Druid - Bronze Enamel Pendant (red-gold)

The Celtic people first appeared on the stage of ancient history in the 5th century BC.
From their Central European homeland, they spread across Europe, from Great Britain to modern-day Turkey, leaving behind a rich cultural heritage. Their name comes from the ancient Greek Κελτοί (Keltoi), which originally may have referred to a specific tribe or lineage. They were the first ancient people to be mentioned by name in contemporary sources (for example, by Gaius Julius Caesar). During their conquests, they even plundered Rome — but eventually, the expanding Roman Empire put an end to Celtic hegemony.
Though they became absorbed into Roman culture, the Celts did not vanish: their traditions and beliefs still echo in modern European culture. On the geographically isolated British Isles, two peoples — the Welsh and the Irish — remain living descendants of the ancient Celtic tribes.

During the spread of Christianity across Europe, the Celtic religion gradually disappeared, yet traces of it have survived in folk beliefs and the veneration of saints. The history and faith of the Iron Age Celts hold many secrets, but the worship of nature, fertility, and death played the greatest role in their beliefs. The Celts believed in the transmigration of souls, and their cult of the dead was led by the druids.
This piece of the Celtic Collection is named after the druids — the highest class of ancient Celtic society. The druids were revered as priests, and as scholars and guardians of the unwritten ancient laws, they also held judicial authority over the common people.