was regarded as the centre of Gaul. All suits of whatever character, whether private or public, were here brought before them, and the decision was left entirely in their hands. They could enforce their sentences, whether against individuals or states, under penalty of excommunica- tion, which was equivalent to outlawry. The Druids were, moreover, instructors of the young. They were excused from all tribute and military service, and devoted themselves

' Strabo vii., p. 292; as all the other persons mentioned in this passage are chiefs, the priest must have been regarded as a person of distinction.