Happy Yule!

[Jock Scot]

Grizzbass.

The Druids, as far as I am aware, were at their zenith pre Roman times. The Romans did their very best to exterminate the Druids and were pretty successful at it, by all accounts. So perhaps a few thousand or so years ago, the druids may have exterminated mistletoe growing oak trees. I have no idea.

What I do know from long personal experience of farming in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire---- my family still farm down there---- where mistletoe grows almost everywhere in the Severn and Wye valleys on assorted trees and where we still have many fine oak trees that are at least 700 years old, some are considerably older, and my family have been planting oak trees and nurturing them for almost as many years, I have no record, or recollection of mistletoe growing on young, old or even ancient oaks there.

Interestingly we even had a real Druid working on the farm----a nice chap---- I was quite young at the time and could not take the idea that seriously, but the older generation took the Druid thing much more seriously in minor sort of way, but as I suppose, they were Christians of some sort they still gave him considerable respect.

[grizzbass]

The romans really put their whole heart into something once they decided it was in their interest to accomplish it. The druids unfortunately fell into that category.
I asked because around here they talk about how different parts of this country were 1000 or 2000 years ago. Much wetter or drier etc. Deserts that weren't barren as they are now. So I just wondered if early in the first century that may not have been true of parts of the UK. I imagine that would be a fairly specific area of study. Oaks and holly patterns and growths in early first century Brittania.
The oldest oak in america is estimated 1500 but most apparently go significantly less say 500. Their are apple orchards near us in the mountains and we go hike on the nature conservancy established there. They have many oaks in the 500 age although they lost a lot last winter due to a massive snowstorm which tore quite a few of them apart.
When I was serving as a missionary for my church I used to say if I wasn't a mormon I'd be a pagan (especially a norse pagan). The norse gods were so much cooler than the romans or greeks gods. The more I've read of the Scots/Irish druids and paganism that also applies. Especially Artio. Any goddess that can change into a bear is cool. I guess that applies to a lot of other gods though such as zeus who was often a goose but that also explains why he wasn't cool to me. You could be a bear but pick a goose

Grizzbass.

The Druids, as far as I am aware, were at their zenith pre Roman times. The Romans did their very best to exterminate the Druids and were pretty successful at it, by all accounts. So perhaps a few thousand or so years ago, the druids may have exterminated mistletoe growing oak trees. I have no idea.

What I do know from long personal experience of farming in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire---- my family still farm down there---- where mistletoe grows almost everywhere in the Severn and Wye valleys on assorted trees and where we still have many fine oak trees that are at least 700 years old, some are considerably older, and my family have been planting oak trees and nurturing them for almost as many years, I have no record, or recollection of mistletoe growing on young, old or even ancient oaks there.

Interestingly we even had a real Druid working on the farm----a nice chap---- I was quite young at the time and could not take the idea that seriously, but the older generation took the Druid thing much more seriously in minor sort of way, but as I suppose, they were Christians of some sort they still gave him considerable respect.

[Jock Scot]

Grizzbass.

I am afraid religion and the history of the various aspects of it are of little interest to me. Interestingly, rightly or wrongly, I tend to connect Druids to Stonehenge in Southern England and parts of Wales, but connecting them to Scotland is, I am afraid, well beyond my ken.

[Ninehostages]

Grizzbass.

I am afraid religion and the history of the various aspects of it are of little interest to me. Interestingly, rightly or wrongly, I tend to connect Druids to Stonehenge in Southern England and parts of Wales, but connecting them to Scotland is, I am afraid, well beyond my ken.

Stonehenge is much, much older and it was finished about 1700 years before there were Celts and Druids in Britain. Stonehenge was as old to the Druids as Hadrian's Wall is to us.

The Gaelic Scots didn't get to Scotland until after the Romans had left (they invaded from Ireland and "Scoti" was the Roman name for the Irish). Caledonia was inhabited by Briton tribes related to the Welsh. That is where the Picts likely were. They were tough guys and the Romans were eventually handed their adzes to them by those tribes. The Gaels don't seem to have pushed them out but rather they slowly merged with each other to create the modern Scotus Horribilus Kiltii.

[Jock Scot]

Thank you for that.

[jfraser]

Stonehenge is much, much older and it was finished about 1700 years before there were Celts and Druids in Britain. Stonehenge was as old to the Druids as Hadrian's Wall is to us.

The Gaelic Scots didn't get to Scotland until after the Romans had left (they invaded from Ireland and "Scoti" was the Roman name for the Irish). Caledonia was inhabited by Briton tribes related to the Welsh. That is where the Picts likely were. They were tough guys and the Romans were eventually handed their adzes to them by those tribes. The Gaels don't seem to have pushed them out but rather they slowly merged with each other to create the modern Scotus Horribilus Kiltii.

And before that there was this

http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat...ntry-6014.html

[Jock Scot]

I would recommend a visit to Orkney to anyone who is interested in wildlife, farming and history. You are unlikely to see many kilts about though, I saw one in two weeks whilst we were there, worn by a Norwegian.