garland, and bearing a sceptre; the other with a crescent in his hand, one of the sacred symbols. They are both engraved below, with a crescent of gold, a druidical hook for tearing down the mistletoe, and three other articles, supposed druidical, all of gold, and found in various parts of Ireland[1]
The mantle of one of the Druids, it will be observed, is fastened on the shoulders by a portion of it being drawn through a ring, and instances of this fashion are met with frequently in Anglo-Saxon illuminations. We believe it has never occurred to any previous writer on this subject, that the annular ornaments resembling bracelets (vide fig. d), so constantly dis- covered both here and on the Continent, and pre- sumed to be merely votive, from the circumstance of their being too small to wear on the arm or the wrist, may have been used in this manner as a sort of brooch by the Gaulish and Teutonic tribes.
Druidical ornaments, vide note.
- ↑ Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis, vol. iv. ; Arch{{subst:ae}}ologia, vol. iv.; Meyrick's Orig. Inhab. passim; King's Munimenta Antiqua, &c. The centre ornament is supposed to be a tiara for the arch-druid, and that to the right a golden collar or breast-plate. The wreathed rod of gold, with a hook at each end, is probably a small torque flattened out.
