Path: shell.portal.com!svc.portal.com!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!news.u.washington.edu!homer16.u.washington.edu!ddills From: Diana Dills Newsgroups: soc.history.medieval,alt.magick.tyagi,alt.pagan,alt.religion.asatru,alt.thelema,talk.religion.misc,alt.mythology,alt.religion.wicca,alt.magick.virtual-adepts,alt.folklore,torfree.religion.discussion Subject: Re: oghams and druids Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1996 22:02:27 -0800 Organization: University of Washington Lines: 28 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: homer16.u.washington.edu Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII NNTP-Posting-User: ddills In-Reply-To: Xref: shell.portal.com soc.history.medieval:4386 alt.magick.tyagi:6949 alt.pagan:147559 alt.religion.asatru:3337 talk.religion.misc:207714 alt.mythology:25239 alt.religion.wicca:23347 alt.magick.virtual-adepts:508 alt.folklore:213 > : Ogham is an Irish Celtic written language dating to 500-600 AD. > > Oghams date much earlier than this. They go back to 100 C.E., at least. ...and probably much earlier > The druids wrote. Their writings are called oghams. Myself, I believe > that oghams go back to the time when druids were flourishing.. Peter Berresford Ellis says that as early as 100 CE the Druid (intellectual) caste of the Celts were fluent in Latin, and often Greek. They wrote in these languages; they just didn't write Druidic lore. Oghams were also used during this time period, but again, sacred or arcane knowledge was not written down. There is also reference to books of leaves of the various Oghmic trees. These leaves would be strung along cords from the ridgepoles of long buildings, and the leaves could be turned like the leaves of a book. Each sacred tree represented one letter of the Ogham, and words and sentences could be formed. If you have not read Berresford Ellis' "the Druids" I recommend you run, don't walk, to the nearest library or bookstore and find a copy. There are lots of historical references, and it is an easy and enjoyable book to read.