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5. Druids passed down histories and laws through the oral tradition.

5. Druids passed down histories and laws through the oral tradition.

The ancient Celts were “aliterate,” says Arnold, meaning that they actively chose not to write down their histories, sacred stories and laws, in order to safeguard the information. The Celtic religion, for example, required animal and human sacrifices to a pantheon of gods, but that esoteric knowledge was restricted to Celtic priests called Druids and passed on orally from generation to generation.

• Druids were figures of great respect and honor in Celtic society and were among the few who could safely travel among warring tribes, says John Koch, a historical linguist specializing in early Celtic languages at the University of Wales. Other “learned classes” of Celts included genealogists who memorized centuries of tribal relations, those responsible for memorizing the applying the law, and “bards” who were both storytellers and folk historians.