Making of a druid

Eminent Celtic scholar Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h presents for the first time in English the complete translation of Immacallam in dá Thúarad, generally translated as The Colloguy of Two Sages, a unique text representing both prophecy and didactic teaching. Working from the original medieval Irish - a language understood by only a few Celticists - Guyonvarc'h reveals the important teachings of this text, whose content represents and condenses a significant part of Celtic culture.

The Colloguy of Two Sages is a dialogue between two Druids concerning the knowledge required of a candidate aspiring to the grade of doctor, and it contains the customs of language and expression used by the Celtic priestly class. Previously this text was regarded as merely an elaborate battle of wits between two bards, but in fact the text is our principal means - if not our first opportunity - for understanding a pre-Christian, Celtic pedagogy.

The tarnslation, accompanying commentary, and extensive annonations contained in this edition of The Making of a Druid reveal that The Colloguy of Two Sages depicts the examination by a teacher of a druidic candidate. The give-and-take between teacher and student follows specific rules and criteria that represent a highly structured and organized teaching system used for centuries in the making of a duid. The questions that the senior druid asks the younger are meant to evoke responses that are representative of the student's knowledge and level of initiation. Consequently, the reader of this text is able to gain valuable insight into the actual nature of druidic science and the vast store of knowledge held by the teacher - knowledge acquired over an arduous fifteen- to twenty-year period that is necessary to become a druid. Both modern druids and students of Celtic traditions alike will find The Making of a Druid a storehouse of Celtic wisdom.