How the Druids and Ordovices Resisted the Roman Invasion of Wales
Channel: Celtic History Decoded
Date: 2022-02-01

How the Druids and Ordovices Tribe Resisted the Roman Invasion of Wales

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During the Roman conquest of Britannia, modern-day Wales provided fertile ground for Celtic resistance to the advancing Roman legions. In a previous video, I have documented how the Silures tribe of ancient Wales fought fiercely against the imperial eagle. Yet they were not alone, as two other major groups resisted Roman rule on the battleground of modern-day Wales. 

The first group were the Druids, the mysterious and fascinating Celtic priesthood that held considerable power in ancient times. During the golden age of Celtic civilization, the Druids played a religious, legal, ritualistic, and educational role. They were also philosophers and were said to have ancient knowledge about the natural world, as well as the gods. To become a Druid, it was not uncommon to spend 20 years in training, with Julius Caesar writing in his time that the Druids were often educated in Britain. The Druids enjoyed many advantages in Celtic society, including being “exempt from military service” and not paying takes like other citizens did (Caesar 1982: 140). 

Furthermore, the Druids tightly guarded the secrets of their order, preferring to speak and memorize their knowledge rather than to write it down. This practice in part explains why very little written documents exist from ancient Celtic societies, which is frustrating from the perspective of studying history. This has meant that a lot of the primary sources from the golden age of the Celts were written by Roman and Greek sources, hardly impartial sources, particularly given that Caesar wrote about the Celts as he was bloodily conquering the home of Celtic civilization, Gaul.  On occasions when the Druids did have to write however, they apparently used the Greek alphabet.

When the Roman Empire invaded Britannia, Anglesey on the north-west corner of modern Wales was a Celtic stronghold and a major home of Druidism in Britannia. Furthermore, Anglesey became a major destination for British migrants who were fleeing from other parts of Britannia due to the Roman invasion. As the Roman historian Tacitus wrote about Anglesey, which the Romans referred to as the Island of Mona, it “had a powerful population and was a refuge for fugitives.” 

Given this, it was core target for the Romans, who went on to invade Anglesey twice. During the first Roman invasion of Anglesey in 60 AD, which was led the Roman general Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the Romans were met and initially startled, even scared, by the enigmatic Druids. As Tacitus wrote about the exchange:

“On the shore stood the opposing army with its dense array of armed warriors, while between the ranks dashed women, in black attire like the Furies, with hair dishevelled, waving brands. All around, the Druids, lifting up their hands to heaven, and pouring forth dreadful imprecations, scared our soldiers by the unfamiliar sight, so that, as if their limbs were paralysed, they stood motionless, and exposed to wounds… Then urged by their general's appeals and mutual encouragements not to quail before a troop of frenzied women, they bore the standards onwards, smote down all resistance, and wrapped the foe in the flames of his own brands. A force was next set over the conquered, and their groves, devoted to inhuman superstitions, were destroyed.”

This initial invasion was halted however when Boudica rebelled on the east coast of Britannia, forcing the Roman troops in Anglesey to march straight back to Londinium to head off Boudica. 

Almost two decades later, in 77 AD, the second Roman invasion of Anglesey took place under the Roman governor of Britannia, Gnaeus Julius Agricola. The Romans were successful in this campaign, and Anglesey was brought under Roman control. 

Sources:

Silures, Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/Silures 

Ordovices, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordovices 

Roman conquest of Anglesey, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_conquest_of_Anglesey 

Silures, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silures 

Ben Johnson, The Romans in Wales (Historic UK) - https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/The-Romans-in-Wales/ 

#Druids #History #CelticWales