Compared to the voluminous evidence of Roman history, not much is known about the ancient Britons and their Druids. With almost nothing by way of a written heritage, knowledge of these people has passed down to us through legend, archaeological evidence and the partisan writings of more literary races. What can be surmised is that the Druids were held in great respect and not a little awe. They bestrode the Celtic kingdoms and were frequently approached for advice, and for arbitration between disputing tribes. The Druids were the guardians of the cultural heritage and memorised vast quantities of epic verse, folklore and legal precedents, which were passed down through successive generations of Druids. They formed a kind of social cement between the fractious small kingdoms that, at one time, sprawled right across Europe. Small wonder that the Druids were a prime target for Roman propaganda and were harshly repressed whenever Celtic lands were added to the burgeoning Roman empire.

Yet there may have been a darker side to the Druids, if we can believe some of the ancient sources. If human sacrifice took place, then it did so in the context of a culture that took great pride in collecting and preserving the heads of their enemies; a culture that had devised methods of torture and execution that repulsed even the Romans, whose love of the carnage of the arena is well-documented.

With their geographical spread and cultural peculiarities, the Druids were not a homogenous body, and would have had their factions, much like contemporary religions are riven by competing interpretations of dogma. The Dark Moon Druids are fictional, but they represent the extremist fringe that exists within any religious movement. They stand as a corrective to that naive and nostalgic re-invention of Druid culture that parades around Stonehenge at certain times of the year. And, as I complete this work, they stand as a timely reminder of the extremities to which religious fanaticism can be taken.

Simon Scarrow 12th September 2001

THE EAGLE’S CONQUEST

Simon Scarrow

When Centurion Lucius Cornelius Macro arrives on the shores of Britain as part of the Emperor Claudius’s invasion in the summer of ad 43, he knows he is facing one of the toughest campaigns of his long, battle-scarred career. But nothing could have prepared him for the ferocious brutality and tenacious bravery of the British warriors.

In a series of bloody battles, under the eagle of the Second Legion, Macro and his young subordinate, Optio Cato, and the desperately outnumbered Roman army must find and defeat the enemy before he can grow strong enough to overwhelm the legions.

But the Britons are not the only danger facing Macro and Cato. An enemy far more ruthless than their acknowledged foe is plotting against them. As Claudius’s glorious victory looks set to turn to disaster, they know they must act quickly. But time is running out…

Don’t miss Simon Scarrow’s previous Roman tale of military adventure, UNDER THE EAGLE: