Page:Ireland and England in the past and at present.djvu/33

Rh spread over the island was a religion in which forces or objects of nature were worshipped. "The religion of the Celestial Fire, or light, predominated; the sun and the moon were the principal objects of worship."8 In Christian times this usage continued with forms changed, and it is thought that the sacred fire of St. Bridget at Kildare, which burned until Henry III caused it to be extinguished, and which, rekindled, burned until the time of Henry VIII, was an adaptation of this very thing. Along with this and beneath it, as elsewhere, were survivals of an earlier stage, the period of animism or polydemonism. Among the old Gaels there was widespread belief in the existence of spirits or demons, animating everything. They could be controlled or dealt with by formulas, incantations, or magic, which were known only to the wizards. By obtaining information from the demons whom they controlled, the wizards became fortune- tellers, as they became astrologers through their study of the elements and the heavens. These wizards were the famous Druids; and the old Irish religion is sometimes called Druidism, like that of Britain and Gaul. In Erin Druids were thought to possess tremendous powers, working spells, chanting incantations, driving men mad, if they would, and foretelling events yet to come. It should be said that in early times the Brehons were members of the Druid class, though afterward they became quite distinct. 8 Arthur Ua Clerigh, History of Ireland to the Coming of Henry II (London), i. 185.